From Sydney: Port Stephens Dolphin, Koalas, 4WD & Sandboarding
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Sydney, Australia
- 12 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
A great way to explore without having the hassle of organizing it yourself, this full-day tour in Port Stephens features a dolphin cruise, a 4WD vehicle adventure, and a sandboarding excursion. See local bottle nose dolphins, conquer the vast sand dunes of Anna Bay, and visit the Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary. Learn about the area's rich culture and history from your guide and make memories to last a lifetime.
- Join a dolphin-watching cruise from Nelson Bay at Port Stephens
- Sandboard on the Stockton Beach sand dunes
- Get up close to koalas at the Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary
- Round-trip coach transfers from Sydney for a seamless experience
What's Included
- Return Coach Transport from Sydney to Port Stephens
- Dolphin Discovery Cruise with Moonshadow Cruises on Port Stephens Marine Park
- 4WD experience on Birubi Beach
- Sand Boarding on Stocktons sand Dunes
- Bottled water
- SnacksComplimentary snacks return journey with Brighton Coach
- Sandboards are provided at the Stockton Beach Sand Dunes.
- Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary admission
- Personal Expenses
- Travel Insurance
- Lunch
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.
Operating hours.6:45 am
Itinerary
1
Moonshadow-TQC Cruises
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Nelson Bay
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
3
Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
4
Stockton Sand Dunes
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
5
Sydney
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Infant seats available
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 57 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
Featured review
Eileen_W
The tour was extremely beautiful and truly unforgettable. Alfie was an amazing guide — very kind, knowledgeable, and passionate. He made the experience feel special and enjoyable from start to finish. I’m very grateful for such a lovely day and would highly recommend this tour.
Reviews
4.8
based on 222 reviews
Greg_H, Mar 2026
Alfie was a great tour guide. Really funny and knowledgeable. Unfortunately my son and his two friends (college-aged) and I were the only ones who spoke English, so we were put on a bus full of Chinese & Japanese tourists. Had I known I probably would’ve chosen an English-only tour. The young adult men didn’t seem to mind the 3-3.5 hour bus rides each way because once we were able to sleep there and back. We enjoyed the boat ride to see the dolphins, swimming at the back of the boat, eating the fish and chips lunch, visiting the koala sanctuary and sandboarding in the desert.
Eileen_W, Dec 2025
The tour was extremely beautiful and truly unforgettable. Alfie was an amazing guide — very kind, knowledgeable, and passionate. He made the experience feel special and enjoyable from start to finish. I’m very grateful for such a lovely day and would highly recommend this tour.
Heidi_G, Oct 2025
This was a fabulous tour and lots to see and do. The dolphin boat ride was nice and easy with a few dolphin sitings. The highlight of the day was the trip to the Koala Sanctuary. The work they do there is so important. Yan was a fabulous guide throughout the day
Susan_W, Oct 2025
The dolphin cruise was disappointing since we saw very few dolphins. Lunch on board the boat was good. Koala Sanctuary was very interesting and cool learning about rescued koalas. Sandboarding was crazy fun! A 1st for my hubby and I and we really enjoyed that activity. Fun for all ages!
wei_c, Oct 2025
Gordon was professional and knowledgeable. Places were fun and the agency's planning was very considerate
Warren_B, Jun 2025
The sand boarding and dunes were the best. Chen our tour guide was also cool and sociable. Port Steven's also has a welcoming and friendly culture.
Naim_Y, Jun 2025
Great experience! The tour itself is well organized with varied activities, you never feel rushed which is nice. The tour guide Gordon was amazing and made this truly special. Highly recommend.
Lisa_L, Mar 2025
Great full day trip from Sydney to Port Stephens!! Saw dolphins in the Bay , Koalas in the sanctuary and went sand boarding on the beautiful sand dunes of Birubi Beach!! Bus ride was long but comfortable. Gordon was a great tour guide and bus driver!!
Dennis_W, Mar 2025
Chen was a great guide. He was able to speak both English and mandarin so was understandable by all of the people on the tour. We saw a pod a pod of dolphins (which is the main reason why we were on the tour…lol). Overall, a great tour.
ShinMargaret_C, Mar 2025
It was a long , but quiet and comfortable drive. The trip was really fun, mixing with encountering with wild life’s , doing sand dunes boarding. The lunch was fresh salads and delicious fish . The tour guide did a wonderful job in guiding the trip.
Jayshree_P, Feb 2025
Fantastic day out visiting the beauty of Port Stephens, tour guide was great fun and so was the overall trip.
Ben_K, Feb 2025
We had a great time with Alfie on our tour up to Port Stephens! Got to see a bunch of dolphins and the koalas were the best. Sun came out and it was perfect at the dunes! This was my second time booking Viator for a tour up to Port Stephens and would definitely go again
Jane_H, Feb 2025
Alfie is as so kind, friendly, and knowledgeable about the different sites we visited in port state Stephens. I had a fabulous time and would definitely return
Wendy_D, Feb 2025
Disappointed with the dolphin watching. We traveled in a small bus, but when we arrived at the port we were loaded in a big cruiser boat with many other travelers. When dolphins were spotted there would be a rush of pushy people to see and we were unable to view them without fighting a mob. And our tour guide Alfie stood in front of us videoing the dolphins while we were behind him trying to get alook. The description said BBQ lunch, but we ended up eating on the boat in a very hot room with lots of people. The crew on the boat did an admirable job handling all the people and the food was ok, but wasn’t as described. Koala sanctuary was fine and enjoyed the sand boarding. Also need to include on the description that it is at least a 3 hour bus ride to destination. Expect to spend 6 hours on the bus. Also we were dropped off two blocks from our hotel, however our pick up point required us to take Metro and navigate central station. I wish we would have known they were picking up two blocks from our hotel, but we were not given that option.
Sam_J, Feb 2025
The trip was really fun and varied. We saw lots of dolphins and koalas at the sanctuary and the sand boarding was a new experience too! Alfie was a great guide, very relaxed and funny and made the trip very memorable! The drive was longer than we’d imagined so as ling as you’re ready for 6 hours in a day it’s no issue!
Richard_C, Jan 2025
We were able to see a large pod of dolphin for an extended time on the cruise portion. The Koala sanctuary was educational. We appreciated that the koala are given a wonderful natural setting to reside in. The sand dunes are extensive and the sandboarding was something that even someone in their 70's enjoyed. Our guide was informative and did a great job.
Sidney_C, Jan 2025
Camel ride and boat trip, also had a great guide and driver who went out of his way to make sure everyone enjoyed it.
Allison_T, Jan 2025
Yun was wonderful. The koala sanctuary was very interesting. The dolphins were visible, though it was a rainy day. Sand surfing was quite a lot of fun. All in all, a very enjoyable day
Cherisse_W, Jan 2025
Overall, this was a good trip that I do recommend going on. On the boat, you get to see dolphins no matter what level you’re on, but you have to move quickly. If you wanna be able to get a good spot to get pictures Alfie, our guide did a great job giving us tips on what to do along the way on the tour. Sand surfing was fun, but you should bring a change of clothes because you’ll have a hard time getting all of the sand off of you before you get on the bus again.
To be honest, the koalas were cute at the sanctuary, but I feel another activity could’ve been exchanged for another activity. The lunch was very basic just a burger and a small side of coleslaw and then you spend about five minutes walking through a bunch of photo areas just to get to the back where you spend time looking for some sleeping koalas in a tree since they do sleep most of the day.
maroonbug, Dec 2024
Got to see some dolphins, weather too hot for sand dunes, Koala Sanctuary a hit / miss. Journey to and fro from Sydney CBD about 6 hours
Amanda_L, Dec 2024
Alfie is the best!!! The koala sanctuary is incredible - what a great experience to see them being helped😊😊😊
Hamidreza_A, Sep 2024
It was an unforgettable memory. The driver, group leader, and group members were friendly and it was a good day, but:
1. The price was in dollars, but after paying, it turned out that they meant US dollars and not Australian dollars. This was not specified and caused my dissatisfaction.
2. The small bus seat was not comfortable and caused neck pain.
3. The group leader's explanation on the bus speaker in English and Chinese was very long and annoying.
Hlna_J, Aug 2024
Day with the dolphins sand dunes and wine tasting.
The guide was really nice and taught us a lot about the places we were visiting.
it was also very funny
megan_l, Jun 2024
Our guide was Yan, he was awesome. I took the time to take our photos, give us lunch recommendations and really make our time special. I absolutely recommend the tour and request Yan
Zoe_H, May 2024
Initially I had booked this tour as a solo traveller, however one of my friends decided to join me and that was the best decision ever. The tour was clearly organised but not very social. Sandboarding was fun but not very memorable. The dolphin cruise however, was amazing! We saw so many dolphins! The wine tasting was delicious but felt a bit rushed. Of course this will differ with each group. The bus was alright, nothing special.
Siuhin_W, May 2024
Day tour with driver and guide Yan - excellent experience. Enjoyed the variety of activities including dolphin cruise, sand dunes, sand boarding, and wine tasting. Yan was super helpful and gave great personalized tips for visiting Sydney. Highly recommended!
Priya_K, May 2024
The entire day with three on the itinerary were thoroughly enjoyable! My teenage son enjoyed, which is a big thing! Sand boarding was fantastic experience! We were lucky to be able to see many dolphins too!
clarichala, May 2024
I really enjoyed this experience. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I just had a great time. Tom our tour guide was really nice and funny. This is totally worth it. There is possibility that dolphins won’t show up but just the ride on the cruise is worth it because the view is stellar. The sand boarding was fun and the wine very tasty. And I found the price is pretty good for all that you get to go and experience.
Caitlin_A, Apr 2024
Wonderful, Highly recommend this experience. Sand boarding was so much fun prepare to be covered in sand for the whole day though. Of course the Dolphin tour was beautiful, be sure to pack spare clothes and a towel if you intend on sitting in the Boom Net and potentially being close and personal with the dolphins. Special shout out to Gordon who was our tour guide and he was full of so much knowledge of Sydney, Australia and other parts of the world, Very thankful to have had him guide us. Very informative and overall a beautiful day.
Only thing that was a little bit of a bummer was only spending 20 minutes at the winery, felt the wine tasting was very rushed and you don't actually have time to see the beautiful winery.
HaeYoung_H, Sep 2023
It was a long weekend and there were much more traffic than expected. The guide responded the best way - be flexible but at the same time, trying his best to portray what people wanted. He changed the schedule so that we can still fit all the itineraries, made extra stop for our washroom breaks and snacks, and checked on us time to time about our needs. I would like to do huge shoutout to Tom and thank him!
From $154.32
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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