Bruny Island sits just off Tasmania’s south-east coast, but it feels like a different world entirely. Rugged coastlines, ancient rainforest, quiet beaches and some of the best produce in the state, all packed into an island so small you could drive its length in under two hours.
It’s easy to see why so many people treat Bruny as a quick day trip from Hobart. But once you’re actually here, exploring the cliffs, the wildlife, the food trail and the walking tracks, you’ll wish you’d blocked out a full weekend instead of a few rushed hours.
So where do you start? Here are a few of the best Bruny Island activities to spend your time on.
Getting to Bruny Island
Bruny Island might not be right on Hobart’s doorstep, but it’s still an easy trip if you plan ahead. There’s no public transport, so you’ll need your own vehicle or a tour. If you’re hiring a car, double-check with the company first, as not all of them allow travel to Bruny due to the ferry crossing and gravel roads.
To bring your own car, head to Kettering, about 32km (roughly 35 minutes) south of Hobart, and catch a ferry. It runs roughly every hour in winter and half-hourly in summer, though it can get busy at peak times.
Activities To Do On Bruny Island
- Cruise the Coastline of Bruny Island
Some of Bruny Island’s best scenery can’t be reached on foot. Towering sea cliffs, hidden caves and a colony of resident fur seals sit tucked along the coastline, only visible once you’re out on the water.
That’s the appeal of Bruny Island tours. Most depart from Adventure Bay, on Bruny Island itself, so you’ll need to take the ferry over from Kettering to reach the departure point. From there, the iconic yellow boats glide past landmarks like The Monument, a sea stack riddled with archways, and the Breathing Rock, a formation that hisses as the swell pushes through it. Along the way, keep an eye out for dolphins, fur seals, nesting seabirds and, in season, migrating whales.
Whether you’ve got a few hours or a full day to spare, there’s a Bruny Island cruise to match. There are short wilderness cruises that depart straight from Adventure Bay and cover the highlights, and there are also full-day tours from Hobart/Kettering with bus transfers, a ferry crossing and lunch to the mix.
If you want to make a real day of it, combo tours pair the cruise with a visit to the Bruny Island Cheese & Beer Co, the walk up to The Neck lookout and a stop at Get Shucked for fresh oysters.
- Taste Your Way Through the Island’s Food Trail
Bruny Island might be small, but it punches well above its weight when it comes to food. With a cluster of local producers scattered across the island, you can easily create your own Bruny Island food trail and spend a whole afternoon working your way through it.
Start with the Bruny Island Cheese & Beer Co, where you can taste handcrafted cheeses alongside beers brewed right on site. From there, head to Get Shucked for oysters pulled straight from the surrounding waters, as fresh as they come. Save room for something sweet at the Bruny Island Chocolate Company, and round it all off with a scoop of honey ice cream from Bruny Island Honey.
Most producers offer tastings, so you can sample as you go rather than committing to a full meal at every stop. It’s less a single meal and more a slow, grazing kind of afternoon, one that gives you a real taste of what makes the island’s produce so well regarded.
- Walk Bruny Island’s Best Trails
Honestly, you could spend days on Bruny Island just working through its walking tracks and still not run out of ground to cover. There’s something for every fitness level here, taking you across beaches, rocky headlands, bush trails and rainforest along the way. Here are a few of the best Bruny Island walks to add to your list:
- Mavista Falls Track: 30 minutes return. A gentle stroll through mixed forest, home to some of Tasmania’s more elusive native birds. It’s less about the waterfall and more about the walk itself, a quiet stretch through sassafras, myrtle and celery top pine.
- Fluted Cape: 3 hours return. Walk past the site of an old whaling station and out to Penguin Island, before climbing to sweeping clifftop views nearly 270 metres above the water.
- East Cloudy Head: 4-6 hours return. Walk the length of Cloudy Bay beach before climbing onto the headland for views over South Bruny and The Friars.
- Visit Cape Bruny Lighthouse
At the island’s southernmost tip stands Cape Bruny Lighthouse, Australia’s second-oldest lighthouse still in continuous use. It’s a solid finish to a day on Bruny Island, with sweeping views out over the Southern Ocean and a real sense of just how remote this stretch of coast is.
You can wander the grounds, take in the lighthouse itself, and if you time it right, you can also catch a stunning sunset over the water. It’s a quiet, reflective way to end the trip.
Between cliffs, wildlife, food and walks, Bruny Island packs a lot into a small space. Whether you’ve got a single day or a full weekend, there’s no shortage of ways to fill it, and every good reason to come back for more.
