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River Gardens Melbourne Sightseeing Cruise

Melbourne, Australia
Trending
Booked 5+ times in 12 hours.
  • 1 hour (approx.)
  • Offered in: English

Overview

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
  • Beverages and snacks are available to purchase

What's Included

  • Complimentary tea and coffee
  • Live commentary on board
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off

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.

Itinerary

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.
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • The boat is completely enclosed and windowed so that passengers won't be subject to the elements.
  • Restroom available on board
  • 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.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

KImberly_P
It was pretty easy to make it there walking and the view was absolutely amazing. The tour guides were Hilarious and made our trip one to remember. Would definitely recommend, especially the two hour ride!!

Reviews

3.6
based on 218 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Sort by: Most insightful

A Nice Period to Relax in a Busy Day

Michael_R, Sep 2026
I chose the cruise in the middle of a long day of sightseeing. After much walking, it was nice to have a rest period with views and coffee to reset the day to continue with much walking. The crew was nicely engaging, and I enjoyed just relaxing and viewing. It help that I picked a sunny day.

Its a boat you sit you...

Rich_H, Sep 2026
Its a boat you sit you look and they tell you about the attractions, there is a bar on board for drinks and snacks, the ticket lady captain and first mate were very friendly

Poor show

Christina_N, Sep 2026
Bad. Uncomfortable seating. Opened sliding windows very windy . Bad attitude. From staff Never again

Excellent experience

IBRAHIM_N, Jul 2026
Wonderful and friendly staff and very helpful when you need them the most they know what they doing and our had wonderful time

Don’t do it

Lauren_V, Jun 2026
This is so boring you hardly see anything Not worth the time or money Chairs are uncomfortable and the “gardens are very hard to see from the river

Experience was good but...

Ankit_K, Jun 2026
Experience was good but need a message displayed on the ferry for crowd to stay silent and enjoy the serenity. Irritating family made lots of loud noise disturbed all on-board

Went well, professional...

Caleb_G, May 2026
Went well, professional and great service. Learned a lot. The staff provided free tea and coffee which was nice, and very friendly.

Very informative was very...

Leonie_G, May 2026
Very informative was very enjoyable , would do it again next time in Melbourne, friendly staff and crew

Melbourne River Cruise

THERESA_N, May 2026
Difficult to view highlighted sites due to over growth of vegetation. Audio not as clear as it could have been.

Average

Matt_R, May 2026
Was expensive for what it was. Wasnt expecting pre-recorded voice over. Hosts were nice enough but didnt seem super interested, mum is on crotches and didnt offer to help or anything.

Melbourne Cruise

James_S, Apr 2026
Cruise lasted 50 minutes not 1 to 2 hours. Information on cruise very poor. If I knew before hand I would not have bookef it

Alright experience

Olivia_G, Apr 2026
The upstream boat ride was less fascinating than expected. A lovley way to calm down and relax from the busy city surrounding. Lovley staff and interesting commentary.

Scenic River Ride

RonniJ_C, Mar 2026
Get in line early to get a seat by windows. Seats are very small. Very scenic ride with good commentary.

River trip

GrahamDent_D, Mar 2026
1 or 2 hour good value for price, great views and good options on the bar menu again at value for money. One small criticism the commentary would be better slightly louder as with many passengers of different nationalities often their chatter was too loud to hear detail on what sounded an interesting comment on places we passed.

Better to visit via train and tramp. The Cruz speed is less than 5kmph. Yes, it is less than 5. And the majority

Nisha_P, Mar 2026
Better to visit via train and tramp. The Cruz speed is less than 5kmph. Yes, it is less than 5. And the majority of the scenery is just trees. Just a waste of money and time.

Melbourne River Cruise Very Dissatisfied

Arpita_C, Mar 2026
We reached 5 minutes late.The boat had left without us.Tour operator was very rude.Would not suggest Melbourne Boat Cruises to anyone

Flexible tour operator.

sinval_a, Feb 2026
I made a mistake on the date and asked the operator to change the date and they accepted. I think that we should have the chance to reschedule and be informed about the booking date before payment is finalised.

Not a garden in sight for this Gardens Cruise. Shocking.

Liz_D, Feb 2026
It was meant to be a river gardens cruise but they took us to the boring Melbourne docks. Ridiculous waste of money.

The direction the cruise headed was complete disappointment. We were expecting to cruise to cover the dockland side...

ManojBabu_B, Feb 2026
Guest handling was top of the class. Reached couple of minutes late, but the lady at the ticket counter didnt want us to miss the ride. She stopped departing cruiae and made us get into it... we were welcomed by handsome guy with very warmgreeting... complementary coffee was good.. the ride happened for 1 hour... we were disappointed that the cruise didnot cocer the docklands direction..

Relaxing way to spend an...

Kathryn_T, Jan 2026
Relaxing way to spend an hour Inside so doesn’t matter the weather Can also sit outside History of Melbourne great

A relaxing, informative...

Rene_P, Jan 2026
A relaxing, informative experience with friendly staff. The weather played along excellently. Loved it!👌

Cruising the Yarra

Kate_B, Jan 2026
Relaxing cruise. Lots of information about Melbourne’s history. Weather was great and it made for a great experience.

Very pleasant not...

Una_F, Jan 2026
Very pleasant not expensive. River beautiful. We were lucky with the weather so that made it extra special

O for Awesome

Renata_M, Dec 2025
Awesome and relaxing way to bond with my bro from Brisbane Redbank yeaaah!!! It reminded me of the deep sea fishing boat I worked on 🤩 thankyou for this experience

Poor Customer Service Ruined the Experience

Jay_H, Dec 2025
Extremely disappointing customer service at the ticket counter. The female staff member wearing a straw hat and glasses was dismissive from the beginning, I said ‘good morning’ and received no response. Instead, she made sarcastic comments out loud, including remarks questioning why customers weren’t saying ‘Merry Christmas’, as if everyone is obligated to celebrate or express the holiday in the same way. This felt inappropriate and uncomfortable. She then went on to complain to us about internal work issues, such as not having enough information or equipment available, which had nothing to do with customers and should not have been shared. When I politely asked about the tea and coffee included in the ticket, the response was patronising and sarcastic, as if asking a basic question was unreasonable. This interaction completely ruined our Boxing Day mood. Customers should not be spoken down to, pressured into holiday expectations, or made to feel unwelcome. A real shame, as the cruise itself had the potential to be enjoyable.

Nothing to see in this so...

Simranjit_S, Dec 2025
Nothing to see in this so called cruise, spend your time and money in something else, thank me later

Pleasant river cruise experience

Kate_B, Dec 2025
Lovely person in the office, very kind and welcoming, and great crew. Good boat, comfortable, and nice to have the option of refreshments on board. The "live" commentary wasn't really live - recorded information not always absolutely coordinated with the features. And to be really honest, the landscape up-river isn't all that exciting. Would probably opt for the down-river cruise next time. Pretty good value for money overall, though, and a pleasant, relaxing experience at the end of a busy day of sightseeing.

Pleasant

Nikki_S, Nov 2025
Pleasant trip. Good commentary. Two bad things were, some things that were pointed out weren’t actually visible and I was left wondering where they were. And the coffee was absolutely terrible. But it was a nice way to spend an hour

Garden ? River Cruise.

Suzanne_M, Nov 2025
This was advertised as a garden river cruise but we didn't see any gardens because that part of the river was closed off. I wish I had been informed of this before I booked. All we saw for most of the cruise was a disused dock and cranes.

Scenic River Cruise

Judith_P, Nov 2025
A very pleasant trip along the Yarra River. Informative commentary with complimentary drinks. Wonderful staff. My only complaint is that shade is needed while we were waiting to board. It was a very hot day.
Member Pricing
From

$30.54

per person
Was $32.15(-5%)

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

Book ahead!
On average, this is booked 9 days in advance.

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