Top 9 Bruny Island tours

We’ve lined up the best tours to take on Lunawanna-Alonnah, also known as Bruny Island.

A growing number of travellers are being drawn down south from Hobart to the stark and beautiful wilderness that is Bruny Island. And with stunning beaches, waters brimming with oysters, locally crafted cheese, whiskies and beers, and magical hikes among the invigorating sea air, all available just an hour away, who can blame them?

The twin island of Bruny, also known as Lunawanna-Alonnah to First Nations peoples, has plenty on offer for the adventurous. But if you only have time for a day trip, don’t waste a moment! Instead, book one of these tours to make the most of your time there.

Bruny Island food tours

Bruny Island Foods, Sightseeing and Lighthouse Tour by Bruny Island Safari Tours

Price: From $215 for adults

This fully guided day tour from Bruny Island Safari Tours takes in the best of the island. And of course, this means sampling the produce that Bruny is most famous for; fresh, plump oysters, drams of Tasmanian distilled whisky, traditionally matured cheeses dished up on generous platters and pints of locally brewed, malty beer.

Get Shucked harvests fresh oysters before plating them up. (Image: Adam Gibson)

But you won’t have to loosen your belt too much. Starting from Hobart on the Bruny Island Foods, Sightseeing and Lighthouse Tour, as a group you’ll take the SeaLink ferry to explore the Mount Mangana rainforests, search for elusive white wallabies at Adventure Bay, traverse The Neck Lookout and Wildlife Reserve and climb the staircase of the Cape Bruny Island Lighthouse (the only Southern Tasmanian lighthouse open for tours). The tour includes lunch, tastings and morning tea.

Cape Bruny Lighthouse overlooks stunning views of the island. (Image: Adam Gibson)

Bruny Island Magic Gourmet Food Tour by Tasmania Gourmet Food Tours

Price: From $390

This Hobart-based company specialises in small-group gourmet food tours, with trips available around both the Huon Valley and the Derwent Valley. When you book onto their Bruny Island Magic Gourmet Food Tour, you’ll start the day munching on flaky delicacies at a patisserie in Hobart before heading off for the ferry.

Between enjoying the rugged scenery, stop by Bruny Island Premium Wines for a gourmet lunch and wine tasting. And you’re not done yet — there are also cheese, oyster and whisky tastings to come.

Bruny Island Traveller by Pennicott Wilderness Journeys

Price: From $210 for adults

Meet the local producers on this full-day Bruny Island food tour from Hobart, with stops that include the famous Bruny Island Cheese Company, Bruny Island Chocolate Company and Bruny Island, Honey.

Grab a loaf of wood-fired sourdough bread with cheese. (Image: Adam Gibson)

Come lunchtime, you’ll sit down for lunch at Pennicott’s restaurant at Adventure Bay, where you’ll be able to sample some of the best oysters from the Get Shucked oyster farm along with Tasmanian wine.

Have a bucket of oysters freshly harvested on Bruny Island. (Image: Tourism Australia)

The tour also includes a stop at Bligh Museum, where you will learn about Pacific sea exploration, a lookout at The Neck, a walk through the Mavista rainforest, searching for white wallabies, and a beachside walk.

Take a relaxing stroll along The Neck’s tranquil shoreline. (Image: Jess Bonde)

Want to do a DIY foodie tour? We’ve lined up the most delicious Bruny Island experiences that will have you drooling.

Bruny Island cruises

Bruny Island Wilderness Cruises by Pennicott Wilderness Journeys

Price: from $155 for adults

Did you know that the waters around Bruny Island are home to kelp gardens, a seal colony, pods of dolphins, migrating humpback whales and southern right whales, and short-tailed shearwaters?

Humpback whales will get you acquainted on the island. (Image: Tourism Tasmania/Joe Shemesh)

Look out for this and more when you set sail past the towering dolerite sea cliffs from beneath with Bruny Island Wilderness Cruises by Pennicott Wilderness Journeys.

Seals also await you. (Image: Tourism Tasmania/Joe Shemesh)

You will even get the chance to enter a sea cave, an incredible experience to have on your bucket list. Wrap up warmly before you depart onboard from Adventure Bay.

Unlock hidden gems on your journey. (Image: Sean Scott)

Bruny Island Scenic Flights

Price: From $80

Get a load of the spectacular views from above when you book a tour by air with Island Scenic Flights. See the winding bays, rocky outcrops and sensational coastline of Bruny Island, before returning to land. Prices range from $80 per person to tour around the Neck for approximately 10 minutes, to $370 per person to fly around South Bruny Island before heading to Mt Wellington and Hobart or the Southern Wilderness Area. Extended flights are also available.

Catch idyllic sea views on top while riding a scenic flight to Bruny Island. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Bruny Island historical tours

Cape Bruny Lighthouse Tours

Price: $15

Built by convict labour out of local dolerite rocks in 1835, the Cape Bruny Lighthouse at the tip of the south island in South Bruny National Park is the second oldest lighthouse in Australia still in existence.

Stars light up over the Cape Bruny Lighthouse at night. (Image: Mauricio E. Mozo)

Today, you can join a Cape Bruny Lighthouse Tour to learn more about the fascinating maritime history of this place, and the lives of the keepers who worked here. Climb the tower for awe-inspiring views over the southern oceans.

Go sightseeing on top of the Cape Bruny Lighthouse. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Bruny Island Quarantine Station

Price: Free

Fear of infection, quarantining and isolation … sounding horribly familiar? Back in the day, quarantining travellers was considered one of the best ways to keep disease and infections out of Australia. During this time, quarantine stations like the one you can find on Bruny Island sprung up all over the country, in an effort to lessen the impact of typhoid, influenza and other dangerous illnesses.

Since then the Quarantine Station at Barnes Bay has also been used as a wartime internment camp and a plant quarantine! When here, take the self-guided two-hour-long heritage interpretive walk to find out more about its fascinating history.

Bruny Island walking tours

Bruny Island Long Weekend Walk with The Tasmanian Walking Company

Price: From $1,695

With white sand beaches, breathtaking coastal lookouts, and forests of eucalyptus and rainforests, there’s lots to discover for the keen rambler of Luawanna-Alonnah. See them all on a Bruny Island Long Weekend Walk. The Tasmanian Walking Company, traversing 35 kilometres at a moderate pace over three days.

Immerse into the best of Bruny Island’s scenery. (Image: Tourism Australia/Graham Freeman)

Not only will you get to see all of the above and more, but you also won’t miss out when it comes to the finer things in life. Walkers will get to shuck and consume shellfish in the water at an exclusive oyster lease, sleep every night in a glamping retreat and try the best of Tasmanian food and wine.

Set foot on the powdery, cream-coloured sand. (Image: Alice Hansen)

Fluted Cape Walk with Pennicott Journeys

Price: From $85

Set out from Hobart to complete this challenging, but spectacular walk above the cliff tops near Adventure Bay. The 6.3-kilometre return walk takes 2.5 hours but is well worth it, with the steep climbs rewarding walkers with views down from the rock walls and over the sea. Pack good shoes for any slippery parts.

Don’t feel quite up to it? Whether travelling with Pennicott Journeys or solo, you can take the Grass Point, which is a 1.5-hour return. Both hikes offer opportunities to spot white wallabies down at the bay. Cost includes a return bus from Hobart, a National Parks pass, ferry crossing and morning tea.

Stroll along Adventure Bay. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Want to see what other incredible things there are to do on Bruny Island? Check out the top 18 here.