Kuranda Scenic Railway, Skyrail, Great Barrier Reef Helicopter Tour and Cruise

Cairns, Australia

Hit the rails, the rainforest, the sky and the reef in an action-packed day trip from Cairns! You'll take the Kuranda Scenic Railway from Cairns, go shopping in the Kuranda Markets, ride the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, soar over the Great Barrier Reef on a scenic helicopter tour, take a lunchtime cruise on the reef, then spend the afternoon swimming, snorkeling or diving before cruising back to Cairns. What a rewarding day out!

Have your camera ready aboard the Kuranda Scenic Railway to take photographs as the train winds its way around Horseshoe Bend and past Stoney Creek Falls and Barron Falls. At Kuranda Markets you'll have free time to shop for locally made arts and crafts before taking a ride on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. Make sure to have your camera ready as you glide over the rainforest canopy and glimpse tantalizing views of Cairns' beautiful coastline.

From lush tropical rainforest it's on to the blue expanse of the Great Barrier Reef and your spectacular thirty-minute helicopter flight to the Outer Reef. From the heli pontoon at Hastings Reef, you will be transferred to a high-speed vessel to enjoy a delicious tropical lunch.

After lunch you will have more than two hours to snorkel and swim. If you prefer not to get wet, you can take an informative glass-bottom boat tour to see and learn about the delicate coral reef ecosystem. Divers are not forgotten either with scuba diving available for both beginners and experienced divers at an additional cost. Then it's time to relax and enjoy the live entertainment onboard this luxury vessel as you sail back to Cairns at the end of a packed, fulfilling day.

USD $395.99

Review by: scottgator	April 2012
This was a fantastic day and one of our favorite tours we took while in Cairns. My only comment would be that there is NO time to shop in Kuranda because you only have a half hour to get off the train and walk through the town. The helicopter was fantastic...they took you out to the middle of the reef and landed by a snorkeling boat and we were treated as VIP's and were fed a fantastic lunch when we were finished snorkeling. The crew were so nice and helpful!!

Review by: Taki P	January 2012
Excellent trip well organised and a great day out - when it happened!. I was not picked up on the day when the trip was originally booked for and when I telephoned the tour company no apology just "we can re-schedule it for tomorrow".

Review by: Andrew C	January 2012
Great way to see everything if you want to fit everything in a day. Not much time in Kuranda but you can buy the same things all over. Helicopter ride is a definite highlight. Treated like VIPs by cruise crew. Snorkeling time is limited (90 min) which was more than enough for us.

Review by: shazer	January 2012
Enjoyed trip, although mix up with pick up times in palm cove was told to get there for 6.50am when infact we had to wait until 8am until being picked up.So made it a long day as we left port douglas at 6am to get there in time. Having said that worked out well doing all in one day as we felt a whole day on boat would have been a bit long.

Review by: Michael R	December 2011
Kuranda train tip and skyrail trip were fantastic.

Review by: Alexander	March 2011
Skyrail and Reef were excellent, service was friendly and paid attention to detail, Helicopter ride was a bit unnerving and boring as the pilot was not a regular flyer and provided no talk during the entire flight.

Review by: Frances P	March 2011
The itinerary was great but very tight. It wasn't busy and yet we felt somewhat rushed. Arriving to the boat by helicopter was great but our time on the boat for scuba diving was only 1.5 hours compared to people already there who had 3 hours which was very disappointing. People were very polite and friendly.

Review by: Matt C	March 2011
Great excursion for those "power tourists" with limited time in Cairns - covers all the must-see stuff in a single day without feeling rushed and outer reef snorkeling is the way to go. Only detraction was an angry little man named "Tai" that picked us up from hotel - he barked confusing orders at us as far as instructions for getting from the train to the skyrail and God help you if you get this guy and have any questions - he demeaned some poor woman from our group almost to the point of being in tears. At that point, everyone in the group just fell silent until this guy left the train and then we all had a laugh at what an unprofessional, angry little man he was and enjoyed the rest of our day thoroughly. The professional staff on the boat more than made up for the unpleasantness of our morning driver, who had no business being in the tourism industry.

Review by: David L	February 2011
This was a great tour. You got to experience several different areas. It was wonderful!

Review by: Jeffrey C	January 2011
loved it from start to finish. worth the money

Review by: Kevin H	January 2011
I had a wonderful time. Kuranda is beautiful . the sky rail is breath taking and grear bearier reaf spectaular i give it a 5 stars as a rating

Review by: JoJo	January 2011
Great trip. Wish we had more time in Kuranda for shopping. Very well organized. Snorkeling was fabulous.

Review by: david l	December 2010
Well organized in spite of the many different companies involved in the tour.

Review by: Anthony T	November 2010
Excellent! Great value. Had everything in one day.

Review by: Paula W	October 2010
This was an excellent tour and a very memorable day. My only comment would be that there is very little time in Kuranda itself 40minutes and if like me the train is late 20 minutes. That said I wouldn't have missed a minute of the snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef so if you want to wander around Kuranda this is not the trip for you but if you want to experience all these things in one day I can't recommended this trip highly enough.

Review by: John P	August 2010
Great day trip if you are booked for time. Can fit a ton into one day which was great as we were only in the area for a few days.

Review by: Jamahl E	August 2010
it was a great day out but would have preferred a bit more time at kuranda in between train stopping and getting on the skyrail otherwise a great day

Review by: Mary S	July 2010
A wonderful day trip - staff were really lovely and all transfers on time - probably need more time to look around markets but we had so much fun!

Review by: Sven S	July 2010
One of my greatest experiences as a traveller! It's a very busy day, with trying to keep to schedules, but well worth it. Great value for money.

Review by: Christine B, United Kingdom	June 2010
This is that way to do this if, like us you were short of time. The train was a little late so we had no time in the village. but the train ride is really beautiful. Skyrail excellent. helicopter and reef snorkelling I would not have missed for the world. The pick up and transfer services were spot on at each place.

Review by: Murat U, Australia	May 2010
I cannot juxtopose Viator to other tour operators within Cairns, as this is the first time I have been here, however what I can say is that I was thoroughly satisfied with their service for making the trip one to cherish for life. It would have been absolutely chaotic trying to organise all of the activities individually - so much peace of mind as the activities progressed in an orderly fashion. There was a slight hickup with the heli flight due to choppy weather caused by cyclone ului-no fault of Viator, which had to be cancelled & rescheduled for the following day. When we boarded the boatOsprey from the helicopter, all the waterproof video cameras to film yourself diving had already been hired out - they need to supply more. The meal on the boat wasnt the most satiable - I didnt eat it - nothing to disparage the tour. If you like to fall asleep to the sounds of the waves of the beach, I highly recommend Sea Change 5 star Apartments at Trinity Beach. Parasailing & jet ski are available at Cairns Marina for those interested.

Review by: Agnieszka G	April 2010
A good option to do both rainforest and reef in one day. Unfortunately our driver was late and quite rude to be frank. Also there is no way you can do diving on this trip as there is simply not enough time - we hardly squeezed in 1,5 hours of snorkeling.

Review by: Stuart B	April 2010
Memorable trip.

Review by: Sharol B, United States of America	March 2010
This was the most awesome excursion I have ever experienced. From the minute the driver picked us up with a huge smile on her face, we were treated to a royal experience. Every detail and the timetables were explained well. The whole day flowed perfectly. The trip is fast paced and exciting. Many photo opportunities abound with breathtaking scenery on the train, the skyride, helicopter and boat. The crew on the Osprey 5 were unbelievable. They treated us like VIPs and gave 110 percent, each and every one of them. Thank you for an awesome adventure in Cairns I will always remember!

Review by: Sharon A, United States of America	March 2010
AMAZING trip!!!Start off the day with a train ride up to Kuranda, enjoying sights along the way. Very relzing train ride. Once you reach Kuranda, you can walk around the village and buy siuvenirs. Then you take the skyrail down, which has spectacular views of the rainforest and the town below. I highlye recommend a helicoptor tour over the Great Barrier Reef, the most amazing views you can possibly have. Then landing on a platform in the middle of the GBR is equally thrilling. Snorkeling on the reef was a breathtaking experience. This was the best excursion ever!!!

Review by: Anonymous	March 2010
the lunch was very bad and cold

Review by: Katarzyna U, Australia	January 2010
I had such a lovely day. First hours weren't so special, but Skyrail, helicopter tour and Great Barrier Reef were so perfect. I hope to take that tour again. Very good!

Review by: Anonymous, United Kingdom	January 2010
Great mix of experiences. The train ride up in to Kuranda is a great way to start the day, followed by a relaxing, if rather long for those with no head for heights cable car ride back down to ground level. The helicopter ride was amazing with fab views of the reef. Only down side to day was that there is not enough time to do semi-sub and snorkeling before deprting back.

Review by: Keith C, United Kingdom	January 2010
This trip is a very good way of seeing all the sights in 1 day. The Kuranda Railway is excellent, followed by the Skyrail 7000 meters long above the canopy of the trees. Then the helicopter over the Barrier Reef gives you an interesting view of the reef below!

Review by: KATARZYNA U	January 2010
I had such a lovely day. First hours weren't so special, but Skyrail, helicopter tour and Great Barrier Reef were so perfect. I hope to take that tour again. Very good!

Review by: Robert K, United States of America	November 2009
This was probably the best single day of fun we had during our 12 days in Australia. There was plenty of time for each activity. The only thing we forgot was to take our own bath towels with us when we flew to the reef. Had the best time ever!

Review by: Heather H, United Kingdom	November 2009
A very good day although it did rain all day!

Review by: Robin T	November 2009
Very well organised, great day, but a little bit expensive.

Review by: Stephen R, United Kingdom	October 2009
Fantastic trip, a bit pricey but worth every penny!

Review by: Colin L	October 2009
This is too much in one day. There is not enough time in Karunda. Barrier reef was great, made better by the helicopter journey out to it. Boat and personnel were typical Aussies.

Review by: Theresa E	October 2009
If you only have a day or two it's a great way to see the rainforest and the great barrier reef all in one day. But it is a rush at Kuranda market only having 45 mins there. I would suggest adding 20 minutes more at the market if you like shopping and not stop off at the two lookout points on the way down on the skyrail, as the views are simular to the way up on the railway. But worth the money and great views all way round.

Review by: Vishal C, United States of America	July 2009
Fabulous! Worth every cent.

Review by: Baron R, United States of America	July 2009
Loved the train and Skyrail. Snorkeling fine. The helicopter was awesome.

Review by: Jeffrey M, Australia	July 2009
From the train to the Skyrail, very good views, it was the clearest day! The pilot was informative and humorous. A good way to go quickly to the reef, and for a few beers on the boat on the way back.

Review by: Jeff M	July 2009
From the train to the Skyrail, very good views, it was the clearest day! The pilot was informative and humorous. A good way to go quickly to the reef, and for a few beers on the boat on the way back.

Review by: Juan Jose L	July 2009
This is a great tour for a complete day! We saw gorgeous views on the helicopter trip.

Review by: Robert C, United States of America	May 2009
Very well organised. If you want to see it all in one day, this is a tour to be on.

Review by: Guy W	May 2009
A wonderful day! We would do it again.

Review by: Ian P	May 2009
Because of time restraints, we had to do it in 1 day. We had a great time but please try & spread it over two days. The train ride was nice & very informative. The village at the top was beautiful & full of markets. Wish we could have spent the afternoon up there. The overhead Skyrail back down is AMAZING, 3 separate gondolas above the tree line with a brief tour at each station on the way down, saw all kinds of birds flying across the top of the trees, parrots, cockatoos, etc. Diving off the reef was fantastic but only had the afternoon. Wish I had more time as the boat also did a morning dive. Colours were fantastic as were the varieties of fish & turtles. If I had done this over 2 days it would have been 5 stars.

Review by: Catherine S	April 2009
Karunda great. Helicopter great was not advised cruise was for experienced divers, spent 2 hrs sitting on boat, could have had lunch or trip on submersible but not both.

Review by: Juha H, Finland	April 2009
Excellent compact day package to the best of Cairns!

Review by: Anonymous, Hong Kong	March 2009
The helicopter tour is excellent, the scene of the Great Barrier Reef from the helicopter is extremely great, I can go Kuranda and Great Barrier Reef on the same day, so I can save 1 day more to go elsewhere. The trip is so enjoyable.

Review by: steven p, Australia	January 2009
Good price, professional service, awesome trip, saw my first shark while snorkelling the reef, highly recommended!

Review by: Glenn N, United States of America	December 2008
This tour was outstanding! Everything has been thought of and cared for. It was a great way to see the rainforest and the reef on the same day. The boat crew were expecting us when we arrived via helicopter and made us feel perfectly comfortable as they brought us up to speed. Lunch was also great. I wholeheartedly recommend this tour for a full day of learning and fun.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	December 2008
Amazing is the word! Just brilliant!