Guided 3-Day Maria Island Walking Tour
3-Day Guided Maria Island Walk – Pack-Free Adventure by Life’s An Adventure
If you’re seeking a remarkable walking holiday in Tasmania, few places compare to Maria Island. Just off Tasmania’s spectacular east coast, this national park is a haven of dramatic mountains, sweeping white-sand beaches, towering limestone cliffs and abundant native wildlife. With no cars and only a handful of visitors staying overnight, Maria Island offers a rare opportunity to experience one of Australia’s most peaceful and unspoilt landscapes.
Our 3-Day Guided Pack-Free Walk forms part of our Essentials collection, where the focus is firmly on exceptional walking, remarkable destinations and memorable experiences rather than luxury accommodation. You’ll explore this incredible island with just a daypack, discovering everything from the towering summit of Bishop & Clerk to secluded beaches, fossil cliffs and the fascinating convict history that makes Maria Island so unique. Adding to the experience is an overnight stay in the island’s historic Penitentiary at Darlington. Once home to convicts, this preserved heritage building now provides simple, character-filled accommodation that perfectly suits the spirit of the island. It’s certainly not flash, but it’s authentic, fun and a memorable part of the adventure that few travellers ever experience. Owner Mark Norek has a special connection to Maria Island. “It holds a special place in my heart. I proposed to my wife Vicki on the summit of Bishop & Clerk. This island is pure heaven and has everything you could want in a walking holiday.” It is this passion that inspired us to create an itinerary showcasing the very best of this extraordinary island.
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Pack Free Walking Experience
Walk with as little as your water and lunch
The biggest advantage of this tour is you don’t have to carry all your clothes for the entire tour, these will be transported for you each day. This is a big plus for our walkers, in that you will avoid carrying an additional 8kg or more on your back each day with your clothes and personal items. With Life’s An Adventure you will carry as little as your water bottle, camera, lunch and hat every day – a wonderful pack free experience.
Flexible Walking Itinerary
Choose the walk that suits you each day
Our Maria Island tour offers the flexibility to explore at your own pace. On day two, you can choose to summit the iconic Bishop & Clerk or enjoy a shorter, easier walking option. On the final day, choose between a scenic cycle to the island’s southern reaches, a coastal walk south of Darlington, or upgrade to a spectacular circumnavigation cruise. And on any day, if you prefer, you can simply relax and soak up the island’s extraordinary scenery.
Historic Penitentiary Stay
Just like the convicts
You probably never imagined you’d spend the night in a jail! Tonight, you’ll stay in the historic Penitentiary at Darlington, part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Australian Convict Sites. The accommodation is simple and authentic, with heritage rooms, timber bunk beds and crackling fireplaces, offering a truly unique glimpse into Tasmania’s convict past.
Wow-mazing experiences
Choose Your Maria Island Adventure
Make the most of your time on Maria Island by choosing how you explore its spectacular southern reaches. Cycle through peaceful bushland and along quiet gravel roads, enjoy a scenic coastal walk rich in wildlife and history, or upgrade to a spectacular circumnavigation cruise to experience the island’s dramatic cliffs, sea caves and pristine coastline from the water. Whichever option you choose, you’ll discover a different side of this extraordinary island and create memories that will last a lifetime.
World Class Guides
Knowledge & enthusiasm
Our World-Class Guides are what truly set a Life’s An Adventure tour apart. More than expert walkers, they’re passionate storytellers, local experts, problem solvers and the heart of every adventure. Their knowledge, enthusiasm and sense of fun create an atmosphere where lasting friendships are made, plenty of laughs are shared and every day is as enjoyable as it is memorable.
Local Tasmanian Produce and wine
Included in your tour
Food is an element very closely connected with Tasmania and an important part of your walking experience on Maria Island with Life’s an Adventure. Providing our guests wonderful Tasmanian local produce, as well as supporting local business is paramount to us and where possible the majority of the food we consume on tour has been sourced from Tasmania.
Personalised Tours
Small group
Our small group sizes create a more relaxed and personal walking experience. With fewer guests, our guides have more time to get to know you, tailor the pace where possible and provide individual attention throughout the journey. Smaller groups also foster a friendly social atmosphere, making it easy to connect with like-minded travellers while ensuring we tread more lightly on the beautiful environments we explore.
Genuinely all-inclusive
When you travel on one of our walking tours, you won’t be asked to put your hand in your pocket for extras along the way. All meals featuring local produce as well as Tasmania wine are included in your walking tour with nothing more to pay.
21 Tourism Awards of Excellence
including Australia's best Adventure Tourism Company
Life’s an Adventure have won 21 Tourism Awards of Excellence including the Qantas Australian Tourism Award for Australia’s Best Adventure Company. Awards are great, but our biggest accolade which we value even more, is that our clients come back and travel with us time and time again.
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WHY SHOULD YOU CHOOSE US?
Tour Itinerary
This is a genuinely all-inclusive tour with no hidden extras:
WOW-MAZING EXPERIENCE:
- Island Bike, walk or upgrade for a Maria Island cruise
PACK-FREE AND FLEXIBLE WALKING:
- Pack-Free guided walk
- Flexible walking options to suit you.
GREAT ACCOMMODATION:
- Spend 2 nights like a convict at the historic Penitentiary at Darlington 2 x nights
WINE & TASMANIAN PRODUCE MEALS
- 2 x hearty dinners
- Tasmanian wine served with dinner
- 2 x breakfasts
- 3 x lunches
- Trail mix to enjoy during your walk
- Tea, coffee and hot chocolate on the trail
GUIDED WALKS, TRANSFERS & PARKS FEES
- Professionally guided – Our world class guides are locals who are passionate, well trained and enthusiastic with the ability to bring to life a depth of information
- Boat transfers to Maria Island and back on Days 1 and 3
- Return road transfers between Hobart and Maria Island
- National Parks Fees
SUGGESTED PRE-TOUR NIGHT: Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart
MEET TIME: 6:30am in the foyer of the Grand Chancellor Hobart
TRAIL NOTES: Walk: Approximately 12kms. 5-6 hours walking with breaks. Walk: Medium grade
TERRAIN: Open grassy terrain. Well-formed gravel roads. Lightly undulating. Short section of walking on coastal rock shelfs to reach Painted Cliffs.
WALK ITINERARY: The day starts in Hobart where you will meet our guides. We enjoy a scenic drive north winding up the coast to Triabunna where we join our boat and cruise across to Maria Island. The best way to get an understanding of the significance of the Island is with a walk around Darlington township to reveal the complex and intriguing past of the Island. Learn about the ghosts, the hardships, the entrepreneurial spirit and sheer tenacity of those who came to live on the Island before us. After lunch, we set off together hiking from Darlington to the wonderful Painted Cliffs via Oust House Track. The Painted Cliffs are stunning patterned and coloured sandstone, carved and moulded by the sea, and bordered by rock pools teeming with marine life. After exploring the coastline further south, we journey back to Darlington to stay the night like a convict in the Penitentiary- a unique experience. Tonight enjoy dinner featuring local produce and Tasmanian wine.
TRAIL NOTES: Approximately 12kms. 6 – 7 hours walking with breaks. Medium to Hard grade
TERRAIN: The walk begins on formed gravel roads and crosses open grassy hills before becoming a narrow, natural trail that climbs steeply over uneven terrain. There is some rock hopping over large boulders and some scrambling up rocks to reach the summit.
WALK ITINERARY: After a hearty breakfast, we will transfer by boat back to Maria Island for todays adventure. We start our hike to Skipping Ridge where we’ll have lunch. Our Lunch location is one of the best on the East Coast of Tasmania. Perched on Skipping Ridge we’ll enjoy magnificent views of Fossil Bay and Bishop & Clerk. During lunch, we will give you a brief geology lesson of the famous fossil cliff of Maria Island. The Fossil outcrop at Fossil Bay is recognised as world class and the best example of lower Permian strata in Tasmania, if not the world. Over the centuries the rise and fall of the seas have left a legacy of amazing sea creatures over 290 million-year-old fossilised into the cliffs. On the lower rock shelf, you can see a variety of fossils including sea fans, coral-like creatures, scallop shells and sea lilies.
After lunch, we hike one of the top 10-day walks in Australia. The walk takes you through grasslands, open forest and tall woodland, to the rocky slopes of the summit. The highlight of this walk is the views at the summit of Bishop & Clerk. These towering dolerite columns of the summit are named due to their resemblance to a bishop, wearing a mitre, being followed by a clergyman. From the summit on a clear day, you’ll be able to take in exhilarating views towards the Freycinet Peninsula. Life’s An Adventure owner Mark Norek says “this summit is so stunning it’s worthy of a marriage proposal and was the location I chose to propose to my beautiful wife Vicki”.
Note this walk involves hiking through a large area of rocky slopes to the summit, with some boulder scrambling near the top. For those that don’t hike to the top of Bishop and Clerk – our Logistics Guide will take you on an alternative walk back to Darlington where you can enjoy some free time.
Afterwards, we’ll head back to the Penitentiary for free time to relax. Enjoy pre-dinner nibbles and wine before a hearty dinner served with wine.
CHOOSE YOUR EXPERIENCE TODAY
After breakfast, choose how you would like to spend your final morning on Maria Island. Whether you prefer exploring on two wheels, on foot or from the water, there’s an experience to suit every traveller.
Option 1 Cycle to the Southern Reaches
Cycle Grade: 26km return ride, 4–5 hours.
Terrain: Well-formed gravel roads with a few hills and some rocky sections. An easier cycling option is available for those who prefer a shorter or less challenging ride.
Pedal through peaceful forests, historic ruins and spectacular coastal scenery as you make your way to the island’s remote southern reaches, discovering why Maria Island is regarded as one of Tasmania’s best cycling destinations.
Option 2 Scenic Coastal Walk
Walk Grade: 10–12km return, 3–4 hours.
Terrain: Well-formed walking tracks through open grasslands and eucalypt forest. Mostly flat to gently undulating with a few short hills and some uneven, sandy and rocky sections.
Follow the scenic coastal trail south from Darlington through tranquil bushland and open grasslands, with abundant wildlife, sweeping coastal views and excellent opportunities to spot wombats, kangaroos and Cape Barren geese before returning to Darlington.
Option 3 Maria Island Circumnavigation Cruise (Upgrade)
Cruise: Approximately 4 hours.
Upgrade your adventure with a spectacular circumnavigation cruise around Maria Island. Discover towering sea cliffs, hidden sea caves, pristine beaches and abundant wildlife while experiencing the island’s dramatic coastline from the water. (Additional cost applies.)
LATE AFTERNOON ITINERARY
After your chosen experience, we board the ferry back to mainland Tasmania, for the return journey to Hobart.
ARRIVAL TIME: We arrive back into Hobart at approximately 5:45pm, where your unforgettable Maria Island adventure comes to an end.
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Tour Availability
& Prices
PRIVATE GROUPS: Date of your choice is available for groups of 8 or more
people. Subject to availability.
Please contact us for more details on (02) 9975 4553 or email: walks@lifesanadventure.com.au
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BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Before you book please read our Booking Terms and Conditions. Click here.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
* Prices are per person in Australian dollars and include GST.
* A deposit of $300 per person is required to secure your booking. (unless taking advantage of Earlybird or Spot Specials in which full payment is required at time of booking).
* Note: If you are booking within 90 days of your departure date – we will require full payment at the time of booking
* Prices are based on twin share of rooms. If you are travelling solo you may be required to share with someone of the same gender. If this is not suitable you can request to pay a single supplement, however, limited single rooms are available per trip so are on a request basis.
* Payments must be made online via our NAB (National Australia Bank) secure payment page via credit card (Visa or Mastercard) or over the phone.
* We advise taking our Travel Insurance to cover items such as cancellation of tour due to minimum numbers not met, or adverse weather conditions, injury, evacuation, delayed flights, illness, etc. Click here
* Credit for cancelled activities. If a tour activity has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances a credit for this missed activity can be applied to any future tour with us. Click here.
