Heron Island

A beautiful place to stay! Food is great Turtle room was great Service by staff great The whole place was clean and tidy staff friendly as can be. Con’s ferry ride 2-3hours Checkin to room is 3pm Upon arrival a 30 minute talk about rules and regulations, and how to book tours. Pick up snorkel gear and the like. Then pick a lunch ticket. All food and drinks can be put onto your room or pay as you go. You can walk arount the island in less than 30minutes. Bar are is large and has great seating and free pool table 1 swimming pool regularly size for a resort. Restaurant is huge and caged off from birds. If you dont like birds dont go! Birds are noisy through the day and night and its their home so expect a lot of poo. Snorkelling is amazing water temp perfect. Lots to see you just have to get out deeper great for kids and beginners in the shallows. They say no food or drinks to be taken but everyone does not bag search just so t be silly with what you bring. Food prices are reasonable so are drinks I loved my time there No air conditioning so choose you time carefully

A wonderful combination of nature and comfort. Worth every cent, the resort rotates around the adventures on the GBR, while providing for excellent gastronomy and pleasures like the spa.

Heron island is a beautiful island in the Great Barrier Reef. We visited the island in May and had great weather and temperatures. There is a lot of wildlife around the island both on land and in the ocean. The island has a lot of birds, which also means that there is a lot of bird noises during the day and night. However, you quickly get used to the sounds. In the ocean we saw multiple different rays, fish, sharks and turtles. The best place to see the larger animals is under the jetty at 6-8 am. The marine center offers a few different activities but the snorkeling and sunset cruise was our favorite. It is also very easy to rent snorkeling gear and wetsuits. I would recommend having a wetsuit as there are some jellyfish that have a painful sting. The hotel room was nice, but there is no lock on the doors. So valuables should either be delivered in the reception or brought along. On the island it’s possible to sign up for a bird and turtle walk, which are very informative. It is a beautiful island with a lot of wildlife to see.

To be able to get up close with nature every second of every day was amazing. We witnessed the circle of life with the Turtles, swam with them too plus Sharks, Rays and so many fish. The birds on the island keep singing day & night. Restaurant breakfast was awesome, evening menu could be better.

We spent two days here and it was beyond gorgeous! Great experience from start to finish. The wonderful Heron Island staff kindly agreed to store 2 of our heavy bags at the terminal free of charge. They were carefully stored in an employee office. Thanks Robyn! We absolutely LOVED our beachfront room!!! It was super close to the beautiful crystal clear water. The room was a bit rustic in appearance and there was no A/C, but overall it was quite comfortable. Our 2 ceiling fans helped a lot. The free 24 hour laundry was awesome. Did lots of snorkeling and saw many stingrays and colorful fish. Got up one morning at 5:00am and saw 4 female green turtles on the beach. WOW! Definitely worth the early wake up call. Breakfast buffet was included with our room and it was excellent. Island staff are mostly backpackers and everyone was incredibly friendly! Be warned: there are lots of noisy birds everywhere. Some are nocturnal so they make all kinds of racket at night. Bring some earplugs.

5 Stars for the Island, 2 Stars for the Resort, and 1 Star for the Restaurant We spent two nights on Heron Island, the experience was incredibly unique and memorable The island itself is a true gem. The opportunity to spot sharks, rays, turtles, and a variety of fish right off the shore was a highlight of our trip. It’s a rare experience that you simply can’t find anywhere else in the world. We made some of the most amazing memories here.

Amazing place in the GBR. We took the ferry from Gladstone and the organization was perfect: we dropped off our luggage at the check in and we found them in front of our room. The trip on the boat was great, with very calm sea and wonderful view on the cays. The island in itself is amazing, with incredible reef, amazing white beaches and beautiful forest. We went at the end of June when the migrating birds had already gone, and that was ideal. Actually we were told by the local guide that during the migration season the island is quite noisy and smelly. I dove at least twice per day for 5 days and the dive team was simply great: young guys from Spain, Chile and Australia who brought me almost everywhere, making me admire the beauty of the coral and its eco diversity, including Mantas!! My 11-year old daughter and my wife had also great time enjoying the boat for snorkeling, the bird and island walk and some other activities. The food was somehow ok, with some dinners a la carte and some others with buffet, not particularly gourmet, still quite ok. We had a beach room, just on the beach which was great,’in particular in the morning to see the sunrise. The room although clean, are a little bit outdated and might require some refresh: the bed was anyway very comfortable. Overall an incredible experience and a place to put in your bucket list, absolutely great for family, to visit when the migration season of birds has gone: you might miss the baby turtle hatching time, still enjoying the quietness of the island. Definitely recommended!!!

One of the most beautiful and well conserved places where I've been. Small island with only 2 infrastructure: the UQ research station and a resort. The nature is amazing because the respect rules. The clearles of the water, the reef, birds, the sunset and the tranquility of the place make this unique.