Four catamaran departures a day leave the north bank of the Brisbane River at Pinkenba for the Tangalooma jetty, 75 minutes away on Moreton Island. Only overnight guests and day-cruise passengers of the resort may travel, and nobody brings a car: the vehicle barge sails from the Port of Brisbane, on the south bank.
Daily timetable transcribed on 7 October 2026 from Tangalooma Island Resort's ferry page; the same times appear in the resort's general brochure and on its luggage, bus and day-cruise pages. The late boat's window changes on 15 November Tangalooma Island Resort – Moreton Island Ferry Times & Information · 2026-10-07
Moreton Island, Mulgumpin to its Quandamooka Traditional Owners, lies about 40 kilometres off the Brisbane coast, across Moreton Bay. On the side that faces the city is Tangalooma, a resort whose name, it says, comes from an Aboriginal word for the place where the fish gather. The launch that serves it does not leave from central Brisbane. It starts at Holt Street Wharf, 220 Holt Street, Pinkenba, on the north bank of the Brisbane River, about ten minutes' drive from the airport, and runs straight across the bay to the Tangalooma jetty in about 75 minutes.
The traditional landowners' own camping service lists two separate boats from Brisbane, and the difference matters. The vehicle barge, MICAT, uses the south bank at the Port of Brisbane and carries cars to the beach by the Wrecks. The Tangalooma launch, from the north bank, is passengers only, and it is meant for Tangalooma guests and day trippers only. The resort is private property and no longer sells a casual day pass: you board either as an overnight guest with a transfer booked, or on one of its day cruises.
Four boats a day go each way. From Holt Street they leave at 7:30am, 10:00am, 12:30pm and 5:30pm; from the island at 9:30am, 2:30pm and 4:00pm, plus a late boat that waits for the evening dolphin feeding to finish.
There are two ways to buy a seat, and the right one hinges on where you spend the night. Overnight guests pay the return transfer; anyone going for the day travels on a day cruise, which bundles the same boats with resort access and a lunch voucher. In May 2026 the guest transfer was $94 for adults and $50 for children; the $10 fuel surcharge added on 1 June explains today's $104 and $60.
| Adult | $ 104 |
| Child 3–14 | $ 60 |
| Infant 0–2 | Free |
| Adult | $ 109 |
| Child 3–14 | $ 79 |
| Wharf car park, per day | $ 20 |
| Wharf car park, per week | $ 80 |
| STA shuttle from Brisbane hotels, each way | $ 25 |
| STA shuttle from Gold Coast hotels, each way | $ 50 |
Fares published by Tangalooma Island Resort and read on 7 October 2026; the guest transfer includes a $10 fuel surcharge applied from 1 June 2026, the Beach Day Cruise a $10 surcharge shown as running until 31 January 2027 Tangalooma Island Resort – ferry times, transfer prices and Beach Day Cruise · 2026-10-07
From Pinkenba the catamarans head down the river and out across Moreton Bay, a marine park since 1993, to the island's western shore, about 40 kilometres off the Brisbane coast. Just to the north of the resort lie the Tangalooma Wrecks, where the island's vehicle barge, MICAT, lands its cars. For other ways out to Queensland's sand islands, compare the barge-and-permit routine at Inskip Point or the passenger boats to Minjerribah from Cleveland.
Holt Street runs off Kingsford Smith Drive and ends at the resort's wharf, about ten minutes by car from Brisbane Airport. No bus or train goes there, so you either drive, take a taxi or book the shuttle. The fenced car park costs $20 a day or $80 a week, is paid for with a token from the Ticket Hut on arrival and cannot be reserved.
From the jetty, new arrivals head straight to reception to check in. Guests staying in resort-managed rooms find their bags delivered to the door; those in private houses collect them from the nearest luggage bay.
The resort counts as private property. Campers, four-wheel drivers, people on private boats and visitors from other island townships are classed as casual visitors and are not allowed onto the grounds, cafés or shops.
Overnight guests may check in one bag of up to 20 kilograms plus one carry-on each. Extra or oversized pieces, kayaks and paddleboards included, are charged by the resort, and alcohol may not be brought on board or onto the island.
STA's coaches meet the 10:00am boat from selected Brisbane and Gold Coast hotels and wait for the 4:00pm and late boats on the way back. They must be prepaid; the Brisbane run costs $25 a person each way, the Gold Coast run $50.
The barge lands at the northern end of the Wrecks, close to a 30-minute walk along the sand from reception, and the resort does not collect guests from it. With a four-wheel drive you can park free at the resort's north or south car park.
Three aluminium catamarans share the work. The Tangalooma Flyer, built in 1982 for up to 180 passengers, was the resort's first; by its owners' count it has carried more than three and a half million people across the bay. The Tangalooma Jet, a 40-metre wave piercer built in Cairns, arrived in Brisbane in July 2001 after a sixteen-day delivery voyage from Japan and takes up to 340. The Reef Cat, 28 metres long and refitted in 2024 with a bar and an accessible bathroom on the lower deck, takes 300. A landing barge, not open to passengers, ferries the resort's food and supplies.
The late boat is the timetable's oddity, and the reason many day visitors come. Tangalooma's best-known ritual is the hand-feeding of wild dolphins at dusk, so the last departure is set by the animals rather than the clock: the operator will only promise a one-hour window. Day cruisers who want to stay for it book the extended version of the cruise. Those who leave on the 4:00pm boat are back at Pinkenba at about 5:30pm, in time for the hotel shuttle.
Only on one of the resort's day cruises. The casual day pass has been discontinued, and anyone without an official booking, including campers and private boaties, is barred from the resort. The standard Beach Day Cruise costs $109 for adults and $79 for children aged 3 to 14.
From Holt Street Wharf, 220 Holt Street, Pinkenba, at the end of Holt Street off Kingsford Smith Drive. It is not the Port of Brisbane terminal used by the MICAT vehicle barge, which is on the other bank of the river.
7:30am from Holt Street, followed by 10:00am, 12:30pm and 5:30pm. Check-in opens at least an hour before each sailing.
The return transfer costs $104 for adults and $60 for children aged 3 to 14; infants up to 2 travel free. Both prices include the $10 fuel surcharge added on 1 June 2026.
After the evening dolphin feeding. Between 1 April and 14 November it usually goes between 7:00pm and 8:00pm, and from 15 November to 31 March between 7:30pm and 8:30pm.
No. The launch carries people and luggage only. Four-wheel drives cross on the MICAT barge from the Port of Brisbane, which lands near the Wrecks, north of the resort.
Yes, a fenced open-air car park at $20 a day or $80 a week, paid with a token on arrival. It cannot be pre-booked and there are no refunds.