The complete travel guide to visiting Bundaberg in Queensland
Located on the coast of the Southern Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia, Bundaberg is an iconic destination for travellers for a variety of reasons. You may have even heard about this iconic Australian town without realising it. Bundaberg is best known for its two distilleries – Bundaberg, or ‘Bundy’, Rum Distillery and the Bundaberg Barrel, two of Australia’s most outstanding drink companies. However, that’s not all it has to offer. In this guide, you will find the best things to do and see in Bundaberg. It really is a stop not to miss on your East Coast of Australia trip!
How to get to Bundaberg?
Flying:
Qantas Link is currently the only commercial carrier flying into Bundaberg. They operate daily flights from the Queensland capital, Brisbane.
Driving:
Bundaberg is over 390km North of Brisbane on the Bruce Highway. It takes about 4 hours of driving to reach.
Rail:
Queensland Rail offers a Tilt-Train service between Brisbane and Bundaberg. Check out the Queensland Rail website for more information and bookings.
Bundaberg Rum Distillery Tour:
The most iconic Australian drink is Bundy Rum. Made using all local ingredients since 1888, you do not want to miss out on the Bundaberg Rum Distillery Tour. With a plethora of history of the company, which started with a few mates in a pub, a few drinks and a giant bottle, the tour will already be a hit.
There are two tours to choose from: the Bundaberg Rum Distillery Experience and the Blend Your Own Rum Experience. The Bundaberg Rum Distillery Experience runs every hour, Monday to Friday, 10 am–3 pm. At weekends and public holidays, they run 10 am–2 pm. Allow at least two hours for the whole experience and the two complimentary drinks after the tour. The Blend Your Own Rum Experience runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday and is perfect for a true rum lover, but it is the more expensive option. However, you can take home your blend in a 700ml bottle. Book your tour online here to get a 5% discount! Do not forget to get a photo with the giant Bundaberg Rum Bottle!
Prices (with the 5% discount included for booking online)
The Bundaberg Rum Experience:
Adult Ticket: $28.50
Senior Ticket: $23.75
Child Ticket: $14.25
Family Ticket: $71.25 (2 Adults; 3 Children)
The Blend Your Own Rum Experience:
Adult Ticket: $237.50
The Bundaberg Barrel – Tastings and Self-guided Gallery tour:
Not only does Bundaberg create world-renowned, award-winning rum, but Bundy is also known for its soft drinks! The Bundaberg Barrel is home to the Bundaberg soft drinks, including the iconic Ginger Beer, grown using local ginger. At the Barrel, take yourself on a self-guided tour through their history before beginning a tasting. The tasting includes a taste of the different flavours, as well as a 6-pack of soft drinks of your choice. Allow around one hour for the whole experience, and please arrive no later than 10 minutes before your tasting time. We suggest arriving 30 minutes before and doing your self-guided tour before the tasting. Then, shop around the gift shop. It’s the cheapest place to buy your favourite soft drinks!
Prices:
Adult tickets: $15 each, including a take-home pack of your favourite six drinks
Child tickets: $5 each, excludes a six-pack of soft drinks.
Tinaberries:
Tinaberries is the perfect spot for an afternoon treat. Located between Bundaberg and the Coral Coast, it is only a 15-minute drive from the centre of Bundy. There is something to enjoy all year round on this glorious family farm. Springtime lets you pick your own strawberries, but not to worry if spring doesn’t work for you. In winter, you can buy the freshest strawberries right from the farm door, and they serve delicious homemade ice cream throughout the year. Flavours include home-grown strawberry, passionfruit, and locally sourced mango!
Lady Elliot Island – day trip or scenic flight:
If money is no object on your travels, take to the skies and fly out to Lady Elliot Island. Lady Elliot Island is a coral cay right on the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. Best known for its abundance of manta rays, turtles, and stunning coral, if you can afford it, it will be one of the best trips of your life. Take the day to explore the water from the Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, which boasts a gold standard for sustainable tourism. Flights must be pre-booked and can be taken from not only Bundaberg but a variety of other locations. These include Hervey Bay, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast. Prices are listed for your convenience below. However, they do not include the extra $25 per-person return fuel levy surcharge. Please see the Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort website for more information.
Prices return from Bundaberg:
Adult Tickets: $545
Child Tickets: $399
Lady Musgrave:
The second-southernmost island of the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, Lady Musgrave, is another must-do opportunity. Like Lady Elliot Island, Lady Musgrave is also a coral cay island with stunning surrounding coral and marine life. Unlike Lady Elliot, Lady Musgrave is more affordable, and Lady Musgrave Experiences offers a wide range of tour options to explore this gorgeous island. Tour options include whale watching, scuba diving, and full-day tours.
Prices:
Full Day Lady Musgrave Tour:
Includes snorkelling, walking tour, swimming with turtles and glass bottom boat tour.
From $305 (Adult) / $225 (Child)
Half-day whale-watching tour:
From $80
Diving – Bundaberg Aqua Scuba:
Being on the coast of the southern Great Barrier Reef, there is some fantastic snorkelling and scuba diving off the coast of Bundaberg. Barolin Rocks, about a 20-minute drive from the centre of Bundaberg, is the perfect place. If you want to hire some gear or do your dive course, head to Bundaberg Aqua Scuba and see Julian. He will provide you with everything you need for some incredible underwater adventures. Why not undertake the four-day Open Water Dive Course if you stay longer?
Mon Repos Turtle Experience:
The Mon Repos Turtle Experience gets you up close to nesting turtles from November through to March each year. Following all the correct turtle-watching guidelines, the experience lets you observe turtles nesting and, depending on what month you go, maybe even some hatchlings scurrying down to the water!
Botanic Gardens – Hinkler Hall of Aviation, Fairymead House Sugar History Museum and the Bundaberg and District Historical Museum:
The Bundaberg Botanic Gardens are a great last stop in Bundaberg. Located just outside the city centre, the botanic gardens are a great place to relax before leaving Bundaberg and contain three additional attractions within its grounds. Hinkler Hall of Aviation is for every plane fan. The hall is named after the local aviation pioneer Bert Hinkler, who was the first to fly solo from England to Australia in 1928. From there, head over to the heritage-listed home, the Fairymead House, to explore the history of some of Bundaberg’s pioneering sugar families. Lastly, learn even more about the history of Bundaberg at the Bundaberg and District Historical Museum. There is so much to learn from just one Botanic Gardens.
Prices
Hinkler Hall of Aviation tickets
Tickets – $22
Fairymead House Sugar History Museum
Tickets – $9
Bundaberg and District Historical Museum
Concessions – $5.5
Adults – $7
Children – $3
Children under 4 – free of charge
Family (2 adults + 2 children) – $20
Family (2 adults + 1 child) – $15
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