Kayaking

Pit your skill and experience against the rapids, or relax and let the river be your guide.

What’s special about kayaking in Tasmania?

You can explore our unspoiled coastline by kayak.
The calm waters around Hobart are ideal for your gentle paddle.
Be adventurous and search out our secret coves.

With kilometres of unspoiled coastlines and waterways, Tasmania presents a kayakers playground with natural ease. You can take advantage of professional kayak guides based in Hobart, Kettering, Port Arthur, Coles Bay, Launceston and Strahan. Feel safe and enlightened about your surrounds as guides impart their local knowledge.

The beauty of Tasmania is its’ compact nature. Save travel time and maximise your kayaking experience with close proximity to white water kayaking, flat water kayaking and ocean kayaking. You can nose around Hobart’s waterways on your own, or try a multi-day kayak expedition to Bathurst Harbour in the remote Southwest National Park.

Kayak travel in Tasmania offers exhilaration and relaxation as you experience the freedom, inspiration of nature and beautiful surroundings of Tasmania. If it’s not the majestic mountain peaks captivating your gaze, catching a glimpse of sea life below will leave you with lasting memories. The Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service provides excellent background notes on water activities around Tasmania.

You see a whole new world over the bow of a kayak - don’t leave our island without experiencing it.

Where to kayak in Tasmania:

With more than 5,400 kilometres (2,796 miles) of coastline, kayaking locations are virtually limitless in Tasmania. And for the bold at heart, a full circumnavigation of our island is both possible and has been achieved by avid sea kayakers.

Book yourself in for a two-hour twilight tour of the waters around Hobart, complete with fresh fish and chips passed down from the fish punt into your double kayak. It’s up to you. Slip a sea kayak into the waters of Hobart just minutes from the city centre or paddle alongside Tasmania’s remote western wilderness near Strahan.

Head south of Hobart to the sheltered coves around Kettering or paddle past the impressive dolerite cliffs of the Tasman Peninsula on a fully guided kayak tour. Tasmania’s east coast lends itself as another kayaking gem, where you can take short and multi-day tours in stunning Freycinet National Park or hire a kayak and paddle your own path over the crystal clear waters.

Opportunities are available on the North Esk River near Tasmania’s northern city of Launceston and in the far west where wild rivers carve their way through World Heritage Wilderness. No matter what level of thrill you seek, there is a waterway or coastline in Tasmania beckoning the dip of your paddle.

How to get to key kayaking destinations in Tasmania:

When you touch down at Hobart International Airport, you are merely 20-minutes’ drive to the entry point of your city paddling experience. Less than 30-minutes’ drive from Hobart down the picturesque Channel Highway lies Kettering and the alluring waters of the Tasman Peninsula are about 90-minutes’ drive south of Hobart.

Paddling in Launceston offers convenience, with the North Esk River just over 15-minutes’ drive from the city centre. From Hobart, allow up to four-and-a-half to five hours travel time to Strahan.