Things to Do on Kangaroo Island

The island is too big to see everything, so choose by coast. The south has the sea lions, the dunes and the surf; the west has the national park; the north has the calm bays. Here is what each part offers you, and which of the Kangaroo Island Australia tours reach it.

The south coast: Seal Bay, Vivonne Bay and Little Sahara

Seal Bay is the reason most people drive south. Australian sea lions rest in the dunes below a boardwalk, and a roaming guide explains what you are seeing. Beach access there is paused for now, so you watch from the boardwalk and its viewing platforms.

West of it, Vivonne Bay has a long curved beach, once voted the best in Australia. It is good for picnics, fishing and surfing when the swell comes in. The Harriet River nearby has calm water for swimming and kayaking, with koalas and echidnas in the bush along it.

Little Sahara is a dune system that took thousands of years to form and now covers about two square kilometres. Kangaroo Island Tourism calls it the island's adventure playground. The quad bikes, the dune buggy, the e-fatbikes and the koala walk all start from bases beside it.

Birders should add Murray Lagoon, a wetland in Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park next to the sea lion colony. Kelly Hill Caves, further west, is one of the sites the parks pass covers.

The west end: Flinders Chase

Flinders Chase National Park fills the west end of the island. It holds the two sights most visitors come for: Remarkable Rocks, granite boulders on a dome above the sea, and Admirals Arch, a sea arch with fur seals below it. Entry is A$22.40 a person.

It is about 110 km from Kingscote, so it takes most of a day. The full days by 4WD spend three to four hours inside it. The fee, the walks and the visitor centre have their own guide.

The north coast: Stokes Bay, Snelling Beach and Emu Bay

The north coast is where you swim. Kangaroo Island Tourism says it is generally safer than the south, and the bays here are sheltered.

Stokes Bay

You reach it on foot through a boulder-lined cave, which opens onto white sand and rock pools. It was named Australia's best beach in 2023.

Snelling Beach

At the mouth of Middle River, for swimming, surfing and fishing.

Emu Bay

Four kilometres of white sand with a 100-year-old jetty and car access to the beach. Its trilobite fossils, in dark grey shale, are found in only a few other places in the world.

Western River Cove

At the end of a steep coast road, where the glossy black cockatoo feeds.

Stokes Bay is the one people talk about afterwards, because of the walk in through the rocks. Emu Bay is the easy family beach. The sea lion day by 4WD visits both.

The Dudley Peninsula: Penneshaw and Cape Willoughby

The eastern end is where you arrive. Penneshaw is the ferry town, and the dolphin and seal boats leave from its marina, so you can fit a boat trip around a crossing.

Cape Willoughby is the lightstation at the far eastern tip. Its guided tour is covered by the Kangaroo Island Tour Pass, and the information centre in the park there sells the pass. The 3-day camping trip stops at the lighthouse and camps at Antechamber Bay nearby.

Kingscote and the Bay of Shoals

Kingscote is the island's main town, with the airport, most of the hotels and the supermarket. The night tours start here, and the evening tour spends its dusk around the Bay of Shoals. The nocturnal tour stops at the Kingscote silo art on its way out.

Stay here if you want pickups. Most full days collect from Kingscote and American River hotels, and one of them meets you outside the Ozone Hotel.

Tastings: honey, eucalyptus, lavender, gin and wine

Much of what you taste here is made nowhere else. The island is the world's oldest bee sanctuary, and its Ligurian bees are the purest strain in the world. Eucalyptus oil is distilled from the island's own narrow-leaf mallee. In the 1930s, 48 stills employed more than 600 people.

1. Honey. A honey farm tasting, with the island's Ligurian bees.
2. Eucalyptus. A working distillery with a café and gallery.
3. Lavender. Scones with tea or coffee at the Emu Bay farm, in season.
4. Wine. A cellar-door tasting at the Bay of Shoals.
5. Gin. A tasting at the island's distillery near Kingscote.

The tastings day for cruise passengers links all five in one shore day. Lunch is not in its fare, and the lavender stop depends on the farm being open.

After dark

The island changes at dusk. Kangaroos and wallabies come out to feed, possums climb down, and owls start calling. The night tours from Kingscote go looking for them by torch, and the after-hours e-fatbike ride takes you onto the dunes from 3:30pm, after the day riders leave.

If you drive yourself, slow down at dawn and dusk. The parks service warns that animals are blinded by headlights, and they cross the roads at those hours.

Which tour reaches which place

Use this to match a place to a tour. The full days do the south and the west, the sea lion day adds the north, and the overnight trips cover the most ground.

Asked about things to do

Where these facts come from

The places, beaches, fossils, bees and stills are Kangaroo Island Tourism's own descriptions, and the parks and the pass are the parks service's, read 24 September 2026. Which tour stops where comes from each tour's own itinerary, saved on 24 September 2026.

• The south coast: beaches, dunes and wetlands (Kangaroo Island Tourism)
• The north coast: bays, beaches and fossils (Kangaroo Island Tourism)
• The best time to visit, season by season (Kangaroo Island Tourism)
• The far-west national park: fees, sights, walks and alerts (parks service)
• The island tour pass: prices and where to buy it (parks service)

Guided things to do on the island

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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Kangaroo Island - Swim with Dolphins/Seals/Coastal Snorkel

Two hours on the water from Penneshaw in a wetsuit and snorkel, swimming with seals or dolphins when the animals allow.

From $139 per person (minimum 1)

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Small Group Kangaroo Island Evening and Night Tour

Two to three hours after dark by 4WD from Kingscote, eight guests at most, looking for wallabies, possums and owls.

From $103 per person (minimum 2)

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