Top Things to do in Kangaroo Island
10 Budget-friendly Things to do in Kangaroo Island That You Shouldn't Miss
Kangaroo Island is the epitome of variety, ripe with pristine beaches, historic lighthouses, conservation land, underground caves, rare honeybees, gourmet local delicacies and… penguins. Book a tour with the Kangaroo Island Penguin Centre to watch these tuxedoed darlings waddle along the water, then tuck into a hearty dinner featuring native ingredients like rich sheep’s-milk cheese, freshwater marron, olive oil and boutique wine. The island’s art galleries showcase the woodworking, glass-blowing and furniture-making talents of local craftsmen.
Restaurants in Kangaroo Island
1. Flinders Chase National Park
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,699 reviews
Western end of Kangaroo Island features magnificent coastal landscapes coupled with vast wilderness areas and diverse wildlife. Flinders Chase National Park is the home of the iconic Admiral's Arch with its colony of New Zealand fur seals and the truly Remarkable Rocks. Open every day except Christmas day.
Reviewed By Skeney57 - Sydney, Australia
This NP has a lot of variety & heaps to offer from walking trails to spectacular scenery to a multitude of wildlife encounters. You have Cape Borda Lighthouse on the NW Coast, Cape du Couedic Lighthouse on the SW Coast, the Remarkable Rocks, Admirals Arch, Rocky River, Snake Lagoon & many wilderness trails to explore. Sadly our visit was cut short by extreme weather conditions which led to the NP being closed for safety sake. Will be back to finish our exploration for sure, just hope the dirt tracks have been graded recently !
2. Raptor Domain
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 954 reviews
OPEN 10:00-4:00 Daily inc Public Holidays (Closed Christmas Day) Raptor Domain is a rehabilitation education centre and is the Ultimate, Interactive Wildlife Experience. We do not display animals in cages. Interaction and viewing of animals only during presentations. Venom Pit Presentation: 10:30 45 min This is an amazing look at Venom and the creatures that use it. ENTER IF YOU DARE!! Birds of Prey Presentations: 11:30 and 2:30 1hr Join us for an inspiring, interactive and educational experience. Get up close and personal with some of our beautiful Birds of Prey. Owls,Falcons,Eagles,Kookaburras and much more. Put on a glove and have our birds fly to you. Or hold our majestic eagle for a photo. Fang-Tastic Reptile presentation 1:00pm 45min Hold and enjoy an up close and personal experience with some of Australia's enchanting reptiles. Join us for 1,2 or all 3 presentations. Great photo opportunities, Fun for the whole family. Pre show order system for Food available.
Reviewed By hawkoadventures
We thoroughly enjoyed our time here. Very hands on allowing you to hold the snakes and lizards. Exceptional bird show with fantastic information and again interactive with the birds sitting on your knee and able to hold the falcon or wedge tail eagle. Great people working there, so friendly.
3. Kangaroo Island Odysseys
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 653 reviews
Kangaroo Island Odysseys offer the ultimate in first-class eco-touring with multilingual driver/guides. We tour daily in English, with regular French,Italian & German tours and Spanish and Japanese on request. Discover why our tours have received a Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellent 3 years running! Experience personalized travel in comfort in luxury four-wheel drive vehicles and discover Australian wildlife as it's meant to be seen - roaming free! Tours range from 1-5 days and offer guests high quality wildlife and nature based experiences of Kangaroo Island. Private charters and tailored tours are also a specialty. Discover the best personalised tours of Kangaroo Island
4. Will's Rare Breeds Farm
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 58 reviews
The Rare Breeds Farm is a unique collection of rare and unusual breeds of domesticated farm animals, many on the brink of extinction and not on public displays any where else in the world. Come on down and take a tour of the farm and learn more about these interesting and rare animals.
Reviewed By DrPhantom
Excellent and unique experience!! Will is so friendly and knowledgeable - not just the "rare breeds" but also the common animals. It is an eye opener with all the hardwork that he puts in, demonstrating his passion and enthusiasm in this field. It is an wonderful experience that I would strongly recommend. And the timing was perfect that we ended up having the opportunity to bottle-feed the gorgeous baby lambs! :)
5. Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 641 reviews
Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari departs daily from the Christmas Cove Marina in Penneshaw 'Kangaroo Island's gateway'. Christmas Cove is one of Australia's Geological Monuments cut out by glacial movement 240 million years ago and it offers the perfect access to board the 7.5 metre vessel a Gemini Waverider that carries up to 12 passengers. In 1802 Matthew Flinders discovered Kangaroo Island on his world expedition. See the landing places where he and his crew arrived and where French explorer Nicolas Baudin came ashore and inscribed his details into Frenchman's rock in Hog bay. Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari takes you on a awesome 75 minute coastal and wildlife tour around the coastline of Kangaroo Island visiting places like Dolphin Cove, Cuttlefish Bay, Kangaroo Head and Snapper Point. Encounter pods of Bottle Nose and Common Dolphins that can been seen up close and enjoy them in their natural environment swimming up along side the boat, with numbers sometimes in the dozens and often with their baby calves. Colonies of New Zealand Fur Seals and Australian Sea Lions inhabit the coast that surrounds Kangaroo Island and these seals gather along the rocks enjoying the warm sun, resting after fishing for days on end and show off their agile swimming ability right before your eyes. Witness Southern Right Whales (seasonal) as they pass through these waters on their annual migration to the Great Australian Bight, look in awe at these giant majestic creatures often with their new calves who have swam so far from the Great Southern Ocean to give birth in these warmer safer waters of Kangaroo Island. There are many varieties of sea birds on the Safari including the unforgettable encounters with the mighty Osprey or sometimes known as the Sea Hawk. Opportunities arise on this wildlife Safari to marvel at the Osprey diving into the ocean to grasp fish with their powerful talons. Cormorants and Gulls are abundant along the coast. Put Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari on your 'must do' list - this is a Safari not to be missed on your visit to Kangaroo Island.
6. Admirals Arch
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 669 reviews
Reviewed By benjamingwell
absolutley beautiful natural wonder, full of amazing stinky local wildlife. the sea was so rough it was a spectacular site. if driving back in the dark or near dusk be aware of the abundance of nocturnal life that will be darting about the road. best to go in the day time unless you want a very slow and sometimes stressful drive home avoiding all the little critters.
7. Island Beach
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 26 reviews
Reviewed By ShiningSchnee - Hong Kong, China
It has been and will always be our favorite holiday getaway. A serene place to relax at the beach house, and get down to the beach to swim, kayak or fish. There are wallabies in the bushes and often come out to gawk at the visitors. Cute!
8. Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 63 reviews
Nature’s drama unfolds at every step of the 66 kilometre five-day trek, with the trail weaving its way through the most botanically unique area in all of South Australia before reaching the rugged, remote and spectacular coastline of the Southern Ocean. The unimaginable beauty of this part of the world has to be seen to be believed. Come and discover the magic for yourself.
Reviewed By joannep79
My sister and I did the trail back in April. We are experienced hikers, have done numbers of multi-day backpacking hikes and are in our early 50s. The KI Wilderness Trail isn't very challenging physically (no long, steep hills) but is an extremely enjoyable five days, broken into comfortable length hiking days. The coastal scenery is great and we loved the vegetation, but those who don't care for plants might not find it so exciting. We saw kangaroos, Tammar wallabies, koalas, Rosenburg goannas, seals, red robins, bright orange crabs, anemones, an echidna and a rouge possum at one of the camps. The facilities are new and well-maintained, with good water supplies at each campsite. The campsites are well-spaced and in interesting vegetation. There were 11 independent hikers and no guided hikers when we did the trail, and while you could easily choose not to socialise, we had a great time each evening with the other hikers. We never saw the day hikers, although we believe there were a few. This would be an awesome, entry level multi-day hike, but also very enjoyable for those more experienced hikers. We thoroughly enjoyed our five days on the Trail. Be warned though, that there are extremely exposed sections that could be very unpleasant if there was an icy, southerly wind blowing (most common in winter).
9. Cape Willoughby Lighthouse
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 340 reviews
The first lighthouse erected in South Australia, the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse lights the Backstairs Passage between Kangaroo Island and the mainland.
Reviewed By HDavidMc - Brisbane, Australia
We did the guided tour of this lighthouse with a local guide and found it fascinating. The history of the lighthouse ties in with the history of Kangaroo Island and is very well presented. Well worth a visit
10. Seal Bay Conservation Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,002 reviews
Seal Bay offers one of the most exceptional nature-based experiences in the world. Fees are invested into ongoing research and conservation efforts and through these efforts we hope to preserve the natural habitat of a wild Australian sea lion colony for generations to come. Our tours are designed to suit a wide variety of visitors - you can stay all day if you want to! There are no enclosures or cages at Seal Bay. Instead, you will be taken into the heart of the colony where our experienced guides will teach you more about these endangered animals. Visitors given a unique insight into how these endangered animals fish, surf, rest, interact with their pups and defend their territory.If you prefer, you can set your own pace on the wheelchair accessible 300 metre boardwalk which meanders through the dunes to a number of viewing platforms.
Reviewed By giddyin0z - Adelaide, Australia
Yes, you can see New Zealand Fur Seals at Admirals Arch in Flinders Chase National Park for free (once you have paid for your Parks Pass). And it is definitely not cheap to visit Seal Bay. However, I still think it is worth it! If you do the self-guided tour at Seal Bay, you see Australian Sea Lions quite close from the boardwalk. Much closer than I've ever seen the Fur Seals at Admirals Arch. If you can afford the guided tour, you get to walk on the beach, hear about the Sea Lions, can ask your guide all the questions you like, and the self-guided walk on the boardwalk is included in the price as well. I've done the tour twice by now, with a few years inbetween, and it is still a highlight to me. The guides I had were knowledgeable and passionate. I definitely recommend visiting Seal Bay.
