The great majority of people visiting Fraser Island arrive on the barge service. Apart from chartering a light plane, there is no other way to access the island from the mainland. There was a fast catamaran service to Mercure Kingfisher Bay resort on the islands western side but this has now been terminated. The barge service gives you the opportunity to also transport your four wheel drive vehicle to the island. There are a number of options as to where you can depart the mainland and where you can land on Fraser Island.
At the islands southern end, most people drive along the beach from Rainbow Beach to Inskip Point. From here there are two barges that run continuous services back and forth across the channel. They both carry passengers, tour buses and private four wheel drive vehicles. The barges commence operations at 7 am and continue services until around 5 pm. Generally speaking, the crossing is not affected by weather except in extreme circumstances.
If you want to access Fraser Island from the Hervey Bay end there are two options that you can choose from. The Fraser Dawn barge operates from the Urangan Boat Harbour, both morning and afternoon and takes vehicles to the Moon Point landing at the southern end of the western beach. Barges also operate regular services from River Heads about twenty minutes drive south of Hervey Bay. One service will take you to Kingfisher Bay resort and this service takes both walk on passengers and vehicles. The other service from River Heads gives access to the Woongoolba Creek ramp from which you can access the ocean beach and the attractions in the centre of the island like Lake MacKenzie and Central Station.
The cheapest barge service to Fraser Island is the one via Inskip Point.
