We took a vehicle and passengers over to North Stradbroke Island, on the vehicular ferry one way and on the Red Cat the other. The Red Cat is a much better option, as there is a dining area, toilets, etc, whereas on the vehicle ferry you can either sit in your car amongst a row of trucks and cars or stand. The ferries run bang on time, which is great, but if you miss your ferry (as we did!) the staff are very accommodating about putting you on the next one. Great service.

Stradbroke Ferries are the operators of not only the vehicular barges and passenger ferries to North Stradbroke Island, but also the vehicular barges to the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI), Russell, Lamb, Macleay and Karragarra. The company has recently been acquired by Bay Island Transit Systems (BITS), the operators of the SMBI passenger ferries.

Three vehicular barges operate on a continuous daily run between Banana Street, Redland Bay and the SMBI. All barges travel in a clockwise direction from Redland Bay to Karragarra, Macleay, Lamb and finally Russell Island. They return in the anti-clockwise direction via Macleay Island. Whilst this is good for the few residents of Karragarra Island, who are always first off and last on the barge, it's less advantageous for residents of Russell Island who must always travel via all the SMBI.

The vehicular barge is slow compared to the passenger ferry, taking around an hour to Russell Island, compared to 20-30 minutes by passenger ferry. The journey, however, is quite a delight, allowing passengers to alight from their car and stand on deck viewing the wonders of Moreton Bay. Without a doubt the best vehicular barge to travel on is the Moreton Escape. It has a very spacious enclosed passenger lounge around three levels up and provides breathtaking views and perfect photographic opportunities.

Vehicular costs are very high, however, with the price for taking a car from the mainland to a SMBI in excess of $50.00 each way for island residents. For walk on passengers without a car, however, the vehicular barge is the cheapest way to travel to the SMBI and is considerably less than the cost of the passenger ferry.

Approximate cost: $50.00

It was great to know we were in safe and professional hands when we took the big car barge to Stradbroke. It was even more impressive to get an RACQ discount. Nice to have businesses who work together.

Approximate cost: $124

We have used this service for years and are always happy with the smooth transition as the ferry is loaded and unloaded. It is very popular and booking system works really well. Their prices are competitive and very reasonable.

I used these guys instead of their opposition to take my precious Ute over to Straddie for a long weekend. I got a good price and they left on time as scheduled. Polite and friendly service.

Approximate cost: $120.00