Bruny Island Without a Tour: Ferry, Pass and Driving

You do not need a tour to visit Bruny Island. You need a car, a pass for the national park if you walk or drive into it, and a plan for the ferry. This guide sets out what going alone involves, what it costs in fees, and where a tour still does something you cannot.

Can you visit Bruny Island without a tour?

Yes, and many people do. The island has no gate and no entry ticket. You drive to Kettering, take the ferry, and explore on your own. The lookout over the isthmus, the beaches and most of the producers are open to anyone.

Three things take more planning alone. The lighthouse climb needs a guided lighthouse tour. The seals are only reachable by the cruise. And the island is long, with gravel roads, so your day is mostly driving. None of that stops you; it just means booking ahead.

How do you get to the ferry?

By road from Hobart. The Parks and Wildlife Service puts Kettering about 40 minutes away, via Kingston on the A6 and then the B68. Hobart's airport is the closest to the island, so most visitors hire a car in the city or at the airport.

If you bring your own car on the Spirit of Tasmania from Melbourne, you land at Devonport. Bruny Tourism puts Kettering about four hours' drive from there, 315 km. At busy times such as Easter, the Parks and Wildlife Service asks you to allow plenty of extra time at the terminal.

How does the ferry work with a car or on foot?

The SeaLink ferry runs from Kettering to Roberts Point, about every 20 minutes except between 12:30pm and 1:20pm. You do not book a set sailing, and the crossing takes 15 to 20 minutes.

The fare is charged per vehicle, and it is a return fare. Foot passengers travel free. Fares change, so check the current price with SeaLink before you go. Bruny Tourism says crossing outside the busiest hours, 8am to 10am from Kettering and 4pm to 5pm back, can be cheaper as well as quicker.

Which pass do you need for the park?

South Bruny National Park covers the coast from Fluted Cape round to Great Taylor's Bay, including the lighthouse. A valid pass is required to enter any Tasmanian national park. The Parks and Wildlife Service's fees from 1 July 2026, in Australian dollars:

• Daily pass: $49.15 per vehicle, for up to eight people, or $24.55 per person if you arrive by bus, bike or on foot. It lasts 24 hours.
• Holiday pass: $98.35 per vehicle or $49.20 per person, for all parks, for up to two months.
• Annual pass: $104.75 for all parks, or $53.50 for one park.
• Children under 5: free.

The lighthouse tour operator says you can buy a Parks Pass when you arrive at the park, or online from the Parks and Wildlife Service. Which pass suits which trip is in our post on the pass.

What is driving on the island like?

Slower than the map suggests. Bruny Tourism warns that roads turn to gravel, that wallabies leap from the bushes, and that some places are beyond what your phone's map knows. Australians drive on the left. If a local is behind you, pull over and let them pass.

Distances are long for an island. The Parks and Wildlife Service puts the lighthouse 1 hour 15 minutes from the ferry landing. Try not to drive at dawn or dusk, when wildlife is most active, and avoid the park's reserves at night. The details are on the roads and wildlife page.

Can you join the cruise on your own?

Yes. The 3-hour cruise from the island starts at the cruise base at Adventure Bay, and you drive there yourself. It runs at 11am all year, with extra cruises at 10am and 1:30pm from 1 December to 28 April. Check in 30 minutes before.

If you would rather not take the car across, the cruise operator runs a bus from Oyster Cove Marina at Kettering. You park there for free, arrive by 8:30am, and the ferry crossing is part of it. The cruise operator warns that it is cold on the boats, even in summer, so bring a warm layer to wear under the waterproofs. Every way to book the boat is on Bruny Island boat tours.

Can you climb the lighthouse on your own?

You can visit the grounds on your own at any time. Cars can reach them from 9:30am to 4:30pm; outside those hours, access is on foot only. A steep path climbs to the base, and the Cape Bruny Lightstation Museum sits by the car park.

To climb the spiral stairs, you join a guided lighthouse tour, and you need a park pass to join. Book it before you go; sunset tours can be arranged on request. Tour prices are set by the operator, so check them when you book. The history and the view are on the lighthouse page.

Which walks can you do without a guide?

Most of them. The Parks and Wildlife Service lists these in the park:

• Grass Point: 1.5 hours return, 4 km, Grade 2, to an old whaling station. It suits children.
• Fluted Cape: 2.5 hours return, 4 km, walk clockwise only. It is one of Tasmania's 60 Great Short Walks, steep, with unprotected cliff edges.
• East Cloudy Head: 4 hours return, 12 km, Grade 4, along a long beach.
• Labillardiere Peninsula: a 5.5 to 6.5 hour circuit, 18 km, Grade 4.

Every one of them is inside the park, so carry your pass. Two more sit outside the park list, the Mavista rainforest walk and the Cape Queen Elizabeth Track; all seven are compared in the best walks on Bruny Island. If you would rather walk with a guide, the walking days are on Bruny Island walking tours.

Where do you get fuel, food and cash?

Fill the tank before you cross. The only fuel on the island is at the Adventure Bay General Store, and there is no ATM. Carry a card and some cash for small producers. The lighthouse is a long round trip from Adventure Bay, so check your tank before you head south.

Bruny Tourism lists two general stores for supplies, at Adventure Bay and at Alonnah. The producers along the main road sell oysters, cheese, honey and chocolate; check their hours before you plan around them.

Can you do it without a car?

It is hard. You can cross on foot for free, but the island is spread out, and the sights sit far apart along gravel roads. From the landing to the lighthouse is more than an hour by car.

Without a car, a tour is the practical choice. The tours from Hobart pay for the crossing, and the cruise operator's bus from Kettering gets you to the boat. If you arrive by cruise ship, the shore excursion collects you at the terminal.

What does a day on your own cost next to a tour?

Here are the fees you pay alone, beside what a tour fare covers. Fees are the official ones in Australian dollars; tour fares are per person in US dollars, as listed.

For a car of four, the ferry and the pass are one fee each for the whole car, while a tour charges each of you. For one traveller, a tour fare and a car's fees sit much closer.

When is a tour the better deal?

• If you have no car. Every day from Hobart pays for the crossing.
• If you want the climb without the planning. The Safaris days book it for you, with the pass.
• If you are travelling alone. A single traveller pays for a whole car on the ferry.
• If you do not want to drive gravel. The guide knows the roads and the wildlife.
• If you want both halves of the island in one day. A tour keeps the clock for you.

If a group of you wants a driver without a fixed route, the private charter takes up to four, priced per group.

Frequently asked questions

Tours that fill the gaps a car leaves

Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise from Adventure Bay, Bruny Island

Three hours on the water under sea cliffs, into caves and out to the seal rocks. You drive yourself and take the ferry; waterproof jackets are handed out, and food is sold at the base.

From $137 per person

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SHORE EXCURSION - Full-Day Guided Bruny Island Tour from Hobart

Collects you at the Hobart cruise terminal for lookouts, a beach, a rainforest walk and the lighthouse grounds, with an eye out for the pale wallabies. Food is at your own cost; ask at booking whether you need your own pass for the park.

From $130 per person

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Bruny Island Day Tour Private Charter Service （3 days in advance）

A private driver-guide for up to four, priced per group, with the return ferry and pickup from your Hobart accommodation. Book at least three days ahead; lunch and tastings are extra, and the booking cannot be refunded.

From $1,051 per group (up to 4)

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