rude and unfriendly staff. When they spoke to us they did it in a rude manner. The tour was supposed to be two hours on the island but in reality we were about 40 minutes. The wetsuits are given wet making it difficult to put them on, probably not disinfected at all as well as masks and tubes for diving. They guaranteed few people but this was not the case. I do not recommend it.

What a fantastic day out. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. The staff were friendly and experienced. The lunch was great and fresh fruit was delicious. I hadn't snorkeled before but I felt very safe and really enjoyed the experience.I would recommend this trip to everyone. Carol

We did two tours with Sailaway (Low Isles and Mackay Reef). Leaving separate reviews for each tour. Mackay Reef was a great snorkeling experience. It was a clear sunny day and the underwater visibility was quite good. The crew was friendly and helpful. We saw lots of colorful coral and fish, and there were lots of giant clams. The crew on this tour were very accommodating of families/children and we could explore the reef at our own pace. This tour gets 5 stars and is much better than the Low Isles tour. One thing I would note about both Sailaway tours, as well as a third tour we took with another company ... we did not see a lot of large marine life (e.g. turtles, sharks, rays) on any of our tours. I suspect it is because the tourists tend to harass the animals so they avoid the parts of the reef where the annoying humans swim.

We did two tours with Sailaway. Leaving separate reviews for each tour. Low Isles - full day tour: The weather was overcast and a bit rainy on the day of this tour. Underwater visibility was not very good so couldn't really see too much of the reef. They offered a guided tour in the water but they were swimming at a pretty fast pace and my 8 year old could not keep up. I asked if we could just snorkel on our own at a slower pace but the guide told us we needed to swim to shore. Honestly, I felt a little cheated since we paid just as much as everyone else but they didn't seem to be very accommodating of children. Overall I'd give this tour 2 stars. The Mackay Reef tour was much better (see my other review). One thing I would note about both tours, as well as a third tour we took with another company ... we did not see a lot of large marine life (e.g. turtles, sharks, rays) on any of our tours. I suspect it is because the tourists tend to harass the animals so they avoid the parts of the reef where the annoying humans swim.

Having had a rather stressful expeirence on the outer reef on abig boat (with another company) a couple of years ago (it was very choppy and I was sick), we opted for the Low isles sailing. It was wonderful. Small group on a lovely sailing boat, staff were attentive and friendly, the refreshments were all good. Although the coral is not as colourful ( so I was told) as the Mckay outer reef, the fish were just as good and there were hundreds of them. And of course the sailing time is not as long. Highly recommended.

A great day out on the water. I enjoyed the sail over to the reef, preferred being outside on a catamaran to a big speed ferry. The sail was wonderful, sat out on the bow. The snorkeling was amazing. We snorkeled to two different locations off the boat, perfect amount of time and saw turtles, fish and lots of coral! I would go again.

The team on the boat Tom,Liz and Eugenie did an amazing job of making the day fantastic. Loads of interesting facts about the history and the sea and wildlife.Delicious lunch provided,a really great day out.

We highly recommend this tour with just the right combination of snorkelling, exploring and relaxing. The crew members were very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and engaging. The food was tasty and plentiful. The unexpected highlight was the number of whales that we saw and the captain was happy to deviate our course to make the most of this experience.

Weather was amazing. Saw plenty of colorful fish, turtles, reef sharks and corals. Crew were knowledgeable and helpful. Lunch was great. Thank you for an amazing day at the reef would highly recommend.

We sailed today with a great skipper Jake Smithers from Sailaway Reef Tours. He and his crew were so helpful and made everyone smile. We had a fantastic day sailing out to Low Isle where we saw humpback whales on the way there and then sharks, manta rays, turtles and so many different species of fish up close whilst snorkeling. This is a must do day trip if you are in Port Douglas. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Wife, Son (15 YO) and myself took the day trip out to Low Isles with Sailaway today, including lunch on the boat, glass bottom boat tour, snorkling around the island and on the reefs and a small walking tour of the island! What a fantastic day we have all had and we all want to congratulate and say a big thank you to Jake, Cooper and Anna who were our crew today for making it such a wonderful experience! Definitely the highest of highlights to our 3 week holiday here in Australia! 🇦🇺 The boat is truly stunning and most of the journey was done by sail once we got out of the port!!! Cooper was inviting and very friendly as well as helpful and informative! Jake clearly knows his way out and around the island/reef and is informative, friendly and funny too! Anna really looked after everyone and gave a relaxed and informal walking tour of the island, which wasn’t rushed. After we got to the island we moored up next to the glass bottom boat and those who wanted to snorkel off the back of the boat to the island could and those who preferred to take the glass bottom boat tour to the island had that choice instead! My wife and son (having been fitted up for the snorkling gear along the ride out) chose to snorkel to the island where as I chose the glass bottom boat! Both were excellent and Jake even gave me a small 10/15 minute tour of some of the reefs surrounding the island after we dropped a couple of others off on the island! My wife and son then joined me on the island a bit later on! Whilst in the boat I saw Turtles, Sharks, Corals and Marine fish along the way! My wife and son likewise on the way to the island! Whilst on the island I was lucky enough to have about 15 minutes to myself where I watched 3 sharks trying to catch fish in a bait ball no more than 10 metres from the waters edge! I then saw 2 turtles swim by at about the same distance from me and a further 2 black tipped sharks came up to me whilst stood in the edge of the water at less than 5 metres away before turning and going back out of the shallows! They were 3-4 feet long but easy enough to see in the crystal clear water! We then had our walking tour of the island which was a fun break before returning to the main sail boat via the glass bottom boat for lunch which was already prepared and ready on board for us! We had plenty of time to eat and drink what was a fantastic lunch!!! I won’t spoil what was in it for you all, but everyone said it was excellent and enjoyed it!!! Just after finishing lunch 2 biggish Bat fish approached the stern of the boat followed by 2 more bigger black tipped sharks!!! They stayed there for a good 5 minutes which allowed me plenty of time to video/take pictures of them! After lunch 🥙 nice again it was a choice of back to the glass bottom boat or around an hours free snorkling time! Jake drive the glass bottom boat and was very knowledgable and informative about the reef stacks around the island! Cooper and Anna kept a lean eye on everyone on the water and Jake was quick to check if anyone looked tired or was struggling in the water and if so was more than happy to let them on board the glass bottom boat or return to the sailboat if they preferred/were ok to do so! All very very safe!!! Even though it was all day it went so quickly as we had an amazing time and there was more than enough to do throughout the whole day to keep everyone interested! My only regret is that I didn’t see any humpback whales or rays today which also apparently can often be seen! I guess we’ll just have to come back and do it all again! How terrible for us!!! In all honesty, we cannot recommend this trip out on to the Great Barrier Reef for ANYONE looking for a day trip out to an area of outstanding natural beauty and diverse marine life!!! It was amazing!!! The best day of our 3 week holiday without a doubt!!! I’ve never seen my 15 YO son smile like he did after swimming alongside turtles and with Sharks around him! You know what teenagers are like and that should tell you everything!!! If you only get one chance to do a day trip out to the Great Barrier Reef on your holiday, PLEASE PLEASE do yourself a favour and choose this one!!! And no, I do not work for the company and yes we have been out on another tour boat whilst here which was really good but nowhere near as good as this!!! Well done and thank you so very much to Jake, Cooper and Anna from Sailaway for such a memorable, dare I say it, once in a lifetime experience which will live with us all until the day we depart this planet!!! 🇦🇺🪃🦈🐢🪸🐠

As first time snorkelers we thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon cruise to Low Isles. Great crew, delicious food and lots of information and guidance.

Great day. The staff is very friendly and professional. Jake was our skipper, and Peter and Eugenia were our super crew. Everything was as advertised, good sized catamaran never felt crowded, snacks and a nice lunch. We were the only ones on board who did not snorkel, we just didn’t feel like it and enjoyed being on board and relaxing. We spent some time on the island and glass bottom boat. We enjoyed the day and would do, it again.

We chose a smaller boat to go out to the reef rather than get on the big Quicksilver catamaran and we are so glad that we did! The weather the day we went was perfect which made it that much more enjoyable (wind makes for choppy water and unpleasant snorkelling). We are two adults and 2 kids (12 and 15). Everything was great - from booking to getting on the boat, the briefings and information session, getting snorkelling gear sorted and then the actual snorkelling. We snorkelled in two spots just near Mackay Cay and we also got to go onto the cay itself which was just outstanding and made for some awesome photos. Food onboard was really nice and plentiful. If we are ever in Port Douglas again I would for sure do this particular cruise again. There were about 40 people on the boat when we went (which is about the max apparently) and while it was busy there was still plenty of room to move around. The staff were great and very professional/friendly. I'm not a huge fan of deep water but the water was so clear and there was so much to see underwater that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The kids and husband loved it too!

Totally brilliant these cruises. We were taken on tours through the spectacular coral reef on the low isles. Our boat, the Sailaway V had every luxury such as, private bar, catered food, etc. Praise for the crew Tom, Peter and Amy who entertained the guests with their excellent knowledge of the area and went above and beyond to make the day a once in a lifetime experience. A member of our group was vegan, even despite this the crew gave reasonable and delicious food options. Saw some whales dolphins and the colours of the reef where extraordinary.