The Tasman Island Cruise Route

The Tasman Island cruise works the Tasman National Park coast between Port Arthur and Eaglehawk Neck, and the Parks and Wildlife Service calls its sea cliffs Australia’s highest. The boat runs below the dolerite columns of Cape Pillar, out to Tasman Island and its lighthouse, past the sea stacks off Cape Hauy, and in and out of sea caves and archways. The cruise is From Port Arthur: Tasman Island Wilderness Cruise, from US$134 a person (checked November 2026).

The calendar above is the cruise from Port Arthur, with 792 reviews (checked November 2026).

The short answer

There is no fixed route. Each day the crew tailor the cruise to the sea between Port Arthur and Eaglehawk Neck, and the skipper can change it for safety, so the order, and on a rough day the reach, changes. What does not change is the coast: three hours below cliffs, capes and sea stacks that you cannot see this way from land, with seals on the rocks and seabirds along the cliffs. No animal is guaranteed on a given day.

The coast, cape by cape

Cape Pillar is the cruise’s centrepiece: dolerite columns rising straight out of the sea at the southern tip of the peninsula. Tourism Tasmania and Pennicott describe the cliffs here as the highest in the Southern Hemisphere, and Tourism Tasmania puts the cliffs along the Three Capes Track at 300 m. Walkers see the same cliffs from above on the Three Capes Track, which reaches the Blade, a sharp-edged headland overlooking Tasman Island.

Tasman Island sits off Cape Pillar, a plateau about 280 m high on average and 300 m at its highest point, ringed by sheer dolerite cliffs. Its lighthouse, a cast-iron tower first lit on 2 April 1906, stands on the top; the last keepers left in 1977, and the light is reached only by authorised helicopter (Australian Maritime Safety Authority). The cruise looks up at it from the water; nobody lands. The island lies 16.7 km south-east of Port Arthur in a straight line.

Cape Hauy is the eastern cape, at the end of a 4-hour return walk from Fortescue Bay (Parks and Wildlife Service). Off its tip stand the sea stacks known as the Totem Pole and the Candlestick, famous among rock climbers, with Cathedral Rock nearby. Between the capes the coast is cut by sea caves, archways, and waterfalls, and the boat noses into them when the sea allows.

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The wildlife, honestly

Australian fur seals, whales and dolphins live in the park’s waters, and seals haul out and seabirds nest on the offshore islands and around the capes. Hundreds of seals and seabirds in their thousands use the coast, and at any time of year you could see gannets diving, albatross and sea eagles on the wind, cormorants and peregrine falcons nesting on the cliffs, or dolphins riding the bow wave. Whales pass on their migration; this page gives no months for them. Sightings are not guaranteed.

H5 bird flu has been detected in Tasmania since August 2026 (first in a wild brown skua near Rocky Cape), including a first marine mammal case, an elephant seal on Macquarie Island in October (Tasmanian Government). The state’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment asks people not to touch sick or dead birds or animals and to report them on 1800 675 888. It had published no restriction on watching seals or seabirds from boats when this page was checked on 3 November 2026.

Getting the most from the three hours

Sit where you can see: the seats face forward under a canopy, and the back third of the boat moves least, which matters if you are prone to seasickness. Bring a camera with a strap and warm layers under the jacket you are given; it is cold on the water even in summer. If the forecast looks rough, call and move your booking to another day. Seasickness and weather 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.