Freycinet National Park is located on the East coast of Tasmania and is a popular destination for thousands of tourists because of the gorgeous views, wildlife, and the famous Wineglass Bay.
With traveling to Tasmania for only a long weekend, we wanted to see as much as possible in a short amount of time. One of our major focuses on the trip was exploring Freycinet National Park. After seeing pictures of the stunning national park, I knew we had to make it a priority on our Tasmanian Weekend Getaway. I’ve posted a few other Tasmanian posts on Our Wandering Mind, including our Tasmanian Retreat at NRMA St Helens Waterfront Park and Travel Guides from previous years to Hobart and Port Arthur. I will also be posting more about our weekend getaway so make sure to subscribe to stay up-to-date with our Tasmanian Adventure.
Exploring National Parks while traveling is always something we enjoy doing. After our road trip around Maine and exploring Acadia National Park, exploring national parks in different areas around the world is always our go-to when traveling.
With only being able to spend a short amount of time in Freycinet National Park, we did some research on some of the best ways to explore Freycinet National Park and stumbled upon Wineglass Bay Cruises.
Our Wandering Mind was lucky enough to partner with Wineglass Bay Cruises, but as always, all opinions are completely my own.
Wineglass Bay Cruises states that you haven’t seen Freycinet until you’ve seen it with Wineglass Bay Cruises, I can 100% attest to that!
There are many ways to go about exploring Freycinet National Park and Wineglass Bay. You can buy a National Park pass and explore Freycinet with hiking through popular destinations like Wineglass Bay Lookout, Cape Tourville Lookout, and The Hazards. We did a few hikes during our time exploring Freycinet, but truly the best and most unique way, way to see Freycinet is through cruising around Freycinet National Park with Wineglass Bay Cruises.
Wineglass Bay Cruises is a family-owned and operated and you can tell that from how passionate and friendly all employees are through the whole process from checking in to during the cruise itself that it’s a really well-run company. That being said, just because it’s family-owned and operated don’t expect a small experience. The cruise boat itself is incredibly nice with multiple levels and decks for different viewing platforms and is very well-kept.
The inside of the cruise boat features an abundance of chairs on the lower level with windows on all walls allowing great views of Freycinet regardless if you choose to be in or outside the boat. With Tasmanian weather, it’s definitely nice having the option of staying inside while still enjoying the stunning views of Freycinet.
There are two different ticket types on Wineglass Bay Cruises, the Vista Lounge and the Sky Lounge. Both packages include the Bento Ploughman’s lunch, but the Sky Lounge includes access to the lounge upstairs with open bar, oysters, access to socialize with the captain, and is adults only. There were a couple of people that purchased the Sky Lounge tickets on our cruise, but the majority of the people were in the Visa Lounge and ended up purchasing drinks from the bar in the Visa Lounge if needed.
We were definitely more than happy with the Vista Lounge and as someone who’s a little cautious when it comes to getting seasick, I avoid drinking on boats anyways so we were more than happy with the Visa Lounge. However, if you’re looking to purchase a few drinks on the cruise or want a more luxurious experience, the Sky Lounge would be perfect.
We started our journey on Wineglass Bay Cruises in Coles Bay. There’s a little office where you check-in for your cruise and free parking across the street so you don’t have to stress about where to park for the day. Once everyone has arrived we boarded the boat and sat inside for the safety briefing. After that, we were free to move around the boat as we pleased.
We opted to take in the views of Freycinet National Park outside on the top deck. During the trip, the captain was able to give tons of information about the history of the area and other information on the geology, eco-systems, and heritage of the Freycinet Peninsula. Not only did we feel like we got to see an amazing, unique perspective of the Freycinet Peninsula and Wineglass Bay during our cruise, but we felt like we learned a lot about the area, something we wouldn’t have gotten from spending the day driving around the national park ourselves.
We stopped at many locations around the National Park during our 4.5 hour-long cruise. There were plenty of photo opportunities along the trip and I felt like we got to see a lot of the area in a short amount of time. It was truly a nice way to get a good feel for the area and see a lot without spending days and days hiking the area or driving around.
Wineglass Bay Cruises gives you a perspective of Freycinet National Park that you can’t get anywhere else.
Tasmania has over 5000 km of coastline and is one of the most biologically diverse marine environments in the world, with many species unique to the region. During our cruise with Wineglass Bay Cruises, we were able to see sea birds, seals, whales, and a few dolphins even came right up to the boat. Seeing the animals was definitely so exciting and something that everyone, especially the children onboard enjoyed.
Lunch
Lunch is included in the Wineglass Bay Cruise and provided when we anchored in Wineglass Bay. The Bento Box style lunch is a ploughman’s style lunch with a variety of different delicious Tasmanian produce prepared by the Head Chef at Freycinet Lodge.
Our lunch consisted of a couple of pies, a side salad, some cheese and crackers, and a couple of sweets. All were delicious and if you have specific dietary requirements, it can be accommodated when making your booking.
We had our lunch anchored at Wineglass Bay, so you can spend time eating your lunch and taking in the beautiful views of Wineglass Bay while eating your local Tasmanian lunch.
Seasickness
If you’re prone to getting seasick, I definitely recommend taking some sort or seasickness pill during the Wineglass Bay Cruise. Halfway through the trip, you enter the Tasmanian sea which has amazing views but is rocky. We went on a fairly calm day, but it was still very rocky and if I didn’t take any seasickness medicine, I would have probably been sick. The staff on Wineglass Bay Cruises was absolutely amazing though and really made it a point to go around the boat and check-in to see how everyone was feeling. There was a moment before lunch that I wasn’t feeling my best and a crew member made me a ginger tea and gave me advice on where to sit on the boat and what to do, which really helped and avoided me getting sick.
If you’re worried about possibly getting seasick, I definitely wouldn’t miss out on Wineglass Bay Cruises. Talk to your doctor and get some seasickness medicine or get some natural ginger tablets so you can enjoy all the fabulous views when on the Tasmanian sea.
All that being said, if you’re not prone to seasickness you’ll probably be absolutely fine. My partner has a much stronger stomach than I do and he felt completely fine, along with the majority of the people on the boat.
Weather
Overall, our trip to Tasmania had pretty decent weather. We explored Freycinet National Park at the end of September, which is Spring in Australia. However, especially being on the water and the Tasmanian sea, I would highly suggest dressing warmer than you would if you were on land. I had on a couple of light jackets on, a winter hat, and a chunky scarf and I would have been happy wearing gloves too. So if you go at a similar time of year, definitely pack warm clothes for the cruise if you plan on being outside for the majority of the cruise.
Overall, if you’re looking to travel to Freycinet National Park in Tasmania, one of the truly best ways to see it, in my opinion, is with Wineglass Bay Cruises. Not only is the crew incredibly nice and knowledgeable about the Freycinet area, but cruising around Freycinet, you truly get a different experience and see so much more of the national park than if you were just to hike or drive around the area.
Especially if you only have time to explore the area for a day or two, I highly recommend booking a Wineglass Bay Cruise.
Our Wandering Mind got the amazing opportunity to partner with Wineglass Bay Cruises during our Tasmanian Weekend Getaway. As always, all thoughts and opinions are completely my own.
