🚢How to get from Brisbane to the Brisbane Cruise Terminal
A getting-there guide from GoThere Brisbane, the free live journey planner for South East Queensland.
Can you get there without a car?
🔴 Not really, and here's why
No, and this is the Port of Brisbane's own position rather than our guess: the terminal is not serviced by public transport at all. The 50c network gets you as far as Brisbane Airport, 12km short, and the last leg is a shuttle, taxi or rideshare.
The short answer
- 1🚆Get to Brisbane Airport on the network, the closest it reaches
- 2🚌Commercial cruise shuttle for the last 12km, about 15 minutes
The journey, end to end
- Brisbane
🚆Get to Brisbane Airport on the network, the closest it reaches
- Change 1
🚌Commercial cruise shuttle for the last 12km, about 15 minutes
- Brisbane Cruise Terminal
2 legs, 1 change. Dashed lines are the parts that aren't public transport.
Where every cruise out of Brisbane now leaves from, out at the mouth of the river, and one of the few places in the city the network simply does not reach.
What is the Brisbane Cruise Terminal?
The Brisbane International Cruise Terminal opened in 2022 at Luggage Point, Pinkenba, on the northern bank at the mouth of the Brisbane River. The address is 1 Cruise Terminal Drive. It was built for ships too big for the old wharf, and it is 15 minutes and 12km from Brisbane Airport, or about half an hour from the city.
If you sailed from Brisbane before 2022 you probably left from Portside Wharf at Hamilton, which was far closer to town and sat next to a dining precinct with a CityCat terminal. Portside closed to cruise ships in 2022 and everything moved to Pinkenba. Plenty of older advice online still sends people to Hamilton, which is the single most expensive mistake you can make on embarkation day.
The move is why the transport problem exists at all. Portside was an inner suburb with a ferry stop and buses; Luggage Point is a working port precinct at the river mouth, next to the wastewater treatment plant and the airport's southern boundary. There is nothing within walking distance, no shops, no cafes beyond the terminal itself, and nowhere to kill two hours if you arrive early. That is worth knowing before you plan to turn up at nine for a two o'clock boarding.
It also means the return trip is a separate problem, not the same one backwards. Ships dock early, often around six in the morning, and several thousand people come off within a couple of hours, all with luggage, all wanting the same taxis. There is still no bus. If you have a flight the same day the airport is the one genuinely convenient thing about the location, twelve kilometres away, but book the transfer before you sail rather than joining the rank.
Why go, and what to see
Check which terminal
Portside Wharf at Hamilton closed in 2022. Large ships all sail from Pinkenba now
The airport is the hinge
12km and about 15 minutes away, and the closest point the 50c network reaches
Taxi and rideshare ranks
Both about 120 metres from the terminal entrance, with an undercover walkway from the rideshare point
Parking is prepaid
Car Parks 1 and 2 are prepaid only; Car Park 3 has prepaid plus limited drive-up
Allow for the luggage
There is no walk-up option here. Whatever you choose has to carry your bags the last 12km
Every way to get there, compared
Including the ones that aren't public transport, because pretending the car doesn't exist helps nobody.
🔀 50c network to the airport, then a shuttle
Our pick- 🚆Get to Brisbane Airport on the network, the closest it reaches
- 🚌Commercial cruise shuttle for the last 12km, about 15 minutes
Time
About 1 hr from the city
Cost
50c to the airport area, plus the shuttle fare
Best for
Getting most of the way cheaply without a car
The cheap part of this is reaching the airport. The Airtrain charges its own fare of around $23, but there is a slower 50c way in via a free terminal shuttle and a regular bus, which is worth knowing when four people are travelling. Shuttle operators including River City Bus, STA and Con-X-ion run between the airport and the terminal, and they need booking rather than turning up.
🚗 Drive and park at the terminal
- 🚗About 30 minutes from the CBD, or 15 from the airport
- 🅿️Prepaid parking on site, booked before you sail
Time
About 30 min from the city
Cost
Fuel plus prepaid parking for the length of the cruise
Best for
Anyone with a car and a fortnight's luggage
Car Parks 1 and 2 are prepaid only, so this is not a decision to leave until embarkation morning. Car Park 3 has some limited drive-up capacity. Rates are set by the operator, so check when you book.
🔀 Taxi or rideshare
- 🚕Straight to the terminal; the rank is about 120m from the entrance
Time
About 30 min from the city
Cost
A metered fare across roughly 25km
Best for
Two or more people, or an early departure
There is a dedicated taxi rank and a separate rideshare pick-up point, both about 120 metres from the building with an undercover walkway from the rideshare side. For a group this often beats per-person shuttle fares.
When to go
Arrive well before your boarding window. This is not somewhere you can improvise from: there is no bus to fall back on, and the shuttles run to the ship's schedule rather than yours.
Worth knowing
Do not go to Portside Wharf at Hamilton. It closed to cruise ships in 2022, it is on the other side of the river from Pinkenba, and a lot of advice still online has not caught up.
Last service home →
Check your cut-off before you go, not after.
Anything disrupted? →
Live delays and closures across the network.
See it on the map →
The route drawn across South East Queensland.
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Getting to the Brisbane Cruise Terminal: quick answers
How do you get to the Brisbane Cruise Terminal by public transport?+
You can't. The Port of Brisbane states plainly that the terminal is not serviced by public transport. The closest the 50c network gets is Brisbane Airport, about 12km and 15 minutes away, and from there it is a booked shuttle, a taxi or a rideshare. Allow around an hour door to door from the city.
How far is the Brisbane Cruise Terminal from the airport?+
12km, about a 15 minute drive. That is much closer than the city, which is about half an hour away, and it is why almost every transfer service runs from the airport rather than from the city.
Is the cruise terminal at Portside Wharf or Pinkenba?+
Pinkenba. The Brisbane International Cruise Terminal is at 1 Cruise Terminal Drive, Luggage Point, Pinkenba. Portside Wharf at Hamilton handled cruise ships until 2022 and no longer does, so any guide sending you to Hamilton is out of date.
Is there parking at the Brisbane Cruise Terminal?+
Yes, and most of it must be prepaid. Car Parks 1 and 2 are prepaid only, and Car Park 3 offers prepaid plus a limited amount of drive-up parking. Book it when you book the cruise rather than turning up on the day, and check the current rates with the operator.
How do you get from the cruise terminal to the airport after a cruise?+
By shuttle, taxi or rideshare, the same three options as arriving, and the airport is the closest useful thing at 12km and about 15 minutes. The catch is timing: ships dock early, often around six in the morning, and a few thousand people disembark within a couple of hours all wanting the same vehicles. Book the transfer before you sail rather than joining the queue at the rank.
Where should you stay the night before a cruise from Brisbane?+
The airport hotels are the practical answer rather than the city ones, because the terminal is 12km from the airport and 25km from the CBD, and every transfer service runs from the airport end. Staying in town means paying for a longer transfer on embarkation morning, which is the busiest possible time to be crossing Brisbane.
Is there anything to do near the Brisbane Cruise Terminal?+
No, and it is better to know that in advance. Luggage Point is a working port precinct at the mouth of the river, with the wastewater treatment plant on one side and the airport boundary on the other. There is nothing within walking distance and nowhere to wait out a few spare hours, so arriving very early is not the safe strategy it would be at an airport.
How do you get from Brisbane to the Brisbane Cruise Terminal without a car?+
Get to Brisbane Airport on the network, the closest it reaches, then Commercial cruise shuttle for the last 12km, about 15 minutes. Allow about About 1 hr from the city.
How long does it take to get to the Brisbane Cruise Terminal from Brisbane?+
About 1 hr from the city, door to platform to door, depending on how the connection lands. The planner on this page works it out from where you actually are rather than from the city centre.
How much does it cost to get to the Brisbane Cruise Terminal?+
Part of this trip sits outside the flat 50 cent fare. Check the operator for the current price before you go.