Take in a bounty of Melbourne’s highlights along the scenic Yarra River on this narrated sightseeing cruise. Spend a delightful hour aboard a riverboat as you glide under the Princes Bridge and past beautiful river gardens, Herring Island, the Melbourne Cricket Ground and other top cultural attractions.
Cruise past Melbourne's scenic gardens and parklands on this one-hour sightseeing cruise
Onboard commentary
Plenty of photo opportunities
What's Included
Complimentary tea and coffee
Live commentary on board
Hotel pickup and drop-off
No food or drinks are sold on board
Meeting And Pickup
Meeting point
Melbourne River Cruises
Berth 2, Southbank Promenade, Southbank VIC 3006, Australia
Berth No 2, Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct Landing.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.
What To Expect
Cruise up the Yarra River that winds through downtown Melbourne on this 1-hour sightseeing cruise. Take in the sights of lovely riverbank gardens and Herring Island from an outside sun deck or through panoramic windows from the inside cabin. Guided commentary will point out passing attractions and provide interesting tidbits of Melbourne’s history. Enjoy complimentary coffee and tea as you sit back, relax and watch the city go by.
Cruise Highlights Include: • Herring Island • Princes Bridge • The Governor's residence • Victorian Arts Center • Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) • Olympic Park • The Royal Botanic Gardens • National Tennis Center
Additional Info
Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Confirmation for this product will be received at time of booking
Cruise duration times and direction are approximate and subject to change, often due to tides and river traffic.
The boat is completely enclosed and windowed so that passengers won't be subject to the elements.
Restroom available on board
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
about cancellations.
Traveler Photos
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Featured review
Rosalie_S
Beautiful views of the city and very interesting to hear the history of some of the buildings. Highly recommend
Reviews
3.5
88 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 88 reviews
Great First Day Adventure
Bonnie_B, Jun 2023
First dayin Melbourne was a real treat on the Yarra River cruise. The historic narrative brought the riverside to life!
Wonderful
Will_A, Mar 2023
The captain shared lots of knowledge it was good to learn about the history along the Yarra. The captain kept very interesting.
very good
Diane_F, Mar 2023
unfortunately the gardens cruise cancelled to to festival, but the captain gave us a very good tour of the dock area and commentry very good. friendly, easy. thanks
Not Worth the Time
Gopi_P, Feb 2023
I found the experience completely lackluster. You can’t hear the tour guide in the back of the boat, there is no air circulation on the boat (it was an extremely hot day when we went). And you can’t seem much from the boat itself unless you stand outside because it’s lower to the ground. Would recommend just walking around vs. doing this not tour
Bad Experience
KinOn_C, Feb 2023
Boring and has been late for departure more than 30 minutes.
Bad experience, you might consider before buy a ticket.
See Melbourne float by
Rodger_P, Jan 2023
Great way to see Melbourne and surrounds in a pleasant and unique way. Good commentary as we floated along the river.
Average
Tomas_K, Jan 2023
I am very sorry to say but there was nothing to see and enjoyable. Nothing to offer. No scenic view. I didn't feel comfortable
Fantastic!
Rosalie_S, Jan 2023
Beautiful views of the city and very interesting to hear the history of some of the buildings. Highly recommend
Yarra River Cruise
Sophia_T, Jan 2023
My family was visiting from PNG and it was a beautiful day and they really enjoyed the river cruise. The crises went passed many iconic places such as MCG, Rod Laver Area, Royal Botanical Gardens, AAMI Park, great atmosphere on the boat, nice music, the commentary was very educational and enjoyable.
Great experience
Fiona_J, Jan 2023
We have done this cruise a few times and every time has been great!! Friendly staff and great views!
Better way to explore the...
Kasirajan_R, Dec 2022
Better way to explore the Yarra river by car or bicycle or walking path. By the Cruise not much to see.
Disgusting service
Soraja_T, Nov 2022
Terrible as our boat cruise was canceled by the boat company and Viator is refusing to give me a refund. I would never recommend this company to anyone. It ruined a beautiful weekend in Melbourne.
Nice trip
Maggie_S, Nov 2022
The cruise was nice, but no tea or coffee was served as they said it would be, but other than that it was good!
Excellent service
charles_g, Aug 2022
This is the first time my daughter and I came on this cruise excellent service very nice 🙏🙏🙏 if I had the chance I would do it again for sure
Okay
Nathalia_B, Jul 2022
The tour it self was ok. But there was water leakage inside the boat.
The boat needs a bit of care!!!!
Beautiful experience!
Fayaz_M, Jun 2022
Beautiful sightseeing experience! Loved a bit of history lesson about low bridges. Commentator was funny and professional.
No go
Sylvio_P, May 2022
Leaking windows, the captain is too lazy yo open his mouth while talking, you can feel he doesn't want to be there as well.
1 traveler found this review helpful
A lot of fun
Rismanthy_A, May 2022
This is the first experience for me and my son he looked so excited and we had a lot of fun, will book for another journey from you viator :)
1 traveler found this review helpful
Not worth it!!
SAJITHRAJAPPAN_R, May 2022
Had high expectations but it's was not worth it. The commentary was fun. Only the staffs who were inside the boat seemed friendly.
Great and the best budget choice.
Lvia_F, Apr 2022
It is an amazing trip, with beautiful views. Just the boat that doesn´t have much infrastructure. It is very simple, a normal ferry. But still very nice and beautiful trip!
The cruise is nice, we...
DivpreetSingh, Apr 2022
The cruise is nice, we had issues with the boat which meant we had to wait in the rain for 15-20 minutes.
1 traveler found this review helpful
Great views
shalveen_k, Mar 2022
The views along the Yarra was amazing 😻 will definitely do it again when we return to Melbourne soon
In these times of doom and gloom it was refreshing
Salome_D, Apr 2021
The cruise pilot and the lady at the kiosk (ticket counter) had a great sense of humour. Very informative and pleasant to listen to. Service with a smile
Response from Host, May 2021
Hi,
Thank you for your review! Glad you were able to enjoy the cruise. We're glad we were able to provide you with an enjoyable service!
Come visit us again soon!
Just ok.
Tania_M, Mar 2021
As locals we thought this would be fun. Not only was the time of our cruise changed with no notification but our route too. Lovely views of the industrial areas along the river. Advertised as a garden river tour. No tea or coffee.
Crew captain was amazing...
Doreen_V, Mar 2021
Crew captain was amazing thank u for ur service please keep up the great work my son an I enjoyed the cruise gonna do it again
Response from Host, Apr 2021
Hello Doreen!
Thank you so much for your positive feedback! We're glad you enjoyed your sightseeing cruise, and we will make sure to pass your positive comments to our crew captain! Visit us again soon with your son!
Fun
Sally_T, Jun 2020
On our trip we went down river towards the port. It was lots of fun.
My 5 year old grandson loved it!
The driver of the boat gave an interesting overview of the history of the area.
One hour was a good amount of time to spend.
No Gardens
Desiree_V, Jan 2020
It is rather a misnomer, because we didn't see any gardens. It was interesting to see how much had been improved along the Yarra & fortunately the weather was good.
You can do it once. The round trip...
DeepthiChandan_S, Nov 2016
You can do it once. The round trip is just 45 mins. Try the willamstown ferry for a better and longer cruise on the Yarra. The tour guide was quite informative though. Melbourne river cruises office itself has some rude staff and can be unhelpful with their daily changing times, so call ahead.
They changed the route for our tour...
Donna W, Jun 2016
They changed the route for our tour due to a big celebration going on that day, but was still very nice!
We were surprised at how much we...
Mary K, Mar 2016
We were surprised at how much we enjoyed the cruise, so much so that we bought tickets to do the other cruise, down towards Docklands. I would definitely recommend this to anyone.