We’ve been busy behind the scenes over winter, giving our vessel routine maintenance and getting everything ready for the 2025/26 boat tour season. Now the Ocean Prowler is looking schmik and most importantly it’s shipshape for when we head back out on the water from 20 September 2025.
This season, we’re adding more flexibility for guests with additional tour times: From 20 September to 30 November, during whale season, we’ll be running three trips a day: at8.00 am, 11.30 am, and 2.45 pm.
From December onwards, we’ll continue with two daily departures at 11.30 am and 2.45 pm.
The Totempole, one of the highlights of the 2+ hour Scenic Tour, is backlit by the afternoon sun, casting a shadow on the stirred-up, turquoise waters of the Southern Ocean.
Each tour requires a minimum of four passengers. If you can be flexible with your booking time, it helps us ensure no one misses out on experiencing this coastline and its wildlife.
We can’t wait to welcome you aboard for the 2025/26 boat tour season and share the incredible marine life and rugged beauty of the Tasman Peninsula.
We are thrilled to announce that Wild Ocean Tasmania has been honoured with the prestigious Tripadvisor Traveler’s Choice Award for 2024. This marks the fourth consecutive year that we have received this esteemed recognition. We couldn’t be more grateful to our passengers whose glowing reviews have made this possible.
Operating in one of Australia’s marine hotspots, we are privileged to showcase some of the world’s most breathtaking scenery while promoting awareness of marine conservation. Each journey with us is not just a tour but a meaningful exploration of our planet’s fragile marine ecosystems.
We are driven by a deep commitment to nature and ocean conservation. Our mission goes beyond providing exceptional boat tours: Our vessel serves as a platform for marine research.
We extend our heartfelt Thank You!
Receiving the Tripadvisor Traveler’s Choice Award for the fourth year in a row is a testament to the dedication of our team and the support of our passengers. It motivates us to continue our efforts in promoting responsible tourism and environmental stewardship.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has joined us on this incredible journey and shared their experiences. Your feedback inspires us to strive for excellence every day.
Thank you for your continued support!
We will be back after our winter break
Every year in winter, we pull our RIB out of the water for routine maintenance work. Our business will be closed between July and mid September.
If you would like to book a tour with us for the coming season, please check our live booking system for available time slots from end of September 2024.
For those of you who are keen to see the Humpback Whales on their way down from their breeding grounds, October to November is the best time of year to see them along Tasmania’s coastline.
Wild Ocean Tasmania recognised as Tripadvisor® 2023 Traveler’s Choice Award winner
We’ve popped back up from our winter break and started the new season celebrating some fantastic news:
Wild Ocean Tasmania has been recognised by Tripadvisor as a 2023 Travelers’ Choice award winner. The coveted award celebrates businesses that have consistently received great traveler reviews on Tripadvisor over the last 12 months, placing these winners among the 10% of all listings on Tripadvisor globally.
“Congratulations to the 2023 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice winners. The travel resurgence we’ve seen throughout the past year has even further heightened the competition. Earning a Travelers’ Choice Award demonstrates that you have provided great experiences to those who matter most: your guests. With changing expectations, continued labor shortages, and rising costs, this is no easy feat, and I am continually impressed with the hospitality industry’s resilience and ability to adapt. Cheers to another successful year!”
John Boris, Chief Growth Officer at Tripadvisor.
We’re extremely grateful to have been honoured with this award for three consecutive years now. At Wild Ocean Tasmania, our foremost commitment is to ensure customer satisfaction while safeguarding the well-being of our oceans and wildlife. Our tours are designed with these twin priorities at the heart of everything we do.
A huge thank you to our guests who choose to travel with a purpose
THANK YOU to our lovely passengers who have left a review for our small business on Tripadvisor!
We are always amazed by the kind hearted people who choose to travel with a purpose and spend time and effort to dig a bit deeper to search for ethical wildlife and wilderness experiences. You not only give us the chance to operate our small business, you are also a big contributor to our wildlife conservation efforts.
Last season we were able to support a number of projects, including:
the Tasmanian Fluke Project in collaboration with Dr. Maddie (a Humpback Whale database for the southeast coast of Tasmania)
Video & photo evidence of Humpback Whale and kelp interactions for Sydney based whale researcher Dr. Olaf
Supply of content for numerous environmental organisations and their campaigns.
Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel guidance platform*, helps hundreds of millions of people each month** become better travelers, from planning to booking to taking a trip.
Travelers across the globe use the Tripadvisor site and app to discover where to stay, what to do and where to eat based on guidance from those who have been there before. With more than 1 billion reviews and opinions of nearly 8 million businesses, travelers turn to Tripadvisor to find deals on accommodations, book experiences, reserve tables at delicious restaurants and discover great places nearby. As a travel guidance company available in 43 markets and 22 languages, Tripadvisor makes planning easy no matter the trip type.
The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP), own and operate a portfolio of travel media brands and businesses, operating under various websites and apps.
* Source: SimilarWeb, unique users de-duplicated monthly, March 2023
As we step into another boating season, we’re thrilled to share the wonders of the Tasmanian waters with you. The sun is shining, and the ocean is teeming with life once again. This weekend, we operated the first tours of the season and had some amazing wildlife encounters already.
The Return of a Friend
For those who’ve followed our maritime adventures, you’ll recall the captivating tale of ‘Smiley’ the Humpback Whale. We first encountered ‘Smiley’ in 2021. This extraordinary whale, named for the distinctive smiley face mark on its fluke, stayed with us for an impressive 87 days, from April 5th to July 1st.
Having data of whales that stay a significant amount of time in the waters off the east coast of Tasmania can be valuable for scientists and ultimately for the preservation of this special place.
This year, ‘Smiley’ popped up on our first tour of the season on Friday, together with a friend, and again on both of our Saturday trips. It’ll be interesting to see how long ‘Smiley’ decides to stay in the area this year.
Coastal waters teeming with wildlife
Common Dolphins playing alongside migrating Humpback Whales.
In addition to our heartwarming encounters with ‘Smiley’ and the other Humpback Whales, we were privileged to witness the joyful company of around 100 Common Dolphins, gracefully playing in the waters alongside their whale companions. It was awesome to see how they interacted. The dolphins seemed as excited as we were to welcome back the majestic Humpback Whales.
The skies above were graced by soaring albatrosses and terns feeding on fish. And, of course, our beloved resident seals added their charming presence to complete the scene.
Nature’s grand performance is in full swing, and we can’t wait to share these moments with you on our boat tours.
