Illustration.
Bicheno · Nightly at Dusk · About 1 Hour
Bicheno Penguin Tour
Little penguins coming ashore at a private rookery on Tasmania's east coast. Check in at the Bicheno Penguin Tours shop on Burgess Street, take the short bus ride, and walk about 500 m with a guide as the penguins head for their burrows.
- 4.7 / 5 47+ Reviews
- 1 hour 10 minutes Duration
- 500 m Walked with a guide over about 50 minutes at the rookery, on lit paths, with seats along the way
- 177 km By road from Hobart to the shop in Bicheno, about two and a half hours; 160 km from Launceston
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
What the Tour Includes
The bus from the shop to the private rookery and back, a guide for the walk, and free photos afterwards. Getting to Bicheno is up to you.
Highlights
- Witness the unique behaviors of little penguins in their natural habitat
- Enjoy a short bus ride to a private penguin rookery on Tasmania's East Coast
- Learn about the penguins and their habitat from a knowledgeable guide
- Walk through the rookery and observe the penguins up close
- Support conservation efforts to protect and improve the penguin habitat
What's Included
- Nightly penguin tour
- Visit to private penguin rookery
- Guided walk through rookery
- Educational commentary on penguins
- Conservation discussion
- Photography permitted (no flash)
Good to know: Tours operate nightly at dusk · Tour duration is approximately 1 hour · Walking distance is approximately 500 meters · Tours proceed in inclement weather · Enclosed and comfortable shoes required · Warm, weather-appropriate clothing recommended · Flash photography is not allowed · Free photos provided · Not Included: Hotel transfers (guests must arrive at meeting point), Food & beverages, Personal expenses, Transport after any combined experiences (if applicable)
The Evening, Step by Step
From check-in on Burgess Street to the bus back from the rookery: about an hour (1 hour 10 minutes on the GetYourGuide listing), depending on when the penguins arrive.
Check In on Burgess Street
At the Bicheno Penguin Tours shop, 1/70 Burgess Street, across the road from the IGA, at least 10 minutes before your tour time. Parking is free outside, and the toilets are here: there are none at the rookery.
The Bus to the Rookery
A short ride in the operator's bus takes the group to its private rookery, farmland it has turned back into penguin habitat over more than 30 years.
Walk with the Guide at Dusk
About 500 m over 50 minutes on lit paths, with seats along the way, as the little penguins come in from the sea and head for their burrows. No flash: phones and cameras only with the flash off.
Back to the Shop
The bus returns you to Burgess Street when the penguins are home, about an hour after the start. A selection of photos from the tour is yours free of charge.
Photo Gallery
Little Penguins at Dusk
The rookery, the lit paths and the penguins on their way home.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Pick a date on the calendar. This listing allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and you can reserve now and pay later.
Plan the Evening
The Bicheno Penguin Tour, One Question per Page
Tour times and the season, what you see, children and access, getting to Bicheno, viewing without a tour, and the rest of the town.
Prices are each page's featured tour: GetYourGuide checked November 2026. Listing prices are per person, in US dollars; the operator's own prices are in Australian dollars.
The Penguin Tour Alone, or a Tasmania Circuit Through Bicheno
The evening tour at Bicheno, and the three multi-day circuits from Hobart that pass through the town: which ones stay the night, and which include the penguins. Prices from the listings, with the month they were checked.
| Feature | THIS PAGE The penguin tour at Bicheno | 4-day Wild Tasmania | 5-day west and east coast | 7-day west to east |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What You Pay | From US$53 per person (checked November 2026) | From US$735 per person (checked November 2026) | From US$770 per person (checked November 2026) | From US$1,121 per person (checked November 2026) |
| Time | About 1 hour at dusk, from the shop on Burgess Street | 4 days, Hobart to Hobart | 5 days, Hobart to Hobart | 7 days, Hobart to Hobart |
| Night in Bicheno | Up to you: stay in town, or drive on after the tour | Yes, on the third day | No: a daytime stop for the blowhole and the Gulch | None named on the listing |
| The Penguin Tour | This is it | Not included: an option at dusk, booked and paid for yourself | Not included | Not included |
| Who It Suits | Anyone in Bicheno at dusk, with a car or staying the night | No car, and a lap of Tasmania with the penguins added on | A lap of Tasmania that passes Bicheno by day | A longer lap that ends at Port Arthur |
| Check dates | See the 4 days | See the 5 days | See the 7 days |
More Ways to Do It
Tasmania Trips Through Bicheno
The 4-day Wild Tasmania circuit (also on Viator), which stays the night in Bicheno and leaves the penguin tour as an extra you book yourself, the 5- and 7-day circuits, which do not include it, and the Wineglass Bay cruise and Freycinet kayak tour to the south.
4 DAYS, ON VIATOR4 Day Wild Tasmania Tour / Wildlife, Nature, Hiking / Inc. Accom
Wild Tasmania Tours' 4-day lap of Tasmania from Hobart in a group of up to 13: Mount Field and the west coast, Cradle Mountain, a night in a bush cabin, the Bay of Fires and a Tasmanian devil feeding, then a night in Bicheno and Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park. Accommodation, national park tickets, the Cradle Mountain shuttle, the wildlife sanctuary, one dinner and one breakfast are included. The Bicheno penguin tour at dusk is an option you book and pay for yourself.
TASMANIA IN 5 DAYSFrom Hobart: 5-Day Tasmania West & East Coast Tour
Under Down Under Tours' 5-day circuit of Tasmania from Hobart, with 4 nights in motels and cabins, in groups of up to 24: Mount Field, Lake St Clair, Strahan and the west coast, Cradle Mountain, Launceston, the Bay of Fires, then a daytime stop in Bicheno for the blowhole and the Gulch on the way to Freycinet. It does not stay the night in Bicheno, and it does not include the penguin tour.
TASMANIA IN 7 DAYSTasmania: 7-Day West to East Tour
Under Down Under Tours' 7-day circuit of Tasmania from Hobart, with 6 nights in cabins and motels: Mount Field, Lake St Clair, Strahan, Cradle Mountain, Launceston, the Bay of Fires and Freycinet, then Richmond, Mount Wellington, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary and Port Arthur. The listing names no stay in Bicheno, and it does not include the penguin tour.
WINEGLASS BAY CRUISEFrom Coles Bay: Wineglass Bay Cruise with Lunch
Pennicott Wilderness Journeys' 4 hour 30 minute cruise from Coles Bay in Freycinet National Park round to Wineglass Bay, with a ploughman's lunch on board and a bar: the granite cliffs, sea caves and coves of the Freycinet Peninsula, with dolphins, seals and seabirds to look for. Both decks are heated, with toilets; it runs in most weather, and not on Christmas Day. Coles Bay is 38 km by road south of Bicheno.
FREYCINET BY KAYAKThe Freycinet Paddle Kayak Tour
Freycinet Adventures' 3-hour guided sea kayak tour from Muirs Beach in Coles Bay, in stable double kayaks under the pink granite of the Hazards, with a refreshment break on a beach. Gear and warm jackets are supplied and no experience is needed; children must be 7 or older. From September to April there are morning and twilight departures, from May to August mornings only.
Burgess Street, the Rookery, and an Hour at Dusk
How the Bicheno Penguin Tour Works
Where you check in, what the hour covers, what it costs, when the penguins come ashore through the year, the rules at the rookery, and what was going on along the coast when this page was checked.
The Bicheno penguin tour is Bicheno Penguin Tours’ nightly walk through its private rookery on the east coast of Tasmania, timed for dusk, when the little penguins come in from the sea to their burrows. You check in at the Bicheno Penguin Tours shop at 1/70 Burgess Street, in the centre of town across the road from the IGA, ride a short way by bus, and walk about 500 m with a guide. On GetYourGuide it is Tasmania: Bicheno Penguin Tour, from US$53 a person (checked November 2026), with 47 reviews.
The short answer
If you are on the east coast at dusk, book it: it takes about an hour, it runs nightly except in March (East Coast Tasmania also lists Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve as closed), and it is the only penguin tour on Tasmania’s east coast. Book ahead: tours tend to sell out several weeks in advance, and there is no waitlist. Bicheno is 177 km by road from Hobart and 160 km from Launceston, so most people stay the night in town; if you have no car, the 4-day Wild Tasmania circuit from Hobart spends a night in Bicheno and leaves the penguin tour to you as an extra.
Check dates for the penguin tour
The tour alone, or a circuit that stays in Bicheno: pick yours
Tasmania: Bicheno Penguin Tour
The nightly tour from the shop on Burgess Street: the short bus ride to the private rookery, about 500 m on lit paths with a guide, and free photos afterwards. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on this listing.
Check dates →Hobart: 4-Day Wild Tasmania Tour
Wild Tasmania Tours' 4 days from Hobart in a group of up to 13. The third night is in Bicheno, where the penguin tour at dusk is an option you book and pay for yourself.
See the 4-day circuit →4 Day Wild Tasmania Tour / Wildlife, Nature, Hiking / Inc. Accom
Wild Tasmania Tours' 4-day lap from Hobart on Viator, with the night in Bicheno and the penguin tour as an optional extra at dusk.
See it on Viator →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026; Viator checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
Where everything is
Bicheno is a small seaside town on the Tasman Highway on Tasmania’s east coast, with flaming-orange granite along its shore, Diamond Island just offshore beyond Redbill Point, and Coles Bay and Freycinet National Park to the south, 38 km by road to Coles Bay. The tour starts at the Bicheno Penguin Tours shop at 1/70 Burgess Street, in the centre of town across the road from the IGA, with free parking outside; on Google Maps it is listed as Bicheno Penguin Tours and Bicheno Surf Shop. The rookery itself is private land a short bus ride away; the operator does not publish its location, and guests reach it only on the bus.
The evening, step by step
Check in at the shop at least 10 minutes before your tour time, and use the toilets there: there are none at the rookery. The start time follows dusk and is set when you book. From September to January tours leave between about 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm, and from February to August between about 5 pm and 7:30 pm; on 3 November 2026 the operator’s home page showed that night’s tour leaving at 7:45 pm.
A short ride in the operator’s bus, seatbelts on, takes the group to the rookery, farmland it began turning back into penguin habitat more than 30 years ago. From there a guide leads a walk of about 500 m over 50 minutes on paths lit in a colour range chosen for the penguins, with seats along the way, while the little penguins come ashore and make their way up to their burrows. The guide talks about the penguins, their habitat and how the colony is protected. The whole tour takes about an hour, depending on when the penguins arrive, and the bus brings you back to Burgess Street. What you see covers the penguins themselves.
What it costs, and what the price buys
The listing is from US$53 a person on GetYourGuide (checked November 2026). September to January costs A$76 an adult and A$32 a child, with under-4s free; the operator’s FAQ and Tourism Tasmania both put February to August at A$56 and A$27, while its home page shows the summer figures for both seasons (November 2026). The price on the booking page for your date is the one that counts. The operator does not take concession, seniors or companion cards.
The price buys the bus to and from the rookery, the guide and the walk, and a selection of photos free of charge. The difference worth knowing is the cancellation window: this GetYourGuide listing allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before, while the operator’s own terms refund cancellations made 72 hours ahead and give no refund for a change of mind.
When the penguins come ashore
Penguins leave the water at last light, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) says most return to their colonies in small groups within an hour or so of darkness. In Bicheno the sun sets at about 8:06 pm in mid-November, 8:37 pm in mid-December and 8:42 pm in mid-January, and as early as 4:41 pm in mid-June (timeanddate.com), which is why the tour moves so far through the year. Tourism Tasmania puts the best months at September to January, the breeding season, and calls the June to August nesting season a more intimate visit. The operator closes for March because of reduced penguin sightings, and says February is usually moulting season, when the penguins spend more time on land. Tour times and the season has the month-by-month table.
The rules at the rookery
The tour’s rules are short: enclosed, comfortable shoes without prominent heels, warm clothes for an hour outdoors after dark, and no flash at any point; phones and cameras are fine with the flash turned off. The tour goes ahead in rain, and the operator cancels only in conditions such as extreme winds.
NRE Tas sets the wider rules for watching penguins anywhere in Tasmania: only a dim red-light torch, never pointed at the water or the penguins; no flash cameras on the beach; no dogs or cats; a viewing spot at least 3 m from the burrows that does not block the penguins’ way; existing tracks only; dark clothing; and quiet, with as little movement as possible. Penguins are protected wildlife, and NRE Tas says it is illegal to catch, attempt to catch or harass them.
What was going on when this page was checked
When this page was checked on 3 November 2026, the operator was running tours as normal: its FAQ says penguin numbers dipped one summer and the penguins have since returned. H5 bird flu has been found in Tasmanian wildlife since August 2026, when NRE Tas detected the first Tasmanian case in a brown skua near Rocky Cape; by 9 am on 3 November NRE Tas counted 53 positive events statewide, and its August 2026 updates included a little penguin at Grassy on King Island, and named no detection at Bicheno. NRE Tas has set no restriction on penguin viewing. It asks everyone not to touch sick or dead birds or other animals and to report them on 1800 675 888.
Longer trips through Bicheno
Three Tasmania circuits from Hobart are carded on this site, and none includes the penguin tour. Wild Tasmania Tours’ 4-day circuit spends its third night in Bicheno and offers the tour at dusk as an option, pre-booked and at your own cost. Under Down Under Tours’ 5-day circuit stops in Bicheno by day for the blowhole and the Gulch on the way to Freycinet, and its 7-day circuit names no stay in Bicheno at all. From Hobart or Launceston sets out the drive, the buses and the circuits.
Penguins come ashore on Bicheno’s beaches as well, outside the rookery, and Tourism Tasmania says you can watch them there without a tour if you keep to the rules. Penguins without a tour says where, and how to do it without harming them.
Be There When They Come Ashore
The tour starts at dusk nightly, except in March, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, with a short bus ride from the centre of Bicheno to the rookery. Dress warmly: it goes ahead in most weather. Starting from US$53 per person.
See datesMore on the East Coast
East Coast Tours with Open Dates
Tours around Bicheno and Freycinet with live availability. Times, what is included and cancellation terms are on each listing.
Bicheno Penguin Tour: Questions
Where it starts, what time, how long, what it costs, children and access, the weather, photos, free viewing and getting there.
At its shop at 1/70 Burgess Street, Bicheno TAS 7215, in the centre of town across the road from the IGA. Every tour checks in there, at least 10 minutes before the start, and a short bus ride takes the group to the operator's private rookery. There is free parking outside; on Google Maps the shop is listed as Bicheno Penguin Tours and Bicheno Surf Shop. The operator does not collect guests from their accommodation. Bicheno is 177 km by road from Hobart and 160 km from Launceston.
At dusk, so the time moves through the year. From September to January tours leave between about 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm, and from February to August between about 5 pm and 7:30 pm; the exact time is shown when you book. The operator closes for March. See tour times and the season.
About an hour, depending on when the penguins arrive. After check-in and the short bus ride, the walk through the rookery is about 500 m over 50 minutes, on lit paths with seats along the way.
From US$53 a person on GetYourGuide (checked November 2026). September to January costs A$76 an adult and A$32 a child, with under-4s free; the operator's FAQ and Tourism Tasmania both put February to August at A$56 and A$27, while its home page shows the summer figures for both seasons (November 2026). The price on the booking page for your date is the one that counts. The operator does not take concession, seniors or companion cards.
September to January, the breeding season, says Tourism Tasmania. The penguins can be seen all year, and Tourism Tasmania calls the June to August nesting season a more intimate visit. February is usually the moult, and the tour closes in March because sightings drop.
Yes, people of all ages are welcome, and children under 4 go free. Children must be with an adult and stay quiet and seated at times; the operator has no quiet space for a break. See children, access and what to wear.
Ask the operator before you book. Its FAQs say wheelchairs can be accommodated on its boardwalks case by case, while its terms say the tracks are not suited to wheelchairs, walking frames or prams. Call Bicheno Penguin Tours on (03) 6375 1333.
Yes. The tour goes ahead in rain and the operator cancels only in conditions such as extreme winds. Wear enclosed shoes without prominent heels and warm, weatherproof clothes. This GetYourGuide listing allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Yes, with the flash off. Phones and cameras are welcome, flash photography is forbidden at every point of the tour, and the operator offers a selection of its own photos free of charge.
Yes: Tourism Tasmania says little penguins come ashore at dusk at Redbill Beach and Waubs Beach. Follow NRE Tas's guidelines: a dim red-light torch only, no flash, at least 3 m from burrows, existing tracks only, dark clothes, quiet, and no dogs. See penguins without a tour.
Not as a day trip: no day tour from Hobart includes it. Drive or take the bus to Bicheno, 177 km from Hobart, and stay the night, or join Wild Tasmania Tours' 4-day circuit, which stays a night in Bicheno with the penguin tour as an option you book yourself. See from Hobart or Launceston.
None of the three circuits carded on this site includes it. The 4-day Wild Tasmania circuit stays a night in Bicheno and leaves the penguin tour as an extra at your own cost; the 5-day circuit stops in Bicheno by day only; the 7-day circuit names no stay in Bicheno.
Still have questions? Email us at info@bichenopenguintour.com