Kangaroo Island Map: Distances, Ports and Tour Starts

The island is about 155 km long and up to 55 km wide, and the tours start in very different places. The boats leave from one town, the dune rides from another coast, and the full days from hotels in a third. Use this map to see where your Kangaroo Island booking begins and how far the drive is.

Where the tours start

Most people underestimate the drives. Before you book, find your tour's start in this table and check it against where you sleep.

The Vivonne Bay bases are the ones that surprise people. They are on the south coast, about 90 minutes from the ferry, and none of them runs a shuttle. If you have no car, those tours are out of reach.

Distances that decide a day

These are the distances the parks service and the tourism bodies give. A full day to the west spends several hours on the road for that reason.

Fuel shapes a long day as much as distance. There is 24-hour fuel at Kingscote, Penneshaw, American River and the Western KI Caravan Park, and more at Parndana and Vivonne Bay. Fill up before you head west, because the national park has none.

Backstairs Passage, the strait the ferry crosses, is about 15 km wide. On the island, there is no public transport and no taxi, so the distance between your bed and your tour start is yours to cover.

The five coasts

Kangaroo Island Tourism divides the island into regions, and they are the easiest way to read the map.

The Dudley Peninsula

The eastern end: the ferry at Penneshaw, the boats, and Cape Willoughby at the tip.

Kingscote and the north-east

The main town, the airport, American River and the Bay of Shoals.

The north coast

Emu Bay, Stokes Bay and Snelling Beach, for calm water and swimming.

The south coast

The sea lion colony, Vivonne Bay and the Little Sahara dunes.

The west end

The national park, with its rocks, its arch and its lighthouses.

Cape Willoughby is the lightstation at the east tip. Stokes Bay is the beach you reach through a cave. Little Sahara is the dune field the activity bases sit beside. Seal Bay and Flinders Chase are the parks that most tours visit, with Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch inside the second.

The island on a map

The map opens on the middle of the island. Zoom east for Penneshaw and west for the national park.

Phone signal fades as you go west, so save the map offline before you leave town. Telstra gives the widest coverage.

Getting between the starts without a car

The ferry shuttle runs between Penneshaw and Kingscote around the morning and evening boats. Beyond that, a tour with pickup is your transport. The coach day collects in Penneshaw, Kingscote and American River, and the 4WD days collect in Kingscote and American River.

If you are staying at Vivonne Bay or in the west, you will need a car or an operator willing to collect you. Ask before you book.

So choose your bed by your tour. Stay in Kingscote or American River for the 4WD days and the night tours, which collect there. Stay in Penneshaw for the boats and an easy ferry. If the dunes are your main reason for coming, stay on the south coast with a car, because the activity bases are a long way from both towns.

Asked about the map

Where these facts come from

The distances are the parks service's, Kangaroo Island Tourism's and the South Australian Tourism Commission's, read 24 September 2026. Every start address comes from the tour's own listing, saved on 24 September 2026.

• The far-west national park: fees, sights, walks and alerts (parks service)
• The sea lion colony: the alert, the boardwalk and the hours (parks service)
• The north coast: bays, beaches and fossils (Kangaroo Island Tourism)
• Visitor questions: transport, fuel, signal and biosecurity (Kangaroo Island Tourism)
• The island at a glance (South Australian Tourism Commission)

Tours from different corners of the island

Kangaroo Island Small‑Group Scenic & Wildlife Day Tour

A whole day from Kingscote with eleven guests at most, park fees and a cafe lunch in the far west included.

From $292 per person (minimum 1)

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Kangaroo Island 75-Minute Coastal Safari

Seventy-five minutes by boat from Penneshaw looking for dolphins, seals and sea eagles; the fare cannot be refunded.

From $62 per person (minimum 2)

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Kangaroo Island Quad Bike (ATV) Tours

Ride your own quad through bush and sand at Vivonne Bay with six riders at most; drivers from 6, passengers from 4.

From $140 per person (minimum 1)

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