River Gardens Melbourne Sightseeing Cruise

Melbourne, Australia

1 hour
Offered in: English

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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.

What To Expect

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.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Jennifer_J

Crew were friendly and helpful. Learnt a lot about Melbourne history and saw some lovely bridges and iconic buildings and gardens. At 10am boat wasn’t too crowded.

Reviews

3.5

142 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 142 reviews

Great way to see part of Melbourne

Maria_S, Apr 2024

It was a great way to see a bit of Melbourne and have the opportunity to observe Melbourne at a more calm pace .

Very enjoyable cruise on the Yarra River

Anonymous, Apr 2024

Our 2 very young granddaughters enjoyed themselves and we find the timing of the cruise just nice. We had light rain but it didn’t stop the girls from going to the deck to enjoy the scenery

River cruise

Kim_T, Apr 2024

Very informative and comfortable. Would have been better if there was a bartender to get a drink. He seemed to be doing multiple jobs. It was only 1 hour long so wasn’t much of a hardship

Nice and relaxing

Shelley_K, Apr 2024

Loved the commentary. This was a gift for my mother for her birthday and she loved it. My mother is a Horticulturalist and she found the information very informative. She was surprised to hear about Heron Island and found that fascinating. Maybe some information about the building that is going on over there might be good. We were all wondering what it was.

Ruined by inconsiderate passengers.

MichelleBurton, Mar 2024

The cruise was late leaving the dock (by >15 minutes). The staff were great with free tea / coffee served. Unfortunately the punters weren't. The high proportion of non English speaking travellers that talked over the commentary incessantly meant the commentary was inaudible for those of us that wanted to listen - which was the purpose of the trip. Really disappointing. People should be told to listen / engage as they ruined it for others. The seating was also too close together and therefore uncomfortable (and I am not excessively large). Fortunately there were spaces which meant I could create some space around me. This wouldn't have been possible on a full cruise.

Don’t waste your money

Ananthram_C, Mar 2024

Not worth the money, too boring. Nothing to see. Don’t waste your money guys. Also no complementary drinks were served.

Great way to see Melbourne in a short time

EMILIO_G, Mar 2024

Major places and attractions in Melbourne in a couple of hours! We were in a princess with less than 8 hour stop. We could not join any of the long tours…so this cruise is perfect for the time we had. Highly recommended!

Terrible customer service

Kathleen_C, Mar 2024

We booked the Garden tour the same day as departure. Received confirmation and tickets clearly showed the ‘Gardens’. Turns out, the River is being dredged (and has been for a few days) so there was no Garden tour. Our only indication that something was wrong was we headed the wrong way on the river. The worst customer service ever experienced when we tried to get a credit for a future tour (not a refund). I will not use Viator again - booked another vendor in our next stop in Sydney

Gentle sightseeing

Robert_H, Feb 2024

Relaxing and informative commentary but get out the back in the open air if you can. Good views f the upper part of the upper part of the Yarra to Herring Island.

Great way to see city from river.

Ian_B, Feb 2024

Very enjoyable cruise up the river.. 2 HR needed to cruise both ways up river Commentary just enough.

Garden cruise

Jennifer_J, Feb 2024

Crew were friendly and helpful. Learnt a lot about Melbourne history and saw some lovely bridges and iconic buildings and gardens. At 10am boat wasn’t too crowded.

YARRA RIVER FLOWS IN DREAMS

Shengliang_N, Feb 2024

Very close to Skydeck and the gentleman in ticket office was so nice on explanation of seniors booking. We had a quite juicy trip and many sporty students greeted us.

Tranquil cruising

Winsome_H, Feb 2024

Making new memories with my grandsons on the Yarra River on a beautiful Melbourne day was magic. Cruising upstream amongst city icons and tranquil gardens was so soothing for the soul.

No go

Kathleen_R, Feb 2024

Wasn’t able to go on the excursion. Spent the day in the emergency room as I fell and tore my hamstring. No refund allowed.

Great

Sharon_M, Dec 2023

It was amazing. And the crew were so friendly. We definitely recommend it to everyone. Was glad it was raining, but would of been more enjoyable if it had of been warmer.

A must must do!

Ganesh_P, Dec 2023

Great views of the different Melbourne landmarks along the Yarra. Friendly staff and clean amenities.

Lovely cruise

Cam_B, Dec 2023

Peaceful and lovely little cruise. With children, your partner or on your own, you will have a good time listening to the Melbourne's history while you passing under bridges and watching nature.

Can improve service on board

Sriram_R, Nov 2023

The crew were rather un-enterprising and we were not offered the complementary beverage on board. The cruise was delayed close to 10 mins in departure but owing to downstream current arrived at the destination ahead of scheduled time. This significantly cut short the effective duration of the cruise.

Nice intro to Melbourne

Colleen_K, Nov 2023

Nice introduction to Melbourne for first time visitors. Easy and informative. Well run. We enjoyed the experience.

Not a good value. Trees blocked everything but the bridges,

John_C, Oct 2023

Sorry to give a negative review but we were not pleased because the boat was very low & with the trees blocking almost all the sites the only thing we could see were the bridges. It was not a good value.

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