This post was originally published on A Globe Well Travelled in 2018. The content has been revised and updated with fresh information.
When I saw a photo of the Tangalooma Wrecks on social media, I instantly knew I had to go.
This special spot on Moreton Island, just off the coast of Brisbane, promised a day of snorkelling around shipwrecks, sandboarding down desert dunes, and feeding wild dolphins.
When my husband and I arrived in Brisbane and told a few locals about our upcoming Tangalooma day trip, we were surprised to find that most had never been to Moreton Island — even though this adventure-filled destination is right on the city’s doorstep.
After researching a few options, I decided on a Dolphin Feeding Day Cruise offered by Tangalooma Island Resort. If you’re keen to combine desert dunes, tropical reefs, shipwrecks, and dolphins, here’s everything you need to know to plan your own Tangalooma day trip from Brisbane.
Quick summary:
Just off the coast of Brisbane, Tangalooma Island Resort on Moreton Island makes an unforgettable day trip. Snorkel the Tangalooma Wrecks, race down desert dunes on a toboggan, and hand-feed wild dolphins after sunset — all just a short ferry ride from the city.
Recommended tours:
⛴️ Moreton Island Return Ferry & Adventure Day Pass – Includes ferry transfers, resort access, and time to snorkel the wrecks or relax by the beach.
🛻 Tangalooma Desert Safari & Dolphin Feeding – Ride a 4WD through the dunes, try sand tobogganing, then feed wild dolphins at sunset.
🐬 Tangalooma Snorkelling Tour & Dolphin Feeding – Enjoy a guided snorkelling tour at the shipwrecks and hand-feed wild dolphins at dusk.
About Moreton Island and Tangalooma Island Resort
Moreton Island is the third largest sand island in the world (the first two are Fraser and North Stradbroke, which are also in southeast Queensland). 95% of the island is a national park of sandy desert and dense forest, and there are no kangaroos or koalas there.
Tangalooma Island Resort is a small resort town on the west coast of Moreton Island. Tangalooma is the most popular destination on the island as it’s easily accessible by passenger ferry from Brisbane.
Tangalooma was once a whaling station back in the 1950s, but in the decade of this whaling operation, the population of whales dwindled to a dangerously low level. Whaling is now illegal in Australian waters, and the whale population has slowly recovered over time. Tourists can now go whale watching during the migration seasons, or visit the ‘flensing deck’ at Tangalooma which is a remnant from this whaling era.
How to get to Tangalooma Island Resort from Brisbane
Getting to Tangalooma from Brisbane is surprisingly easy — which makes this Tangalooma day trip from Brisbane one of the most convenient island escapes near the city.
You can either book a ferry transfer with a resort day pass to enjoy the island at your own pace, or hop on a guided tour which includes two of the following: a snorkelling tour to the wrecks, desert safari with toboganning.sandboarding, or a dolphin feeding experience. I’ll explain more about each of these options in the following sections on Moreton Island things to do.
We booked a Moreton Island tour for our Brisbane day trip. Our day started bright and early with an Uber to Holt Street Wharf, which is the departure point for the Tangalooma Island Resort ferry service.
We grabbed our tickets from the office, then boarded the boat for the 7:00AM transfer (there are also transfers at 10:00AM, 12:00PM, and 5:00PM). The ferry takes about an hour and 15 minutes to get to Tangalooma. Once you arrive, it’s an easy walk along the waterfront path to get to the tour meeting points.
Top things to do on Moreton Island:
Tangalooma Wrecks snorkelling
There’s no shortage of things to do on Moreton Island, and a Tangalooma Wrecks snorkelling experience is the best activity, in my opinion. Viewing the underwater scenery at this spot was a magical experience – it’s rare to have a place where you can freely swim around shipwrecks with loads of colourful fish, and it’s crazy that it’s so easily accessible from a major city!
The Tangalooma Wrecks are accessible from the resort by either walking along the beach (about a 20 minute walk) then swimming out to the wrecks, or via a guided tour.
If you decide to walk there and swim out, you can rent snorkelling gear and life jackets from the resort to take with you. Just be aware that the wrecks are not particularly close to the beach and there can be strong water currents, so you should consider yourself a fairly strong swimmer who can stay afloat and paddle for more than an hour if you go with this option.
The option that my husband and I chose was the guided tour option. We were provided with snorkelling gear, then taken out to the wrecks on a boat where we jumped into the water. Our tour group snorkelled our way to the other end of the wrecks, where our boat was waiting to collect us. If you’re not a strong swimmer, this is definitely the way to go.
⛴️ If you’d prefer to explore at your own pace, you can book the Moreton Island Return Ferry & Adventure Day Pass. This option includes return ferry transfers from Brisbane plus full access to Tangalooma Island Resort’s facilities, with the freedom to rent snorkel gear, paddleboards, or kayaks to discover the wrecks on your own time.
Sandboarding the desert dunes
Before this trip, I had never attempted sand boarding. The desert dunes on Moreton Island were the perfect place to try it! These dunes are part of the national park and are only accessible by 4WD vehicles or by the desert safari tour offered by the resort.
🛻 The easiest way to try sandboarding is through the Tangalooma Desert Safari & Dolphin Feeding Tour — it combines a 4WD ride through the desert, sand tobogganing, and dolphin feeding in one epic day.
The bus took us out on a bumpy sand road to the desert, which is about a 15 minute drive from the resort. We were then handed our wooden boards and told to walk up to the top of the nearest sand dune, then line up to slide back down.
When my turn came around, I’ll admit I was very nervous about laying on that thin board and zooming down the steep mountain of sand, but I gathered the courage and somehow managed to avoid stacking it. My husband even said that I got the most speed of everyone in our tour group. Apparently my technique was near perfect!
We were able to take as many turns as we liked, though each time it required walking back up the dune in the intense sun. I took two turns, and my husband took three before we got back on the bus to return to the resort.
Tangalooma dolphin feeding
The story of the wild dolphins at Tangalooma is fascinating. We were told that the name Tangalooma was used by the local Indigenous communities and meant ‘place where the fish meet’. Being that dolphins are incredibly smart, the Aboriginal people would work together with the local dolphins to catch fish, and then they would share some of their catch with the dolphins as a reward for helping them.
🐬 Booking a Tangalooma Snorkelling & Dolphin Feeding Tour is the easiest way to enjoy this magical experience. It includes snorkelling at the Tangalooma Wrecks, resort access, and the chance to hand-feed wild dolphins under expert supervision from the Dolphin Care Team.
At a Tangalooma dolphin feeding, wild dolphins will swim up to the shallow waters beside the resort for an evening feed. I was a little skeptical of this activity at first, as I don’t generally like when animals are being used for tourism, but my concerns were lifted after discovering the dolphins are only fed only 10-15% of daily food intake so that they don’t become reliant on humans.
When I visited in 2018, the dolphins that come to the resort were a family of 11, and not all of them appeared every night. Seven of them arrived for the feeding when we were there, and then one I fed was named Echo. As a vegetarian, it felt totally gross be holding a dead fish, but I have to admit it was pretty awesome to have a wild dolphin swim up and collect it from my hands.
After the dolphin feeding we jumped on the ferry for the 8:15 PM departure to end Brisbane day trip. It had been a long day, but we’d managed to fit in so many great activities. I’d definitely recommend a day trip to Tangalooma if you ever find yourself in Brisbane!
*I was a guest of Tangalooma Island Resort for the Moreton Island day trip from Brisbane. I’m proud to be an honest and transparent blogger, so every opinion expressed on AGWT is a true review of my experience.
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