Sunset City Lights Cruise: 5.30pm or 6pm *seasonal (90min)
Recommended by 91% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Brisbane, Australia
- 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
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Overview
Spend an evening in Brisbane on a Sunset River Cruise along the Brisbane River while enjoying the background music. You’ll see the attractions as you drift along, with the city lights in the background.
- Enjoy a river cruise along the Brisbane River at night
- See the sights and attractions with the city lights in the background
- A unique way to see the city at night
What's Included
- Restroom on board
- 1.5hr Sight seeing cruise
- Souvenir Map of Brisbane River
- Complimentary cheese platter
- Access to the on board Coffee Shop and Licensed Bar
- Seasonal departure time - Winter 5.30pm, Summer 6pm
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase from the bar)
- Food & drinks, other than specified in inclusions
- Seasonal departure time - 5.30pm Winter or Summer 6pm
- There is no commentary on this cruise, just great background music.
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Cultural Centre Public PontoonCultural Centre Boardwalk, South Brisbane QLD 4101, Australia
Cultural Centre Pontoon. (50m upstream from the Victoria Bridge, 300m upstream from The Wheel). The Cultural Centre pontoon is directly in front of the Cultural Centre ie. Museum and State Library). Google ‘Cultural Centre Public Pontoon’ to get directions.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Start time.6:00 pm
Itinerary
The Brisbane River (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- This cruise operates a seasonal time table. From 1st April to 30th September (Winter) the cruise departs at 5.30pm and returns at 7pm. During the Summer months (from 1st October to 31st March), the cruise departs at 6pm and returns at 7.30pm. Board your boat for the evening 15minutes prior to cruise time
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 65 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Great cruise, absolutely beautiful. The captain stopped and turned the boat at several points to give everyone a great view. The crew was super friendly and the cheese plate was more than generous. Great value for the money!!! And yes, I would go again.
Reviews
4.6
based on 159 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Great cruise, absolutely beautiful. The captain stopped and turned the boat at several points to give everyone a great view. The crew was super friendly and the cheese plate was more than generous. Great value for the money!!! And yes, I would go again.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
HI John, thank you for cruising with us and leaving your wonderful review. We really appreciate the 5 star rating. We are thrilled that everything, from the wonderful crew, to the cheese platter to the beautiful scenery helped make your evening even more special. We would love to have you cruise with us again. all the best
Make sure your phone camera is fully charged so that you can get the best photos after the sun goes down. The city lights come alive and the bridges look great lit up. The river winds through the city and both banks are beautiful.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Hi Donny, we are thrilled that you enjoyed our Sunset City Lights Cruise. We agree, it is a magical evening, with photo opportunities around every corner. thanks so much for joining us, take care
Unfortunately it was a wet rainy evening which obviously wasn’t the operator’s fault. However it’s still a poor experience with no information provided along the way and a charcuterie which is pretty poor. Safe yourself the money and take the local ferry cat which will do the same job at a fraction of the cost
Response from Host, Feb 2026
This tour provides you with a stunning sunset (*seasonal) as the tour commences which is soon replaced by the city lights that is being reflected in the water. Treat yourself to a relaxing evening with ambient music and a gourmet cheese platter. This is a very popular cruise, which is reviewed very highly. I am sorry that it wasn't for you. all the best
Lovely sunset followed by beautiful views of the city lights while sipping a cocktail. Cool breeze. Thoroughly enjoyed.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thank you so much for your wonderful review. We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the sunset views and the city lights, it really is a beautiful way to experience Brisbane in the evening. We truly appreciate your review and hope we can welcome you back on board again soon.
Brilliant river cruise.
Awesome friendly service.
Served a delicious food platter during the cruise plus free tea and coffee.
Loved it and highly recommend it.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
HI Angela, we are so pleased you enjoyed this magical evening, that we call the Sunset City Lights Cruise. From the feast of lights, to the yummy share boards, relaxed cruising and background music - perfect! Thank so much for your high recommendation. all the best
Great quiet evening out to see the town from another viewpoint. Snacks were served and a full bar was available.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Hi Michael, thank you for your wonderful 5 stars. We love to hear we are doing a great job. Thank you for joining us on this feast of lights. all the best
Very relaxing way to see the sunset and city lit up. Crew were friendly and the cheese plate was very nice. Good price for drinks as well. I highly recommend this!
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thank you so much for your wonderful review. We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the sunset views and the city lights, it really is a beautiful way to experience Brisbane in the evening. Our crew will be thrilled to know their friendliness made a difference, and we’re glad you enjoyed the cheese plate and found the drink prices good value.
We truly appreciate your recommendation and hope we can welcome you back on board again soon.
What an amazing experience no better one that the twilight sail off to the nights lights show to see the beautiful Brisbane
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Hi there,
Thank you for sharing such a glowing review of our Sunset City Lights Cruise. Twilight really is a magical time on the river, and we’re thrilled to hear the night lights of Brisbane made such an impression.
It’s wonderful to know the experience felt special from start to finish. Our crew loves showcasing the city at its best, and feedback like yours reminds us why this cruise is such a favourite.
Warm regards,
Lindsay & the Team
Beautiful scenery and informative site info. Was surprised we received an individual appetizer tray. Consider a sweater for the breezy evenings. Captain and crew were great too.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Hi Marisa,
Thank you for joining our Cruise to Lunch Package and for sharing such lovely feedback. We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the morning tea on board and your visit to the Breakfast Creek Hotel, it’s a great way to experience Brisbane from both the river and the shore.
It’s wonderful to know the day felt special from start to finish. We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
Warm regards,
RCC
Decent cruise, not for kids. The one we boarded didn’t have any kids and it looked like it was good for couples or families with older kids.
Departure point was tough to find, we had two families in our group one couldn’t make it because the cab dropped somewhere very far and it’s not very obvious to find the departure port
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Hi there,
Thank you for joining our Sunset City Lights Cruise and for sharing your feedback. We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the experience overall, though we’re sorry to learn that part of your group had difficulty finding the departure point.
We do believe the location is straightforward once you’re familiar with it, but it’s true that some drivers aren’t always as familiar with Brisbane as you’d hope. On rare occasions they may drop guests in the wrong area, which can make things more confusing than necessary. We always recommend taking a good look at the map before you leave, using Google Maps, or referring to the map we provide to ensure you’re dropped right at our very convenient boarding point beside the boat at the Cultural Centre.
We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and hope the rest of your evening on the river was enjoyable.
River City Cruises
a nice slow gentle cruise, platter was good, could have been later in the evening to get a better sunset and city lights view
There was no commentary provided & the ship had mainly over seas visitors who l am sure would have liked to know something about the area.
The captain clearly had major difficulty docking the vessel.
He retried multiple times & took 15 - 20 minutes to do so.
Very embarrassing to witness.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Thank you for your feedback. On the evening you joined us, we had a crew member in training, and with the tide rushing out of the river and a 2.5m variance, berthing stern‑in requires considerable skill and patience. Slow and steady is always the safest approach.
As for the cruise itself, we make it very clear across our website, in multiple areas, in capital letters and bold, that this is not a commentary cruise. If guests wish to see landmarks with guided commentary, we offer three daytime cruises specifically designed for that purpose. The evening experience is advertised as a Sunset & City Lights social cruise: a chance to enjoy the beauty of the city at night with cheese boards and drinks, in a relaxed atmosphere without commentary playing over the top. This allows guests to speak freely and enjoy the ambience.
At night, landmarks are not easily visible, and commentary would only compete with conversations at nearby tables. We understand that not every style of cruise suits everyone, which is why we provide clear descriptions of each option. We encourage guests to read the details carefully and select the cruise that best matches what they’re looking for , whether that’s daytime sightseeing with commentary or a social evening under the city lights.
It was a relaxing time with family with beautiful views…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Thank you for sharing your experience on our Sunset City Lights Cruise. We’re so pleased to hear you had a relaxing time with your family and enjoyed the beautiful views — that’s exactly the atmosphere we love creating.
Great relaxing trip. Cheese Board was amazing and staff wonderful - trip went down to around Hamilton then back. good seating and atmosphere
Was a nice trip and seeing overtime up at night was beautiful! Here on vacation from the states and met some wonderful local people
Relaxing cruise, friendly staff members. Variety of drinks available to purchase. Plate of snacks provided.
All Good, it was timely and saw plenty along the riverfront, Snack was good, but the music was far too loud.
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Thank you for your review, it is unfortunate that the music was very loud. Our lovely staff aboard the boat is more than happy to adjust these small things as the volume varies greatly between cruises and time of day.
The sunset cruise was nice but we were very disappointed that there was absolutely no commentary by the on board guide. We picked this cruise instead of the city river transports because it was advertised as a guided tour. We could have saved money otherwise.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Hi sorry to hear this, the Sunset river cruise is not a commentary cruise, its a city lights cruise with cheeseboards and music. We found out recently TripAdvisor was not giving the right information despite being informed of our cruise description many times. The day cruises are commentary as you can see more than just the sunset and city lights. Our sunset cruises are our most popular cruise and hope you still has fun onboard. TripAdvisor has updated the description in one section that was not correct and sorry for the confusion. Happy for you to come onboard for a day cruise free of charge.
This was a little disappointing. There was no commentary of what was being seen. Got a small plate of nibbles that I had to share with a stranger. For the price I thought at least 1 drink should be included. Could have seen the same thing for 50 cents by using the Citycat!!!
Response from Host, Sep 2024
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry that you had to share a plate, this is not something we typically do and must have been an accident. If this happens, please notify the crew and they will be happy to help you out.
During our Sunset River Cruises it gets a little dark to run a commentary as the view is typically obstructed, which is why we advertise this with ambient background music. Instead we recommend that you do any of our daytime cruises during which we serve up some hot coffee, tea, scones and describe our surroundings, landmarks and historical events.
Kind regards
Alex
So I booked and had to cancel because I put the wrong date. So just after booking i tried to call them but no one answered and the refund policy is no returns. So a horrible experience overall.
Response from Host, Sep 2024
Hi Jonathan, we always answer our phones we may have been on another call, if you leave a msg we call back and when we did you would have been offered a reschedule on a less busy day possible even the following day, but if you aren't in town for long that makes it hard. When we hold seats for you on a fully booked day and you ignore your booking confirmation and multiple email reminders after you selected the wrong date it’s hard for us to do much because we turn away dozens of potential guests to hold your seats. We state our no-show policy many times and we suggest you take care during the booking process and open emails immediately after booking to double check and to open reminder emails of departure date leading up to this time also.
This is a wonderful cruise for looking at the lights of Brisbane. Unfortunately, it was raining so sunset was covered with cloud, but still an excellent trip. Every person gets a plate of cheese, sausage, biscuits, dip and fruit which I ate with my gin and tonic. The staff were excellent - friendly and professional. I would have liked some commentary about what we were seeing. It was great. Thank you!
Family visiting from UK a great way to have a relaxing trip showing them sites Brisbane at night. Recommend
Nice views of the city but between loud music and loud people, the trip was memorable for the wrong reasons. We would have appreciated an occasional narrative of what we were viewing.
Response from Host, Feb 2024
Unfortunately, you must not have read the description of what you were purchasing, we run 2-3 commentary tours a day 7 days a week. You booked our sunset cruise that only runs Friday and Saturday nights, this includes a share plate, city light views and music, it’s our most popular product. It is usually fairly tame but also dependent on which of the many areas you chose to move to on the vessel.
We don't get the same opportunity to do commentary in the dark as we do in the day and cruise a different area where most of the lights are and capture the best sunset.
We are sorry you didn’t have fun on the cruise but hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Brisbane.
Kind Regards
I really enjoyed the river cruise, although it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. The crew is friendly and fun, but it’s not a guided tour as there’s not much in the way of commentary. The river and sunset were beautiful, all the bridges are lit up and it was really something. One thing to keep in mind, arrive early to make sure you get outdoor seats with tables either on the top deck or at the stern, the indoor area downstairs is a bit stuffy even with the windows open. They provide a small tray of fruits, meats and cheeses that was delicious and then have a bar where you can purchase beverages. There are bathrooms on board. It was a relaxing and low key way to spend a beautiful evening.
A nice relaxing sunset cruise, with friendly staff. Went with mom and it was a good experience. Good for taking families
Relaxing evening crews nice beer 🍺 👌 the views are special and it is smooth and calm on the river ta
Great views of the city before and after dark. Service was great. Hors d' oeuvres provided were very tasty. Well worth the money paid.
service
Great tour!! Good before departure communication & instructions, super friendly staff, tasty snack plate and amazing views. Highly recommended and would absolutely go again!
Response from Host, Aug 2023
Our Sunset Cruise is a unique way to spend a Friday or Saturday evening. Thanks for joining us on board.
The views that were offered on the sunset river cruise were amazing. The offer of refreshments on board was great and the service was brilliant. I’d definitely do it again.
Response from Host, Aug 2023
Brisbane is so stunning during Sunset! Thanks for your review
It was a lovely evening. The Brisbane city lights are beautiful! Great evening cruise to take. The cheese plate is a nice touch.
Response from Host, May 2023
Even as the sunsets start earlier the evening cruise with snacks pairs spectacularly with city light and maybe a wine. Thank you for your review, we greatly appreciate you taking the time to write this.
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Sunset City Lights Cruise: 5.30pm or 6pm *seasonal (90min)
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