Family Activities
Adventures for Everyone
The best family activities in Eyre Peninsula
Shuck oysters, jump off historic jetties, hand-feed dolphins, hunt for the Tumby Bay murals and watch the tuna toss at Tunarama. The Eyre Peninsula is a natural playground built for families.
Read our guide to family activities ↓Browse family activities by area
Map shows the 24 places on this page.
Ada Ryan Gardens
View →Whyalla's green heart by the sea
Whyalla's oldest established gardens, right on the foreshore - shady lawns, bird aviaries, playgrounds and free barbecues a few steps from the city beach.
Arno Bay Foreshore & Estuary
View →A laid-back coastal town with a tidal estuary boardwalk, safe swimming beach and a jetty over Spencer Gulf.
Australian Coastal Safaris
View →Guided Adventures Across the Peninsula
A local tour operator running guided four-wheel-drive, wildlife, seafood and fishing experiences across the southern Eyre Peninsula.
Axel Stenross Maritime Museum
View →A Finnish boatbuilder's working world, preserved
The slipway, workshops and living quarters of Finnish boatbuilder Axel Stenross, kept as a working maritime museum full of windjammer-era relics on the Port Lincoln foreshore.
Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience
View →Swim With Sea Lions & Dolphins
A family-run eco tour that takes you into the water with wild Australian sea lions and bottlenose dolphins in their own protected bay.
Boston Bay
View →Australia's Biggest Natural Harbour
The vast, sheltered bay that Port Lincoln is built on - more than three times the size of Sydney Harbour and the home of the tuna fleet.
Ceduna Foreshore & Jetty
View →The last big jetty before the Nullarbor
Ceduna's foreshore and long jetty front the sheltered waters of Murat Bay - a place to swim, fish and watch the sun drop before (or after) the long drive west.
Ceduna Oysters
View →Oysters at the Edge of the Nullarbor
Ceduna and nearby Denial Bay and Smoky Bay form a major oyster-growing district, celebrated each October at the town's Oysterfest.
Coffin Bay Oyster Farm Tours $$
View →Wade into the lease wearing waders, shuck a freshly pulled oyster on the water and learn how Coffin Bay built its world-class reputation.
Coffin Bay Oysters
View →The World's Best, Straight From the Lease
Coffin Bay's pristine, nutrient-rich waters grow oysters regarded as among the finest on earth - and you can wade out to the lease and shuck them yourself.
Cowell Jetty
View →A long heritage jetty over the calm waters of Franklin Harbour at Cowell, a favourite for fishing and gulf sunsets.
Cowell Oysters & Jade
View →Famous Oysters & Southern Hemisphere Jade
An east-coast town on Franklin Harbour, known for its prized oysters and one of the largest jade deposits in the southern hemisphere.
Denial Bay Jetty & Oysters
View →A historic jetty and oyster-growing settlement near Ceduna, with calm-water fishing and farm-fresh oysters at the source.
Elliston Hall Mural
View →A series of large public murals around Elliston telling the story of the district's people, farms and coast.
Farm Beach
View →A working beach near Coffin Bay famous for the line of vintage tractors used to launch fishing boats across the sand.
Franklin Harbour Historical Museum
View →Cowell's story in an 1880s post office
A volunteer-run museum in Cowell's old post office and postmaster's residence, with period rooms, farming and shipping relics, and specimens of the local nephrite jade.
Glen-Forest Tourist Park
View →Animals, Slides & Family Fun
A family-friendly wildlife and activity park near Port Lincoln, combining hand-feeding native animals with water slides, mini golf and more.
Koppio Smithy Museum
View →A heritage village in the green hills
A National Trust museum village in the Koppio hills behind Tumby Bay, built around a 1905 blacksmith's shop and filled with cottages, a tiny school and sheds of old machinery.
Little Douglas Beach
View →A small, sheltered swimming beach on the edge of Coffin Bay village, with calm water ideal for young families.
Long Beach Coffin Bay
View →A long, sheltered sweep of white sand within Coffin Bay National Park, ideal for a calm-water swim, a beach drive or a sunset stroll.
Lucky Bay
View →A shack settlement on a sand spit
A classic South Australian shack community strung along a sand spit north-east of Cowell, with safe swimming, blue swimmer crabs and gentle gulf water.
Mikkira Station
View →Wild Koalas Under the Manna Gums
A historic sheep station where wild koalas doze in the manna gums - one of the few places on the Eyre Peninsula to see them in the wild.
Mount Dutton Bay Woolshed
View →A grand restored 1870s woolshed beside a historic jetty near Coffin Bay, now a heritage museum.
Mount Laura Homestead Museum
View →A volunteer-run heritage precinct around a restored 1920s homestead, with a telegraph station and pioneer memorabilia.
About family activities in Eyre Peninsula
The Eyre Peninsula is built for family adventures, with safe swimming beaches, hands-on wildlife and plenty of room for kids to roam. The sheltered gulf bays around Tumby Bay, Cowell and Smoky Bay offer shallow, calm water and grassy foreshores, while jetties along the coast are perfect for crabbing, squidding and learning to fish.
Up the wow factor with the region's wildlife encounters: wade out to shuck oysters at Coffin Bay, meet hand-raised animals at Glen Forest near Port Lincoln, or take an eco-cruise to swim with sea lions and dolphins. Kids love clambering up granite giants like Pildappa Rock and Mount Wudinna, and the silo and street art murals turn town stops into a treasure hunt.
Distances are long, so plan around plenty of beach breaks and pack supplies for remote stretches. Most foreshore reserves have playgrounds, barbecues and shade, and many attractions are free or low-cost. Summer suits swimming and water play; the milder shoulder seasons make the longer drives more comfortable with little ones.
Family Activities in Eyre Peninsula - frequently asked questions
What family activities is the Eyre Peninsula known for?
The Eyre Peninsula is famous for hands-on wildlife and seafood adventures the whole family can join. Highlights include swimming with wild sea lions and dolphins at Baird Bay, shucking your own oysters on a wading tour in Coffin Bay, spotting wild koalas at Mikkira Station and hunting down the large-scale silo and street murals at Tumby Bay. Add safe gulf swimming beaches and jetty fishing and it is a natural playground built for kids.
Can you really swim with sea lions and dolphins, and is it suitable for children?
Yes - Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience runs small-group tours of no more than 20 guests where you can swim with wild sea lions and friendly dolphins in calm, sheltered water, an encounter found nowhere else in Australia in a single trip. The animals are not fed and approach on their own terms. Tours run daily from around October to April and booking ahead is strongly recommended, so check directly for current age guidelines and conditions.
Do you need to book the Coffin Bay oyster farm tours, and can kids come along?
Booking ahead is essential, as tour times shift with the tides and wind and small groups fill quickly. On a wading tour you pull on waterproof waders, walk out to a semi-submerged deck in a working oyster lease and get a hands-on shucking lesson with fresh Coffin Bay oysters straight from the water. It is a memorable family experience, though young children should be confident in shallow water - confirm suitability when you book.
Where can families see wild koalas on the Eyre Peninsula?
Mikkira Station, a private property about 25 km south of Port Lincoln, is home to wild koalas that rest in old manna gum trees, with kangaroos and emus roaming the grounds. Visitors look but do not feed or handle the animals. Day visits and tours can be arranged through the Port Lincoln Visitor Information Centre, and picnics and camping are typically permitted in the cooler, greener winter months - check current access and permit details before you go.
When is the best time to visit the Eyre Peninsula with the family?
Late spring through to early autumn (roughly October to April) suits the warm-water highlights, with calm gulf bays around Tumby Bay, Cowell and Smoky Bay offering shallow swimming and the Baird Bay sea lion and dolphin season running across these months. For events, the long-running Tunarama Festival in Port Lincoln - home of the famous tuna toss - is held each January. Always confirm seasonal opening times and festival dates directly before travelling.