Advertisement
South Pacific
Australia
Queensland
Brisbane Region
Brisbane
Things to do in Brisbane
River City Cruises

River City Cruises

See all things to do
River City Cruises
4.5
#5 of 42 Boat Tours & Water Sports in Brisbane
Boat Tours
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
8:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Full view
About
River City Cruises offers a cost effective, relaxing and informative perspective of Brisbane’s distinctive river scene for both locals and visitors with its year-round cruises. Don’t leave town without doing at least one tour! River City Cruises is the original and best sightseeing cruise on the Brisbane River. During the 1.5 hr guided tour, you will be entertained by the informative commentary while taking advantage of the fantastic photo opportunities as we cruise past Brisbane’s most iconic sights including the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, City Centre and the Story Bridge. You will see, we’re not called the RIVER CITY for nothing. The departure location in Southbank a short walk from public transport and the duration of the cruise allows plenty of time for other sightseeing activities • More than just “a trip on the river” you will be surprised by our colourful history and local legends •Perfect way to see the best of Brisbane • Convenient departure location Southbank • Licensed Bar
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Awards
Travellers' Choice
2024
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Tours and Tickets by River City Cruises
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
See More Tours
Travellers talk about

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,405 reviews
Excellent
1,042
Very good
286
Average
54
Poor
12
Terrible
11
NZTraveller20
Te Anau, New Zealand365 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Well worth a tour
Jan 2020
Loved our cruise down the river and back. The commentary is interesting and was a good balance of history and information on ownership of the various properties along the way.
The cafe and bar on board add the icing on the cake for making this a great trip
Written 21 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
River City Cruises
Thank you so much for the review. We love showing off Brisbane to visitors from all over the world!
Written 4 February 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Dan R
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Great cruise
Jan 2023 • Couples
Booking.com gave us a wrong address the lady at the cruise department was just amazing helping us change the time and get to the destination where we were supposed to be she rang to check up on us to see how we were travelling and in the correct spot.
The boat crew were just incredible and friendly definitely recommend doing.
Written 29 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
River City Cruises
We are so sorry about the mix up with the cruise but are so glad we could accommodate you and get you on board to enjoy the cruise. Thank you for your outstanding review! Much appreciated, River City Cruises Team
Written 2 February 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
sexi_fish
Lancashire, UK48 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Beautiful evening cruise
Aug 2020 • Couples
I went on the sunset cruise with my boyfriend + it was worth every penny! We got to see absolutely beautiful views of Brisbane at night all lit up. We were provided with free snacks (crackers, cheese, salami, sausage, tomatoes, strawberries) + there was also a reasonably priced bar on board. The two gentlemen running the cruise were very lovely, friendly men who were so welcoming from the offset. I really enjoyed this cruise + would absolutely recommend to anyone visiting Brisbane! :)
Written 8 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
William C
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Perfect !
Mar 2023 • Couples
A truly memorable experience
We were kept in stitches with the Guide’s cleverly put together dialogue timed perfectly.
It made the tour that much better than what I have been used to, on other river cruises.
Well done , River City Cruises
Written 26 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sandra H
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
River aspect of Brisbane
Sept 2023 • Friends
The River Cruise we took in Brisbane was an interesting and worthwhile experience. Viewing the city from the river provided aspects of the area that surprised us. The commentary was clear and and provided just enough information in short bursts allowing time to chat about what we saw.
The journey was very smooth and the departure point easy to find.Staff very friendly.
Written 18 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mohsen
1 contribution
2.0 of 5 bubbles
I will not recommend to anyone.
Dec 2022 • Couples
The variety of food should be more (at least 2 items)
The interior design needs to improve a lot. It was boring rather than exciting.
The customer service was great. The staff were friendly.

Overall, it worth not more than $20 per person.
Written 17 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
River City Cruises
Good morning, Our apologies that you thought the cruise was not up to standard. This is marketed as a leisure river cruise and caters to passengers looking for a relaxing experience. We keep our morning tea's simple as to reduce waste and not overwhelm customers, this is a complimentary service we offer. The boat, M V Neptune was made in the 60's hence the aged interior, we are looking for ways to modernize while not loosing the heritage and story of the vessel. We appreciate your feedback and the time taken and will consider all that you have mentioned.
Written 20 December 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Fliss
7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Fantastic for all ages
Jan 2023 • Couples
I took my elderly parents on the morning tea cruise. It was relatively easy for them to board without causing mobility issues. Staff were excellent and commentary was clearly heard and very informative. We all thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and would recommend it to anyone
Written 1 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
River City Cruises
Thanks so much for your review Felicity, and thanks for recommending us to your friends. We're so happy that you enjoyed your experience with us.
Written 4 February 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ningaui
45 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Leisurely cruise revealing Brisbane’s past and future
Nov 2022 • Couples
Charming boat with friendly crew. A leisurely cruise down the Brisbane river providing an interesting perspective on the city and its development. Information on the indigenous place names was interesting.

It would be good to have more depth in the commentary on the history of some of the historic buildings and story behind changes in the industrial landscape. This is the value add compared to just getting the public ferry.
Written 11 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
River City Cruises
Hi Ningaui, unfortunately there is only so much we can fit into the commentary, and we try to make it suited to everyone's interests, we do talk about the changes to the city but we are sorry it did not touch on some more specific topics you we after. Kind regards Lindsay
Written 12 November 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
MD72017
Brisbane, Australia19 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
GREAT RIVER CRUISE AND LUNCH AT AN ICONIC HOTEL
Aug 2024 • Couples
This was a well organised tour that ran seamlessly. It takes in some of the scenic highlights of the Brisbane River from Southbank parklands, Kangaroo point, through the city, under the Story Bridge and across to Newstead . At Newstead wharf we then made the leisurely walk along the foreshore to the Breakfast Creek Hotel for a really nice lunch in a cordoned off area for the cruise participants.
The staff on board and at the hotel were friendly, the morning tea on board the boat was very nice and commentary on Brisbane and the river was very informative; even for locals!
Capped off by great weather on the day, this was a very enjoyable experience.
Written 25 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
River City Cruises
Thank you for this amazing review. We are so happy to hear that you had such a great time aboard with us as well as at the Breakfast Creek Hotel, this is what keeps us going.
Written 26 August 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Terry Moore
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
GREAT
Nov 2022 • Couples
My wife and i thoroughly enjoyed every part of the Lunch Cruise. The Crew were very knowledgeable and friendly, the lunch at the Brekky Creek Hotel was great. I've lived in Brisbane most of my 75yrs and thought i had a good knowledge of our City, but i learned quite a bit from the running commentary. I would recommend this Lunch Cruise to everyone.
Written 24 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
2
…
Showing results 1-10 of 1,387
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.

River City Cruises - All You MUST Know Before You Go (2024)

All Brisbane HotelsBrisbane Hotel DealsLast Minute Hotels in Brisbane
All things to do in Brisbane
Day Trips in Brisbane
RestaurantsFlightsHoliday RentalsTravel StoriesCruisesRental Cars