Kiama tours to book for whale cruises and river paddles

Compare Kiama tours by type, departure point and drive time

Kiama itself is small, so most guided tours start a short drive away: at Shell Cove marina to the north, on the Minnamurra River, on Seven Mile Beach at Gerroa or up on the escarpment. The table sets out the main options, with drive times from Kiama Ridge Waters at 2 Surfleet Place. Prices and times change often, so check before you go.

No whale cruise leaves from Kiama Harbour, so the nearest whale boat is at Shell Cove. If you want to watch from land instead, our whale watching guide lists the free lookouts.

Cruise with migrating whales from Shell Cove

Shellharbour Wild runs the closest whale cruises to Kiama, aboard the catamaran Cat Balou from the public jetty at Shellharbour Marina. The standard Whale Cruise lasts 1.5 hours and runs from May to November, every day including public holidays. The operator lists an 11am departure on weekdays and 10am, 12pm and 2pm departures on weekends.

Arrive 20 minutes early to check in at the boat with your confirmation email. Bring a jacket, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, water and a camera. The cruise is not recommended past 24 weeks of pregnancy. Prices are shown on the booking page only, so check there. The season finishes in November, so late October and early November are your last chances this year. Make a morning of it with our Shellharbour guide.

Learn on Country with Gumaraa on the Minnamurra River

For an Aboriginal tour near Kiama, start with Gumaraa Aboriginal Experience, an Aboriginal-led business based at Albion Park Rail that shares Dharawal and Yuin culture. Two of its public tours run on the Minnamurra River, about 12 minutes' drive north of the apartments.

• Stand Up Paddle Boarding, Minnamurra River: a 2-hour guided paddle led by a Gumaraa cultural facilitator and an accredited SUP Shellharbour instructor, with stops for stories about freshwater Country. Board, paddle and safety gear are included, and beginners are welcome. Meet at Trevethan Reserve and arrive 15 minutes early to sign waivers.
• Culture Canoeing Tour: a 2-hour canoe trip through the mangroves and channels that starts with a Welcome to Country, smoking ceremony and ochre ceremony.
• Aboriginal Cultural Whale Cruise: run with Shellharbour Wild from Shell Cove on limited dates. Gumaraa's Richard Campbell and Lisa Bazzano lead a smoking ceremony and storytelling about the place of whales in Yuin culture, and UOW whale researcher Dr Jodi Edwards joins some cruises.

Tours run on set dates and depend on the weather. Dates and prices are on each tour's booking page, so check before you go. Read more about the river in our Minnamurra River guide.

Paddle the Minnamurra River by kayak or SUP

The Minnamurra River is calm, shallow and lined with mangroves, which makes it the local choice for a first paddle. Two operators run guided trips there.

SUP Shellharbour is a mobile stand-up paddleboard school. Its main base is Lake Illawarra, and it also runs sessions at Trevethan Reserve on the Minnamurra River. Group lessons, private lessons, SUP yoga and summer night paddles with underwater lights are on offer, and it is open every day from sunrise to sunset. Its group page lists $45 per person for a group session with all equipment and an instructor, and $70 per person for a night paddle. Ask for the Minnamurra River when you book if you want to stay close to Kiama.

Canoe and Kayak Adventures (South Coast Safaris) runs half-day canoe and kayak trips on the Minnamurra for small and large groups, with equipment, basic instruction and guides if needed. Meeting points include James Oates Reserve. Prices are not listed, so call for a quote.

To hire a boat and paddle on your own, our Minnamurra River guide covers the launch ramps and the tide.

Take a surf lesson on Seven Mile Beach at Gerroa

Kiama's town beaches are better for watching than learning, so the surf schools work the long, gentle stretch of Seven Mile Beach at Gerroa, about 11 minutes' drive south.

Gerroa Surf School, part of Surf Camp Australia, has run lessons since 1999 and is Surfing Australia accredited. Lessons last two hours, suit ages 6 and up, and include soft boards and full wetsuits. Its multi-lesson packs start at $200 for three lessons over a weekend. Under-13s must have a participating adult.

Gerringong Surf School is led by former big-wave surfer Rusty Moran and runs group lessons (including ladies-only groups), private lessons, soft board hire and a 3-day school holiday program at $200. Text 0414 555 306 to ask where the lesson meets that day.

Surf breaks, patrol times and safety tips are in our Kiama surf guide.

Leave the car behind on a wine or brewery tour

For food and wine tours, South Coast Journeys is the local operator that will collect you in Kiama. Its South Coast Winery Tour for 10 people or fewer picks up from your address between about 9am and 10.30am. Every tour includes three wine tastings, two cheese platters and a one-course lunch with a glass of wine, beer or cider. A sample day visits Coolangatta Estate, then lunch at Cambewarra Estate or Coolangatta Estate. Bigger groups can book the 10-plus version.

For beer drinkers, its craft beer tour visits three breweries with tasting paddles and a gourmet burger lunch, mostly around Wollongong and sometimes as far south as Gerringong. Prices depend on numbers, so ask for a quote.

Give 2 Surfleet Place, Kiama, as your pickup address. If you would rather drive yourself to a cellar door or two, see our wineries near Kiama guide.

Book a reef fishing charter out of Kiama Harbour

The one tour that leaves from Kiama itself is fishing. Kiama Charter Service takes reef fishing trips within about 15 km of port, all year, seven days a week (except Christmas Day and New Year's Day), weather permitting. Boats leave Kiama Harbour at 6am and return about 2pm. Its website lists reef fishing at $205 per person, or $2,000 for a group of 10, with 4 to 10 people per trip. Deep sea trips to the continental shelf run mainly from May to September, for whole-boat bookings only.

The harbour is about 4 minutes' drive from the apartments. For rock and beach fishing spots, read our Kiama fishing guide.

Walk the rainforest canopy at Illawarra Fly

Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures sits on the escarpment at Knights Hill, about 32 minutes' drive (27 km) from the apartments via Jamberoo Mountain Road. The Treetop Walk is a 1.5 km loop with 500 metres of steel walkway 20 to 30 metres above the ground, plus the spiral Knights Tower. The Zipline Tour is a guided run between platforms in the canopy.

It is open daily from 10am to 4.30pm (9.30am in holiday periods), except Christmas Day, with last entry at 3.30pm. The Treetop Walk is from $20 and the Zipline Tour from $100. Fewer zipline tours run on weekdays outside school holidays, so book a session online and arrive 15 minutes early. Parking is free. Pair it with Minnamurra Rainforest and lunch in the village, using our Jamberoo guide.

See the escarpment and Jamberoo Valley from a helicopter

Touchdown Helicopters flies scenic tours from Shellharbour Airport at Albion Park Rail, about 20 minutes' drive north. The one that suits a Kiama stay is the Waterfall Discovery Flight: 25 minutes over the escarpment, Budderoo National Park, Gerringong Falls, Carrington Falls and the green Jamberoo Valley, listed at $330 per person. Flights are sold on a shared basis, with private flights on request.

Its shorter coastal flights leave from Wollongong Heliport and stay around Wollongong, so check the route before you book if you want to see Kiama's own coast. Flights depend on the weather. From the ground, the same valley views are free from the lookouts in our Kiama lookouts guide.

Ride a heritage steam train to Kiama on the Picnic Train

The Picnic Train is a volunteer-run heritage steam trip from Sydney (Tempe, or Central on some dates), Sutherland or Wollongong to Kiama and back in a day, with about 3 hours 45 minutes in town. The remaining 2026 dates are 24 and 25 October, 14 and 15 November, and 28 and 29 November. Fares are per group: a DUO ticket for two is $260, a four-seat booth $360 and a private compartment for up to eight $550, with First Class high tea tickets sold separately. Book only on the operator's site, not at a station.

If you arrive by steam and stay the night, Kiama station is about a 27-minute walk (2.2 km) from the apartments. Timings and tips are in our Kiama Picnic Train guide.

Join a ranger walk or follow a self-guided heritage tour

Guided walking tours in Kiama are scarce, so the options here are a mix of ranger-led and self-guided.

• Minnamurra Rainforest by Torchlight: NSW National Parks rangers lead a 1.6 km night walk on the Lyrebird Loop for ages 5 and up, from 6pm, priced at $25 for adults, $15 for children and $70 for a family of four, including park entry. It runs on set dates only, and the last listed 2026 session was 1 October, so check for new dates before you plan around it.
• Free audio tours: the NSW National Parks app has self-guided audio tours of the Minnamurra Rainforest loop. Download them before you go, as there is little mobile coverage.
• Kiama Heritage Walk: pick up the free heritage walk brochure at the Kiama Visitor Information Centre on Blowhole Point and follow it past the Lighthouse, Pilot's Cottage, Terrace Houses and old banks and churches.

More routes, including the Kiama Coast Walk, are in our walks in Kiama guide and our Minnamurra Rainforest guide.

Plan your tour days from Kiama Ridge Waters

A few tips make tour days run smoothly:

• Book ahead in school holidays. Whale cruises, zipline sessions and the Picnic Train sell out on weekends.
• Keep a back-up plan. Boats, paddles, surf lessons and flights all depend on the weather, and operators will move or refund trips when conditions turn.
• Mix water and land. A morning paddle at Minnamurra and an afternoon at Illawarra Fly work well together, as both sit north and west of town.
• Search for Kiama Scenic Tours with care. It is a local coach company on Manning Street, but its day trips and extended tours are mostly built for Illawarra residents rather than visitors.

Wetsuits and picnic gear go straight from the car to the door, as each apartment has garage parking for two cars and three bedrooms for up to six guests. For a surf weekend or a winery tour with a crowd, book several apartments on the same site for the whole crowd. See our three-bedroom apartments, group accommodation in Kiama and group activities in Kiama, or check availability.