The 9 Australia Tea Tours That Earn the Detour

1.Adelaide: River Torrens Popeye Devonshire Tea Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 207 reviews · 45 min · from $28Our pick

Board Adelaide’s heritage Popeye at Elder Park for a 45-minute English-language cruise along Karrawirra Parri. Your skipper shares local history and points out the Festival Centre, SAHMRI, Adelaide Gaol, bridges, and river wildlife while you enjoy two scones with jam, cream, tea, or coffee. You can also disembark near Adelaide Zoo and the Botanic Garden.

“Lovely relaxing river cruise. My husband and I were running late due to roadworks. I ran down to the jetty while husband parked the car and the Captain was kind enough to pick us up 10minutes later when he turned the boat round. Excellent customer service!”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.Magnetic Island: Guided Bus Tour with Morning Tea

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 129 reviews · 5 hours · from $67

Spend five hours exploring Magnetic Island by air-conditioned minibus with a local guide such as Neil or Tim. Visit Rocky Bay, Picnic Bay, Geoffrey Bay, and Horseshoe Bay, spot rock wallabies, enjoy morning tea, and add the seasonal Butterfly Forest Walk. Ferry, lunch, and the $3 aquarium entry cost extra.

“Nice experience to see the top spots of the island. Just no hot water for a good hot tea was provided to the guide...morning tea stop could be of better quality in general. Our guide Tim went the extra mile, it was nice to listen to his stories as he is a true local, and has a great passion for his home island and the tours. We saw Wallabies, Koalas and had enough time for lunch.”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Half Day Sea Kayak Tour from Batemans Bay with Morning Tea

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 99 reviews Top rated

Join Region X for a five-hour sea kayak trip from Batemans Bay, using double expedition kayaks to reach quiet beaches and coves. Your guide sets the route to suit ocean conditions, with time for morning tea, swimming, snorkeling, rock jumping, or a headland walk. Guides such as Michael and David are praised for clear instruction and local insight.

“100% recommended this tour it was an amazing experience. Our guide was excited and knowledgeable about the water ways and oyster production and farming it was such a pleasure to learn from him. The kayaking was so fun we went throRead more”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.High Tea Cruise on Sydney Harbour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 91 reviews · from $75

Board at Circular Quay Wharf 6 for a 90-minute afternoon cruise with finger sandwiches, blinis, scones, petit fours, tea, coffee, and one glass of sparkling wine. Large windows and several outdoor decks frame Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Fort Denison, and the city skyline. Smart casual dress is expected.

“What a lovely experience. We had a couple of hours to fill before a wedding and this was perfect. The food was delish and the views amazing.”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.Sydney: Relaxing High Tea Cruise on Sydney Harbour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 83 reviews · 1h 30m · from $74

Board Captain Cook Cruises at Circular Quay Wharf 6 for a relaxed 90-minute high tea on Sydney Harbour. You’ll enjoy prawns, sandwiches, quiches, scones, macarons, fine tea, and a glass of sparkling wine while passing the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Fort Denison, and the city skyline. Window seats cost extra, so book carefully if views matter most.

“Took my girlfriend on this cruise for her birthday and we both really enjoyed it! The price and food is comparable to other high tea places in Sydney, but for the views, this one is defintitlry something special.”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.Sydney Harbour: 2-Hour Morning Yacht Cruise with Morning Tea

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 42 reviews · 2 hours · from $102

Meet your English-speaking captain and host at Circular Quay for a two-hour morning cruise on a small motor yacht. You will pass the Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Fort Denison, bays, coves, and Bondi Beach while enjoying tea, coffee, juice, water, and light refreshments. Guides such as Maggie, Becky, Paul, and Graham are praised for lively local stories.

“We thoroughly enjoyed the Sydney Harbour Cruise despite the bit of rain. Our tour guide was very informative and entertaining. We’d recommend better signage and clarity in the meeting point and pickup.”

Check availability →Read our full review

7.Brisbane Bus Tour: Max 10 people | Half Day | Morning tea inc.

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 28 reviews · from $85

Spend four hours touring Brisbane with a maximum of 10 people, local guides such as Cheryl and Guy, and stops at Mt Coot-tha, the Botanic Gardens, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane Powerhouse and New Farm Park. Pickup, morning tea, snacks, air-conditioning and a small gift are included.

“Comprehensive tour of Brisbane city sights including Mountain Coot-tha lookout. Our local Queensland guide, Guy was helpful and knowledgeable. We were pleasantly surprised to see a large native goanna casually strolling in the sun in the Read more”

Check availability →Read our full review

8.Half Day Living Legends tour with Devonshire Tea

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · from $136

Spend about four and a half hours visiting Living Legends at Woodlands Historic Park. Meet, feed, and pat retired champions such as Fields of Omagh and Rogan Josh, then see the heritage homestead, rose garden, memorial garden, and enjoy Devonshire tea. Pickup is offered, and groups are limited to 10 people.

“Beautiful Devonshire tea and great coffee. The homestead museum interesting. The horse are amazing lovely to see these superstars enjoying their retirement and looking so good”

Check availability →Read our full review

9.Sydney: Devonshire Tea Harbour Cruise with Live Commentary

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · from $36

Board a luxury catamaran at King Street Wharf 5 for a 90-minute Sydney Harbour cruise. Enjoy unlimited sweet and savory scones, premium tea, and coffee while an English-speaking guide covers Gadigal history, the First Fleet, the Gold Rush, and modern Barangaroo. You can sit indoors or step outside for views of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Fort Denison, and Luna Park.

“the trip around beautiful Sydney harbour was lovely..the commentary was informative with a bit of humour sometimes but when we were outside a little hard to hear..the time on board flew so we definitely enjoyed it..we had plenty of savoury or sweet scones with tea or coffee to enjoy..some hot chocolate for the kids would of been good tho..you could venture from inside or out which was good too ..also the crew were friendly”

Check availability →Read our full review