Tour reservations / sales
Answer enquiries, explain itineraries and manage tour bookings.
AUSTRALIA · JOB GUIDE
Tours, water & adventure
Compare work on boats, in tour teams and at surf camps. Choose a role below for the qualifications, companies and application advice that match that job.
Illustrative photo
This could suit you if…
You want to work around tours, boats or outdoor activities, with roles ranging from bookings to practical crew work.
The trade-offs
Working around an activity is different from doing it for fun. Guiding and marine duties may require qualifications that guest-service roles do not.
01 / UNDERSTAND THE JOB
Which role suits your experience?
Walking tour guide
Lead groups along a route and share researched local stories.
Tour operations assistant
Help with bookings, equipment, departures and day-to-day logistics.
Boat hospitality crew
Serve guests, reset tables and support onboard hospitality.
Deckhand
Assist with vessel deck duties, maintenance and passenger operations within your role.
Marina attendant
Help marina customers and assist with daily waterfront operations.
Surf-camp support staff
Help with bookings, cleaning, meals or logistics around a surf camp.
Surf instructor
Teach surfing within your qualifications and the operator’s safety procedures.
Dive instructor / divemaster
Guide or teach divers at the professional level you hold.
Outdoor activity instructor
Lead activities only within your assessed competence and employer procedures.
Bike / kayak hire attendant
Prepare hire equipment, explain its use and manage returns.
Where & when
Harbour operators and coastal businesses have their own seasons; weather affects activity schedules. European sailing recruitment is a separate seasonal application.
Choose a route before choosing a course
Guest service, reservations, marina support and equipment hire may be land-based or passenger-facing roles with no deck duties. Commercial deck or engine work is a different pathway. Ask the operator to describe the vessel, your actual tasks and the required certificate before paying for training.
A sailing course can build useful practical experience, but it does not automatically authorise commercial duties on an Australian vessel. For a domestic commercial vessel, check the relevant AMSA certificate and sea-service pathway. International vessels and offshore yacht jobs can have different flag-state and STCW requirements.
- For a first application, make a one-page CV that separates customer-service experience, water-safety training, logged sea time and commercial certificates.
- Contact operators in the location and season you can reach; ask whether they recruit shore-side first or require certificates before interview.
02 / CHECK YOUR STARTING POINT
What you need before applying
Match the requirement to the role
For Australian commercial boat duties, check AMSA requirements with the operator. RYA training builds sailing skills, but is not automatic permission to work on every Australian vessel. Diving and instruction have separate professional pathways.
English you’ll use at work
Practise safety briefings, explaining equipment and checking that guests understood. Additional languages can help, but do not replace safety communication.
What the General Purpose Hand certificate means
AMSA says a General Purpose Hand (near coastal) can assist with deck and engine work under general supervision. The pathway includes a Certificate I in Maritime Operations from an RTO, a current first-aid certificate, medical and eyesight evidence, and five days of commercial-vessel sea service. Confirm the current application checklist with AMSA before enrolling or counting prior sea time.
AMSA also says a GPH may not be needed when you do not undertake deck or engine tasks, or when those tasks are under direct supervision. That is a task-specific rule for domestic commercial vessels; ask the operator to confirm how it applies to the position. A recreational boat licence or sailing-course certificate is not a substitute for a certificate of competency where one is required.
03 / CLOSE A SKILL GAP
Training to consider
Choose the credential the job needs. An optional skills course is different from a required qualification.
Flying Fish Competent Crew — Sydney / date-dependent locations
Dates and fees are listed through the provider’s booking route.
Course details
Five-day Competent Crew course. Check the Sydney departure and date-specific location, price and prerequisites with the school.
Prices observed 14 October 2026.
SailCorp Day Skipper — Sydney Harbour
Dates and fees are listed through the provider’s booking route.
Course details
Day Skipper over three weekends on Sydney Harbour. Advertised single-adult price AUD 2,495, reviewed 14 October 2026. Theory certification is a separate consideration from this practical course.
Prices observed 14 October 2026.
04 / FIND A HIRING ROUTE
Companies & agencies to approach
These links take you to recruitment channels. Check current vacancies, location and work rights for the individual role.
Cruise Whitsundays — deck and guest roles
Cruise Whitsundays’ Airlie Beach careers page currently lists Coxswain, Deckhand, Cruise Attendant, Pontoon Caretaker and Reservations Consultant roles, plus an expression-of-interest route. Open the exact listing for its vessel duties, certificates, roster and location details.
Work-rights acceptance: not stated; ask about the specific role, roster and Airlie Beach base before applying.
MedSailors — seasonal Mediterranean crew
MedSailors recruits seasonal Skippers, Guest Experience Leaders and Lead Skippers for its summer sailing season. New crew attend pre-season training; its Yacht Academy describes a train-to-work path for future skippers. Guest Experience Leader duties include guest check-in, daily briefings, activities and yacht provisioning; the published role description asks for customer-service experience.
Europe-based seasonal work: the published skipper and guest-leader descriptions require eligibility to work in the EU with a valid passport for the season. Check your own permission and the current role criteria; the page does not establish eligibility for any particular passport.
River to Bay — Brisbane deck crew
The operator advertises casual skipper and deckhand work and says it is seeking experienced deckhands. Its published deckhand criteria include boat knowledge/rope skills, first aid and customer service; skipper roles require higher commercial credentials.
Working-holiday acceptance: not stated; ask before applying.
Sunlover Reef Cruises — Cairns talent pool
Sunlover accepts CVs for marine crew, cruise attendants, dive roles, reservations and operations, even when a specific vacancy is not listed. This is an expression-of-interest route, not a live job listing.
Working-holiday acceptance: not stated; confirm for any role offered.
Quicksilver Group — Cairns and Port Douglas
The careers page lists marine and reef-tour roles across Quicksilver Cruises, Pro Dive Cairns and Green Island Resort. Vacancies are dated on the page; check the role details and closing status before applying, as many vessel roles require existing certificates or experience.
Working-holiday acceptance: not stated; check the individual listing.
Green Island Resort food-and-beverage EOI, checked 22 October 2026: RSA and weekend/public-holiday availability are requested; bar/barista experience is desirable. These are hospitality duties, not deckhand work. Submit a CV, availability and preference for living on the island or commuting. Casual, part-time or full-time work may arise; this is a candidate pool, not a guaranteed vacancy. Pay, housing charges and working-holiday acceptance are not published.
Read the specific recruitment detailsAustralian ferry and tourism operations
SeaLink — marine and tourism
Direct recruitment across deck, hospitality and customer-service teams. Select a named operation: ferry work and tourism charters can have different rosters and qualifications.
05 / MAKE A USEFUL APPLICATION
Show the experience that matters
On your CV
Record customer service, real sea time, activity qualifications, languages and examples of looking after a group. Keep a sailing log and references.
Include availability, location, work rights and current credentials.
Before accepting an offer
Ask what vessel or activity you will work on, exact certificates, medical requirements, roster, training and accommodation.
Check the vessel and the season
Before accepting, ask for the vessel or activity, port, season dates, duties, roster, minimum rest, required medical or safety training, accommodation, meals, travel, and weather-cancellation arrangements. Find out whether you are paid for compulsory setup, cleaning, briefings and turnaround between trips.
For a charter job, ask whether it is day or overnight work and whether the operator expects you to sleep aboard. Ask for the employment contract and the award or agreement used for pay. “Crew share”, tips, berth and meals should be explained in writing rather than counted as guaranteed wages.
07 / CHECK THE OFFER
Check pay against the right award
Tour and charter vessel crew may fall under the Marine Tourism and Charter Vessels Award, which covers specified day and overnight tourism, sailing and cruise operations and some hospitality duties. It excludes regular commuter ferries, and coverage/classification still depends on the employer and your work. Day-charter and overnight operations have different schedules and classifications. The linked award sets out the applicable rates and conditions.
06 / CHECK THE DETAILS
Official guidance & learning
SeaLink — marine and tourism — official recruitment · checked 17 October 2026
AUSTRALIA → EUROPE
Learn here. Take the experience with you.
The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) pathway can help you build transferable sailing skills. It is a progression of competence, not a promise of employment.
Competent Crew
A starting point for learning to be useful aboard a sailing yacht. Flying Fish offers a five-day course; check the location for your chosen dates.
Day Skipper theory + practical
Navigation knowledge and practical skippering in familiar waters by day. The RYA practical course expects prior sailing experience: five days, 100 miles and four night hours, plus the relevant theory knowledge.
Build sea time → Yachtmaster
Log passages, responsibilities and references. Yachtmaster Coastal and Offshore are certificates of competence assessed through exams, with experience requirements; a preparation course alone does not award the certificate.
Match the paid job
Commercial endorsement, medical, safety qualifications and work rights depend on the job and vessel. Day Skipper can have limited commercial use under the relevant MCA framework; it does not meet every skipper vacancy.
Flying Fish Competent Crew — Sydney / date-dependent locationsRYA Day Skipper practicalWhat is an RYA Yachtmaster?RYA commercial endorsements
What about MedSailors?
Its careers page includes skipper and guest-experience routes. The linked 2025 skipper document specifies commercially endorsed Yachtmaster Offshore. Day Skipper alone is not the qualification listed for that role. Check the document and employer for the intended season, additional credentials and European work rights.
Guest experience is a separate hospitality and coordination route worth investigating. The advertised Yacht Academy programme also needs a current check of fees, entry requirements and employment terms before you commit.
Sources and research dates
Research reviewed 16 October 2026. Recruitment links are not confirmed vacancies; check current role requirements, pay rules, course availability and visa conditions before acting.