Bruny Island from Hobart: Day Tour or Wilderness Cruise?
5 min read
Bruny Island offers two quite different days: a road tour that stops at the lighthouse, the Neck and local food producers, or a boat cruise under the sea cliffs. The all-inclusive road tour with lighthouse access suits most first-timers; add the cruise if the coast and wildlife are why you are going. Neither is a short outing: four of the five options below take 9.5 to 10 hours.
| Tour | Length | From | Rating | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-inclusive day tour with lighthouse access | 10 hours | €174.69 | 4.8/5 from 1,007 reviews | Road tour, food stops and a tour inside the lighthouse |
| Full-day tour with guide | 10 hours | €112.30 | 4.7/5 from 962 reviews | Walks and beaches; lunch and tastings at your own cost |
| Gourmet sightseeing day tour | 9.5 hours | €180.93 | 4.8/5 from 586 reviews | Tastings and a beachside lunch |
| Wilderness coast eco cruise with lunch | 10 hours | €180.93 | 4.8/5 from 574 reviews | Bus, ferry and a 3-hour cruise |
| Wilderness cruise | 3 to 10 hours, by option | €118.54 | 4.9/5 from 639 reviews | The cruise; start on the island, or choose the option with bus, ferry and guided bus tour from Hobart |
Getting onto the island
Hobart to Bruny Island means a drive to Kettering and the car ferry to Roberts Point, which takes about 20 minutes. The ferry now runs under the name Island Connections (some tour pages still call it SeaLink), and it works as a queue rather than by booked departure, so even a pre-purchased vehicle ticket is for the next available sailing. The four tours from Hobart include the crossing; the cruise ticket does so only for the option that starts in Hobart.
The road tours
The tour with lighthouse access leaves Hobart at 7am and returns around 5 to 5:30pm. It includes morning tea at Two Tree Point with oysters and local cheeses, a one-course lunch at Hotel Bruny, chocolate and fudge, honey tastings, South Bruny National Park entry and the ferry fares. The operator says the guided tour inside Cape Bruny Lighthouse, with 72 steps to the balcony, is available only with them. Drinks at meals appear to be extra; water on the bus is free and tea and coffee come with the morning tea, but confirm drinks with lunch on the booking page. The page lists wheelchair users as not suitable and groups of up to 20, and children under 5 years old may not climb the lighthouse stairs; they can visit the museum and the base of the tower.
The full-day tour with guide includes the ferry and the National Parks Pass and is built around walking tracks, beaches and wildlife spotting, including a white wallaby if you are lucky. Lunch at the Bruny Hotel and the tastings are at your own cost, and groups go up to 24. The guide chooses the order of stops to suit the weather, and the page says not every attraction fits into one day, so the lighthouse and swimming depend on weather and time.
The gourmet day is a different bargain: cheese, oysters, fudge, honey, mead and a beachside lunch with two drinks, plus a tour of the HIBA gardens. It is a tasting tour with scenery in between, so it fits food-lovers better than hikers.
The cruise
The operator describes the Wilderness Cruise as passing some of Australia’s highest sea cliffs, Breathing Rock and sea caves, and names the Friars as a haul-out for thousands of seals. The cruise ticket has a departure from Adventure Bay or from Hobart, depending on the option you select, and the booking page says there is no minimum age. The eco cruise with lunch combines that cruise with the bus and ferry from Hobart, morning tea and lunch. Windproof jackets are provided. Whales, dolphins and seals are possible, not promised.
Recommendation
Take the all-inclusive day tour at €174.69 if you want to see the island on land and have food and the lighthouse covered. Take the eco cruise with lunch at €180.93 if the sea cliffs are the point. The Bruny Island tours page lists every option.
