penguin tour granite island

Guided Nature and Penguin Tour

Granite Island is home to a small colony of wild Little Penguins, who return home from their day in the ocean at dusk. Granite Island Nature Tours are the best way to see Little Penguins in their natural habitat. But it’s not only Little Penguins you see, with all the Island’s natural wildlife to discover after dark.

Granite Island is home to a small colony of rare, wild Little Penguins.

Twilight tours also provide a chance to spot Granite Island’s Little Penguins as they return from the ocean at sunset. Visiting the island at dusk is ONLY available on a guided tour to ensure protection of the wild penguin colony.

For more information, or to contact Oceanic Victor, go to www.oceanicvictor.com.au

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Guided Nature & Penguin Tour

• Duration: 90 Minutes
• Location : Victor Harbor, South Australia
• Product code: PT

- Tours start just before dusk and last 1.5 - 2hrs 

- Child (4-15 y.o) Infant (0-3 y.o)

We cannot guarantee the locations and the number of penguins that will be seen during tours as they are wild animals.  Please note that during the cooler months or change of season, sightings can vary between 2 to 13 penguins. 

*All Penguin tours meet on Granite Island in an allocated area near the four tall pine trees visible from the causeway. There is a penguin meeting sign and your tour guide will be wearing a high-visibility top. Please allow at least 15 minutes to cross the causeway (jetty). 

View our booking terms, conditions and cancellation policy . 

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• Find a Park

Granite Island Recreation Park

More information.

Click the button below to view more information.

Take a short stroll or horse tram ride over the cause­way that con­nects the main­land at Vic­tor Har­bor to Gran­ite Island Recre­ation Park.

The island is char­ac­terised by huge gran­ite boul­ders tinged with orange lichen, with the sound of waves crash­ing against rocky shores a stir­ring sound­track to your visit.

Enjoy the coastal scenery and dis­cov­er the island’s inter­est­ing his­to­ry along the Kai­ki Walk or go fish­ing from the jet­ty, or cause­way (no fish­ing from break­wa­ter). You may even spot a south­ern right whale between June and October.

Opening hours

Open dai­ly.

Access to Gran­ite Island is via the Vic­tor Har­bor to Gran­ite Island Cause­way. Please be aware that the cause­way is exposed and offers no shel­ter dur­ing the cross­ing for pedestrians.

Dur­ing severe weath­er events access to the cause­way may be restrict­ed or closed. When the Bureau of Mete­o­rol­o­gy fore­casts ​ ‘ strong winds’ for Vic­tor Har­bor, the Vic­tor Har­bor Horse Drawn Tram will not be oper­at­ing. If you’re rely­ing on the horse-drawn tram to access Gran­ite Island on a windy day, please con­tact the Vic­tor Har­bor Horse Drawn Tram Office on (08) 8551 0720 to check if the trams are oper­at­ing. Dur­ing storm events the cause­way will also close to pedestrians. 

Clo­sures and safety

This park is closed on days of Cat­a­stroph­ic Fire Dan­ger and may also be closed on days of Extreme Fire Danger.

You can deter­mine the cur­rent fire dan­ger rat­ing by check­ing the Fire Ban Dis­trict map on the CFS  website.

Check the CFS web­site or call the CFS Bush­fire Infor­ma­tion Hot­line 1800 362 361 for:

• Infor­ma­tion on fire bans and cur­rent fire conditions
• Cur­rent CFS warn­ings and incidents
• Infor­ma­tion on what to do in the event of a fire .

Lis­ten to your local area radio sta­tion for the lat­est updates and infor­ma­tion on fire safety.

Contact details

Vis­i­tor infor­ma­tion, book­ings and park management: .

Vic­tor Har­bor Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice Office Phone: (+61) 7133 7300 Email: DEW .​VictorHarborOffice@​sa.​gov.​au

Emer­gency contacts:

Med­ical, fire (includ­ing bush­fire) and police emer­gency sit­u­a­tions Phone: Triple Zero (000)

Police Assis­tance Phone: 131 444 for non-urgent police assistance

Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice SA – Emer­gency After Hours Duty Offi­cer (voice mes­sages only, text mes­sages are unavail­able to be received ) Phone: 0427 556 676

Injured wildlife:

With­in the park Please con­tact Vic­tor Har­bor Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice Office on (+61) 7133 7300 or the after-hours duty offi­cer on 0427 556 676 (out­side of busi­ness hours).

Out­side of the park Please con­tact a local wildlife res­cue group

Marine mam­mals If you find a sick or strand­ed marine mam­mal (includ­ing whales, seals, sea lions and dol­phins), please con­tact Vic­tor Har­bor Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice Office on (+61) 7133 7300 or the after-hours duty offi­cer on 0427 556 676 (out­side of busi­ness hours)

When to visit

June to Octo­ber is the per­fect time to vis­it for whale watch­ing activ­i­ties. South­ern right whales vis­it Encounter Bay each win­ter, when they find the local waters to be warmer than their sum­mer­ing grounds in the sub-Antarctic.

Warmer months are the best time for walk­ing, swim­ming and fishing.

Getting there

Gran­ite Island Recre­ation Park is locat­ed off the coast of Vic­tor Har­bor, approx­i­mate­ly 100km south of Adelaide.

Accessibility

Facil­i­ties.

There is coun­cil owned acces­si­ble park­ing locat­ed at the end of the Gran­ite Island cause­way in vic­tor har­bour. The pri­vate­ly run horse drawn tram can accom­mo­date a man­u­al wheel­chair or book a  penin­su­la taxi to cross to Gran­ite Island.

There is an acces­si­ble (right hand) toi­let locat­ed on the island.

See and do

Check out Push Adven­tures — Views for miles from Gran­ite Island blog for acces­si­ble trail descrip­tions and photos.

Assistance dogs

Assis­tance dogs are per­mit­ted in most pub­lic places and are there­fore wel­come in South Australia’s parks and reserves. Assis­tance dogs must be appro­pri­ate­ly restrained on a lead and remain under your effec­tive con­trol at all times while in a park or reserve.

As per the dogs in parks and reserves pol­i­cy, if the dog is not an accred­it­ed assis­tance dog, they must be trained to assist a per­son with a dis­abil­i­ty to alle­vi­ate that dis­abil­i­ty and meet stan­dards of hygiene and behav­iour appro­pri­ate for a dog in a pub­lic place. How­ev­er, refusal may be giv­en if the per­son with the dis­abil­i­ty is unable to pro­duce evi­dence the dog is an assis­tance dog with the appro­pri­ate training.

Before tak­ing your assis­tance dog into a park that does not nor­mal­ly allow dogs, it is high­ly rec­om­mend­ed that you con­tact us so we can pro­vide you with the lat­est infor­ma­tion on any poten­tial haz­ards with­in spe­cif­ic parks that may affect your dog. Please con­tact the park via the con­tact details pro­vid­ed under the con­tact tab or con­tact the vis­i­tor ser­vice cen­tre via email or on Face­book .

Pets not allowed

Dogs are not per­mit­ted in this park.

Dis­cov­er which parks you can walk your dog in on our find a park tool or read 12 dog-friend­ly walks in Ade­laide Parks by Good Liv­ing for inspiration.

The Gran­ite Island Recre­ation Park café oper­ates 7 days per week.

The park also offers pic­nic areas and toi­lets (dis­abled available).

Useful information

• Explore what oth­er nature and out­door activ­i­ties are avail­able in this area on the South Aus­tralia Tourism website. 
• Mobile phone cov­er­age is good in most areas of the park.
• Horse Drawn Tram
• Parks man­age­ment plans
• SA Marine Parks
• Impor­tant: Col­lec­tion of fire­wood with­in Nation­al Parks is pro­hib­it­ed. Dead wood plays a vital role in pro­vid­ing shel­ter for ani­mals and adding nutri­ents to the soil.

Plants and animals

Flo­ra and fau­na species lists.

To down­load flo­ra (plants) and fau­na (ani­mals) species lists for this park, use the ​ ‘ Cre­ate Sim­ple Species List’ tab under ​ ‘ Flo­ra Tools’ or ​ ‘ Fau­na Tools’ in NatureMaps .

Pests and diseases

Phy­toph­tho­ra (fy-TOFF-tho­ra), oth­er­wise known as root-rot fun­gus, is killing our native plants and threat­ens the sur­vival of ani­mals depend­ing on plants for food and shelter.

This intro­duced fun­gus can be found in plant roots, soil and water. Help stop the spread by using hygiene sta­tions, stay­ing on tracks and trails and by com­ply­ing with all Phy­toph­tho­ra man­age­ment signs.

• Phy­toph­tho­ra brochure

Traditional owners

Abo­rig­i­nal peo­ples have occu­pied, enjoyed and man­aged the lands and waters of this State for thou­sands of gen­er­a­tions. For Abo­rig­i­nal first nations, cre­ation ances­tors laid down the laws of the Coun­try and bestowed a range of cus­tom­ary rights and oblig­a­tions to the many Abo­rig­i­nal Nations across our state. 

There are many places across the State that have great spir­i­tu­al sig­nif­i­cance to Abo­rig­i­nal first nations. At some of these places Abo­rig­i­nal cul­tur­al pro­to­cols, such as restrict­ed access, are pro­mot­ed and vis­i­tors are asked to respect the wish­es of Tra­di­tion­al Owners.

In places where pro­to­cols are not pro­mot­ed vis­i­tors are asked to show respect by not touch­ing or remov­ing any­thing, and make sure you take all your rub­bish with you when you leave.

Abo­rig­i­nal peo­ples con­tin­ue to play an active role in car­ing for their Coun­try, includ­ing in parks across South Australia. 

• DEW Park management
• DEW Abo­rig­i­nal partnerships

Gran­ite Island was once con­nect­ed to the main­land. It has sur­vived the force of the ocean while the land sur­round­ing it has erod­ed away. Inter­pre­tive signs along the way reveal the ori­gin of these rocks were formed 10km below the earth­’s sur­face some 480 mil­lion years ago.

Rangers recommend

We have picked the brains of our park rangers to find out what they would rec­om­mend you see and do whilst vis­it­ing this park.

• Enjoy a whim­si­cal trip back in time and catch the unique horse drawn tram across the cause­way to the island.
• Enjoy the views of the wild south­ern ocean at it crash­es into the boul­ders sur­round­ing the island on a souther­ly wind.
• Explore the Kai­ki Trail and check out the amaz­ing for­ma­tion of Umbrel­la Rock.
• Go bird watch­ing and see how many dif­fer­ent vari­eties of birds you can spot. Friends of Gran­ite Island Wildlife Dis­cov­ery have put togeth­er this guide to help you along the way. 

Bushwalking

Bush­walk­ing is a fan­tas­tic way to con­nect with nature, keep fit and spend time with fam­i­ly and friends. 

South Aus­trali­a’s nation­al parks fea­ture a range of trails that let you expe­ri­ence a diver­si­ty of land­scapes. Our trails cater for all lev­els of fit­ness and adven­ture and our clas­si­fi­ca­tion sys­tem makes it easy to select an expe­ri­ence suit­able for you.

• Walk, hike or trek — what’s the difference?
• Bush­walk­ing safety

Grade 1 — No bush­walk­ing expe­ri­ence required, suit­able for wheel­chair users who have some­one to assist them

Vic­tor har­bor to gran­ite island cause­way (20 mins one-way, 650 metres).

Nav­i­gate this trail on Google Street View

Take a short stroll or horse tram ride over the wood­en cause­way that con­nects the main­land at Vic­tor Har­bor to Gran­ite Island Recre­ation Park.

Grade 3 — Suit­able for most ages and fit­ness levels

Kai­ki walk (1 hour, 2.9km loop).

The trail is a great way for peo­ple, includ­ing fam­i­lies with chil­dren and strollers, to dis­cov­er the island. The trail­head is on the island, just after the Vic­tor Har­bor to Gran­ite Island Cause­way reach­es the island. Dis­cov­er more about the wildlife, geol­o­gy and his­to­ry of the island with the inter­pre­tive signs along the trail. Explore gran­ite boul­ders includ­ing Umbrel­la Rock, and take in the views of Encounter Bay, the Bluff, islands and whales in winter.

Granite Island Recreation Park Café

The Gran­ite Island Recre­ation Park café is open dai­ly from 9:00am – 5:00pm. For fur­ther infor­ma­tion phone (08) 8429 9656.

Seat­ing is avail­able with­in the café with a range of local­ly sourced pas­tries, sand­wich­es and snacks on offer. Enjoy a fresh­ly roast­ed cof­fee and soak up the stun­ning oceans views as you look across the Vic­tor Har­bor foreshore.

On a warm day the grass area in front of the café is per­fect for kids, with dol­phins and sea lions often mak­ing an appear­ance in the distance.

Whale watching

Take your binoc­u­lars, cast your eyes out to sea and you may be lucky enough to spot a south­ern right whale between May and October.

The south­ern right whales’ unique affin­i­ty for coastal inshore waters makes them the per­fect species for land-based whale watch­ing, you can eas­i­ly spend many hours view­ing their play­ful antics. Some­times the whales approach as close as 100m from shore, pro­vid­ing a bird’s eye view of their immense size and rotund, 18m body.

There has been 29 dif­fer­ent types of whales record­ed in South Aus­tralia. The most com­mon are the south­ern right whale, hump­back whale, sperm whale, blue whale and orca whale (killer whale). Of these you are most like­ly to spot a south­ern right whale along the South Aus­tralian coast. The vast major­i­ty of south­ern right whales are black in colour with dis­tinc­tive white pat­terns on their heads that are cal­lus­es formed by small crus­taceans known as ​ ‘ whale lice’. The pat­terns are vis­i­ble at birth and are unique to each whale allow­ing researchers to iden­ti­fy indi­vid­ual whales.

Little penguins

The lit­tle penguin.

(Also known as fairy pen­guin, blue pen­guin or lit­tle blue penguin)

The Lit­tle Pen­guin is the world’s small­est pen­guin species and is well known to most vis­i­tors to Australia’s south­ern coast­line. It stands about 35 cm tall and weighs about 1.2kg. By com­par­i­son the Emper­or Pen­guin, which is the largest pen­guin in the world, stands over 110 cm and can weigh 30kg. 

The Lit­tle Pen­guin is found only in Aus­tralia and New Zealand and is the only pen­guin to breed in Aus­tralia. Large num­bers can occur where suit­able con­di­tions are present. Lit­tle pen­guins favour rocky shore­lines, just like Gran­ite Island, which pro­vide suit­able breed­ing sites. The avail­abil­i­ty of feed­ing grounds also deter­mines the size and suc­cess of a colony.

The num­ber of Lit­tle Pen­guins on Gran­ite Island has declined from 1600 pen­guins in 2001 to 20 adult pen­guins count­ed in the last cen­sus in Octo­ber 2021. Despite, the low num­ber the colony has increased from 16 pen­guins in 2020. The active bur­rows on the island are mon­i­tored with the use of remote cameras.

The defin­i­tive cause of this decline is still unclear, although a 2007 PIR­SA study iden­ti­fied a num­ber of fac­tors includ­ing: changes in the marine envi­ron­ment, pre­da­tion pres­sure, and rat pre­da­tion on chicks. 

Study is ongo­ing on the island and a rat bait­ing pro­gram and mea­sures to pre­vent fox­es access­ing the island are cur­rent­ly in place to pro­tect the eggs and young chicks from predation. 

Lit­tle Pen­guins lay 2 eggs per clutch and incu­bate them for approx­i­mate­ly 36 days. Chicks fledge when they are typ­i­cal­ly 59 days post hatch­ing. Chicks are guard­ed by at least one adult for around 3 weeks fol­low­ing hatch­ing, alter­nat­ing for­ag­ing between the two adult birds. After 3 weeks both par­ents leave the chicks to for­age for food.

• For fur­ther inter­est­ing infor­ma­tion please see our Lit­tle pen­guins fact sheet

Lit­tle Pen­guins for­age for food dur­ing the day and will return to their bur­rows dur­ing the ear­ly morn­ing and late evening. Lit­tle Pen­guins are high­ly sen­si­tive to dis­tur­bances from peo­ple and ani­mals, this can cause them to aban­don their breed­ing activ­i­ties and bur­rows and impact their sur­vival. Please adhere to the fol­low­ing guide­lines to pro­tect this vul­ner­a­ble population:

• Keep your dis­tance — Do not approach a pen­guin by less than 5 meters. 
• The pen­guins always have the​‘right of way’. They are usu­al­ly return­ing to their bur­row or chicks. Don’t get between chicks and adult pen­guins or obstruct a pen­guin from get­ting to its burrow.
• Turn the flash set­ting off on your cam­era. A cam­era flash will blind a pen­guin for up to three days mak­ing them vul­ner­a­ble to predation.
• Do not use a torch unless it has been fit­ted with a red filter.
• Pen­guins are high­ly sen­si­tive to noise – keep your noise lev­el to a min­i­mum if you are near a pen­guin or its burrow.
• Dogs are not per­mit­ted on the island and fines apply. Even the smell of dogs with­in the colony will dis­turb pen­guins and may stop them from breeding.
• Moult­ing pen­guins may be easy to see in their bur­rows but they are most vul­ner­a­ble at this time. Their new feath­ers are not yet water­proof so they can­not leave the bur­row if disturbed.
• Do not touch any pen­guin, chick, eggs or bur­row as human scent may cause the pen­guins to aban­don their breed­ing activities.

Mountain biking

There are no des­ig­nat­ed moun­tain bik­ing trails in this park. 

• Which parks can you ride in?

Fish­ing is active­ly man­aged in South Aus­tralia by the Depart­ment of Pri­ma­ry Indus­tries and Resources SA . Check out these use­ful links before embark­ing on your fish­ing adventure:

• Recre­ation­al fish­ing regulations
• SA recre­ation­al fish­ing guide app
• Aquat­ic reserves

Stay in the park

Camp­ing is not per­mit­ted with­in this park.

• Use Find a Park to dis­cov­er which parks you can camp in.

Volunteering

Want to help.

To find out how you can help in this park or near­by, please vis­it Nat­ur­al Resources Ade­laide and Mt Lofty Ranges – Volunteering.

Want to join oth­ers and become a Park Friend?

To find out more about Friends of Parks groups please vis­it Friends of Parks South Australia.

You could join oth­ers to help look after a park. You can take part in work­ing bees, train­ing and oth­er events.

The inter­na­tion­al Trail Users Code of Con­duct is to show respect and cour­tesy towards oth­er trail users at all times.

Ensure that you:

• when hik­ing, wear stur­dy shoes, a hat and sunscreen
• be aware of weath­er con­di­tions and avoid walk­ing dur­ing the hottest part of the day
• make sure you have appro­pri­ate weath­er proof clothing
• car­ry enough water to be self-sufficient
• please be respect­ful of oth­er users at all times
• stay on the des­ig­nat­ed trails and con­nec­tor tracks for your own safe­ty, and pre­vent the spread of declared weeds to oth­er areas in the park
• ensure some­one knows your approx­i­mate loca­tion and expect­ed time of return
• take appro­pri­ate maps.

Can I have a fire or barbecue?

• Wood fires and sol­id fuel fires are pro­hib­it­ed through­out the year.
• Gas fires and liq­uid fuel fires are per­mit­ted, oth­er than on days of total fire ban.
• Ensure you are famil­iar with the fire restric­tions for this park.

Main­tain­ing the legal dis­tance from marine mam­mals such as whales, dol­phins and seals is impor­tant, both for our safe­ty and that of the animals.

The ani­mals may be seri­ous­ly injured if they are struck by a ves­sel or fright­ened young may become sep­a­rat­ed from their moth­ers. Even if there is no con­tact, com­ing too close can dis­rupt feed­ing, breed­ing and migra­to­ry behaviours.

Reg­u­lar water users should make them­selves famil­iar with all the rules for inter­act­ing with marine mam­mals by view­ing the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife (Pro­tect­ed Ani­mals – Marine Mam­mals) Reg­u­la­tions 2010 .

In the Water

• Pre­scribed ves­sels (high-pow­ered craft such as jet-skis, hydro­foils and boats used for water ski­ing or paraglid­ing): Nev­er clos­er than 300m.
• Oth­er ves­sels (for exam­ple, cab­in cruis­ers, yachts, ​ ‘ tin­nies’, inflat­a­bles, kayaks, wind surfers and kite surfers): No clos­er than 100m.
• Oth­er ves­sels with­in 300m of a whale: No anchor­ing; max­i­mum speed 4 knots; max­i­mum time 60 minutes.
• Swim­mers (includ­ing surfers and boo­gie board­ers): No clos­er than 30m.
• No clos­er than 30m (or 50m if the whale is dis­tressed, strand­ed or entangled)

In the air

• Planes and remote­ly pilot­ed air­crafts (drones) must be at least 300m from any whale or oth­er marine mam­mal (addi­tion­al Civ­il Avi­a­tion Safe­ty Author­i­ty restric­tions apply).
• Heli­copters and gyro­copters must be at least 500m from any whale or oth­er marine mammal.

Spe­cial rules exist for:

• the Encounter Bay Restrict­ed Area : All ves­sels – no clos­er than 300m to a whale
• whale calves: all ves­sels and swim­mers – no clos­er than 300m
• dis­tressed, strand­ed or entan­gled whales: all ves­sels and swim­mers – no clos­er than 300m

Strong cur­rents and rips can make swim­ming dan­ger­ous in this area.

Do not climb on, or fish from slip­pery rocks. 

Know before you go

Every nation­al park is dif­fer­ent, each has its own unique envi­ron­ment, it is impor­tant to be respon­si­ble while enjoy­ing all the park has to offer.

Please ensure that you:

• leave your pets at home
• do not feed birds or oth­er ani­mals, it pro­motes aggres­sive behav­iour and an unbal­anced ecology
• do not bring gen­er­a­tors (except where per­mit­ted), chain­saws or firearms into the park
• leave the park as you found it — there are no bins in nation­al parks, please come pre­pared to take your rub­bish with you. 
• abide by the road rules (main­tain the speed limit)
• respect geo­log­i­cal and her­itage sites
• do not remove native plants
• are con­sid­er­ate of oth­er park users.
• Gran­ite Island Recre­ation Park map

Google Street View

Want to explore a trail before you leave home or use Google Maps to nav­i­gate straight from your door to the trailhead?

We’ve worked with Google to film more than 600km of walk­ing trails , park roads, camp­grounds and water­ways in some of our most beau­ti­ful places. Click to see what the parks offer and the avail­able facil­i­ties before you go. This is an espe­cial­ly great tool if you have acces­si­bil­i­ty needs, are vis­it­ing with peo­ple of vary­ing ages or fit­ness lev­els or are push­ing a pram and want to view a trail before leav­ing home.

You can start explor­ing this park on Google Street View using the links below.

Walk­ing trails

• Kai­ki walk
• Vic­tor Har­bor to Gran­ite Island Causeway

Come and enjoy this park for free. 

There is no camp­ing or accom­mo­da­tion avail­able with­in this park. 

This park is not includ­ed in the park pass system. 

• Which parks are includ­ed in the park pass system?

Camping and accommodation

Other fees and permits.

Fees apply for guid­ed pen­guin and wildlife tours.

Vic­tor Har­bor Vis­i­tor Infor­ma­tion Cen­tre at the Causeway

Phone: (+61 8) 8551 0777 or 1800 557 094 Email: bookings@​victor.​sa.​gov.​au Book­ings close at 4pm for tours that evening

Acknowledgement of Country

The state government acknowledges Aboriginal people as the First Peoples and Nations of the lands and waters we live and work upon and we pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge and respect the deep spiritual connection and the relationship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have to Country. We work in partnership with the First Peoples of South Australia and support their Nations to take a leading role in caring for their Country.

Granite Island Recreation Park

Granite Island is one of the most recognised ecological attractions in Victor Harbor.

Granite Island is around 62 acres and is one of the most recognised ecological attractions in Victor Harbor due to its unusual granite formations with crashing white waves, elevated views, flora and fauna, and walking trails that provide outstanding panoramic coastal views.

Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram

Ride the historic Horse Drawn Tram across The Causeway to Granite Island. The Tramway commenced operation in 1894 and is one of two remaining in the world that operate a daily service.

Kaiki Walking Trail

This 2.9 kilometre walking trail takes you on a journey around Granite Island Recreation Park. Follow the link  to find our more about the Kaiki Walking Trail, including map and key points of interest.

Dolphin and Whale Watching

Granite Island is situated in the Encounter Marine Park and full of marine life including dolphins, penguins, leafy sea dragons, seals and an abundance of marine life. From May to October you may spot a Southern Right Whale or Humpback Whale while on their annual migration.

Big Duck Boat Tours offer daily tours departing from the Causeway, where can spot dolphins, seals and whales (during whale season).

Find out more on the  Encounter Marine Park   website,  Big Duck Boat Tours , or visit the  SA Whale Centre Facebook page for the latest whale sightings.

Big Duck Boat Tours

South Australia’s unique ocean adventure experience. Take our boat tour to see seals, dolphins and whales, as well as spectacular islands, cliffs and beaches. Bookings essential.

Find out more on the  Big Duck Boat Tours   page

• Granite Island

You can find out more about Granite Island Recreation Park on the  National Parks  website.

Additional Information

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Bicycles Victor Harbor

Bicycle and E-Bike hire in Victor Harbor

Fleurieu Aquatic Centre

Modern swimming and fitness centre on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

Encounter Bikeway

An on-road and shared trail that links the coastal city of Victor Harbor and the river port town of Goolwa, via the coastal towns of Port Elliot and Middleton.

Hindmarsh Falls

Picturesque falls hidden in Hindmarsh Valley.

Kaiki Trail Granite Island

Amazing views of the Victor Harbor coastline from Granite Island.

Off the Bluff Abseiling

See The Bluff from a different angle.

Pirate’s Sea Charters

Private Boat Charters around the Encounter Bay area.

Victor Harbor Golf Club

Spinway Bike Hire

Convenient Bike Hire taking you places you want to go.

Fleurieu Beach Volleyball

Beach Volleyball in Victor Harbor.

Heritage Trail, Heysen Spur Trail

Waitpinga Farm Quad Bike Adventures

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Acknowledgment Of Country

Visit Victor Harbor acknowledge that the Ngarrindjeri and Ramindjeri people are the Traditional Owners of our beautiful lands and surrounding waters. We recognise and respect the cultural connections the past, present and future Traditional Custodians have. We are committed to working with the Ngarrindjeri and Ramindjeri people, supporting their role as custodians of their lands and helping ensure the future prosperity and cultural enrichment of the community.

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Granite Island Nature Park - Guided Penguin Tours

Granite Island, South Australia 5211 Australia

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“Take a short stroll or horse tram ride over the wooden causeway that connects the mainland at Victor Harbor to Granite Island Recreation Park.”

Home to the magical little penguins and the majestic southern right whale, this island is characterised by huge granite boulders tinged with orange lichen. The island is characterised by huge granite boulders tinged with orange lichen, with the sound of waves crashing against rocky shores a stirring soundtrack to your visit. Enjoy the coastal scenery and discover the island's interesting history along the Kaiki Walk or go fishing from the jetty, or causeway (no fishing from breakwater). You may even spot a southern right whale between June and October.

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Guided Nature and Penguin Tour

Stroll Granite Island’s beautiful North Shore and catch the sunset arrival of the little penguins

• Witness a natural sea-to-land miracle at dusk on Granite Island
• Experience the arrival of the little penguins as they return to their burrows
• Take a guided tour 1.5 - 2hrs around the beautiful North Shore
• Cap off a perfect day-trip or vacation to Victor Harbor, South Australia
• Includes experience gift pack with personalised voucher and message card

South Australia has some of the cleanest, most pristine oceans in the world. Granite Island is part of this rich ecology. It's even more diverse than the Great Barrier Reef. It’s also home to the much-celebrated little penguins.

Discover the island with us over a guided tour. Learn about sustainability, wildlife and penguin protection. We promise the most adorable experience watching the little penguins come to roost!

Just under an hour and a half’s drive south of Adelaide is Victor Harbour. Granite Island is located just off the coast, on the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula. You'll either take a 15-minute walk from Victor Harbor’s esplanade. Or jump on the century-old horse-drawn tram for a canter down memory lane.

We’ll meet on Granite Island near the four tall pine trees (visible from the causeway). See you by the penguin meeting sign. Your tour guide will be wearing a high-visibility top. Once we’ve gathered, your guided tour around the beautiful North Shore will begin. Finally, we’ll welcome little penguins as they return from a day on the ocean. Just watch as they scamper back into their island burrows! It’s a sight you won’t forget.

Tours begin just before dusk and last 1.5 to 2 hours.

Available throughout the year.

Valid for one person. 

Suitable for all ages.  

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Please note locations indicated on the map are approximate only and should not be used when planning directions

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Granite Island

Top ways to experience Granite Island and nearby attractions

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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Granite Island - All You MUST Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

• (1.20 km) Victor Harbor City Inn
• (0.97 km) Nightcap at Hotel Victor
• (1.98 km) Victor Harbor Holiday and Cabin Park
• (1.68 km) NRMA Victor Harbor Beachfront Holiday Park
• (1.13 km) The Anchorage Hotel
• (1.01 km) Nino's
• (0.98 km) Brunch On Albert
• (1.04 km) Belicious
• (1.08 km) Loco Mexican
• (1.12 km) Anchorage
• (0.17 km) Victor Harbor South Australia
• (0.51 km) The Big Duck Boat Tours
• (0.75 km) Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram
• (0.93 km) Victor Harbor Visitor Information Centre
• (1.03 km) Cockle Train

Granite Island

Top ways to experience Granite Island and nearby attractions

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Also popular with travellers

GRANITE ISLAND: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

• (1.20 km) Victor Harbor City Inn
• (0.97 km) Nightcap at Hotel Victor
• (1.98 km) Victor Harbor Holiday and Cabin Park
• (1.68 km) NRMA Victor Harbor Beachfront Holiday Park
• (1.13 km) The Anchorage Hotel
• (1.01 km) Nino's
• (0.98 km) Brunch On Albert
• (1.04 km) Belicious
• (1.08 km) Loco Mexican
• (1.12 km) Anchorage
• (0.17 km) Victor Harbor South Australia
• (0.51 km) The Big Duck Boat Tours
• (0.75 km) Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram
• (0.93 km) Victor Harbor Visitor Information Centre
• (1.03 km) Cockle Train

Granite Island little penguins’ big decline

The tiny penguins used to be a huge drawcard to Granite Island, but now they’re increasingly rare. What happened and what does the picture look like across Australia? Matthew Agius reports.

Photo: Phillip Island Nature Park/PA Wire

A cold wind whips up from the southern ocean, lashing the faces of three dozen people clambering along huge boulders that encircle the popular island off Victor Harbor.

These volunteers – citizen scientists – are searching for penguin burrows. If they’re lucky, they’ll find one of these muddy rock shelters occupied with one or two tiny, fat, blue-feathered chicks, awaiting the return of their parents from a day fishing for garfish or sardines at sea.

More likely, they’ll find a burrow wafting the fishy odour of penguin poo – a sign that the hideaway is occupied, but its residents are out grabbing a feed.

Today, there’s not much to report – 11 active burrows and one chick sighting.

Arisha Silverlake, a biodiversity and conservation honours student at Flinders University, led one of the volunteer groups scrambling over rocks on the south side of the island – one of the least accessible parts of the island for people and pests.

“We knew of two of the active burrows, but we found a third one that definitely had a penguin in it,” says Silverlake.

She’s upbeat. Because as we learn, finding penguins on Granite Island is an increasing rarity.

“And then we found three more that look very promising, so they should have penguins in them: so six altogether. We found four on that side last year – that’s an increase of two, which is great news.”

Great news today, and with counting by another group on the eastern side of the island, that means the survey estimates 22 birds on the island. There’s optimism among the volunteers, who include members of a local conservation group, and ecology students from the state’s universities keen to witness environmental science in action.

But in a historical context, the prospects for penguins for this community are a stark – and sad – contrast to what locals might have expected 20 years ago.

Indeed, had you told a South Australian that Granite Island would have short of two dozen of these birds in two decades, you’d probably be laughed away.

The decline, as we discover, is a perfect indication of the mismatch between the overall health of a species across the wide brown land of Australia and its constituent populations.

Signage at Granite Island. Photo: Matthew Agius

Where big hides small

Eudyptula minor aren’t looking likely to be added to Australia’s list of threatened species any time soon.

Right now, on Phillip Island in Victoria there are at least 40,000 little penguins.

That’s in part due to a bounty of fish prey in the waters surrounding the island – perfect for adult penguins needing to return to hungry mouths at home.

“Sardines and anchovies are the superfoods for penguins. When these are around, penguins thrive, and that’s what we are seeing now,” explains Phillip Island Nature Parks’ research technical officer Paula Wasiak.

Forty-thousand is a big number of birds. So too are the 5440 which waddled ashore one night in October – a record for the nightly Penguin Parade that enthrals Phillip Island visitors every night of the year. The sight of this nocturnal march has big benefits for the coffers as well.

Estimates suggest this colony injects $500 million into the Victorian economy and directly employs around 200 people. In the 2019-20 financial year – a COVID-impacted season – almost over 485,000 visitors attended the spectacle. That’s a boon for local businesses and for ecotourism, they even had their own TV special on the public broadcaster . With such popularity, you’d think other places should take up such an opportunity.

Granite Island, though smaller than Phillip, is located at the end of a newly refurbished causeway connected to the popular seaside town Victor Harbor on the Fleurieu Peninsula, just 80 minutes from the more than one million people of the state capital, Adelaide.

Marine ecotourism has long been part of this region’s fabric: It’s home to dolphins ( Delphinus delphis), long-nosed fur-seals ( Arctocephalus forsteri ) and visiting southern right whales ( Eubalaena australis ) and tourism operators across the region provide opportunities on land and sea for visitors to witness them.

Little penguins on Granite Island were once a significant drawcard as well. Though never at the levels of abundance seen on Phillip Island, Victor Harbor’s local penguin population was several thousand at the turn of the century, and their own nightly march drew frequent gasps of wonder from adults and children visiting the area.

Within 20 years, their population had declined to a number that could be counted on two hands.

And though recent ecological surveys by Flinders University’s BirdLab show their number to be at least two dozen now, it’s hard to see the colony being restored to its former glory without significant action.

The flow-on effects to the local community, from the decline in penguin numbers, are also significant.

As a tourism drawcard, their decline has also seen a drop in tour participants. Estimates 10 years ago suggested that, annually, 25,000 people participated in a night-time penguin tour. Since then, the Island’s penguin centre has closed, and numbers have dwindled.

“Prior to Covid-19, it was estimated that little penguins could attract around 10,000 people to penguin tours,” Victor Harbor mayor Dr Moira Jenkins tells Cosmos .

“Granite Island is a popular attraction in Victor Harbor and a key reason why many travellers visit our coastal town. The council has always held the view that Little Penguin conservation must be a priority in order to retain tourism value of the island.”

The council, while representative of the local community, has little jurisdiction over the island and its natural inhabitants though. Custodianship of the island rests with the state environment department; the newly renovated causeway is managed by the transport department. The only business footprint on the island belongs to a privately run café on its north side.

Former tour operator Stephen Hedges now coordinates a local volunteer group that works with Flinders’ University BirdLab to monitor the species on the island each night.

He reckons the economic value of the species to local operators was, at least, in the tens of thousands.

“And yet, we’ve let them slip through,” Hedges says.

But business interests extend on shore as well. While the decline in penguin spotters does not necessarily impact other ecotourism attractions, the decline of the species is something the local chamber of commerce would like addressed.

“Granite Island is one of Victor Harbor’s jewels in the crown for tourism and it serves as an ecological rich home, source of food and nesting area for a range of indigenous birds,” says Colin Shearing, who heads up Business Victor Harbor, the area’s chamber of commerce.

“Simply put, it is critical to Victor Harbor and the greater Fleurieu’s community and commerce sector, that the entire ecosystem is well-managed, nurtured and protected.”

Species loss in a microcosm

Before the turn of the millennium, surveys indicated over 3,000 birds were present on Granite Island. High abundance was a similar story for many other islands dotted along South Australia’s 4000 kilometres of coastline.

But data is aging, and as the threat of climate change marches on, it’s difficult to know what the state of the species’ conservation is. Pearson Island on state’s far west coast was the supposed home of 12,000 of the species, but that data is approaching 20 years of age.

Troubridge Island off the state’s Yorke Peninsula – about 100km north-east of Granite Island – is home to another colony. From 3000 birds in a 2009 survey, numbers were estimated at just 450 in 2017 . Emu Bay on Kangaroo Island was surveyed at just under 300 birds in 2008, within a decade, follow-ups suggest numbers may now be a quarter of that.

Monitoring is difficult. As the state’s environment department notes, “Little penguins mostly occur at sea and on numerous – about 80 to 85 – seldom-visited islands in South Australia.”

“They are logistically difficult to monitor in a repeatable and regular way,” says the department’s Director of Conservation and Wildlife, Lisien Loan. “Detectability and the numbers present both vary throughout the year.”

At least for Granite Island, the department implements several tactics to reduce threats to its wildlife. These include long-term black rat baiting programs, a recently installed fox gate on the causeway, night closures of the island and during “high risk events such as the schoolies festival”.

Foxes captured on Granite Island.

Although funding for regular surveys is scarce, Dr Diane Colombelli-Negrel, a director of the Flinders University Birdlab project, has continued to assess key colonies where there is a strong understanding of historic breeding success. According to her data, Kangaroo Island’s Penneshaw colony – 65km from Granite Island – appears to be “booming”, while others have seen mixed success in recent years.

The reason for Granite Island’s decline appears to be a decade-long drought at the nearby Murray Mouth, 25km east across Encounter Bay – where Australia’s largest river system empties into the Southern Ocean.

A study led by Colombelli-Négrel this year found the river’s reduced outflows during the drought contributed to penguin declines. It also attributed increased sea surface temperatures to species reduction. Both of those factors are expected to be exacerbated by climate change increasing the number and duration of droughts, and warming oceans.

Should that further reduce garfish numbers in the region, then the penguins will find themselves in greater competition for limited food resources with other species, like long nosed fur seals.

Fur seals also enjoy the taste of little penguins…

“We know that little penguins like to forage near river estuaries… so we started looking at the Millenium Drought and how that affected river outflow to the ocean,” Colombelli-Négrel tells Cosmos.

“When the drought happened, the river flow to the ocean went to zero… and that’s when the little penguin population started declining. In 2010, when the flow started going into the ocean, that’s when the population started stabilising, and we found an interaction between rainfall, river outflow, primary connectivity, the fish, which are obviously directly impacted as well, and the penguins. It’s all linked together.”

Dr Diane Colombelli-Negrel, a director of the Flinders University Birdlab project. Photo: Matthew Agius

Climate change won’t just affect penguins in South Australia.

In New South Wales, there is one known mainland breeding colony of little penguins, in the seaside suburb Manly. That colony is endangered under the state’s environmental legislation and, since 2007, has a dedicated recovery plan and team. Despite the threat of fox attacks (27 birds were killed in 2015), the population remains stable at 40 breeding pairs. The NSW Environment Department pointed Cosmos to its Seabirds to Seascapes program as an example of its undertaking to maintain the species’ population along the coast. This includes penguin colony censuses, coastal habitat restoration and fur seal monitoring, as well as genetic tracking of penguins to understand their movements.

Western Australia’s little penguin population is also vulnerable – particularly to heating oceans.

Dr Belinda Cannell from the University of Western Australia has been tracking the species for decades and is currently preparing research into the impact of marine heatwaves off Australia’s south-western coast.

“We had a severe marine heatwave in 2011, which recorded water temperatures three to five degrees above average,” she says. “That had a huge impact on food resources … the species and abundance … in the areas that the penguins forage in, and the location of where those fish were.

“The other reason why we have high mortality here is that the birds get hit by watercraft.”

‘Gordon’ the little penguin at Adelaide Zoo. Photo: AAP/Adelaide Zoo

The aptly named Penguin Island is a tourism destination off the Perth coast. Like Granite Island, it’s seen a large decline in numbers, although Cannell notes that the reasons for this are many, and complex.

Some of these are similar to other colonies along the continental south-east, some are more pronounced. Hyperthermia – overheating – for instance, is perhaps more prevalent in the west. Perth typically has the hottest summers of southern capitals, which will increase in a changed climate.

“It is a complex situation and there’s not one easy answer,” Cannell says.

“So [addressing] climate change, and tourism – managed well – I think is probably the catch all for everything.”

In September, Cosmos looked into how Australia’s species are assessed under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act – legislation that will be overhauled by the Albanese Government in 2023.

Because of the large populations in select areas of the coast – like Phillip Island – the species won’t be formally threatened on a national scale any time soon, though like New South Wales, subnational jurisdictions could make their own assessments under state legislation.

In South Australia, the species’ conservation status remains uncertain. Assessments undertaken last decade do suggest – using international standards – that its populations are ‘Near Threatened’. In the Adelaide and Mount Lofty ranges – an assessment area which includes Fleurieu Peninsula colonies, it is critically endangered.

And that’s now being felt in the community.

“We keep saying ‘I remember when…’” Hedges says, of the habit of locals to reminisce of a time where local species were greater in number.

“We often take for granted what’s in our own backyard… The numbers are so low that among people there’s a general feeling that they’ve almost gone.

“It would be wonderful to turn it around and have some good news at the end of ‘I remember when…’”.

This article is republished with permission from Cosmos Magazine .

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Moscow Bike TOur

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Description

Highlights:.

• Find adventure at every turn
• Take pride in covering Moscow in record time
• Enjoy the icons in style
• Explore off the beaten path routes of Moscow
• Expert commentary as you travel around the city
• Test your nerve, driving on crazy Russian roads
• Get an Endorphin Rush
• Savour delicacies from different regions of Russia in a traditional restaurant

Only in Moscow for a short time and want to get the most out of the city and have fun? Then a 3-hour bike tour in Moscow is what you need! You won’t hear much about Russian history or become an expert on Russian art, but you will experience all the rest of Russian culture! This tour gives you a unique perspective of a little bit of everything in 3 or 5 hours: must-see tourist sights, local hangouts, Russian food, a glimpse of the modern Moscow life, amazing photo opportunities, a bit of Russian history, and a lot of fun!

This is a great opportunity to cut the usual all day tour down to only 3 or 5 hours and get the most out of the city while having fun and being fit in the greatest locations around Moscow!

A bike trip is sure to capture your heart. It enables you to see the heart of Moscow within the Boulevard Ring and to explore some non-touristic areas of the city, to get an image of the city centre and to work out at the same time.

Our tours differ and depend on whether you are interested in city scenery or nature-like landscape. A variety of places in Moscow are great for riding a bike: these are large parks, yards with old mansions, and historical streets in the centre.

Let’s see what’s waiting for you!

Here are 4 suggested itineraries for a 3-hour tour:.

Moscow Bike Route #1

St. Basil's Cathedral, GUM, Kazan Cathedral, State Historical Museum and Lenin's Mausoleum

Revolution Square and Theatrical Square

Bolshoy Theatre, Metropol Hotel, Chinese Wall, State Duma of Moscow

Alexander Garden

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, fountains, the Grotto, Central Exhibition center, Kutafya tower, Kremlin wall and towers

Historic City Center

Tverskaya street with its beautiful historical architecture, China town (Kitai-gorod), an old historical area of Moscow

Beautiful  City bridge  leading to  Gorky Park  with scenic views of  Christ the Savior  cathedral and the Moscow River. Explore all the beauties riding a bike along the riverside pathways.

Sculpture Park

Peaceful  Crimean embankment  is one of the quietest area of Moscow city with painters' works at the  Vernisage , close proximity to new  Tretyakov Gallery  and good views of  Christ the Savior Cathedral ,  Peter the Great  monument and the Crimean bridge.

Delicious lunch at a café/restaurant

Arbat street + Stalin Skyscraper

The  Arbat  has existed since at least the 15th century and is proud of being the oldest surviving street of the Russian capital. Nowadays, it is now an entertainment and event mecca for Muscovites and tourists alike.

Victory park

Get thrilled with 142 metres  Obelisk  and  Victory Park museum , which is an open-air museum dedicated to the Russian victory of 1945, built in 1995 to celebrate 50 years of victory

Moscow Bike Route #2

Pyatnitskaya street - the Tretyakov Gallery - Luzhkov Bridge - the Cathedral of Christ the Savior - the Gogolevsky Boulevard - the Nikitsky Boulevard - the Tverskoy boulevard - Teatralnaya street - the Bolshoi Theatre – the Kitai - Gorod - Red Square and GUM store - the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge

This route is the best one if you want to see the heart of Moscow. It goes right through the major places of interest and touches upon the most exciting and vibrant areas of Moscow such as part of the Boulevard Ring, which is absolutely loved by everyone.

Cozy streets of Zamoskvorechye will never leave you indifferent. This district has a long and vivid history and is full of old baroque houses along with Stalinist buildings. It includes three theatres, three museums and sixteen churches.

Back in the 18 th century Zamoskvorechye was known as a quiet, country-like land of single-storey houses and conservative businessmen. It remained country-like and is much more filled with business than before, as this area is just right in the city centre.

You’ll learn:

• what was previously on the site of the Novokuznetskaya metro-station;
• names of four abandoned metro stations and how to find these stations;
• what is the oldest bridge among all the bridges in Moscow;
• how old was Pavel Tretyakov when he decided to collect paintings, that are now exhibited in the Tretyakov gallery;
• what does the real form of the Boulevard Ring in Moscow look like;
• what tricks did the Russian government used to save the houses and buildings from bombing during the World War II;
• what unofficial name the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky bridge has

Moscow Bike Route #3

View over the Kremlin - The Luzhkov Bridge –  The Strelka Institute –  The Muzeon Park –  The Gorky Park –  Neskuchny Garden –  Sparrow Hills –  The Luzhniki Stadium -  Novodevichy Convent – The Arbat Street – The Gogolevsky boulevard - The Cathedral of Christ the Savior –  The Bolotnaya Square

This route includes the most popular city-sights and goes along the Moskva-River. It starts with an observation point, from which you may enjoy the view over the Kremlin, and covers all the most beautiful green areas of Moscow. Historical sites are included into the route so you can feel the historical vibes of ancient Moscow.

• where is hidden an island Moscow;
• where in Moscow you can get printed music of the most sweet masterpieces like “Chocolate waltz” and “Cake-gallop” along with a box of chocolates of the 18 th century;
• why the Luzhkov bridge is also called “the bridge of kisses”;
• the place where the famous Olympic symbol – the Olympic Bear of the Olympics-1980 was flown from;
• the stage where Rolling Stones and Madonna performed when they came to Moscow;
• why the Krymsky bridge was Stalin’s favourite bridge and what musical instrument it represents;
• where living statues in Moscow could be found in 1740s;
• myths and legends about inhabitants of the main building of Moscow State University;
• story about why Sparrow Hills were called that way;
• how Napoleon was cheated when he was going to burn down the Novodevichy convent;
• what was supposed to be on the site where the Cathedral of Christ the Savior is now;
• why Moscow was nearly burnt down in the 15 th century and which role the Arbat street played in it.

Moscow Bike Route #4

Starting with wide area of the VDNKh, you are to learn interesting and fun facts about this spectacular part of Moscow.

• where is a hidden the secret bunker under Moscow (and no, it’s not a famous Bunker 42 everybody knows about;
• why the number of golden statues at the fountain is more than the number of Soviet republics, although it is said to correspond them;
• why one of the Stalin statues was called “matryoshka” (Russian doll);
• what was Picasso’s favourite statue at the exhibition in Paris in 1937.

You’ll see:

• the world’s first light-music fountain that was built in 1950-1954;
• pavilions that symbolize Soviet republics;
• the Botanic garden which is twice as big as the Principality of Monaco;
• the largest green-house in Europe (for the opening day in 1945);
• English garden at the Ostankino mansion;
• Ostankino Tower, one of the tallest structures in Europe;
• the most beautiful flowers in hidden places of the parks.

Biking through VDNKh, Botanic garden and the territory of the Ostankino park will definitely be appreciated by nature-lovers and all those who are keen on speed, who knows no limits and want to explore off the beaten path of Moscow.

We can customize your bike adventure to meet your individual interests.

Our bicycle tour in Moscow gives you a chance to have a s pectacular ride  with  wonderful photo opportunities  and an  unforgettable cultural experience!

What you get:

• + A friend in Moscow
• + Private & customized tour
• + An exciting tour, not just boring history lessons
• + An authentic experience of local life
• + Flexibility during the tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences
• + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri)
• + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime
• + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels
• + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in Moscow

*This tour can be modified to meet your preferences

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Moscow and St. Petersburg Art Adventure

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THIS TRIP IS NOT CURRENTLY SCHEDULED Over the years, Amy has developed and operated trips to a variety of destinations including this one, but not all trips are offered every year. If you are interested in joining a scheduled departure of this trip in the future, please send us an email and let us know. Click to send us an email or use the form at the bottom of this page.

We can organize and operate this trip as a private group departure with a minimum group size of 8 persons. Start organizing your private Russia art adventure here .

Best time to travel: June for the “White Nights” Best gateway city: Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia Moscow and St. Petersburg Slide Show

Experience the art treasures of Moscow and St. Petersburg with guide, Amy Osaki. Begin in Moscow, continental Europe’s largest city, the seat of the government of Russia, and now home to over twenty billionaires! View iconic sites such as the Kremlin (which began as a fortress in the eleventh century), Red Square, and the sixteenth century St. Basil’s Cathedral. Then explore the art masterpieces at the Tretyakov Gallery, the National Museum of Russian Fine Art encompassing works from the eleventh to the twentieth century. Visit the Armory at the Kremlin filled with Imperial treasures including Faberge eggs once exchanged by the tsar and tsarina at Easter. Conclude your Moscow experience at the quiet seventeenth century Novodevichy Convent, one of many World Heritage sites included in the trip.

After a short flight, continue the trip with five days in St. Petersburg where you’ll be immersed in the opulence of Imperial Russia. Established by Tsar Peter I in 1703, St. Petersburg (known as Petrograd and Leningrad for most of the twentieth century) was the capital of the Russian empire for over two hundred years until the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Hermitage—said to be the largest art museum in the world with a collection of over three million objects housed in four main buildings—rivals the Louvre in Paris for both the quantity and quality of its treasures. Founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great, and open to the pubic for over two hundred years the museum is so vast that we’ll spread our visit out over several days and organize it by different themes. Also on the schedule is a visit to the Peter and Paul Fortress—the original citadel above the river founded in 1703—as well as some of the Imperial palaces in and around St. Petersburg such as Peterhof, a World Heritage Site. Peter I hired French architects to work on his many palaces, including Jean Baptiste Le Blond who worked with Andre Le Notre at Versailles. Consider enhancing your Russian experience by purchasing tickets to a performance—perhaps a ballet at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre (also known as the Kirov).

Day 1 Overnight in Moscow Arrive in Moscow and transfer to your centrally-located hotel, your base for the next two nights. Enjoy an afternoon and early evening walk through Red Square (Krasnaya Ploshchad) past St. Basil’s Cathedral, and GUM department store all of which are back-dropped by the walls of the Kremlin fortress. Remember that we are here during the fabled “White Nights” when the summer days linger with light-filled evenings.

Day 2 Overnight in Moscow Within the walls of the Kremlin fortress, visit the Armoury Museum, one of Moscow’s oldest museums established at the start of the nineteenth century. The Kremlin Armoury was the royal arsenal; it produced and stored the weapons, jewelry and other regalia of the tsars. The museum’s collection encompasses four thousand items of applied art from Russia and elsewhere dating from the early fourth century to the twentieth century. Later in the day, visit the collection of masterpieces of the renowned Tretyakov Gallery. The Tretyakov collections were begun by the philanthropist Tretyakov brothers in the early nineteenth century. The gallery is recognized by many as a key repository of Russian art spanning the nation’s artistic tradition from early Orthodox icons to art nouveau, impressionist, and avant-garde works.

Day 3 Overnight in St Petersburg Enjoy a morning visit to the sixteenth century Novodevichy Convent named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2004. The convent’s name is sometimes translated as “New Maidens’ Monastery” to differentiate is from the convent within the walls of the Moscow Kremlin. Surrounded by white crenellated walls, this complex of churches has remained essentially intact since the seventeenth century. Here you’ll find the five-domed Cathedral of Our Lady of Smolensk with its spectacular iconostasis and the tall, red and white Gate Church of the Transfiguration which is often cited as a fine example of “Moscow Baroque” architecture. The neighboring Novodevichy Cemetery is the final resting place of the likes of Anton Chekhov, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Boris Yeltsin. This afternoon fly to St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city situated on the banks of the Neva River where it empties into the Gulf of Finland.

Day 4 Overnight in St Petersburg Start of your exploration of St. Petersburg with a visit to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the original citadel of St. Petersburg. The fortress was built to the designs of the Swiss Italian architect Domenico Trezzini in the early eighteenth century. Trezzini’s Peter and Paul Cathedral dominates the fortress grounds and its iconic golden spire punctuates into the Baltic sky. Later visit the Yusupov Palace on the Moika, acclaimed as an “encyclopedia of St. Petersburg aristocratic interior design.” The palace was the home of the Yusupov family from 1830 and 1917 and was the place where Grigori Rasputin, a spiritual mentor to Tsar Nicholas II and the Royal Family in the early 20th century, was assassinated. A visit to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood built between 1883 and 1907 rounds out the day. The church was built in “Russian Revivalist” architectural style by Tsar Alexander III in commemoration of his father, Alexander II. The church occupies a conspicuous location on St. Petersburg’s Griboedov Canal and contains 7,500 square meters of mosaics; the interior walls and ceilings are completely covered by mosaics.

Day 5 Overnight in St Petersburg Seeing St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum in a day would be like trying to see the Smithsonian in a day! Rather than a forced march through the galleries at a rapid pace, we will slow down and savor the masterpieces. Remember, there are nearly seven miles worth of exhibitions! Today we focus on “Imperial Russia,” touring the rooms decorated for members of the Russian Imperial Family and viewing the art they commissioned and collected. This is the art that influenced the style of the grand palaces of the era. View the Grand Suite of rooms, Peter I’s collection of gold, and the jewelers art owned by the Russian Imperial Family (including Fabergé eggs, gold and diamonds). Here, too, are the rooms of Catherine II and her son Paul I with their fifteenth to eighteenth century French paintings and sculpture (Poussin, Watteau, Fragonard, Chardin, and Houdon).

Day 6 Overnight in St Petersburg Return for a second dose of the Hermitage! Today is dedicated to the famous European masterpieces exhibited at the Hermitage. Feast your eyes on memorable works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Tintoretto, Tiepolo, Velazquez, and El Greco. At the Hermitage, you can revel in Rembrandt; there are twenty of his works in the museum’s collection. After lunch, enjoy the eighteenth to twentieth century masterpieces of Monet, van Gogh, Gauguin, Rodin, Picasso, Matisse and Kandinsky. Digest the art and reflect on this unique collection of human creations. Consider an evening performance, possibly at the Mariinsky Theatre.

Day 7 Overnight in St Petersburg Journey by hydrofoil across the Gulf of Finland to experience Peter I’s palace at Peterhof, a series of palaces and gardens that evoke comparisons with Versailles which Peter visited in 1715. Begun in 1714 with the construction of the Monplaisir palace and expanded by later Imperial generations who added Rococo and Neo-classical elements, Peterhof is now a World Heritage Site. The creative mastery of architects, engineers, artists and craftsmen from throughout Europe is on display here and all is choreographed to celebrate water in homage to Peter, the maritime emperor.

Day 8 Overnight in St Petersburg Go behind the scenes with an excursion to the Hermitage Museum’s Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Center on the right back of the Neva River north of Kamenny Island. This vast treasure house is only accessible by private tour. Later, travel to Vasilvesky Island across the river from the Hermitage to visit Menishkov Palace completed in 1721 and now the oldest stone building in St. Petersburg. Enjoy a farewell dinner this evening.

About your guide : Amy Osaki holds a master’s degree from the Winterthur Museum. She studied art at the Louvre Museum in Paris and worked as a museum curator for over a decade including six years at the Portland Art Museum. She is an award-winning art educator who has led art trips around the world for the last fifteen years with Walking Softly Adventures. Many of these trips were offered for graduate credit from Portland State University where she is an Adjunct Professor.

Resources for Further Learning

• Preview part of the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery at its website.
• Learn more about the Moscow Kremlin .
• Prepare yourself to experience the Hermitage . You can even shop on-line at the museum’s on-line museum store!

We're looking forward to hearing from you! You may contact us by telephone at 503-788-9017, by e-mail ([email protected]) or by completing and submitting the form below. Please enter any questions or comments in the "Message" box. PLEASE BE SURE TO MENTION THE TRIP IN WHICH YOU'RE INTERESTED. You must enter a valid email address in order to submit this form successfully. When you're finished entering information, enter the CAPTCHA code where indicated and click the "Submit" button at the bottom of this page. Art Tours by Amy does not release any of the information you provide us to any third party without your express permission.

Reviews › Private St Petersburg and Moscow tour

MaxiBaltTours made our dream come true.

We were set up to do a cruise of the Baltic Capitals. Our ship Norwegian Star was to stop in St. Petersburg,Russia with an over night visit. I really wanted to go see The Red Square/Kremlin so my husband found this company who said they could make it happen for us. Alexei set up a private tour that took us to Moscow. He arranged our transport by plane and then our return by train. In Moscow we had a lovely tour guide who showed us exactly what we wanted to see. We were back in the ship by 12am.

Then the next day Alexei arranged our private tour in St. Petersburg.

Our visit to Russia was amazing and definitely the highlight of our trip!

Alexei Volkov was professional and really well organized.

I recommend MaxiBalt Tours for your Russia visit.

Elisa D Miami Florida, United States

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Russian Folk Show

When you are in St. Petersburg, ballet is one of the things you can't miss! This is where the Russian Composer Peter Tchaikovsky wrote Swan Lake, one of the most beautiful and dramatic ballets of all times. Ballet here is always accompanied by an orchestra and you can be guaranteed that you will see a high quality performance.

Russian Ballet

If you are looking for a great way to relax after a day of sightseeing and want to get to know the Russian culture and mind, then this show is definitely for you. You will see Russian & Cossack dancing, listen to famous national instruments while beautiful voices sing of the joyful traditions in the Russian countryside. Feel yourself Russian!

What can be more impressive than seeing the beauty of St. Petersburg leisurely from the water? The city is criss-crossed with small rivers and canals which make the city look like Venice or Amsterdam. Our comfortable boat will take you past the granite embankments along the main waterways of St. Petersburg.