The Best Boats for Couples
Loved up and looking for an escape from the maddening crowd? Whether you’re honeymooning, holidaying with a top-secret plan to propose, celebrating an anniversary, or you’re simply wanting to show your special someone just how special they are, Cairns has a fleet of ships just waiting to sweep you off your feet. From sunset cruises to snorkelling trips and liveaboards, there’s a boat for every couple and every occasion. So, set a course for adventure and climb aboard a love boat!
Sunset Cruises
Sunset cruises are among the most magical, breathtaking date night - or proposal - spots in Cairns. We can't think of a better place to wine and dine your honey than with the backdrop of a setting sun casting its golden hour glow over the glittering waters of the ocean. Swoon!
Spirit of Cairns Sunset Cruise
- Departs: 6pm
- Returns: 9pm
- From: Cairns Marlin Marina
Sail into the sunset with your boo on Spirit of Cairns stunning afternoon dinner cruise - drink on arrival included! Board the 26 metre luxury catamaran and retreat to the dimly lit and fully air conditioned interior or feel the fresh ocean breeze in your hair on the deck’s waterside dining. On board, you'll be treated to a phenomenal menu of aphrodisiacal canapés succulent mains, and light and fresh desserts. There’s also an option for a set menu if you’d rather spend the evening hopelessly devoted to your special someone.
Sailaway Island Sunset Cruise
- Departs: 5pm
- Returns: 6.30pm
- From: Sailaway Reef & Island Tours, Wharf Street, Port Douglas
Watch the glorious Cairns sunset twinkle in your lovers eye as you feast on the chef’s best dishes aboard the Sailaway Sunset Cruise. Treat yourself to exquisite appetisers as you acclimatise to the gentle rock of the boat. The dinner menu is subject to change, so we hope you like surprises! Let the chefs do the work as you gorge on delicious mains and sensational views of the Daintree Mountains in the west and the glittering Coral Sea in the east.
Day Trips
Embark on a journey to the one and only Great Barrier Reef with the love of your life. This is an unmissable experience for honeymooners and anniversary celebrants — one simply cannot come to Cairns and not explore the underwater wonderland of the reef! So come make a splash and some very special, unforgettable memories.
Reef Daytripper
- Departs: 7.45am
- Returns: 4.45pm
- From: D Finger at Marlin Marina Cairns
With a limited capacity of 20 people, you’re sure to make some magic memories with your honey as you spend an intimate day sailing to Upolu Reef and exploring its underwater treasures. As you dive into the deep blue hand in hand with the love of your life, discover giant clams, vibrant clownfish and sea stars, anemones and sea turtles. Come up for air to enjoy an inclusive lunch, afternoon tea and a refreshing glass of wine. The Reef Daytripper also has the lowest carbon footprint of any Cairns operator — an added bonus for your other lover, Mother Earth.
Evolution Reef Cruise Gold Class
- Departs: 8am
- Returns: 4pm
- From: Reef Fleet Terminal, Cairns
This is a next level experience for those really wanting to woo their special someone. It’s all in the title: Gold Class. Expect to be waited on by the amazing and attentive crew as you cruise to two stunning reef sites on a 35-metre superyacht. Enjoy a sensational BBQ lunch including mouthwatering local prawns and fish in the luxury private lounge as the serene seascapes pass you by. When it’s time to make a splash, submerge into the splendour of Saxon and Norman Reefs, teeming with technicolour wonders. Both incredible dive sites with perks for snorkellers and scuba divers: glide over forests of rainbow staghorn corals and bommies before soaring off the edge of dramatic drop-offs. Swim alongside eclectic blue and neon orange nudibranchs, majestic hawksbill turtles, and gigantic, big-lipped Maori wrasse.
The Evolution Reef Cruise includes a semi-submerisive reef tour where you’ll descend into the reef in a glass case without getting wet, all while getting the lowdown on all of the creatures and corals that call the Great Barrier Reef home. You can even elevate your date to the max with an added chopper ride and see the reef from above!
Liveaboards
If one day on the reef with your lover simply isn’t enough, climb aboard a 4-day, 4-night snorkelling getaway for a next level Great Barrier Reef experience! Magical things happen at sea, so why not ditch the mainland and get the love boat a’rockin — if you know what we mean.
Spirit of Freedom 4-Day, 4-Night
- Departs: 8.30am, Sunday
- Returns: 8.00am, Thursday
Kickoff this luxurious getaway with a scenic flight over the Coral Sea to Lizard Island, where your water chariot awaits. Board the Spirit of Freedom for four days of bliss and embark on up to five dives a day — thats up to twenty-five dives total! Your diving destinations include several sites in the pristine Ribbon Reefs, home to the world famous Cod Hole, as well as Osprey Reef, Steve’s Bommie, Temple of Doom, Flare Point and Bougainville Reef. Spirit of Freedom is recommended for advanced divers, but also welcomes experienced snorkelers — so no stress if you don’t have your diving cert! On top of all of the day dives, you’ll also have the rare opportunity to explore the reef by night. See the reef transform into a vastly different world as the sun sinks below the horizon and the more elusive sea creatures like moray eels, crayfish, decorator crabs and egg cowry shells come out to play.
Mike Ball Fly and Dive, 4-Day, 4-Night
- Departs: 6.00pm, Thursday
- Returns: 11.00am, Monday
Your home for the next four days will be the Spoilsport, and make no mistake — you will be spoiled rotten! This one’s for diving enthusiasts, so don your stingersuit and flippers and plunge into an underwater world of unparalleled delights. Spend day one swimming with the big friendly potato cod at Cod Hole and — if you’re diving in winter and get lucky — even catch a glimpse of dwarf minke whales in winter, and return to the water at night for your first night dive of the week! Over the next three days, discover thrilling reefscapes of caves, overhangs and dense, vertical coral gardens. Keep your lover close as you swim flipper to fin with whitetips, slivertips, hammerheads and grey whalers at Osprey Reef. Over the course of the week you’ll be wined and dined on champagne and delicious meals prepared by a private chef — ooh la!
