Explore Map
heron island
Experience nature at its best on Heron Island, world famous for its spectacular coral reef and a sanctuary for an extraordinary variety of marine life. This natural coral cay provides a genuine eco-experience and the unique opportunity to witness the magic of the world’s largest coral reef.
Boasting some of the best scuba diving and snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, Heron Island offers a unique experience where you can truly immerse yourself in the beauty of nature. Among the music of seabirds, tracks of turtles and clouds of multi-coloured fish, the feeling that you’re a guest of nature itself is inescapable. Surrounded by 24 square kilometres of reef, the island is home to a resident population of over 5,000 green and loggerhead turtles – with many more returning each year during breeding season.
There is one resort on the island, Heron Island Resort, which offers several standards of accommodation designed to suit all tastes and budgets.
Exclusive Offer!
Our Visitor Information Centres offer an exclusive deal for those wanting to travel to Heron Island. This includes:
- Discount Accommodation
- Half Price Boat Transfers for Adults
- Complimentary Boat Transfers for children (12 & under)
- Daily Breakfast
- Plus more!
Access
Guests of Heron Island Resort can access the island via boat transfer, which regularly departs from the Gladstone Marina. Alternatively begin your holiday with a scenic helicopter flight between Gladstone Airport and Heron Island.
Top things to do
- Watch turtle hatchlings erupt from their nest and wiggle their way to the waters edge at Heron Island.
- The Great Barrier Reef’s ‘Great Eight’ is a list of iconic marine animals, and Heron Island is home to a few of them. Turtles, manta rays, clownfish and even sharks can be spotted near Heron Island
- Heron Island is a snorkeller’s paradise. You don’t need a boat to spy something special; simply pull on your flippers and hop in the water from the beach to encounter starfish, sea cucumbers and more
- Dive your way around the 20 spectacular dive sites surrounding Heron Island.
- Take a seat within the hull of the island’s semi-submarine ‘I-SPY’ to see underwater creatures – sea turtles, manta rays, bright fish, sea snakes and more – all without getting wet
- Heron can be home to up to 200,000 bird species at the height of nesting season (January). Join a Naturalist Guide for the free bird walk from the Information Centre to learn about the different types of birds that call this island home.
- Take a guide tour of the University of Queensland’s Research Station on Heron Island.
- Enjoy some of the resorts activities including a guided reef walk, semi-submersive tour and much more.
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