Epic Things to Do on Fraser Island Australia + Fraser Island Itinerary
Fraser Island (also known as K’gari) is the world’s largest sand island. It’s also home to some of the best 4x4 tracks in Australia if not the world. If you love the outdoors and adventure, then Fraser Island is the place for you.
We were lucky enough to be able to spend about a week on Fraser Island with @visitfrasercoast and @queensland (all thoughts and opinions are our own though), and we had the best few days exploring the island and all it has to offer.
We purchased a Land Rover Defender recently, and it got a good workout on this trip. Fraser Island is a 4x4 dream come true with so many epic tracks. Fraser is the biggest sand island in the world, so you do need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to access most parts of the island. You can get to Kingfisher Bay Resort without a 4x4 if you plan to stay there.
Why do I love Fraser Island so much, and why did it completely take me by surprise? It is one of the most raw and beautiful places I've visited in Australia, and it can make you feel remarkably secluded from the rest of the world. The 4x4 tracks are surrounded by lush rainforest, giving it full-on Jurassic Park vibes. Then you arrive at the beaches, and feel like you might have taken a wrong turn and ended up in the Maldives. This mix makes it an amazing Australian travel destination that needs to be on your Australia bucket list.
We visited Fraser Island in March, so we were not able to do any whale watching, one of the most popular activities on the island. The best time to see the whales is during the winter months, and it is also the most popular time to visit the island because of that.
Hervey Bay is one of the best places in Australia to see whales up close. Some tours will even let you swim with them! If you want to experience this, plan your Hervey Bay and Fraser Island trip for the winter.
Thanks to the location, the weather in Fraser Coast makes it great to visit any time of the year. The weather is balmy, making it ideal for camping all year round. This is also helpful if you are trying to visit Fraser Island on a budget as camping is affordable on the island.
Overall, Fraser Island is a really adventurous and remote location perfect for people who love the outdoors and camping. You can splurge on day tours and nicer accommodations, or visit on a budget and camp on the island with your 4WD.
In this blog post, we are giving you a complete guide to Fraser Island including what to expect for budgeting your trip, the best things to do, where to stay, and a Fraser Island itinerary to plan your trip.
How Much Does It Cost to Visit Fraser Island?
Before we get into the best things to do on Fraser Island, here is a quick cost breakdown of what to expect to pay for your trip to Fraser Island. Remember, you can adjust based on your budget and what you want to do on the island.
If you have a 4WD and go camping, it won’t be as expensive. If you stay in the resorts and do lots of day tours, it will add up.
Either way, you’re going to need to pay for a ferry ticket to get from Hervey Bay to Fraser Island. If you are a walk on, you can expect to pay $60 per adult and $30 per child. If you bring a standard 4x4 vehicle, it will cost $180 during off-peak times and $205 during peak times. This only includes the driver, so it is an additional $5 per passenger. A large 4x4 will cost $70 more.
You will also need to pay for food during your trip. If you are driving down and camping, you can always bring food in with you to keep your costs low. You can also purchase food at the general stores on the island, but expect the prices to be higher than on the mainland.
Day trips are another cost to pay, but those will depend on the number of day trips and which tours you take. For the tours we include as some of the best things to do in Fraser Coast, we also include the cost so that you can decide if it fits your budget or not.
Petrol is another cost to expect if you bring your own vehicle. Because fuel on the island is more expensive than on the mainland, most people choose to fill up on the mainland just before getting on the ferry. You can also fill a few jerry cans with fuel to bring with you to help keep costs lower.
If you are bringing a vehicle or camping on the island, there are permits you will need. On Fraser Island, the vehicle permit is $53.65 for a month or less or $270 for up to a year. Camping permits are $6.75 per person per night or $27 per family per night.
Top Things to Do on Fraser Island
If you don’t visit during whale season, there is still so much to do on the Fraser Coast. From Lake McKenzie to Eli Creek to 75 Mile Beach, you’ll never run short of activities on Fraser Island, especially if you love the outdoors.
Tasman Venture Remote Fraser Island Experience
We can’t talk about the most epic things to do on Fraser Island without including our full day tour with Tasman Venture. The Remote Fraser Island Experience costs $195 per adult, but it is worth it. This was one of the highlights of our trip.
On the tour, we spent the full day exploring the west coast of Fraser Island and enjoying beaches just as beautiful as the top beaches in the Whitsundays. The west coast of Fraser is incredibly beautiful and super remote.
We highly recommend spending time on the west coast of the islands, as it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We are dying to return and spend a few nights camping along the West Coast, so if you are planning to camp, definitely try out the west coast.
One of the stops on the tour is Wathumba Creek, and to be honest, I thought we were back in the Whitsundays for a minute. I’m not sure how I didn’t know the beaches were this beautiful here.
Who knew the island was going to be THIS stunning? Wathumba Creek and Fraser Island are so so underrated, and Wathumba Creek is one of the most beautiful places on Fraser Island. The water here rivals the water anywhere I have been in the world. It is so clear and unbelievably blue.
Overall, Fraser Island’s west coast is something else. Our minds were blown with the island and this full-day tour. We saw massive sand dunes with powder white sand (your calves will be burning from climbing them!), beautiful freshwater creeks, and crystal clear blue waters just as beautiful as the water in the Maldives. Fraser Coast might be Kyle’s favorite place in Queensland after this tour!
Lake McKenzie
When visiting Fraser Island, make sure to set aside some time to enjoy Lake McKenzie (Boorangoora). It is a freshwater lake with such deep blue water that we couldn’t believe it was a lake. It’s some of the clearest water in Australia.
We ended up visiting Lake McKenzie on the last day of our trip again because we loved this area so much. You really have to experience it to see how peaceful it is here.
75 Mile Beach
Driving on 75 Mile Beach was another highlight of the trip, especially for Kyle who was in his element driving on the beaches and through the creeks. The best way is to drive to Eurong and drive along the beach at low tide.
Make sure to visit the SS Maheno on the way to Eli Creek. It is one of the 23 shipwrecks on Fraser Island, banked right on the shore of the ocean. If you’re going to 75 Mile Beach though, you need to check this one out. It’s pretty epic, and the stretch of beach after this is amazing.
We also learned a little tip to help clean off the salt from the bottom of your car. Drive straight through a freshwater creek run out on the beach to clean your undercarriage of the car.
Pelican Bank
Pelican Bank is another place we ended up visiting twice. We woke up and had a morning swim before anyone arrived with Fraser Island Boat Charter and then came back with the Sea Explorer West Coast cruise from Kingfisher Bay Resort.
This is another incredible beach in Queensland that I never knew existed until this trip. Pelican Bank is a little sand island off the coast of Fraser Island and Hervey Bay. There are no amenities, but it is a little slice of paradise worth visiting if you are in this area.
Eli Creek
If you visit Eli Creek, make sure to bring a floaty to drift down the creek. From the time I stepped into my floaty and started floating away, I felt like I had floated right into a fairytale.
It is incredibly peaceful slowly drifting down the stream, under a tunnel of beautiful trees that created cool shade from the sun.This is such a beautiful freshwater creek that deserves a visit for sure.
Other Things to Do on Fraser Island
If you have more time, some of the other options for Fraser Island include:
Champagne Pools: Located on 75 Mile Beach between Waddy Point and Indian Head, this is a popular swimming spot for the natural pools with bubbling water due to the waves crashing over the volcanic rocks.
Indian Head: Located at the most easterly point of the island, this is a popular tourist spot and one of the ends of 75 Mile Beach. Enjoy the view from the headland and keep an eye open for wildlife.
Lake Wabby: This is another freshwater lake on the island but with deep green waters and is the deepest dune lake on the island (and one of the few with fish in it!). The sand dunes slope down to the lake which is surrounded on the other sides by lush forest.
Best Fraser Island Accommodations
If you aren’t planning to camp on Fraser Island or want to spend a few nights trying out some of the various accommodations, here are some options for your trip.
Kingfisher Bay Resort: This is the most well known of the accommodation options on Fraser Island. With a variety of accommodations (from resort rooms to villas to holiday houses), you can find an option that works for you.
The resort also has options for dining and offers tours of Fraser Island. This is especially helpful if you don’t have a 4x4 vehicle and don’t want to rent one for your trip.
If you plan to drive down, you can get to Kingfisher Bay Resort without 4-wheel drive. However, you’ll have to leave your vehicle there as 4WD is required on the rest of the island.
Fraser Island Boat Charters: If you want a unique accommodation option, consider an overnight on a sailing boat with Fraser Island Boat Charters. Sail the Great Sandy Strait, the waterway between mainland Queensland and Fraser Island.
This area is so peaceful and remote that it brought me a spirit of calmness. Watching the sunset paint the sky with hues of pinks and reds was the perfect way to end the day before falling asleep on the calm waters of the Strait.
One of the best parts of this experience was starting off the morning with a swim in the clear blue waters off of Pelican Bank. We returned to Pelican Bank later on a tour, but getting to have it all to ourselves that morning was a highlight of spending the night with Fraser Island Boat Charters.
If you are looking for accommodations in Hervey Bay instead of on Fraser Island, Discovery Parks Hervey Bay should be on your list. We stayed in their safari tents which were pretty new at the time.
Our Deluxe Safari Tent came with a view of the pond from the massive patio. Inside we had our own large bathroom as well as a sleeping area and living room area. The tents have beds for four with a larger bed and bunk bed.
We loved the safari vibes and relaxing by the pond with a bottle of wine at sunset. Plus, staying in Hervey Bay made it easy to access the ferry to Fraser Island.
For other options, click here for Hervey Bay accommodations and here for Fraser Island accommodations.
Fraser Island Itinerary
If you are looking for more of an itinerary instead of a list of things to do in Fraser Coast, here you go!
Day 1: Hervey Bay
After driving the four hours from Gold Coast to Hervey Bay, we stayed at Discovery Parks Hervey Bay in one of their Deluxe Safari Tents. Our tent had a large patio area and complete safari vibes with a large bed and bunk beds plus a bathroom in the tent.
It was cute and cosy and the perfect place to stay before making it to Fraser Island. I especially enjoyed sitting outside of our tent by the pond with a glass of wine with Kyle.
For dinner options, consider Enzos on the Beach or Eat at Dan and Stephs (they won My Kitchen Rules a few years ago).
Day 2: Tasman Ventures Day Tour
The day tour we did with Tasman Venture was one of the more expensive things we did on the trip ($195 per adult), but it was worth it. We spent a full day exploring the west coast of Fraser Island, visiting beaches every bit as beautiful as the Whitsundays. We highly recommend taking a day of your trip to do this tour.
Tour highlights included the best beaches and creeks on the west coast of Fraser Island including Wathumba Creek.
Day 3: Lake McKenzie (Boorangoora) & Kingfisher Bay Resort
On the third day, we officially moved onto Fraser Island, taking the 6:45 am Kingfisher Bay ferry to Fraser Island. You can bring your own four-wheel drive vehicle or book a tour from Kingfisher Bay Resort.
From there we went straight to Lake McKenzie (Boorangoora) which is a freshwater lake with crystal clear water and soft white sand. You’re going to want to spend at least a few hours here.
We ended the day with a sunset cruise with Kingfisher Bay Resort where we also stayed for the night. For dinner, we ate at Sand & Wood, one of the options for dining at Kingfisher Bay Resort. Sand & Wood serves food influenced by Australian, Asian, and Pacific flavours while you enjoy a view overlooking the resort’s pool.
Day 4: 75 Mile Beach & Eli Creek
Kyle was in heaven driving on the beach and through the water on 75 Mile Beach. Make sure to stop and check out the SS Maheno, one of many shipwrecks on Fraser Island. The stretch of beach after this is amazing as well.
We also stopped to float down Eli Creek. Make sure to bring your floaty so you can really enjoy all the creek has to offer.
Our accommodation this night was actually on board a sailing boat. We stayed with Fraser Island Boat Charters, and waking up to take a morning swim just off the coast of Pelican Bank was amazing. We sailed the Great Sandy Strait and loved every minute of our time with Fraser Island Boat Charters.
Day 5: Sea Explorer West Coast Cruise & Pelican Bank
Before catching the ferry back to Hervey Bay, we spent the morning with Fraser Island Boat Charters swimming and relaxing. Highly recommend an overnight cruise with them if you can make it happen.
From noon until 3:30 p.m., we switched boats to tour the west coast of Fraser Island by boat. We visited Pelican Bank with Sea Explorer West Coast cruise through Kingfisher Bay Resort. This also gave us a chance to see some of the wildlife living in the waters surrounding Fraser Island including two big Dugons, flying stingrays, and dolphins.
We also spent a little time shooting in Pile Valley, a stretch of sand roads with huge trees and the road going straight through giving Jurassic Park vibes. Kyle wanted to shoot the Defender here, and we loved the final shots.
We also couldn’t pass up spending more time on the beaches of Lake McKenzie. Kyle took the floaty out to really relax away from me. He even told me I couldn’t swim out because I would kill his vibe!
That evening we took the 5 p.m. ferry back to Hervey Bay even though we were NOT ready to leave the island yet. We definitely plan to return one day and see more of Fraser Island.
Final Thoughts on Fraser Island
If you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, get to Fraser Island as soon as possible! The beaches are the highways (and people fly on them!), the roads are all made of sand, and the waters (both fresh and salt) are stunning.
Our favourite thing was the rawness of the island. It’s just one big nature playground. Fraser Island is the perfect place to go to disconnect from the world and explore the raw beauty and enjoy the peace and quiet.
For more Australia travel tips, check out the Australia section of our blog.
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