Bicheno Penguin Tour Times and the Best Season

The Bicheno penguin tour starts 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, with the exact time shown when you book. The operator closes for March, and Tourism Tasmania puts the best months at September to January. The tour is Tasmania: Bicheno Penguin Tour, from US$53 a person (checked November 2026).

The calendar above is the Bicheno penguin tour, with 47 reviews (checked November 2026).

The short answer

Plan to be at the Bicheno Penguin Tours shop on Burgess Street around sunset, at least 10 minutes before the time on your booking. The penguins decide the timing: NRE Tas, the state’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, says they leave the water at last light, under the cover of darkness, and that most return to their colonies in small groups within an hour or so of darkness. That is why the operator sets each night’s start by dusk rather than by the clock, and why a summer tour can finish after 10 pm.

Month by month

Sunset times are for the 15th of each month in Bicheno (timeanddate.com), in daylight saving time from October to March and standard time from April to September. Tour departures are the operator’s seasonal windows.

The operator’s seasonal windows are wider than any one night: on the evening this page was checked, 3 November 2026, its home page showed that night’s tour leaving at 7:45 pm. Before daylight saving starts in early October the sun sets well before 7:30 pm, and summer tours run about 7 to 9 pm (winter about 5 to 7 pm); the time on your booking is the one that counts.

See dates and start times

The best time of year

Tourism Tasmania says the penguins can be seen year-round at Bicheno, with the best viewing from September to January, the breeding season, and a more intimate visit in the June to August nesting season. NRE Tas says the breeding season varies between birds, places and years: it commonly starts in winter, when the penguins come back to prepare their nests, and a clutch of two eggs can be laid as early as May or as late as December. The eggs hatch after about 35 days, and the chicks fledge at about eight weeks.

The operator describes its winter season as quieter, for the penguins and for guests, and its summer as the busy months, when the penguins are building burrows and raising chicks. It notes that February is usually the moulting season, when the penguins are based more on land, and it closes the tour for all of March because sightings drop; it says it may reopen bookings closer to the time if penguin activity allows.

Christmas, New Year and booking ahead

Tours run nightly, and the only closure on the operator’s own pages is March. East Coast Tasmania’s listing of the tour says it runs daily except Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, so check those two nights before you plan around them. Tours tend to book out several weeks in advance, and there is no waitlist: cancellations go back on the operator’s booking calendar.

Weather on the night

The tour goes ahead in rain, and the operator cancels only in conditions such as extreme winds, at its own discretion, for its guests’ safety. Booked on GetYourGuide, this listing allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before; the operator’s own terms refund cancellations made 72 hours ahead. Bring a warm, weatherproof layer in any season: you spend about an hour outdoors on the coast after dark. Children, access and what to wear has the detail.

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.