Top Oz Tours offers a great range of Brisbane tours and experiences. You can browse the options here.
Yes, you can follow the crowd and sightsee on a bus or boat during your visit to the Queensland capital.
But if you’re keen to get off the beaten tourist track and follow your own holiday playbook, Brisbane offers no end of epic ways to do it. From trekking to the top of the Story Bridge, to abseiling down a series of urban cliffs, here are eight awesome ways to explore the city — all of which are out of the ordinary!
Watch our video of ten top things to do in Brisbane:
Top 10 Things to Do in BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia in 2026 | Ultimate Brisbane Travel Guide
👉👉👉 Support our channel and save on travel by joining our new Top Traveller Club: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIWPeSl1aL72F1NCuS4ePTQ/join 👈👈👈 Member benefits include early access to videos, a branded travel water bottle, and 10% off day and multi-day tour bookings worldwide! Browse day tours: https://topoztours.partner.viator.com Browse multi-day tours: https://topoztours.trips.tourradar.com Join today!
1. Go e-exploring
A vast network of bike paths and lanes crisscrosses Brissy, and those with access to a bike can look forward to hours of happy pedalling. These days however, urban adventurers worth their salt are getting about on PMDs (personal mobility devices): e-bikes, e-scooters, and even electric skateboards, which are all legal to ride in the Sunshine State — subject to certain rules and regulations. Power up and follow the popular Bicentennial Bikeway from Toowong in the inner west, right into the CBD. From there, you can hop onto the City Link Cycleway and do a DIY tour of the city centre. Leave time to check out the awesome Brisbane Riverwalk on the eastern side of town. It skims out over the water for just on a kilometre from the Howard Smith Wharves (beneath the Story Bridge) to uber trendy New Farm.
2. Kayak along the Brisbane River
Brisbane is colloquially known as the River City, and its eponymous waterway is part and parcel of everyday life. If you’re keen to combine your sightseeing with a good upper body workout, join a kayaking tour along the Brisbane River with the friendly team at Riverlife. It can be a little disconcerting at first to find yourself sharing the waterway with those massive City Cat ferries, but fear not; they’ll give you a wide berth!
3. Do the bridge and back on a jet ski
If you prefer to tackle the river’s current with a bit more power under the hood, Jet Ski Tours Brisbane offers a 90-minute guided ride out to the Gateway Bridge and back. Tours depart from the City Botanic Gardens and no licence is required. And two riders can travel on the one craft — saving you 50% each on the cost of a solo ride. Tally-ho!
4. Abseil in the heart of the city
Abseiling isn’t generally an activity associated with city sightseeing, but hey, they do things differently in Queensland! As you pass the Kangaroo Point Cliffs (the remnants of colonial-era quarrying), you may spot intrepid travellers dangling from the 20-metre-high clifftop. Also conducted under the expert tutorage of the gang at Riverlife, participants abseil down the sheer cliff faces with the city skyline as a backdrop. And yes, it makes for one heck of an addition to your Insta feed!
5. See the sights on a Segway
Segways almost seem like old hat these days, given the array of PMDs now at your disposal. But nonetheless, these two-wheeled chariots remain a fun way to explore the capital. Climb aboard with Kangaroo Segway Tours, which are based in funky West End. Having mastered the art of balancing on two wheels and letting your centre of gravity do its thing, you’ll zip along the riverfront and through the South Bank Parklands — learning about key landmarks along the way. No experience is necessary and you’re never too old to give it a go!
6. Conquer the Story Bridge
There are plenty of other awesome views of the CBD on offer, including from the top of the Wheel of Brisbane at South Bank, and the soon-to-open Sky Deck at Queen’s Wharf. But none come with the sense of achievement you’ll feel having scaled the mighty Story Bridge. Story Bridge Adventure Climb will escort you on the kilometre-long climb to the summit viewing platform — 80 metres above the swirling river. This is what it’s like to stand on top of the world!
7. Climb every mountain
Mount Coot-tha is situated on the western side of the city and offers yet another pearler of a view from its popular summit lookout. If you’re feeling fit, skip the bus to the top and tackle the Spotted Gum Trail, which starts at the foot of the mountain and covers a distance of 2.4 kilometres. Sunrise is an extra special time to tough it out to the top through what was until fairly recently inaccessible terrain.
8. Fly high on a pub crawl by chopper
West of Brisbane and neighbouring Ipswich, urban sprawl gives way to the lush farming country of the Lockyer Valley — a region renowned for its classic country pubs. Popular options include the Royal Hotel Harrisville, the Peak Pub in Peak Crossing, the Porters Plainland Hotel, and the ‘Dugie’ (Dugandan Hotel) in Boonah. And you can pay all of them a flying visit in a single day with Pterodactyl Helicopters. Departing from Archerfield (a 30-minute drive south of the CBD), their country pub crawl by chopper includes a pint at each pub and a hearty lunch in the tour price. It’s a rock star way to travel, and you’re worth it!
This post was published thanks to Evolve.
Browse our range of Brisbane tours and experiences here. We offer a Best Price Guarantee.
Do you have any suggestions to add to our list of awesome ways to explore Brisbane? We would love to hear from you. Join the conversation on our Facebook page.
Additional images: Visit Brisbane
About the writer
Adam Ford is editor of Top Oz Tours & Travel Ideas, and a travel TV presenter, writer, blogger, and photographer. He has travelled extensively through Europe, Asia, North America, Africa, and the Middle East. Adam worked as a travel consultant for a number of years with Flight Centre before taking up the opportunity to travel the world himself as host of the TV series Tour the World on Network Ten. He loves to experience everything a new destination has to offer and is equally at home in a five-star Palazzo in Pisa or a home-stay in Hanoi.
Travel essentials
You can book many aspects of your holiday on the Top Oz Tours & Travel Ideas website, including flights, hotels, car hire, travel insurance, and more. When you purchase a product or service using the following links from our partners, we receive a small commission. It does not affect the price you pay, and it enables us to continue to provide readers with amazing travel inspiration.
Flights
Compare airlines, flights, and fares in one place with Booking.com. They don’t charge any credit card fees and you can always see exactly what you’re paying for in the price breakdown. Search for flights with Booking.com
Hotels
If you’re looking for a great deal on your next hotel or homestay, look no further than Booking.com. Their mission is to make travel affordable and accessible to more people, and to deliver seamless accommodation experiences that complement your holiday. Search for hotels and homestays with Booking.com
Car hire
Discover Cars is an award-winning (World Travel Awards) car rental comparison website, which helps customers find, compare, and hire cars at the most competitive prices globally. Search for hire cars with Discover Cars
Campervans & motorhomes
Make Jucy your first choice for campervan and motorhome hire. Since 2001, this progressive company has had a vision to be world-famous for enabling experience seekers to discover happiness on the road. Search for campervans and motorhomes with Jucy
Day tours & experiences
Search and book day tours, guided experiences, and attraction tickets and passes worldwide with Top Oz Tours and Viator. There are no booking or credit card fees when you book through us, and you’ll have access to the widest choice of activities and most competitive prices. Browse day tours and experiences
Multi-day tours & trips
Top Oz Tours has joined forced with Tour Radar to bring you a fabulous range of multi-day tours and trips from the world’s leading operators. Travel with like minded people and get the best possible price on the holiday of your dreams. Browse multi-day tours and trips
Travel insurance
World Nomads aims to be a part of every traveller’s journey by providing a reassuring range of travel insurance services. Benefits include coverage for emergency medical and evacuation or repatriation, lost baggage, trip cancellation, and more than 150 adventure activities. Get an insurance costing
