Experience Coffin Bay, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia © Tourism Australia
Australia's best seafood experiences
Taste Australia’s smorgasbord of seafood straight from the source with these unique encounters.
Connect with the wild lands of Bruny Island with Pennicott Wilderness Journeys during their Seafood Seduction Tour. Stand in the ocean and shuck the famously creamy Freycinet oysters straight from the sea. Then, cheer on your guide as they dive for abalone and sea urchins to prepare for you on the boat. It's an incredible day of local seafood, wines, ciders and beers.
Grab some insider secrets from local vendors before a hands-on, interactive cooking class at the Sydney Fish Market. Each class starts with a demonstration before you whip up delicious seafood dishes (with all ingredients and a detailed recipe provided). Your work is rewarded as you sit down to enjoy the results with a glass of paired wine.
If you’re looking to connect with Australian seafood culture, embracing Indigenous traditions is the most memorable place to begin. Australia’s First Peoples have long enjoyed mud crabs (or “muddies”), which are found along most of the coastline and readily available year-round. Try spearfishing with Queensland’s Traditional Custodians at Walkabout Cultural Adventures, where if you’re lucky, you’ll catch and eat a prized crab.
One thing to know about Port Lincoln? It's called the ‘Seafood Capital of Australia' for good reason. In Coffin Bay, Oyster Farm Tours will take you out into the water for a hands-on shucking lesson and taste of fresh Pacific and native Angasi oysters straight from the clear, rippling waters. Want to stay dry? Grab your mates and challenge yourselves with a one-kilogram (two-pound) plate of oysters at the Port Lincoln Hotel.
Western Australia’s seafood is some of the finest you’ll ever taste, especially when you pair it with a gourmet cruise. Catch your own western rock lobster before the onboard chefs cook it for you as part of a five-course seafood banquet. Imagine a dreamy day diving off the ship's bow, dolphin spotting and eating fresh seafood plucked from the crystal waters below.
The Northern Territory is world-famous for wild barramundi, which comes into season between March and November each year. Fly into Dhipirri Barra and Sportfishing Lodge via its private airstrip to fish the surrounding river systems and barramundi-abundant waters. If you’re lucky, you might be looking at a mighty one-metre-long (or bigger!) catch. Come evening, dive into the catch of the day around the lodge’s campfire or munch on freshly prepared chilli mud crabs.
Fine dining more your thing? Connect with the natural setting as you take in the stunning ocean vista of Melbourne’s breezy St Kilda while enjoying an award-winning seafood menu at Stokehouse. Try a polished version of the classic Aussie fish and chips, feast on fresh local snapper and clams, or share an Aussie Seafood Platter.
Oysters taste their best straight from the water, and enjoying them while floating on the river takes “fresh” to a whole new level. In beautiful Batemans Bay, a four-hour drive south of Sydney, the Oyster Tasting Kayak Tour blends kayaking, exploration and fabulous oysters in one. Gliding down the glassy river, you’ll learn local cultivation techniques from the farmers and taste some of the finest produce from Australian waters.
Crispy, light and golden: the signs of a brilliant batter coating fresh Australian fish. You’ll find this winner combo – with a side of chunky chips – on many Australian menus, but nothing beats a takeaway box on the beach. In Sydney, enjoy harbour views at Doyles Fishermen’s Wharf; in Tasmania, order a combo box at St.Helen’s Skippers and make for the sparkling white sands of Binalong Bay; and in Darwin, pick up sustainably caught wild barramundi from Frying Nemo.
