🏝️How to get from Brisbane to Moreton Island
Can you get there without a car?
🟠 Only part of the way
Yes, but not on the 50c network. The island is a ferry ride from Pinkenba, and the ferry operators run their own transfer coaches from the city because TransLink barely serves the wharf.
The short answer
- 1🚌Operator transfer coach from the city, or a taxi to Holt Street Wharf, Pinkenba
- 2⛴️Passenger ferry to Tangalooma, about 75 minutes, four services a day each way
The journey, end to end
2 legs, 1 change. Dashed lines are the parts that aren't public transport.
Sand dunes, shipwrecks and some of the clearest water in South East Queensland, seventy-five minutes from a wharf near the airport.
What is Moreton Island?
Moreton Island, or Gheebulum Kunungai, is the third largest sand island in the world and almost entirely national park. There are no sealed roads on it: transport on the island is four-wheel drive on sand, or your feet.
Tangalooma, on the sheltered western side, is where the passenger ferry lands and where most day trippers go. The wrecks just offshore there are fifteen deliberately sunk hulls that now make a snorkelling reef.
Why go, and what to see
The Tangalooma Wrecks
Fifteen sunken hulls in shallow water, snorkelling straight off the beach
Wild dolphin feeding
Wild bottlenose dolphins come into the shallows at dusk at the resort
Sand tobogganing
The desert dunes behind the beach, usually as part of a tour
Cape Moreton Lighthouse
Queensland's oldest, and the best whale watching vantage on the island
Champagne Pools
Rock pools on the northern end, reachable only by four-wheel drive
Every way to get there, compared
Including the ones that aren't public transport, because pretending the car doesn't exist helps nobody.
🔀 Passenger ferry from Holt Street Wharf
Our pick- 🚌Operator transfer coach from the city, or a taxi to Holt Street Wharf, Pinkenba
- ⛴️Passenger ferry to Tangalooma, about 75 minutes, four services a day each way
Time
About 2 hr door to island
Cost
Ferry fare, plus the transfer coach
Best for
A day trip or a resort stay without a car
This is the way to do it without driving. The wharf at Pinkenba is not well served by TransLink, which is exactly why the ferry operators run their own coaches from the city and the airport. Book the coach with the ferry rather than assuming you can bus there.
🚗 Drive to the wharf, or take a four-wheel drive across
- 🚗Drive to Holt Street Wharf at Pinkenba and leave the car, or
- ⛴️Take a four-wheel drive across on the vehicle barge from the Port of Brisbane
Time
About 30 min to the wharf, then the crossing
Cost
Parking, or the vehicle barge fare
Best for
Camping, or exploring beyond Tangalooma
There are no sealed roads on the island. A two-wheel drive is useless there, and taking a vehicle over means the barge from the Port of Brisbane rather than the passenger ferry from Pinkenba. Two different departure points, which catches people out.
🎟️ Day tour package
- 🎟️Coach, ferry, and activities booked together
Time
Full day
Cost
Varies by operator
Best for
Snorkelling the wrecks or sand tobogganing without organising it yourself
For a single day this is usually the sensible option, because the activities need gear you would otherwise have to hire on arrival.
When to go
June to October for whales off Cape Moreton and the calmest, clearest water. Summer is swimmable but the island has almost no shade.
Worth knowing
Two different wharves serve two different ferries: passengers leave from Holt Street at Pinkenba, vehicles from the Port of Brisbane. Turning up at the wrong one is a genuinely ruined day, so check which your booking is for.
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.
More trips like this
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Getting to Moreton Island: quick answers
How do you get to Moreton Island from Brisbane without a car?+
Take the operator's transfer coach from the city to Holt Street Wharf at Pinkenba, then the passenger ferry to Tangalooma, which takes about 75 minutes and runs four times a day each way. The wharf is not well covered by TransLink, so the coach is booked with the ferry rather than being a public bus.
Can you take a car to Moreton Island?+
Only a four-wheel drive, and only on the vehicle barge from the Port of Brisbane, which is a different departure point from the passenger ferry at Pinkenba. There are no sealed roads on the island, so a normal car is no use there even once it is across.
How do you get from Brisbane to Moreton Island without a car?+
Operator transfer coach from the city, or a taxi to Holt Street Wharf, Pinkenba, then Passenger ferry to Tangalooma, about 75 minutes, four services a day each way. Allow about About 2 hr door to island.
How long does it take to get to Moreton Island from Brisbane?+
About About 2 hr door to island, 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 Moreton Island?+
Part of this trip sits outside the flat 50 cent fare. Check the operator for the current price before you go.
What time is the last service back from Moreton Island?+
It changes by day and by line, and it is the thing that catches people out on a long day trip. Check the last service home tool before you head out so you know your cut-off rather than guessing at the end of the day.