Local Living Tours & Trips in Great Barrier Reef

Aboriginal guides at Nyanda Waterhole Reserve lead a bush walk revealing traditional food sources and medicine plants used for generations. Head to Beachcomber Island for Fijian cultural activities including Kokoda cooking classes, basket weaving demonstrations, and turtle feeding conservation programs. Wander through 71 habitat exhibits at Cairns Aquarium with presentations on rare species from rainforest waterways to the Great Barrier Reef's depths.

Visit Aboriginal communities at Wujal Wujal near the Bloomfield River and Thursday Island, capital of Torres Strait Islands. Stay overnight at Bramwell Station, Australia's northernmost cattle outpost, getting a taste of genuine outback hospitality. Grab a cold beer at the well-known Lion's Den Hotel in historic Coen and see traditional mining life with optional Weipa bauxite tours.

Visit Langmorn Station cattle property where the Creed family shares stories of outback living since 1873, then check out beef capital Rockhampton. See the Sarina Sugar Shed's heritage with hands-on tours of sugarcane production and sample regional specialties. Stay at an eco-resort in K'gari's ancient sand rainforest and snorkel the UNESCO-listed Great Barrier Reef from a permanently moored pontoon at the outer reef.

Snorkel among 1,500+ fish species and six marine turtle varieties at the UNESCO-listed Great Barrier Reef from a catamaran cruise. Check out Kuranda village's rainforest markets via historic Kuranda Scenic Railway, descending through ancient canopy on Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. Dine at Cairns' Salt House on Argentinian wood-fired seafood caught that morning from Coral Sea waters.

Cruise aboard a catamaran to the UNESCO-listed Great Barrier Reef, where 1,500 fish species and 30 dolphin species inhabit the world's largest living organism spanning 2,300 kilometers. Snorkel among 3,000 mollusk species and six of the world's seven marine turtle species, or view the kaleidoscope of coral from an underwater observatory. Have a tropical buffet lunch onboard featuring fresh Queensland seafood before returning to Cairns' Esplanade, where you'll dine at Salt House with dishes prepared on their Argentinian wood-fired grill.

Board a catamaran to the Outer Great Barrier Reef, spanning over 3,000 individual reefs and 1,250 miles of coral, where you can snorkel among tropical fish or take glass-bottom-boat tours. Attend marine biologist presentations and watch fish feeding at the underwater observatory, seeing the colorful variety in this World Heritage site. Ride the scenic railway or cable car through World-Heritage-listed tropical rainforest canopy to Kuranda's market town, getting into Australia's natural environment and local culture.