Southern Moreton Bay Islands: Visit for Cheap from Brisbane!
Can you believe Matt and I spent a measly $1 each on a Southern Moreton Bay Islands trip from Brisbane? And, In this blog below, I’ll show you how you can do it, too.
As a local to Brisbane, I’m shocked that I haven’t done this before. So, I have to thank one of my lovely YouTube subscribers who commented on a prior video, suggesting that we give it a go.
While the Bay Islands are not as pretty as somewhere like Moreton Island or North Stradbroke Island, they are still worth it for the budget-friendly cost, a lovely swimming location to get you out of the house, and a way to explore the local area.
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How to Get to the Southern Moreton Bay Islands Marina?
The Southern Moreton Bay Islands Ferry and Redland Bay Marina is located at Redland Bay.
- Coming from the North, this will lead into Hamilton Street and Cross over Banana Street, or
- coming from the South, Meissner Street into Banana Street.
Either way, it will lead you into the rather large car park. However, please don’t confuse this with the car and private transport to the same Islands close by, as these cost more.
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If you need a visual or don’t want to read the article, then you can click below to watch Matt and I experience the Bay Islands first-hand below!
I find it best to drive my own car to the Marina, and there are heaps of parking, which, luckily, is free. But the Car park can get packed with daily commuters, and you might need to walk a bit.
Your alternative is using public transport, and the Bus drop off point is right beside the Ferry Terminal. You can use bus numbers 280 or 282 from the South or 250 from the north or staying in the city. More than likely, you’ll need to connect to different bus services to get there.
If you need help understanding the whole process, please click here for my public transport video on how to use the app & Go-card system.
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Using the Southern Moreton Bay Islands Ferry
The Redland Bay Marina Ferry will leave every 15 to 30 minutes in the mornings and afternoons. They stretch out a bit in the middle of the day, but still pretty frequent.
You can use the same Brisbane Public Transport TransLink app to check times, or there are timetable boards printed at every ferry pier.
But, they start as early as 5am to 6am from the Marina and can get as late as 8pm to 11pm. However, this all depends on whether you’re travelling Mon to Friday or on Weekends.
But the best part, is this doesn’t need to be booked in advance. So, you can randomly go when the weather is good, or you have some spare time.
This is called the SMBI Ferry, or Southern Moreton Bay Island Ferry.
You can just simply use the tap-on and tap-off system with your Go-card or smart ticketing device for an adult fare as you walk on and off the ferry. More Importantly, each person (including children) will need there own card or device.
You have storage areas for large bags, and I did see some restrictions to larger items. But, If you’re on a day trip like us, you shouldn’t have any issues.
You’re also inside the bay, so waves are minimal, and it only took us about 15 minutes to get to our first island, Karragarra. So, this was our first stop for the day
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Note: Please feel free to compare places like Moreton Island or Stradbroke Island. While they are more expensive to get to, they service more tourists than the Bay Islands mentioned in todays post.
Karragarra Island
Karragarra was recommended to us as one of the best swimming areas near Brisbane. Honestly, I would have to agree, out of all the Islands we visited today.
There is a netted area sectioned off for swimming. I’m presuming, to protect you from sharks in the bay. But, it also segregates the boat traffic and barges carrying Vehicles to and from the Island.
Honestly, you could dip in the water anywhere along this beach, but it’s a gradual walk into the water and not very deep. So, there could be too much distance from shore to get into the deeper parts.
If anything, I suggest if you’re planning for a swimming day, try to get to Karragarra on a high tide for a deeper area for adults to swim or stand up in. But know that kids can still swim on the shallow sandy areas towards the edges.
Still, it’s easy to get a cool off in the summer heat, or you could bring a snorkel and see what fish life you can see.
There are only a couple of hundred people living on Karragarra Island itself, and at 2.4 square kilometres in size, it’s the smallest of the three we’ll be visiting today.
Since we’re walking around, there isn’t much close to the pier here except the swimming, or walking around the beach to check out the mangroves.
But conveniently, there is a large, covered BBQ area, picnic tables by the beach for a lunch spread and septic pump toilets.
It might also be handy to bring some insect repellent as we were bitten outside of the water, but I think this depends on the season and weather.
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Macleay Island
After waiting about 15 minutes, we jumped back on the ferry and whipped across the bay to Macleay Island. This only took about five minutes to cross.
Macleay Island is the second largest of the Bay Islands. It’s about 6.4 square Kilometres in size and has an estimated three and a half thousand people living there.
Luckily, the main area of the island is a 5-minute walk up the hill from the ferry terminal.
Towards the left side is the local SPAR grocery store, Kopasz & Curly Cafe or Coffee Shop and the Australia Post centre. Since we were leaving lunch for our next island, Matt picked up his coffee from here. But, it looked like a lovely spot for a light meal.
I also whipped into the post office to grab a Macleay Island sticker, which I’ll turn into a magnet for my wall at home.
Next, it was checking out the cute 8th Sense kitchen and purchasing one of their gelato ice creams. (this was also what my subscriber recommended to us.)
I must say, it was well worth it too.
I tried the mango and hocus pocus flavours, and Matt picked up the chocolate. It’s a shame we couldn’t have tried more, but I guess I’ll have to leave that for next time.
There were lots of people and cars coming and going, so it might be a good choice to bring a car or scooter over for a day. I did see a shared vehicle picking people up from the ferry, so it might be handy to look into if you have further to go.
Plus, you could bring over a Push Bike to get you around. Surprisingly, most Brisbane Public Transport will allow you to take this for free, pending available space.
I’m sure there are other areas to explore on the Island, but while we were walking, we were done in about an hour. However, if you want to hang out for a bit, there could be some fishing opportunities or an art gallery.
Russell Island
After that it was back on the ferry and headed over to our next stop, Russell Island, via Lamb Island. We didn’t stop at Lamb island today, as I couldn’t see much to do there.
As for Russell Island, it is 30 square kilometres in size and close to four thousand people live there.
It’s the biggest island of the three and because of that it, I’m sure there is probably heaps more to explore on the island. We did see a rideshare or taxi option at the ferry again, so that could help if you have somewhere specific to go.
About 5 minutes up the road, you have a small supermarket and shopping centre with the Local IGA groceries. Café Memory Lane was in this area and our lunch stop today, which had a variety of food to choose from.
I ended up with a seafood platter, which was massive with barramundi, calamari, prawns and squid. And Matt had the chicken burger. They have a few items for an All day breakfast and of course, your coffee and light snacks or pastry’s.
Both our meals were really delectable, and we found it a lovely café to chill out for a bit.
Apart from that, you have a few walking trails, a Conservation Park for wildlife and especially birds, plus a couple of historical sites. You could easily spend some more time here, especially if you have a way to get around.
This is where the push bike could come in handy to bring with you. But, I would trial this in an off-peak period to ensure you can get the Push bike onboard the ferry.
Why Is this trip from Brisbane so cheap?
Now, the reason why it’s so cheap has to do with the 50 cent Brisbane public transport fares that were brought in August 2024.
More importantly, since this ferry runs between the 4 Southern Moreton Bay islands of Karragarra, Macleay, Lamb and Russell Island, you only need to tap on and off when going to and from the mainland.
This means swapping between the 4 islands is actually FREE. At least, this is what the attendant told me.
Therefore, If you’re travelling on a budget-friendly Brisbane itinerary, this could be a nice addition to add for a half day, or a full day trip from Brisbane.
My Best tips for visiting!
Ultimately, To make the most of your day trip to the Moreton Bay Islands, my tips would be:
- Check the ferry Timetable in advance to plan your trip and ensure you have ample time to explore each island. This includes the internal times from Island to Island.
- Bring a hat, sunscreen, and plenty of water, as the Queensland sun can be quite intense, especially in the summer.
- Wear comfortable walking shoes, especially if you plan to explore the nature trails and historical sites. We were fine in thongs, but we also didn’t explore much past the Island piers.
- Pack a picnic or snacks to enjoy on the beach, but also take advantage of the island’s culinary delights.
Wrap up!
After that, we were back on the ferry and making our way home. But with the affordable ferry service, swimming spots, foodie delights and welcoming community, you might want to consider a day trip to the Southern Moreton Bay Islands from Brisbane for your next getaway.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for other things to do, please check out my other Brisbane articles for inspiration and research.
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