K’gari day tour

If you’re planning an unforgettable adventure, the K’gari day tour should be at the top of your list.

Travelling along the east coast of Australia, there is one thing you should not miss out on! A trip to the largest sand island of the world, K’gari island. One of the most stunning places I’ve ever been to. Clear blue water, white sand beaches, freshwater lakes, amazing forest landscapes and home to native wildlife. A place to reconnect with nature. Let’s see how a day trip to K’gari island can look like!

About K’gari Island

The largest sand island in the world is located on the east coast of Australia. To be precise, it lies about 300 km north of Brisbane. According to queensland.com, the island measures 123 km in length and 22 km in width. Running the length of the island once would cover almost the same distance as three full marathons or the length of Los Angeles. K’gari island has so much to offer. To keep it short I’ll show you a few of my favourite fun facts, which I found on fraser-tours.com. I can highly recommend their post „10 Fun Facts About K’gari (Fraser Island)“, if you want to get more information and details.

• History: On the island lived an Aboriginal group, called Butchella People. They had a very close connection to the land, and called the island K’gari which means „paradise“.
• K’gari or Fraser Island?: Searching for K’gari island, you might have realised that it’s often connected to the name „Fraser island“. After we learned that the original name was formed by the Butchella people, European settlers renamed the island to „Fraser“. Out of respect to the traditional owners, government decided to change the islands name back to K’gari. I remember that shortly after our trip to K’gari the name was changed – this was in June 2023, not too long ago.
• Wildlife: There is plenty of special wildlife on K’gari. Wild dingoes, birds and reptiles have found their home in the rainforest and the freshwater lakes – our tour guide, for example, warned us about frogs, snakes, or sometimes even crocodiles. Also the ocean that surrounds K’gari is filled with turtles, fishes, colourful corals, rays, dolphins, dugongs, sharks and whales.
• Sand Highway: To get around the island you have only one option, a 4WD. Due to the non existing streets, you have to drive on the sand, which is on one hand difficult, but on the other the most unique experience you can get. The longest coast line forms the official sand highway.
• Rainforests: K’gari island is one of the few places where rainforests grow in the sand.
• Lakes: On the island are over 40 freshwater lakes located. The clear water is not only drinkable, through the minerals it’s also really good for your hair.

Book a Tour

As long as you don’t have a 4WD car and experience in off-road driving, I’d highly recommend to book a guided tour for this adventure. There are many different offers online that feature various itineraries, durations, and price ranges. To find out which one fits your expectations, search through a few of the offers and take the one where you feel most comfortable with. Tips for your booking:

• Booking: To find all the guided tours a few apps/websites can be helpful. Get your Guide, Viator, Tripadvisor, K’gari Fraser Island Adventures, Kgari Tours, K’gari Explorer Tours and so on. Compare between the Websites and find the deal that fits your expectations.
• Duration: Depending on the time you have available for your journey, you can choose a K’gari day tour, which starts at just 2 hours and can extend up to three days. The more time you have, the more you’ll see. A lot of backpackers love to take the three day tour. It’s a great time to get to know the other travellers and have a fun time in paradise. If you didn’t plan to stay for such a long time, don’t worry! The day trips are absolutely worth it and a good way to get to know the island and it’s beauty.
• Finances: Depending on the package you booked, the prices vary between 50€ up to 450€. It can even be more or less, there are a few providers that are even more expensive, I’d recommend looking in this price range.
• Itinerary: If you have the time I would recommend to take a full K’gari day tour. Everything below will only have a few stops, which can be fun, but don’t involve the island experience. The most important thing to pay attention to before you plan it, is where your starting point should be. A lot of tours offer free shuttles from different locations, like the Rainbow Beach. If you take a day trip I would start at Hervey Bay.

What to Expect – About my Experience

We booked our tour with Viator – it was the Remote Fraser Island Experience. *This is not sponsored or anything, I want to tell you about our experience, so I tried to find the same offer again:) You’ll find it in the following link:

https://www.viator.com/tours/Fraser-Island/Fraser-Island-Day-Trip-from-Hervey-Bay/d366-6014REMOTE

How to get to the meeting point:

Our trip began (and ended) in Hervey Bay, right at the hostel where the shuttle was waiting for us. There is a designated area for the free shuttle, which picks you up directly from your hostel, hotel, campground, or wherever you’re staying. If you’re outside this area, additional costs may apply, or you have to go directly to the meeting point at the harbour.

The time on boat:

There is an indoor area to sit and relax, though most of us spent our time on the top deck, enjoying the views and the ocean breeze. The trip included several stops where we spent time exploring and discovering the area. Between those stops, we had plenty of time on the boat—time to chat, get to know the other people, listen to the information provided by our tour guide, and admire the views. Food was included in the trip, which was great since we spent about 9 and a half hours on K’gari Island. During the booking, you can specify your dietary preferences if you avoid certain foods. I mentioned that I was vegetarian, which was no problem at all. Now, as a vegan, I’m even more curious to see if there would be options, but I suppose I’ll just have to find out.

Activities:

• Enjoy the Views from the Boat and Look Out for Dolphins or Whales: While cruising around on the boat, you’ll travel along the island, offering great views of the beaches, the different colours of sand, sandy hills, and the rainforest. On the other side, keep an eye out for dolphins, turtles, or even whales. Spotting a whale requires a bit of luck, so if that’s something you want to experience, plan your trip during whale season for the best chance. This tour doesn’t specifically include whale watching, so luck plays a big role. However, there are dedicated tours in the same area that focus on whale watching and spend more time searching for them.
• Snorkelling, Kayaking and Tubing in the Ocean: We had time to snorkel around, which was one of my favourite moments of the day. We saw a lot of small and huge turtles, rays, fishes, corals and even a shark (far away though, so no worries). It was really nice. Whenever you had enough of snorkelling, you could just pick a kayak and paddle to the island. Taking a walk along the beach, swimming in the ocean, and exploring the rainforest feels magical, as the nature here seems so untouched. Another special activity was tubing, which was so much fun and a huge adrenaline kick.
• Kayaking, Walking up the Hills and Swimming on the Island: After the kayaks were brought to the island, we could paddle to one of the freshwater lakes. It was another moment where the nature was just stunning – paddling through the rainforest with the clear water beneath us, which was drinkable! Loved it. We climbed one of the sand hills to experience a breathtaking lookout. Looking over the island, there was rainforest everywhere. On the other side, the ocean views were impressive. To cool off, we took a dip in another freshwater lake. Everyone enjoyed the water, listened to some music, and cheered for the people jumping in from the wooden swing. It was the perfect end to this K’gari day tour.

K’gari island has so much to offer and there are so many ways to experience it. Writing about our trip and thinking back on my experience, I really want to go back right now! I can highly recommend it, don’t miss out and visit K’gari island if you have the chance.