In the shallows
Quad and dolphin feeding
Our pick for combos
- EveningSunset and the feed
- If no dolphinsReturn voucher
- Reviews160
Estimate your group cost
A Moreton Island swim with dolphins tour? What you can book
Moreton Island: Tangalooma ATV Quad Bike & Dolphin Feeding
★ 4.3 · From 160 reviews
4 options compared
Compare the quad days for your group
Choose a group size to line up all four quad days at once.
- Quad and feedingFeed at dusk · price per person from $170
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View - Quad and viewingWatch from the jetty · price per person from $156
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View - Quad and helicopterFlight included · price per person from $289
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View - Plain quad dayHome on the 4pm boat · price per person from $119
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View
Starting prices from GetYourGuide, converted at the ECB reference rate. You will see the exact price when booking.
No Moreton Island swim with dolphins tour exists: the resort forbids swimming with them. What you can book is a quad ride paired with dolphin feeding, dolphin viewing, a snorkel or a flight.
Editorial team, moretonislandquadbike.com · Updated November 8, 2026 · 7 min of reading
Key facts
- Swimming with dolphinsNot allowed: wild dolphins may not be swum with or touched.1
- Quad and feedingFrom $170, with sunset and dolphin watching after the ride.
- Quad and viewingFrom $156, watching the feed from the jetty.
- Quad and helicopterFrom $289, with a flight on the same day.
- The plain dayBack on the 4pm boat, so no feeding at dusk.2
Why there is no swim with dolphins tour here
People search for a Moreton Island swim with dolphins tour, and the honest answer is that none is sold. The resort that hosts the wild dolphins says plainly that they are wild animals, so there is no swimming with them and no touching.1 What it runs instead is a supervised feeding at dusk, where guests on the right package wade in and hand a fish to a dolphin under staff direction.
That feeding is the resort's own programme, with its own rules. Feeding often means walking into water up to the waist, and the resort recommends bringing spare clothes for it.3 Before anyone goes in, sunscreen, insect repellent and other lotions are rinsed off, and jewellery and watches come off too.4 Children need to reach 102cm before they may wade in and feed.5
The dolphins come in on their own terms. The resort counts a 98-99% attendance rate yet will not promise a visit, and on any evening the number of guests who feed depends on weather, tides and how many dolphins arrive.6,7 Others search for a dolphin and Tangalooma wrecks cruise; the nearest product pairs a snorkel tour with the evening feed, without a quad. Our sister guide moretonislanddaytrip.com covers the feeding and the wrecks in depth; this page sticks to how they fit with your quad ride.
Combos side by side
What each quad day adds after the ride
| Quad day | After the ride | Boat home | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain day | Free time | 4.0PM | 532 |
| With viewing | Cocktail and dolphins | About 7:00pm to 8:00pm | 52 |
| With feeding | Sunset and the feed | After the feed | 160 |
| With helicopter | Flight, cocktail, dolphins | About 7 PM to 8:00 PM | 12 |
Itineraries, return times and review counts from the GetYourGuide records.
The combos that exist, and what each adds
GetYourGuide sells the quad ride in four forms. The plain day starts from $119 and comes home on the afternoon boat. The quad and dolphin viewing day starts from $156 and adds a cocktail and dolphin watching. The quad and dolphin feeding day starts from $170 and adds sunset and the feed itself. The quad and helicopter day starts from $289.
The resort sells similar bundles under its own names. Its ATV day cruise with wild dolphin feeding costs AUD 253 for an adult, and the version with sunset cocktails AUD 233; both come back on the 7pm sailing.13,8 The resort's Sea to Sky package adds a 12 min helicopter tour to the ride for AUD 423 per adult.14 Those are resort prices in Australian dollars, so set them beside the GetYourGuide fares as a guide, not a like-for-like comparison.15
The feeding combo is the one we would point most people to. It has 160 reviews, more than any other quad combo, and it is the only one where you may stand in the water next to a dolphin. The record adds a useful promise: if no dolphins visit, eligible guests get a voucher to come back, under conditions.
The four quad days
How many travelers have reviewed each quad listing
- Plain quad day532
- Quad and feeding160
- Quad and viewing52
- Quad and helicopter12
Review counts on GetYourGuide; the scores sit between 4.2 and 4.4 across all four.
Feeding or viewing: what the price gap buys
The gap between the viewing and the feeding combos is from $156 to from $170. For that difference you move from the jetty into the shallows. The feeding listing warns that limits apply to protect the dolphins, so a fish may be shared between 2 guests or a small group, and on some nights the feed happens from the jetty instead.
Viewing suits several kinds of traveler. It is the drier option, it has a minimum age of 10 years in its record, and it suits anyone who would rather watch than wade. Because the resort lets guests on a package feed only once per person per stay, a family staying several nights will not feed every evening anyway, and viewing fills the other nights.16
Both evenings end the same way: a boat back to Brisbane after dark. The viewing record puts the boat home at about 8:00pm in summer, 7:30pm in spring and autumn, and 7:00pm in winter, then about 75 minutes on the water. Plan your ride home from Holt Street with that late arrival in mind, especially if you have parked at the wharf.
Choose your evening
Which combo fits your group
Pick what sounds most like your group and see which quad day fits.
If We want to stand next to a dolphin
Quad and feeding
Guests wade in and hand-feed under staff direction, from $170.3
If We would rather stay dry
Quad and viewing
The feed is watched from the jetty, from $156.
If We need to be home early
The plain day
It leaves the island at 4.00PM and is back in Brisbane about 75 minutes later.
If It is a big occasion
Quad and helicopter
A flight and the ride on one day, from $289.
If Our child is under 102cm
Viewing, not feeding
Feeding in the water needs a height of 102cm.5
Three evenings
Feed, watch or fly
From the jetty
Quad and dolphin viewing
Stay dry
- EveningCocktail and dolphins
- Minimum age10 years
- Reviews52
Ride and flight
Quad and helicopter
Special occasion
- ExtraHelicopter flight
- Per flightAt least 2 passengers
- Reviews12
A Moreton Island snorkeling tour with the quad
Some visitors want the reef as well as the ride. There is no GetYourGuide listing that pairs the quad with a snorkel, but there is a Moreton Island snorkeling tour with dolphin feeding, from $170 with 245 reviews, and a day with a snorkel tour from $119. The quad version of the resort's Afternoon Escape costs AUD 219 per adult and sails from Brisbane at 12:30pm.17
If you want both on one day, the practical route is a quad package plus a snorkel booked on the island, or the reverse. Ride slots start on the hour from 10am to 4pm, with a gap at noon, so a snorkel can sit around them.10 The resort can only sell those add-ons to its official visitors, which a package makes you.18 Expect wet clothes after a snorkel and before a ride, and keep a dry layer for the saddle.
The wrecks you would snorkel are 15 old vessels sent down in 1963 as a breakwater, and nobody may climb on them.19,20 Seeing them and the dusk feed on one day is possible through the snorkel and feeding listing above, but that day has no quad, so treat it as an alternative rather than a combo. If the ride matters more to you than the reef, keep the quad package and leave the wrecks for a second visit.
A feeding combo day
From the morning boat to the late boat home
Morning
Leave Holt Street
The morning boats go at 7:30am and 10:00am.8
On arrival
Lunch on the voucher
Adults get an AUD 25 lunch voucher on the ATV packages.9
Midday or afternoon
The quad ride
Ride slots run from 10am to 4pm.10
Dusk
The dolphins arrive
Around 6.00pm in winter, around 7:00pm in summer.11
After the feed
The late boat
It leaves between 7:00pm and 8:30pm, by season.12
The quad and helicopter day
The helicopter combo is the rarest booking of the four, with 12 reviews, but the scores sit with the others at 4.3. Its record lists lunch, free time, a helicopter flight and the quad ride at the resort, then a cocktail and dolphin watching before the boat home. The record also notes that every flight needs at least 2 passengers and that seat weights are limited.
Those limits come from the resort's flight rules: a single seat may carry up to 136kg, and 3 passengers together no more than 250kg.21 If your group has a mix of weights, ask about seating before you pay. The flights themselves run from 6 minutes for AUD 124 a head to 30 minutes for AUD 549, booked at the resort.22,23
The combo suits a special occasion more than a first visit. You see the Desert and the wrecks from above after riding past them, which joins the two halves of the day neatly. If the budget is tight, a plain quad day and a short flight added on the island usually cost less, subject to seats on the day.22
Video
Things to do in Brisbane and a day at the island resort
Dane and Stacey on YouTube · Video data is requested only when you tap play.
Keep in mind that as they are wild animals, there is no swimming with or touching the dolphins.
For a combo day
What to sort before a feeding evening
Pack3
At the water3
The order of a combo day
All the quad combos start the same way: a boat from 220 Holt St, 75 minutes across the bay. Resort packages sail from Brisbane at 7:30am or 10:00am; only the earlier sailing serves the Sea to Sky version.14 Arriving early gives the longest island day before the evening events.8,14 Take the earlier boat if you can; it leaves the most room for a ride that gets moved by weather.
The middle of the day is yours. Lunch is on a voucher, then the ride slot, then free time at the pools or on the beach.9 On the plain day, the resort's dolphin presentation at the Eco Centre at 3:15pm is the last stop before the boat. On a combo, the evening is the main event, and dolphins usually come in around 6.00pm in winter and around 7:00pm in summer.11
The late boat waits for the feed. The resort says its evening boat leaves after the feeding ends: between 7:00pm and 8:00pm from April 1 to November 14, and between 7:30pm and 8:30pm from November 15 to March 31.12 That makes a combo a long day from Brisbane, dawn to after dark, so pack food, water and something warm for the night crossing.
Which combo to book
For a first visit with older children or adults, the feeding combo gives the most for the money: the ride by day, the feed at dusk, and the most reviews of any quad combo. For younger children, check heights and ages first, since feeding needs 102cm and the ride needs riders aged 10 or older to steer.5,24
For a group that prefers to stay dry, the viewing combo trades the shallows for the jetty at a lower starting fare. For a couple marking an occasion, the helicopter combo adds the aerial view, accepting that only 12 people have reviewed it so far. For a tight budget, the plain day back on the 4pm boat is the base everything else builds on.2
Whatever you choose, book with the cancellation window in mind. All four quad listings on GetYourGuide refund in full when cancelled at least 2 days ahead. The calculator on this page sets the four side by side for your group size. If you are torn between two, book the one whose evening you would regret missing, since the ride itself is the same 45 minute tour in every package the resort sells.9
FAQ
Straight answers to common questions.
Can you swim with dolphins on Moreton Island?
No.
The resort says the dolphins are wild, so there is no swimming with or touching them; guests on some packages feed them at dusk instead.1
Does the plain quad day include the dolphin feeding?
No.
Standard day cruise guests leave on the 4pm boat, before the feeding begins.2
How tall must a child be to feed a dolphin?
At least 102cm.
Below 102cm a child may not wade in to feed, though they can still watch from the shore.5
What if no dolphins come?
A return voucher.
On the feeding combo, eligible guests get a voucher to come back if no dolphins visit, under conditions.
When does the boat leave after the feeding?
Between 7:00pm and 8:30pm.
The late boat leaves after the feed: 7:00pm to 8:00pm from April to mid November, 7:30pm to 8:30pm otherwise.12
Is there a quad and snorkel combo?
Not on GetYourGuide.
The snorkel with dolphin feeding day starts from $170; a snorkel can be added on the island around the ride.10
How many quad combos are there?
Three, plus the plain day.
GetYourGuide lists quad days with dolphin viewing, dolphin feeding and a helicopter flight.
Sources
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Frequently Asked Questions ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Frequently Asked Questions ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Frequently Asked Questions ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Frequently Asked Questions ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Wild Dolphin Feeding FAQ ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · ATV Quad Bike Day Cruise ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Wild Dolphin Feeding FAQ ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · ATV Quad Bike Day Cruise ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · ATV Quad Bike Day Cruise ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · ATV Quad Bike Tours at Tangalooma & Moreton Island ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Frequently Asked Questions ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Passenger ferries and transfers, boat timetable ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · ATV Quad Bike Day Cruise ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · ATV Quad Bike Day Cruise ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · ATV Quad Bike Day Cruise ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Wild Dolphin Feeding FAQ ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Afternoon Escape Day Cruise ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · ATV Quad Bike Tours at Tangalooma & Moreton Island ↩
- Visit Brisbane (Brisbane Economic Development Agency) · Moreton Island ↩
- Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (mulgumpincamping.net.au) · Staying safe on Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Scenic Helicopter Flights ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Scenic Helicopter Flights ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · Scenic Helicopter Flights ↩
- Tangalooma Island Resort (operator official site) · ATV Quad Bike Tours at Tangalooma & Moreton Island ↩