Where is the best place to snorkel at Green Island?

Where is the best place to snorkel at Green Island? For colourful corals and abundant marine life, you need to go to the offshore fringing reefs. Located approximately 1.5km from the island itself, these reefs are easily accessed by tender transfer, or some day tour boats will moor here for the day.

Snorkelling on Green Island’s Offshore Reefs

Green Island’s offshore reefs lie in shallow waters (generally a maximum depth of around 8-10m). A combination of coral garden beds, walls and isolated bommies, these reefs are home to a diverse array of marine life.

Snorkelling conditions vary, pending weather and tide. At high tide, the reefs are a few metres beneath the surface, but at low tide, the corals can be just centimetres under the water.

What will you see? Snorkelling on Green Island’s fringing reefs you will see a combination of hard and soft corals, clams and sea cucumbers. Marine life will vary, but you may see turtles, reef sharks, feather stars and a variety of fish including coral trout, butterflyfish, angelfish, fusiliers, chromis, anemonefish, parrotfish, wrasse and more.

Can you snorkel from the beach at Green Island? Yes you can. Swimming and snorkelling are popular activities from Green Island’s beaches and one of them is patrolled by life savers for your protection. Please note that many of the beaches are surrounded by sea grass beds. This means there is not too much to see when snorkelling, although diligent snorkelers will see clams, triggerfish and a range of other little fishes swimming about.

Snorkelling under the jetty at Green Island

The best snorkelling from Green Island’s beaches is most certainly underneath the jetty. Here you can find an abundance of corals and marine life, approximately 60m from shore (around the ‘elbow’ of the jetty). Obviously exactly what you may see will vary, but might include stingrays, turtles, schools of snapper, rabbitfish, sweetlips, trevally and maybe even a large Queensland grouper.

The best place to enter the water for jetty snorkelling, is on the resort side of the jetty. Best time of day? It doesn’t really matter; this is a great snorkelling site high or low tide.

Please note: A range of boats come and go from Green Island jetty throughout the day. For your own safety, it is vital you stay on the resort side of the jetty. All of the boats moor and move on the other side. There are buoys in the water showing where it is safe to swim. Please be watchful of your surroundings.

Things to do on Green Island

Of course the 12 hectare Green Island offers visitors so much more than just snorkelling. This is a popular day tour choice from Cairns. It is the only Great Barrier Reef island to have reef and rainforest. It is home to a luxurious resort and has a range of island activities including parasailing, scenic helicopter flights, introductory and certified diving. Green Island also has a day spa and Crocodile Habitat.

Green Island is a coral cay. This means the island was created through an accumulation of sand and coral rubble, over thousands of years. The result is gently sloping beaches on a tropical island boasting sheltered, shallow waters full of a diverse array of marine life. This coral cay has been attracting visitors for decades and is in fact the place where glass bottom boats were invented. Named a national park in 1937, Green Island was listed as a marine park in 1974 and became a part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area in 1981.

You can visit this tropical island on a range of day tours or stay overnight at Green Island Resort.

Green Island Snorkelling FAQ