Hobart Kayak Tour

Recommended by 100% of travelers

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Hobart, Australia

2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Explore Hobart from the water on a kayak tour with an experienced guide. You have three options to choose from when booking: a 2.5-hour tour from central Hobart, a 7-hour tour past cliffs, caves and beaches or a 10-hour Tasman Peninsula tour. You’ll either admire Hobart’s bustling waterfront along the River Derwent, or take in the scenic wilderness outside the city on one of the full-day adventures. Learn paddling techniques from your guide, who also provides narration about the city and surrounding region.

2.5-hour or full-day guided kayak tour, from Hobart
Choose from a shorter tour that leaves from the city center or longer tours outside of Hobart
Paddle along the waterfront and learn about the history of this bustling harbor town on the city kayak tour
Immerse yourself in Tasmania's natural beauty on one of the full-day tours
Learn to paddle from your expert guide with all kayaking gear provided

What's Included

All required equipment including kayak, life jackets and spray jackets
Local guide
Lunch

Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

14 Marieville Esplanade, Sandy Bay TAS 7005, Australia
Meet us at Short Beach (near the children's play area and rowing sheds). We are a mobile business and have no office at this location. Look for the Roaring 40s Kayaking vehicle, lots of kayaks and the smiling faces! Free parking is available on Marieville Esplanade and near the rowing sheds.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.10:00 am

What To Expect

When booking, select the Hobart kayak tour that matches your interests and how much time you want to be on the water.

For a short experience in central Hobart, select the 2.5-hour city tour, which takes you along the Derwent Estuary, providing unique views of city landmarks and attractions like Battery Point. Take the 7-hour cliffs, caves and beaches tour for a beautiful experience among rugged cliffs, sea caves, sandy shores and other coastal scenery. Or, for the longest time on the water, choose the 10-hour Tasman Peninsula tour, which gives you the chance to spot wildlife like wildlife fur seals, dolphins, sea eagles and penguins; this tour requires a good level of fitness.

Each tour includes use of equipment (kayak, paddle, life jacket and spray jacket) and instruction from your guide. Read the Itinerary section for more details about the three different options.

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Minimum age is 7 years. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult
Not wheelchair accessible
Previous experience is not necessary

A basic level of fitness is required
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Diane_S

Wonderful kayak tour. Mike, our guide, gave great instructions so first timers would be very comfortable. We have experience but we did learn some new things. Paddled to the harbor and Mike picked up fish and chips from a local eatery at the dock. We ate in our kayaks and then paddled back to the bay where we had started. Learned a lot of history along the tour. It was a 40 minute walk from our ship to the starting point, but it was an easy walk and we enjoyed it. Mike recommended a bakery that was on our way back so we took his recommendation and enjoyed an apple scroll on our return to our ship. Was a lovely day.

Reviews

4.9

based on 475 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

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Highly Recommend

Diane_S, Feb 2026

A pleasant kayak in Hobart

JinSheng_T, Dec 2025

A 2h kayak from short beach to Constitution dock. Dependent on the weather, this kayak experience is a must do as it gives you a view of Hobart from water.

Kayaking in Hobart with fish and chips on boats!

EMMANUELLE_G, Nov 2024

Great team to take us kayaking in Hobart. Special kudos for the original idea to have the lunch on the kayak. Best fish and chips ever! Kayaking experience good for debutant or not and every age. Thank you Tory and Kaya for this fun time.

Response from Host, Dec 2024

Great to hear you loved the novelty of fish and chips in the kayak and had a great time!

Best trip to see Hobart

Mika_Y, Mar 2024

That was an amazing tour! I booked this short kayak trip as a birthday gift. My girlfriend said it was her best birthday present! The lovely guide was so nice, friendly and with a lot of patience.

Easy going and comes with a great lunch option

GrantRoss_S, Jan 2024

Great weather , easy course and not to strenuous. Also probably had the best fish and chips from the takeaway places in the vicinity. Saw the guide and her father the next day on a totally unrelated tour and they stopped for a quick chat too.

Great Kayaking Experience

LEONAI_N, Jan 2024

Great experience on the water paddling from Sandy Beach, pass Battery Point to Hobart Harbour. Amazing to be so close to all the harbour action. Thanks Rob and Roaring 40s. Leona

The trip is really good....

PhiYen_H, Jan 2024

The trip is really good. We love the fish and chips so much. If you could share where I can buy it, I will try it again next time I go to Hobart :)

Bad arrangement

calvin_l, Dec 2023

Too much time was wasted at waiting for a “lunch” (around 30 min) under hot sun! NO water was provided though ! Bad arrangement

Something a bit different in Tassie.

Dragana_B, Dec 2023

Great local guide who was very knowledgeable. Was a good way to mix up our trip as we spent a lot of time doing the historical/convict past stuff. Fun experience all around, would definatelt recommend it.

Was worth it

John_S, Feb 2023

It was very windy which made it hard to keep up but we had wonderful help and did enjoy the marina and lunch in our kayak. Weather is unpredictable always but we enjoyed our experience and the other four kayakers too.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Thanks for your review John. We are happy you had a good time in some challenging conditions.

Relaxing

Jenny_S, Jan 2022

Relaxed..we had wonderful guides Jonah and Allie who were no stress making the experience even more relaxing. Highly recommended.

Great paddle

Colin_V, Apr 2021

Lunch in the harbour in our kayak was a great experience and our tour guide pip was fantastic and kept us well entertained.

Response from Host, Apr 2021

Lovely to hear you enjoyed kayaking the Hobart waterfront with Pip. It is special to enjoy your fish and chips while floating on the harbour. Thanks for the review and for paddling with us. Cheers

Awesome 2 hr

Bikram_P, Mar 2021

i felt every moment so good was awesome will definetly do again. We enjoyed a lot and the fish and achpis was plus point 😊

Response from Host, Mar 2021

Thanks for the review. It is wonderful to hear you had such a great time and you enjoyed the fish and chips. We look forward to seeing you again one day. Cheers

Hobart morning paddle

Camila_D, Feb 2021

Great morning in Hobart ! Easy paddling to enjoy with the family. Thanks very much for giving us the opportunity to have a different experience

Response from Host, Feb 2021

Our pleasure to have you along. Lovely to hear you and the family enjoyed the kayaking experience and thanks for the review. Cheers

Fun, easy morning for any skill & age

Kristin_C, Jan 2021

Dan and Lachie were very professional and friendly guides. They explained everything with a little humour which put the group at ease. They shared a little interesting history and information about the docks and shoreline. Nothing was too much trouble for them to help with.

Great way to spend a morning

Eddie_M, Dec 2020

A great way to spend the morning with an experienced guide and a relaxed atmosphere. Lunch was a pleasant surprise.

Response from Host, Dec 2020

Fantastic to hear you enjoyed your morning kayaking tour, and the fish and chips. Thanks for the review and hope to see you again one day. Cheers

I did it so Canoe

Barry_R, Mar 2020

This was fantastic!! I couldn't recommend highly enough. I was lucky enough to have a one on one on the day and the tour guide was excellent. I had never done it before but is something that appealed to me as a hobby. I got lots of great advice and can't wait to buy my own and get paddling!!

Fantastic!!

Emma_B, Jan 2019

From the phone call to get directions to our fantastic guide Dan, we loved every moment of this experience! What a great way to see Hobart. Thankyou!

Very manageable tour for those...

Sam L, Feb 2018

Very manageable tour for those wanting something active but not too strenuous, and seeing the sights of the harbor rather than a wilderness area was a different way to enjoy kayaking. Our guide, Will, was excellent!

A great way to experience Tasmania...

Rachel M, Jan 2018

A great way to experience Tasmania, the guides are great very informative and fun Lunch was fantastic and the scenery very pretty

Great experience well worth it to see...

Rachel M, Jan 2018

Great experience well worth it to see such pretty coast line

This was another great experience in...

Randall_C, Feb 2017

This was another great experience in Hobart. We had a beautiful morning weather wise to paddle around the harbor. Roaring 40s Kayaking is a family owned business and they were wonderful. We spent about 2 1/2 hours paddling. There was a wooden boat festival the following weekend, so we were treated to some spectacular boats sailing by us. The view of Hobart from the water is special and our guide had lots of hints about things to do once our tour was over. It was fun eating a fish and chips lunch delivered to us in our boats. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone. I have kayaked in the past but because of the tandem kayaks, I think it would be fine for most people even without experience.

Great fun. Knowledgeable and friendly...

taryn P, Jan 2017

Great fun. Knowledgeable and friendly guide. Definitely recommend

Great experience. it is my first...

Lei Z, Apr 2016

Great experience. it is my first time to do Kayak, it is fantastic. Jenny, the leader, is professional, skillful and friendly. It is really a great experience.

Tony was my guide and we had fun. He...

Katherine S, Dec 2015

Tony was my guide and we had fun. He made it enjoyable for sure.

This tour was the highlight of my...

Kaitlin A, Nov 2014

This tour was the highlight of my few days in Hobart. Kayaking was a great way to explore the harbour, and I thought the quality of instruction was really good. The guide (Reg) was really friendly, chatted with us along the way, and took a few photos which he emailed to us later. We paddled right up to a floating fish and chips stand, had fish and chips carefully lowered down to us, and then ate it in our kayaks, which was really charming. The tour was not at all strenuous, so I think almost anybody would be fit enough to go. Next time I am in Hobart I am definitely going to look into one of their longer tours!

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