Travel to Tasmania between September and May and Bruny Island is a must add to your itinerary. It’s a foodie haven, tier 1 relaxation destination and an adventurers dream. So here’s everything to know (and some insider gems) about how to have an incredible self-drive day trip to Bruny Island: how to get there, what to explore, where to eat, and what it will all cost. The best thing? We share some ridiculously fun free things to do on Bruny Island. So prepare for a super fun day out without burning through your travel budget.
Why take a Bruny Island day trip?
If you’re craving a taste of Tasmania that treads beyond the beaten path, this Bruny Island day trip itinerary is the ticket you’re looking for.
Picture this: you start your day with a ferry ride across the shimmering dolphin-filled waters, landing on a picturesque island promising gourmet delights and island adventures.
The first reason travellers visit Bruny Island is for it’s pristine Tasmanian produce, home grown and local to the island. We’re going to run through exactly what tasty delights are offer and where to find them.
But Bruny isn’t just for the foodies. Thrill-seekers and nature lovers will find their fix with eco-adventures that include coastal cliff-top walks through National Park or kayaking peaceful bays or remote, craggy coastlines.
And when it’s time to unwind, the island’s serene beaches and breathtaking vistas provide the perfect backdrop for a seaside stroll to soak in the tranquility.
So, why go to Bruny Island?
Because it’s a delicious, adventurous, and rejuvenating slice of Tasmania all rolled into one unforgettable day. If that sounds amazing to you, then set aside a day on your next Tasmania adventure, because Bruny Island, here we come!
How to plan a Bruny Island trip from Hobart
Most travellers tend to visit Bruny Island from Hobart. It’s the proximity. If you’re thinking about how to wrap it into your holiday plans, check out our ‘5 day vacay’ Tasmania travel itinerary, which starts in Hobart. It showcases the best of Hobart and southern Tasmania – including Bruny.
To orchestrate an epic self-drive Bruny Island day trip from Hobart lets’ nail the basics first:
- How to get to Bruny Island from Hobart
- How to tackle the itinerary to maximise your time
- What to do on Bruny Island – what’s worth your time & money (and what’s not)
- The foodie guide to Bruny (of course!)
- And what you can expect it all to cost!
Don’t forget to skim through the FAQs at the end. It’s our quick-fire answers to all your one-off Bruny Island day trip questions.
Oh, and if you don’t want to drive or don’t have a car, here’s our recommendation for the best Bruny Island Day Trip Tour from Hobart . It’s includes your Ferry and Parks pass, picks up from Hobart, and covers some of the best foodie experiences we share below.
How to get to Bruny Island
Bruny Island is located off the south coast of Tasmania, with access via a small coastal town called Kettering. Kettering is an easy 40 minute drive south west of Hobart.
There at 3 ways to get to Bruny Island:
- By car
- Via a Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise from Hobart
- Via a Bruny Island Day Trip Tour from Hobart.
Bruny Island with a car
To get to Bruny Island, drive to Kettering and then take your car on the Bruny Island Ferry from the wharf at Kettering.
The Bruny Island Ferry cost return is $50 per car. It’s a very easy process to board the ferry with your car. Once you have your ticket you line up with all of the other cars until you’re waved to drive onto the boat. Once you’re on the boat, you simply put the handbrake on and turn the engine off. And just remained seated in your car for the journey.
Voila!
The Ferry takes no more than 15 minutes to get across to Bruny Island. On the way, make sure to watch for signs of dolphins in the water around the boat.
Ferry’s leave Kettering on the regular – every 20 minutes or so between around 6am and 7pm. So you don’t have to book your ferry ticket beforehand. We literally drove up, paid for out ticket and drove onto the boat.
If you’re worried about whether you’ll be as lucky and don’t want to wait, check out the Bruny Island Ferry timetable before you leave Hobart.
| 👀 Insider tip: Fill up your tank with fuel before you drive onto the Bruny Island Ferry. The only place to fill up on Bruny Island is the General Store in Adventure Bay. Also, take everything you’ll need for the day with you from Hobart – snacks, water, sunscreen and weather-appropriate clothing. The General Store on Bruny Island stocks basic, limited IGA type items, but it’s not supermarket sized. |
Bruny Island without a car
There’s no public transport options on Bruny Island, so if you don’t have a car your best option is to take one of three highly recommended day tours to Bruny Island from Hobart:
- Full day Island tour – From Hobart. There’s no boat cruise in this one. It’s an outstanding day trip tour of Bruny Island including lunch at Hotel Bruny, food tastings & popular attractions. Includes a tour of the Cape Bruny Lighthouse which we think is a must!
- Wilderness cruise tour with lunch – From Hobart. This is the award-winning eco-wilderness boat tour around the island with morning tea and lunch included. Less time on Bruny island, more time spotting the incredible sealife in the waters off it!
- Bruny Island foodie tour – From Hobart. Guides you through the full foodie experience on Bruny Island, with insane local knowledge you won’t get on a self drive day trip.
These tours are a fantastic, hassle free option to explore the culinary and natural experiences of Bruny Island, without having to hire a car or worry about driving.
Bruny Island day trip itinerary – self guided
Below we’ve drawn up the most efficient route, for your Bruny Island Day trip.
You’ll have at the most 10 to 12 hours on the island (limited by Ferry times), so it’s a good idea to make the best use of your time. This route does exactly that. You’ll see the best of Bruny, without doubling back on destinations. Because why spend more time in the car than you need to!
- Arrive Kettering from Hobart
- Ferry to Bruny Island
- Bruny Island Honey – honey tasting and ice cream
- Cape Bruny Lighthouse – spectacular remote coastal views, Lighthouse Bay beach walk, Lighthouse tour
- The Neck & Truganini Lookout
- Get Shucked Oysters – Oyster Appertivo
- Izzy Bar – stone baked pizza and wine
- Adventure Bay – white wallabies and cliff top walks
- Bruny Island Chocolate – tasting and souvenirs
- Bruny Island Cheese Co & Bruny Island Beer Co. – cheese platter & local ale
- Penguin viewing
- Return ferry to Kettering
Our Bruny Island Trip map below has this route marked. Including the optional extras 👇🏽 that you may or may not fit into your day.
Optional extras:
Substitute any of these to your Bruny Island day trip. You will most likely run out of time to do them all!
- Bruny Island Cruise (after the Cape Bruny Lighthouse)
- Bruny Island Premium Wines (After the Cape Bruny Lighthouse)
- Bruny Island Chocolate Company (after Adventure Bay)
- Bruny Island House of Whisky (on your way back to the Ferry to Kettering)
Bruny Island Trip Map
What to do on Bruny Island for a day
There’s a lot of fit into a day, on Bruny Island. So we’ve listed the best of the best attractions here 👇🏽. Things you’ll regret not seeing, if they’re not on your itinerary.
They’re also mostly listed in order, from where to start and finish your day on the island in line with our day trip itinerary 👆🏼.
1. Cape Bruny Lighthouse
Expected cost – free!
Cape Bruny Lighthouse sits at the southern most tip of Bruny Island staring out at the vast Southern Ocean. It’s a brooding, rugged, remote place often under cloud and inclement weather blowing up from the Antarctic. But flanked by the towering cliffs and deserted bays of South Bruny National Park, it’s also a wild and beautiful adventure. Exactly the kind of windswept and rugged nature scene most travellers picture in their heads before coming to Tassie.
The Lighthouse dates back to 1838 and is not as grand as the views around it. It’s an 18km drive on gravel road through South Bruny National Park to get there, so make sure if you have a hire car that it’s ok to drive it on gravel.
If it’s rainy, expect a muddy car when you emerge from the park but the breathtaking natural beauty hidden within is entirely worth it.
You need a Parks Pass to enter South Bruny National Park and access the lighthouse.
You can book a Cape Bruny Lighthouse tour for premium 360 degree views of the surrounding landscape. We didn’t. Being out at the point was amazing enough.
👀 Insider tip: While you’re at the lighthouse, take a stroll down past the carpark to Lighthouse Bay Beach. It’s a picturesque, short 1.2km walk with insta-worthy views of Lighthouse Bay unravelling as you go. The beach is invariably deserted. So you’ll have the exploring all to yourself. Take a deep breath and a minute or two to soak it all in – some of the most rarified fresh air on the planet!
2. The Neck & Truganini Lookout
Expected cost – free!
A truly odd and spectacular sight, and Bruny Island’s most photographed location, The Neck is worth the stop to climb up the stairs to Truganini’s Lookout. At the top you’ll find a rare land formation – an isthmus. It’s the long thin strip of land that connects North Bruny – where you’ve come from – to South Bruny – where you’re headed next.
The Ithsmus rolls out before you like a welcome mat. The promise of adventures to come.
It’s one of the most captivating scenes on the island, not just for the skinny strip of land, but also, for the markedly different water bodies on either side. On the right (in our photo 👇🏽) is the muddier water body of Simpsons Bay. On the left, the crashing blue waves and white sandy beach where the Southern Ocean meets the Tasman sea.
Because of this you get some incredible cloud and mist forming above the isthmus, making for incredible pictures from the top.
Expect a bustle of travellers constantly coming and going, climbing up and down the stairs to the lookout.
3. Adventure Bay
Expected cost – free! (excl. cruise)
Adventure Bay is a tops spot on the island, if you’re looking for a place to stay a few nights. It’s also day trip central, with a few of Bruny’s important attractions: white wallabies, deserted beaches, and the Fluted Cape / Grass Point hike.
The white wallabies of Bruny Island are famously unique. Nowhere else in Australia can you spot a colony of white wallabies. The wallabies look albino to the naked eye – with pink ears, eyes and noses. But there’s some conjecture still on how this colony of white wallabies came to be on South Bruny. Apparently, it’s a genetic mutation that occurs in Bennetts Wallabies that gives them this appearance.
Regardless the reason, if you’re looking to lock eyes on this rare sight, head to the far side (eastern end) of Adventure Bay beach along the esplanade. There, you’ll find the white wallabies grazing the front and back yards of local residences.
Keep heading east until you find the parking lot for the Bruny Island Cruises Restaurant. It’s here you’ll find the trail head for Adventure Bay’s best adventure, the Grass Point / Fluted Cape Track.
The walk starts at the car park and takes you out along the beach, before heading up back onto a trail that takes you to the tip of the point at Penguin Island. The walk is around 4.5km return and took us 1.5 hours as we stopped to explore all of the beaches we could access along the way. We highly recommend doing this. The bay is serene, water flat and multicoloured rocks along the coastline stunning to see up close.
If you have the time, keep following the trail as it loops around the Fluted Cape. We followed it past Penguin island up to the cliff face above before running out of time. But just this short stint was breathtaking. I’d venture to say it’s THE walk of the entire island.
The Fluted Cape is a 6.3km loop circuit around the cape. Not for the unfit, feint of heart, or acrophobic as the trail is a steep upward climb that hugs the cliff tops – but that’s also what makes it spectacular. Slippery in wet weather once you pass Penguin Island.
Adventure Bay is also full of pretty and deserted beaches, gentle bays and crystal waters. Don’t pass up the opportunity to beach-comb, explore, or just relax, get some soft white sand between your toes and contemplate the world.
In summer, it’s the perfect spot for a dip, a paddle, a snorkel, or a splash.
4. Bruny Island food tasting
The foodie trail on Bruny Island is both extensive and legendary.
For more, check out our full recommendations on where to eat on Bruny Island 👇🏽. It sorts the wheat from the chaff on where the best food experiences are.
If you’re just here for food any food, then by all means taste everything the island’s producers have to offer. Here’s a list of tasting experiences along your itinerary route. Call in to one or all of them as you drive around:
- Bruny Island Honey – local honey and honey ice cream
- Get Shucked oysters – fresh, crumbed & kilpatrick Tasmanian oysters
- Bruny Island Cheese Co – local cheeses soft & hard
- Bruny Island Beer Co – ales, stouts, lagers
- Bruny Island Chocolate – chocolate sweets
- Bruny Baker Bread Fridge – sour dough loaves
- Bruny Island Premium Wines – cool climate reds & whites
- Bruny Island House of Whiskey – purely Tasmanian single malt whisky & gins
5. Penguin viewing
Expected cost – free!
We’ve added this to the list because it’s such a popular activity for travellers to Bruny Island.
If we’re being honest, Bruny Island is not the best place to see Penguins in Tasmania.
And if you do stop to see the Penguins, you’re unlikely to make the last ferry back to the big island, which is around 7pm.
Why?
Penguins head back up the beach just after dusk. Under cover of darkness. When it’s safest for them to traverse the open sand. In summer, this can be as late as 9pm.
If Penguin viewing is high on your wish list, there is a penguin rookery at The Neck. Although from what we hear, it’s a very busy Penguin spotting experience. And actual Penguin spotting is becoming less certain with fewer Penguins at this particular rookery.
To see penguins on Bruny, head to The Neck at dusk – early enough to grab a good viewing spot. You’ll find the viewing platform by following the signs at the carpark. Take a red light so you can see the penguins – no torches allowed.
Optional – Bruny Island Cruise
Expected cost – $175 per adult
At $175/adult, a 3 hour Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise is a serious outlay if you’re on a travel budget. But the sheer wilderness adventure of it – towering cliffs, crashing waves of the remote Southern Ocean, dolphins, wales and seals – is definitely worth it!
The 3 hour cruise will take a large part of your day trip. Because they depart mid morning – 11am all year, but there’s also a 10am and 1:30pm cruise in summer months – you’ll miss lunch on Bruny Island 👇🏽, and have less time to explore other attractions the island has to offer.
So here’s what we suggest if squeezing the wilderness cruise into your Bruny island Day Trip:
- swap out Grass Point / Fluted Cape walk. You’ll see the same magnificent cliffs from the boat instead of the hiking trail.
- make your own way to Bruny Island rather than booking the Bruny Island Cruise from Hobart. If you get to the island early enough, you can still check out South Bruny National Park and Cape Bruny Lighthouse. Then head to Adventure Bay where the cruise departs.
- After the cruise spend time at Adventure bay spotting white wallabies, visit The Neck and Truganini Lookout, then a take our self guided mini foodie tour 👇🏽 in the afternoon on the way back to the ferry and ‘big island’.
- Or add an extra day to the itinerary, stay overnight on the island and DO IT ALLLLLLL! 😃
Sounds like a plan!
Where to eat on Bruny Island (on a day trip)
Here’s the perfect Bruny Island foodies guide laid out for your day trip . And some alternatives that you can swap in or out of our day trip itinerary.
Morning stop – Bruny Island Honey
Expected cost- $12 for 2 honey ice cream cups
Bruny Island Honey is a quick stop on North Bruny, perfect for when you arrive off the boat (if it’s not too early!). Check out their mind boggling array of honey favours, all made on Bruny. We’re lovers of creamed honey and of the Tasmanian Leatherwood variety. Trust me, it’s divine! And a popular Tasmanian gift for family and friends back home.
Before you hit the road for your next destination, grab a honey ice cream cup and devour it on their veranda overlooking the bush and procession of cars zooming around the island on their own day trip adventures.
Love those sweety treatys!
Lunchtime Appertivo – Get Shucked Oysters
Expected cost – $36 per dozen oysters x 2 = $72
Get Shucked has over 2000 Google reviews, so we don’t really need to review it again here. But what we will recommend is the best way to fit it into a day trip itinerary that covers the best food Bruny Island can serve up.
We’re suggesting a pre-lunch oyster appertivo – or palate opener. An entree to the main food event (elsewhere), if you will.
Grab a dozen oysters and a glass of wine or a beer. Sit out on the balcony and enjoy the freshest, tastiest oysters in Australia. Big call yes. But alongside the Sydney rock oyster, you won’t find anything this sweet elsewhere.
And I’m not even an oyster lover.
If you’re indecisive about flavour, get the mixed dozen. My dish of choice and I can’t recommend the panko oysters highly enough – yum!
The only downside to Get Shucked is that it’s not designed for customers to linger. They’re a volume seller. So while the outside area is functional, it’s not beautiful or scenic. Not a spot you’d while away an hour or two over a few glass of wine. And that seemed to be the consensus of visitors that pulled in while we were there.
Order. Eat. Enjoy. Go on your merry way.
Which is why we don’t recommend Get Shucked for lunch. We’ve something a bit classier up our sleeves for that….
Lunchtime Main – Izzy Bar
Expected cost – $22 per pizza, $8 – $10 per drink, $14 per desert = $70
If soft, chewy pizza bases, topped with simple, fresh locally grown ingredients, baked in a traditional stone pizza oven sounds like your kind of thing, you’re going to love Izzy Bar.
Izzy Bar is the newest kid on the block of the Bruny Island restaurant scene. And it’s killing it.
Perched on a hill with scenic views out to the surround bays, this little wine & pizza bar served up the best meal we had on Bruny.
It’s a simple food menu of mostly pizzas but what pizzas they are!
Reminiscent of the ‘simple but bursting with fresh flavour’ pizzas you only find in Italy, baked in front of your eyes by a Chilean chef. The topping ingredients are sourced from local gardens grown by the owners and their friends. There is also a decent wine and cocktail list to wrap your lips around.
After polishing off a very reasonably price pizza sufficient for 2 people at lunch, we dived head first into their baked cheesecake desert.
We thought the pizza couldn’t be topped. We were wrong.
The Izzy Bar was the best food experience we had on Bruny. Have your lunch there and thank us later.
| 👀 Important: The Izzy Bar has a max seating of about 22 people. The day we went for lunch, they were so popular they ran a waiting list. In the end they had to turn customers away. The lesson? Book ahead. It’s a must. |
Afternoon platter – Bruny Island Cheese Co. & Bruny Island Beer Co.
Expected cost – $80 for tasting experience for 2 people
Bruny Island Cheese Co. and Bruny Island Beer Co. are co-located (excuse the pun!). It’s the perfect idea and spot to end your day trip of Bruny Island.
There’s a cellar door / dairy door to buy cheese, beer and pickles to take away. Or go for a cheese platter and schooner off tap, and dine in.
We sampled our first ODO or ‘one day old’ curd cheese here – all crumbly salty goodness. And we loved the prosciutto wrapped extravagance of the Otto cheese, which is fresh baked from the oven and soft as sin.
For me, this stop was heaven because the Bruny Island Beer Co. brews some of my favourite beers in Tasmania’s south. The Farm Ale and Honey Pale Ale are my personal favourites, but they’re all very decent, full of flavour beers.
You can book a Bruny Island Cheese Co. beer, bread and cheese tasting online for $40 pp and enjoy it at tables set out in the garden or under cover.
What a classy, quality way to wrap up a fabulous day on Bruny Island!
How much does it cost to go to Bruny Island?
Bruny Island doesn’t have to break the budget! You can have tonnes of fun without draining your wallet. The great thing about Australia is that getting out in nature is mostly free. We’ve added tours as optional here in case you’re on a budget.
The total cost of this day trip itinerary is around $450 for 2 adults.
Could you do it for less? Of course! The fixed cost of a day trip to Bruny Island is just $100 – for petrol and the ferry.
Everything else is variable. For example:
- The Parks Pass is not 100% attributable to this trip. Most visitors to Tasmania buy a Holiday Pass, which covers all national parks visited during their stay. So the cost averages out depending on how many national parks (like Cradle Mountain, Mount Field, Maria Island) you visit.
- You don’t have to eat at all of the foodie guide stops we’re recommending
- You can save on souvenirs too.
Cost of the itinerary above, for 2 adults:
| Bruny Island Day Trip | Cost |
|---|---|
| Petrol | $50 |
| Ferry Ticket | $50 per car return |
| Parks Pass | $93.15 per car (Holiday Pass) |
| Food & Drinks | $234 |
| Souvenirs / gifts | $30 |
| TOTAL | $450 |
| Optional | |
| Boat cruise | $350 |
| Lighthouse tour | $50 |
FAQs
How far is Bruny Island from Hobart?
Bruny Island is a 40 minute drive plus a 15 minute ferry ride from Hobart.
How to get to Bruny Island from Hobart
The best way to get there is by car. Drive to Kettering, 40 minutes south of Hobart. Then take your car on the Bruny Island Ferry over to Bruny Island.
Bruny Island Wilderness Cruises does offer connecting transport from Hobart if you’re keen on taking their boat cruise around the island to see it’s incredible sealife and impressive coastal cliffs.
If you don’t have a car, book an incredible Bruny Island Day Trip Tour experience from Hobart. Then all you have to do is relax and enjoy the beauty of Bruny!
Can you take your car to Bruny Island?
Yes, you must take your own car or rental car to Bruny Island. Unless you’ve booked a full service tour that departs Hobart or Kettering, you’ll need a car to get there and get around. There is no public transport, and no taxis on Bruny Island.
How to get to Bruny Island with a car
Drive to the wharf at Kettering south of Hobart, and then drive your car onto the Bruny Island Ferry. The Ferry will transport you and your car to Bruny Island and back.
How much is the ferry to Bruny Island?
The Bruny Island Ferry Cost is approx $50 per car, return. You buy your return ticket at the wharf at Kettering.
How long does it take to drive around Bruny Island?
It takes 1 hour and 15 minutes to drive from the north tip to the southern tip of Bruny Island., one way. There is no loop road or ring road around Bruny Island. Instead, Bruny Island Main Road acts as the backbone arterial road that runs down the centre of the island and connects most locations north to south.
Are dogs allowed on Bruny Island?
Yes, dogs are allowed on Bruny Island. But they are not allowed in South Bruny National Park.
How much does it cost to go to Bruny Island Lighthouse?
Bruny Island Lighthouse (Cape Bruny Lighthouse) is free to visit to the bottom of the lighthouse. If you want to enter the lighthouse and climb to the top, a ticket is required. The price of a ticket at time of writing is $25 per adult.
Is a day trip to Bruny Island worth it?
Yes, including a Bruny Island day trip in your Tasmania holiday is definitely worth it. You’ll experience some of Tasmania’s best oysters, tastiest local produce, most picturesque coastal views, stunning beaches and natural attractions. What’s more, many of the attractions on Bruny Island are free! Check out our post above about the Best Bruny Island Day Trip Itinerary!
How much time do you need at Bruny Island?
You need a full day on Bruny Island to see the best attractions and experience the Bruny Island food trail. If you’re planning on booking the 3 hour Bruny Island Boat Cruise, we suggest staying overnight on the island so that you don’t miss the main highlights and tourist sites.
Do you need a car to get around Bruny Island?
Yes, you must have a car to get around Bruny Island. Unless you’ve booked a tour or Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise with connecting transport from Hobart or a Bruny Island Day Trip Tour from Hobart. Both of these include return transport to Bruny Island.
There are no buses, taxis or Ubers on the island.
