Noosa & Sunshine Coast

Noosa & Sunshine Coast trip ideas

Everglades Explorer - Noosa Everglades Tour

Badge of ExcellenceNoosa & Sunshine Coast, Australia

Noosa Everglades Canoe Trip with Barbecue Lunch

6 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Explore our promoted experiences

Likely to Sell Out

Noosa & Sunshine Coast, Queensland

Surf Lesson, Noosa: Australia's Longest Wave 4x4 Day Adventure

from $102.65

Likely to Sell Out

Noosa & Sunshine Coast, Queensland

HMAS Brisbane Double Dive

from $128.48

Noosa & Sunshine Coast, Queensland

Golden Beach 1-Hour Stand-Up Paddleboard Hire on the Sunshine Coast

from $19.71

Price varies by group size

Viator earns higher commissions on experiences featured here

Overview

What's Included

All equipment including canoes
Noosa pickup and drop-off
Snacks

Drinks (available to purchase)
Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

CootharaBAR
Cooloola Wilderness Trail 204 Lake Flat Rd, Elanda Point, Como QLD 4565, Australia
Departure Point: habitatnoosa Dates: Daily Return point: Returns to the original departure point

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

We provide pickup locations within the Noosa Area. Seats are limited so if you wish to be collected by coach but unsure of the closest pickup point to your accommodation. Please select any one of the above pickup locations and call reception on 07 5485 3165 who will adjust your selection accrodingly.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Please bring swimwear, towel (should you wish to swim), sunglasses, water bottle, hat and sunscreen

No previous experience is necessary
All canoe participants must be seven years or older and have the ability to swim.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 36 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.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Mandy_H

We had a fantastic day in the Noosa Everglades. Everything was really organised so we knew what we were meant to be doing from the start. Our tour guide/skipper Pete was fun and informative. The paddle up the river was gentle and easy, with beautiful flora and fauna. All in all a really lovely day

Reviews

4.5

295 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 295 reviews

Everglades tour

MaryAnn_B, Feb 2024

Very enjoyable experience. Loved paddling thru the everglades. Unfortunately we did not see much wildlife.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

We are very pleased you enjoyed the canoeing portion of the tour. It's tough to spot wildlife during the Summer... they are hiding from the sun! We hope you join us again another time when the wildlife re-joins us!

Noosa Canoeing Everglades Tour

Lisa_G, Nov 2023

We had fun on our excursion to the Noosa Everglades. We had a guided boat ride up the river with a delicious morning snack and then we canoed back down the river. There was an opportunity to go swimming, however we weren’t prepared with our bathing suits. It was difficult to find information on what we needed to bring with us on our tour. The Noosa Everglades website had a video showing guests doing various activities, but we didn’t know which activities were included in our tour. We enjoyed seeing the kangaroos hanging out on the site.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Hello and thank you for the great feedback! What a great detailed review of the tour! We love the free marketing! As for the information... I wonder if you were on a different website perhaps? We have a clear 'frequently asked questions' (FAQ) tab on our website that covers a multitude of important information, including the option to bring swimwear on our Explorer Tour. Thank you again for the feedback and please come join us again soon.

Pretty, but lifeless.

Grady_G, Nov 2023

This was a tour I'll not soon forget. Not because I loved it. "Pure fresh water pulses out of the Cooloola Sandmass and filters through the tea tree infused ecosystem into this unique river system - creating the most amazing reflections you will ever see." Sounds pretty good, Right? Sadly the great reflections are all you're going to see. Don't be drawn in by buzzwords such as "Eco" and "Safari" or the website's verbiage: "This unique environment is relatively untouched, and is one of Australia's most diverse ecosystems. It is a photographer's dream, a bird watcher's paradise, and a nature lover's escape." All of this would tend to lead one to expect, as I did, to see a great diversity of birds and wildlife in a relatively pristine and unique environment. The Everglades are indeed pristine, and really very beautiful, but what they fail to mention in the literature is that the tea trees make the water so acidic that the entire area is inhospitable to most life. What you experience on the tour is a very pretty, quiet journey down a lifeless river, surrounded by a monoculture of acid tolerant trees. Nothing moves, no sound... it's like Chernobyl. You'd be hard pressed to find an Eco Safari more devoid of wildlife. Leave your binoculars and DSLR at home. The tour seems contrived to funnel guests to the operator's Restaurant/Brewery where you can experience the fish fingers and fries for $39.00. Sadly, that's the only menu item i can remember because my brain may have short - circuited upon seeing the price. If you take the offered transportation, expect to cool your heels in the restaurant for 1.5-2h after the tour, long enough to compel you to dig in your couch cushions or take out a loan to fund lunch. Overall, a pretty, and unique place to visit, and a nice, invigorating paddle, but don't go expecting to fill your bird watching book.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We welcome all feedback in our efforts to keep our customers happy and improve our services. The Noosa Everglades is an untouched region, thousands of years old and quite unique in it's offerings. It is the tea tree that turns the water dark creating reflections fondly known as "The River of Mirrors" and the area is very rich in history. Although 44% of Australia's bird species reside here, each day can be very different, in the aspect that some days we witness a lot of activity and others not as much. There are many factors contributing to this and this year Migration to Lake Ayre is one of them. The tour returns to Habitat Noosa at 1.30pm with the coach boarding at 2.55pm and departing at 3pm to Noosa. This allows guests time to explore the grounds, have a picnic (if they choose to self cater) have lunch in the bistro, try the craft beer on offer or see the wildlife in action (being a National park there are Kangaroos and a number of other native species throughout the grounds). The schedule has been put together based on customer feedback and often we recieve requests for more time at Habitat. We offer a Fish and Chips menu item for $28 (perhaps it was another dish for $39 as we have a broad menu). We have our produce delivered daily from local suppliers and the fish is exceptional and one of our most popular dishes. We have taken your feedback on board and hope you may return to possibly camp and enjoy the many other service offerings available.

Peaceful day in the Noosa Everglades

Mandy_H, Oct 2023

Rip off!

Daniel_T, Oct 2023

Went canoeing with the kids on the Noosa Everglades last Saturday. The experience was ok, but I was shocked to discover later the cost that I thought was $308.62 was in fact in US dollars, and actually cost $487.59! This was not obvious on the booking site. Why would a tourist operator in Queensland be charging in US dollars? This is a total rip off for a 1 hour self guided paddle up a river and a muffin.

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Hello and thank you for the feedback. We find our pricing is fair for everything the guests receive on the day. Return transfer from Noosa accommodation, a scenic boat cruise across Lake Cootharaba and into the Noosa Everglades, supervised self guided canoe experience where we allow our guests to cruise through the easiest and most beautiful part of the river without the need to drag the canoe across a windy lake, juice muffins and fresh fruit and expert commentary from our legendary skippers. All of this for just $139 AUD! As for the cost in USD; this is a setting on Viator/ TripAdvisor which can be changed to your currency. As this is a third party OTA, we are limited to what control we have over what the consumer sees when purchasing. The currency is set to USD as these are United States based companies while Everlgades Eco Safaris is a Sunshine Coast based small business. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any further feedback and we hope to have you visit us again sometime soon!

Wonderful Noosa Everglades experience

WaiKin_L, Sep 2023

Wonderful cruise experience from Habitat to Fig tree point. It is then a bit mess at thr first for 3 of us canoing. We can then master it later on and canoe all the way to Harry’s hut. Very nice experience and it is a 5-6km ride. It takes ard 65mins for most travellers to finish the canoing

Response from Host, Sep 2023

What a great bit of a description about our Everglades Explorer! We are happy the three of you got the hang of the canoe and enjoyed the adventure! Thanks again!

Cool, exciting, enjoyed it and would do it again.

Karoline_H, Sep 2023

It was a really cool experience. First we drove with the boat to the kayaks. You drive 5km with it but that is enough when you‘re not used to travel. They explain everything to you. I would do it again.

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Hello and thank you for the great review. The 5km paddle allows our guests to have a gentle canoe experience through one of the only Everglades on the planet! Not to be missed! Thanks again for the feedback and we hope to see you again soon!

Everglades done right

Melinda_H, Sep 2023

Wonderful Experience start to finish. Highly recommended. Thank you for a fantastic day. I’ll be back with more visiting friends.

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Thank you for the kind words. And it means so much to us that you already want to return with friends!!! How Great!

Pleasant time exploring Everglades

Lisa_K, Aug 2023

Tour was well organised. Beautiful area to explore. Canoeing upstream and into head wind was tougher than expected but enjoyable. Then a pleasant boat trip back.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Thank you for the great review! Yes, the wind can make things a little difficult at times but not nearly as bad as the wind across Lake Cootharaba! This is why we will boat our guests across the lake and into the wind restricted narrows of the Upper Noosa River. Thank you again and we hope to see you again sometime soon!

Time on the Everglades

Mary_M, Jul 2023

I really liked this tour - It is a slow relaxing tour - a little dreamy, like slow travel with nice scenery & some bird life on the lakes. We also did see a snake which was interesting.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Thank you for the great review. Our journeys take our guests through the winding waters of the narrows and "River of Mirrors" And while we can never guarantee wildlife spotting on tour, we have been seeing plenty of active birds and goannas on our recent tours!

Leisurely boat trip and great experience to canoe up only one of two Everglades in the world!!

Michelle_O, Jun 2023

Lots of pickup points to choose from. Pick-up very punctual. Nice drive out to Habitat Noosa. Very clear briefing given of what the day entailed and safety in canoe. Pete was our tour guide who was very knowledge and Whitt giving us commentary along our boat cruise to pick up the canoe. Again instructions given on how to row and steer for those with no experience and safety tips. The trip canoeing up the river was a leisurely pace but be aware it’s 5k!! Little stop at Harry’s Hut for drinks and cake before going back up river by boat to Habitat Noosa. You have about 1 1/2 hours here to chill out. Plenty of opportunity to buy food but if you don’t take a pack lunch! We were back in Noosa by 4pm. Overall a very good day

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Thank you for the detailed review of our product! We agree, the Everglades Explorer is an amazing tour and the best way to explore Australia's only everglades system!

Beautiful

Julia_H, Jun 2023

Very peaceful experience. My only note is that it felt a bit expensive and then if you took the shuttle service then you have to stay another hour and a half at the resort for lunch. (If you don’t want an expensive lunch, I recommend packing your own).

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thank you for the feedback. We allow our guests to spend some time at Habitat Noosa to allow them to explore the beautiful area, enjoy some beer from our micro brewery or some food from our delicious bistro. We do encourage those who wish to bring a picnic lunch to be enjoyed around the national park! There are also about 50 Eastern Gray Kangaroos who are extremely friendly and love to be on your Instagram. Thanks again and we hope to see you again.

Good tour guide, best...

Madeline_L, Apr 2023

Good tour guide, best part of the excursion. Not worth the money for what we paid for unfortunately.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Hello and thank you for leaving us a review. We are disappointed that you did not have a great experience. As you can see form our other reviews, our Everglades Explorer offers one of the top excursions in the region and it seems was not the right product for you. If possible, we would love if you could get in touch to provide us more feedback. Why, for example, do you believe the tour and canoe experience does not have the correct value for the money? Thank you again for providing us feedback and we hope to hear from your soon.

Nice day out

Marie_M, Apr 2023

Knowledgeable, helpful and friendly staff. Lovely scenery. Deducted one star as we saw no wildlife, although can't blame the company for that!

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Oh no! So here's the thing... the wildlife called in sick that day and we couldn't find anyone who could come in and cover on such short notice :) All jokes aside, thank you for leaving an honest review. We can never guarantee wildlife on tour but can 100% guarantee wildlife once you arrive back to Habitat Noosa! With 50 Eastern Gray Kangaroos and an abundance of bird species, it's a truly magical location to have a much deserved lunch after exploring the everglades. Thank you again for the lovely review and we hope to get you back on tour when the lazy wildlife decide to show up to work!

Fabulous trip

bkaurdulku, Mar 2023

We had a great time on this trip. The driver made it very interesting and had a joke and a laugh with everyone. Explained everything to use and made a point of talking to everyone and making you feel like a part of the whole group. If you can ,definitely do this trip.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

What a great piece of feedback! We agree that our skippers and bus drivers have a good sense of humour. And you're right, they make it a point to speak with everyone so no one feels left out of the fun! Thank you again the five star review and feel free to join us again sometime down the road.

Fantastic day out

Ann_P, Feb 2023

Such a lovely day trip! Kayaking was great fun, lots of little nature walks and the boat trip was stunning and informative. We saw kangaroos at the camp site. All staff, captain and bus driver were really friendly and helpful. Highly recommend!

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Thank you so much for leaving such a great review! I will personally pass along your positive words to our skipper, bus driver, bistro staff and of course our resident marsupial staff! Hope to see you sometime again! -Steve

Cool Trip to the Everglade River!

Johanna_B, Feb 2023

Nice experience! Our Guide told us very much about the nature around the River and the Everglade. I Would recommend it!

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Thank you so much for leaving us a review! We love our guides and think they make the trip what it is!!! We would love to have you back again soon!

Good experience

Michael_F, Jan 2023

Boat trip over lake was nice, skipper very knowledgeable. Entering the everglades was exciting, not what I expected wasn't a lot of wildlife to see, I guess the Bush fires and water has had an effect on the environment

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Hello and thank you for taking the time to leave a review. While 44% of all bird species in Australia reside in the Noosa Everglades, they don't always like to come out and say hi. Did you see any of the Easter Grey Kangaroos that live on site at Habitat? We also regularly see massive goannas on site in our paperbark forest! We hope you enjoyed your day out with us and thank you again for taking the time to leave a review.

Everglades beautiful

Ian_W, Nov 2022

We had to wade out to the boat and our guid Trevor was very knowledgeable. The canoe trip down the Everglades was beautiful although made you hot.

Response from Host, Nov 2022

Thank you for your review Ian. We are glad you enjoyed the Everglades experience and the canoe leg. We hope to see you again soon.

Everglades adventures

Amanda_A, Aug 2022

Commentary was very informative and entertaining. Canoe trip downstream was a reasonable distance and time but lucky we didn’t have to paddle upstream as it was more difficult. Highly recommend even without canoe

Response from Host, Sep 2022

Thank you for the 5 star review. We look forward to seeing you again, soon.