Sunset cruises in Hervey Bay: champagne sail, prawns or the A$55 twilight

A sunset cruise in Hervey Bay is short, cheap by Queensland standards and in sheltered water. You go out for 90 minutes to two hours, watch the sun drop behind the mainland from the bay, and come back to the marina in the dusk. The question is which boat, and what is actually in the glass.

Three sunset cruises are on GetYourGuide: a A$55 twilight cruise on a 20-metre catamaran, a A$95 prawn-and-champagne cruise on a small glass-bottom boat, and a A$100 champagne sail on a sailing catamaran with about 24 guests. The best sunset cruise for most couples is the sail; the best value is the twilight run. Prices are checked regularly.

This page compares all of them, clears up the "open bar", "dinner cruise" and "Boat Club" questions, and gives the departure times against the real sunset time for each season.

HB-SUN-90fromA$100per person

Our pick

Champagne Sunset Sail

Departs

Great Sandy Straits Marina, Urangan (Berth B5)

Time out

90 minutes: 4:00 pm in winter, 5:15 pm in summer

Vessel

11.6 m sailing catamaran

Guests

Max 24

Food

Canapés and a finger-food platter; gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian catered

Season

November–June

• Beer, sparkling wine, wine, cider or soft drink
• Canapés
• Free Wi-Fi on board
• Free parking at the marina

Hervey Bay sunset cruises compared

Every sunset trip leaves from the Urangan end of town, but not from the same marina. Here is the whole field, including the one you can only book direct.

The GetYourGuide ratings split them clearly: ★4.9 from 167 reviews for the sail, ★4.8 from 48 for Milbi, ★4.7 from 348 for the twilight cruise. All three are good; the sail simply has the fewest complaints for the most reviews.

Price board · GetYourGuide

Live prices in Australian dollars, per person unless marked, checked regularly. Cheapest first.

Trip	From	Time	Rating
Twilight Cruise to Great Sandy Marine ParkUrangan	A$55	2 h	★ 4.7 (348)	Dates
Relaxing Sunset Cruise with Champagne and PrawnsUrangan	A$95	1.5 h	★ 4.8 (48)	Dates
Hervey Bay Champagne Sunset SailUrangan	A$100	1.5 h	★ 4.9 (167)	Dates

Which is the best sunset cruise for you

The four evenings below are genuinely different trips, not the same cruise at different prices.

The champagne sunset sail: small boat, drinks included

Blue Dolphin's Champagne Sunset Sail goes out on an 11.6-metre sailing catamaran from Berth B5 at the Great Sandy Straits Marina. The boat is surveyed for 30, but the operator caps this trip at 24. It is the only sunset trip here where the drinks are included rather than one glass: beer, sparkling wine, wine, cider or soft drink come with canapés and a finger-food platter. Spirits are sold on board.

It departs at 4:00 pm in winter and 5:15 pm in summer, and runs November to June only, because the boat does full-day whale trips from July to October. The skipper-owner, Peter Lynch, also runs the dolphin sail covered in our dolphins and turtles guide.

Prawns and champagne on Milbi

The A$95 champagne-and-prawns cruise belongs to Hervey Bay Eco Marine Tours, not to Whalesong. Its boat is Milbi, the Butchulla word for sea turtle, which the operator calls Hervey Bay's only glass-bottom vessel. It takes a maximum of 28.

For A$95 you get local king prawns, a grazing platter and a glass of champagne, with Urangan Pier as the backdrop. The operator also calls it "the only sunset tour in Hervey Bay that docks on the beach" — its own claim. Whether the glass bottom shows much depends on tides and conditions, the operator says. Milbi leaves Fisherman's Wharf Marina on Jetty Road, next to the public boat ramp, at 4:30 pm in winter and 5 pm in summer.

The A$55 twilight cruise on the Amaroo

The Boat Club's Twilight Bay Cruise is the biggest boat and the lowest price. Amaroo is a 20-metre motor catamaran with three viewing decks and a covered top deck, able to carry up to 95 guests. You get a complimentary glass of bubbles and a small plate of nibbles; everything else is from the canteen.

The route depends on tide and weather. The operator lists Woody Island, Round Island, Pelican Bank and Urangan Pier as possible destinations, and it runs all year. Of the sunset trips, it is the easiest pick with children and the only one we can say is on offer every month.

Whalesong's sunset cruise (direct only)

Whalesong runs its own Hervey Bay Sunset Cruise on its 16.4-metre motor catamaran from November to June. It is not on GetYourGuide. It serves hot and cold canapés, including Hervey Bay king prawns and scallop ceviche, with one complimentary drink on arrival. The fare shown on whalesong.com.au is A$95 adult, but that table is labelled for an earlier season, so check the current price when you book. It departs at 5:30 pm November–March and 4:30 pm April–June.

The Boat Club sunset cruise: is the Boat Club really a cruise operator?

Yes, and it confuses people. The Hervey Bay Boat Club is a licensed members' club in Urangan with a bistro, café, cinema and its own marina. Its cruise arm, Boat Club Adventure Cruises, is a real tour operator. It runs the Amaroo on whale watches, the twilight cruise and a summer K'gari (Fraser Island) boom-net cruise, and it is the confirmed supplier of the A$55 twilight cruise on GetYourGuide.

Things worth knowing if you search for the "boat club sunset cruise":

• Where: it leaves the Hervey Bay Boat Club on Buccaneer Drive, Urangan. Check in 30 minutes before departure; boarding starts 15 minutes before.
• When: between 3:30 and 4:30 pm, depending on the time of year, for about 2 hours.
• Membership is optional. Non-members are welcome; membership costs A$5 a year and members save on cruises.
• Children: booked direct, one child under 14 travels free with each paying adult.
• Dinner: the fare includes a discount at the Boat Club café and restaurant, which makes it the easiest "cruise then dinner" evening in town.
• Websites: the cruise site is boatclubadventurecruises.com.au and the club's is boatclub.com.au. The herveybayboatclub.com.au address you may see quoted does not exist.

"Open bar" and "sunset dinner cruise": what actually exists

Two searches promise more than Hervey Bay sells.

Open bar. No sunset cruise here advertises an open bar. The Boat Club's twilight cruise, often described that way, includes one glass of bubbles, and the canteen sells alcoholic and soft drinks after that. Milbi pours one glass of champagne; Whalesong one drink on arrival. The nearest thing is the Champagne Sunset Sail, whose operator describes "all-inclusive drinks": beer, sparkling wine, wine, cider or soft drink are in the fare, with spirits for sale. It does not publish a limit. If you want your own bottle, Pacific Whale Foundation's whale-season sunset trip allows BYO, up to three standard drinks.

Sunset dinner cruise. None of the sunset cruises serves dinner. Whalesong says of its own sunset trip that "this is NOT a dinner cruise" and suggests a marina restaurant afterwards. Canapés, prawns and platters are generous for 90 minutes, but they are not a meal. Two ways to get dinner:

• Book any sunset cruise, then eat at the marina or at the Boat Club (the twilight fare includes a discount there).
• In whale season, take Whalesong's afternoon whale watch, about 2–6 pm, with afternoon tea and dinner on board: A$160 on GetYourGuide. You see whales in the afternoon light and come in around sunset.

A private charter is the other answer for groups. The one private sailing charter on GetYourGuide is A$1,800 for the whole boat for 4 to 8 hours from Urangan, and the listing says it can be tailored to you. That price is per charter, not per person.

Sunset times and when the boats leave

Hervey Bay's sunset moves by about an hour and a half across the year, and the operators move their departures with it. Times below are computed for Urangan; the boats' times are the operators' own.

Milbi and Blue Dolphin publish only "winter" and "summer" times, and the Boat Club a window, so confirm the exact departure on your voucher. As a rule, the sun goes down in the last half hour of the cruise and you come back in the afterglow.

Here is how a winter evening on the champagne sail runs:

1. 3:45 pm
   Arrive at the Great Sandy Straits Marina

   The operator asks you to be there 15 minutes before departure. The exact check-in point is on your voucher.

2. 4:00 pm
   Cast off from Urangan

   Drinks and a finger-food platter are served on board; the order of service is up to the crew.

3. 4:15–5:00 pm
   Out on the bay

   Views back to Hervey Bay and across to K'gari. The skipper chooses the course for the wind.

4. About 5:10 pm
   Sunset

   In June the sun sets around 5:10 pm; it is later either side of winter.

5. 5:30 pm
   Back at the marina

   Early enough for dinner at the marina restaurants.

A winter evening on the Champagne Sunset Sail, using the operator's approximate itinerary. In summer the boat leaves at 5:15 pm and is back about 90 minutes later. Sunset times are computed for Urangan and move by up to an hour and a half across the year.

Sunset cruises in whale season (July to October)

From July to October the choice narrows. Blue Dolphin and Whalesong both switch to whale trips and pause their sunset cruises. What you can book at dusk in whale season:

• The Boat Club twilight cruise, which runs all year, A$55.
• Milbi's sunset cruise, which publishes winter departure times; check availability for your date.
• Whalesong's afternoon whale watch, 2–6 pm with dinner, A$160 on GetYourGuide. See our whale watching guide for how it compares with other half days.
• Pacific Whale Foundation's Sunset Whale Watch, about 2.5 hours on its 12-metre rigid inflatable boat, booked direct: A$133 adult retail, A$99.75 online on pacificwhale.com.au. BYO drinks allowed (maximum three standard drinks); no children under 5.

If whales are the point, the regular sunset cruises are the wrong trip: they are bay cruises, not whale watches, and they do not go out to the whale grounds. Our whale season guide covers the months.

Getting to the marina, weather and what to bring

Two marinas, one road apart. The Champagne Sunset Sail and Whalesong leave from the Great Sandy Straits Marina, 17 Buccaneer Drive, Urangan; Blue Dolphin says parking there is free. The Boat Club twilight leaves from the Hervey Bay Boat Club, also on Buccaneer Drive. Milbi leaves from Fisherman's Wharf Marina on Jetty Road. Do not assume the whale-boat marina; the exact check-in point is on your voucher.

Hervey Bay has taxis (131 008) and Uber, and the airport is about 10 minutes from the Esplanade. See getting to Hervey Bay for the drive from Brisbane.

Weather. The bay is sheltered by K'gari, but the afternoon wind is stronger in summer: the Bureau of Meteorology's mean 3 pm wind at Hervey Bay Airport is 21–22 km/h from November to March, against about 16 km/h in June and July. February and March are the wettest months. Winter evenings are cool once the sun has gone — the July mean minimum is 10 °C — and every operator tells you to bring a jacket or jumper.

Bring:

• A warm layer, even in summer, for the ride home.
• Non-slip, non-marking shoes (Blue Dolphin asks you to avoid black soles) or be ready to go barefoot.
• A camera or phone with a charged battery; the light goes quickly.
• Dietary needs sent at booking, if you want the canapés to suit.

Dolphins do sometimes appear at dusk, and the Boat Club tells you to keep watch for them. They are a bonus, not part of the deal; for a trip built around them, see the dolphin and turtle cruises. For other evening ideas, from the pier to the Esplanade, see Hervey Bay at night.

Our call on Hervey Bay sunset cruises

For a couple between November and June, the Champagne Sunset Sail is the one to book: the small group, the sail and the included drinks make the extra A$45 over the twilight cruise worth it. For prawns and a local story, Milbi at A$95. For families, a tight budget or a July–October visit, the A$55 twilight cruise does the job well and leaves you by the Club's restaurant for dinner.

Our call

Book the Champagne Sunset Sail if you are here between November and June; take the A$55 twilight cruise any other time, or if the budget is tight.

The sail is the best-rated sunset trip in the feed (★4.9 from 167 reviews), carries about 24 people, and its A$100 covers beer, wine, sparkling, cider or soft drinks as well as canapés, where the others pour one glass. The twilight cruise is half the price, runs all year and still includes bubbles and nibbles.

Skip it if you want a proper dinner or an open bar: nobody in Hervey Bay sells either on a sunset cruise. Eat at the marina afterwards, or in whale season take the afternoon whale watch that serves dinner on board.

Check sunset sail datesfrom A$100 · GetYourGuide