Yarra Boat Hire: Every Boat You Can Hire on the River, Compared

Yarra boat hire means three things: a slow self-drive boat you take out yourself with no licence, a BBQ pontoon for a bigger group, or a small electric boat with a skipper. All three give your group the whole boat. On GetYourGuide, GoBoat Melbourne’s electric picnic boat for up to 8 starts at US$69 per boat and Boat-4-Hire’s BBQ pontoon for up to 12 at US$263, as of October 2026. Melbourne Boat Hire’s skippered cheese-and-wine cruise for up to 6 starts at US$308. Split across a full boat, the self-drive options come to about US$9 to US$22 a head.

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The three ways to hire a boat on the Yarra

The electric picnic boat. GoBoat Melbourne’s boats leave from 2 Banana Alley, on the city bank by Queens Bridge. You drive after a short demonstration, set your own route, and eat at the table in the middle; the food is yours to bring, and drinks are limited to two standard drinks a person, with the skipper staying sober. GoBoat lists three routes: an hour to the Botanic Gardens and the MCG, two hours toward Docklands or Herring Island, and a three-hour run past the city’s sights. The boats have no shade, because the Yarra’s low bridges leave no room for a canopy. With 242 reviews at 4.7, it is the most-reviewed self-drive boat on this site. The electric picnic boat in detail.

The BBQ boats. Boat-4-Hire runs two. The pontoon takes 12, carries a BBQ and shade, and can come with an optional skipper for a night run along the Yarra; drinks are BYO and food platters can be pre-ordered. The Aqua Donut is round, seats 10 around a central table under an umbrella, and leaves from Melbourne City Marina in Docklands. It stays inside Victoria Harbour and Docklands, so it is a floating lounge at the marina rather than a way to see the city from the river. BBQ boat hire compared.

The skippered private cruise. Melbourne Boat Hire sails a small, quiet electric boat from Docklands with a skipper at the helm. The 1.5-hour cheese-and-wine cruise for up to 6 includes a cheese platter and a bottle of sparkling, white or red, and goes past Crown and Southbank and under the low bridges. Its dinner cruise for two adds a three-course meal. You give up the steering; nobody in the group has to stay sober.

Every hire boat, side by side

GetYourGuide’s prices in US dollars, ratings and review counts as of October 2026. Operators change prices by date and length of hire, so treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.

Every one of them can be cancelled free up to 24 hours ahead. GoBoat also places a hold of up to A$200 on your card until the boat comes back.

Who each one suits

Pick by the size of your group and who should drive:

Prices are GetYourGuide's US-dollar starting prices as of October 2026; they change by date, so treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.

The BBQ pontoon suits birthdays, work groups and anyone bringing a dozen people and a cool box: it is the only boat here that cooks. It has only five reviews so far (4.8), so read the latest ones before you book. The listing does not name the meeting point, which comes with your booking.

GoBoat suits a smaller group that wants the river to itself for an afternoon: couples, families (children count toward the 8, pets do not) and friends with a picnic. Bring hats and sunscreen, because there is no shade.

The skippered cruise suits a quieter group of up to six, or a couple on the dinner cruise, who would rather sit back. It costs the most per head and gives you the least time on the water, but no one has to steer or stay sober.

Do you need a licence?

Not for these boats. Safe Transport Victoria requires a marine licence to drive a hire-and-drive boat capable of more than 10 knots, and each operator here says its self-drive hire needs none (Boat-4-Hire for its hirers on the Yarra) and gives you a briefing first. The Yarra itself has a 5-knot speed limit, set in the Waterway Rules that Parks Victoria applies as the river’s manager above the port. The self-drive rules in full.

Where the boats leave from

The city stretch of the Yarra runs about four kilometres from Docklands to the MCG, and the departure points sit along it. Upstream, Herring Island is GoBoat’s two-hour turnaround. Further up at Kew, Studley Park Boathouse hires rowing boats, canoes and kayaks at its own counter; it is not bookable here.

Not set on driving? Cruises, kayaks and waterbikes

If you would rather be driven, the river cruises start at US$25 a person for a 45-minute express trip from Federation Wharf; the Yarra River cruises compared has the full list. For a meal on the water, the dinner and brunch cruises start at US$95. For a group party, party boat hire weighs the BBQ boats against a skippered cruise. And if you would rather paddle, kayaks and waterbikes on the Yarra include a sunset kayak with fish and chips served on the water.

Practical: drinks, sun and weather

Drinks. On a boat you drive, the driver stays sober; GoBoat limits everyone else to two standard drinks. Boat-4-Hire’s BBQ boats are BYO.

Sun. GoBoat’s Melbourne boats have no shade, and the water throws the sun back at you. Bring hats, sunscreen and water even on a cloudy day.

Weather. Every hire here cancels free up to 24 hours ahead, so look at the forecast the day before and move the booking if it looks wet. GoBoat will not send boats out in unsafe conditions and sells A$5 ponchos.