Australia's best seafood experiences

If there’s one thing Australia boasts, it’s a very enviable smorgasbord of high-quality seafood. While you can certainly experience all of the country’s delicacies cooked to perfection at one of our incredible restaurants, why not get your hands dirty and discover the delightfully unique experiences that showcase the natural environment responsible for producing such top-quality seafood.

Sample freshly caught abalone and sea urchin

For avid seafood aficionados, Tasmania is home to some of the world’s most unusual and exotic oceanic delicacies. You’ll not only discover new types of seafood, you’ll also get to experience the ocean-to-plate process first-hand.

Connect with the wild lands of Bruny Island and jump on board with Pennicott Wilderness Journeys for their Seafood Seduction Tour. Stand in the ocean and shuck the famously sweet and creamy Freycinet oysters straight from the sea for one of the freshest seafood experiences you will ever encounter. Cheer on your guide as they dive for abalone and sea urchin to prepare for you on the boat. It's an incredible day of local seafood, gourmet produce, wines ciders and beers along the iconic Hobart coastline.

Learn to prepare gourmet seafood 

Fill your belly and your brain with some take-home culinary wisdom so you can recreate the best of Aussie seafood culture back home.

Talk shop and grab some insider secrets with local vendors before learning to prepare your own seafood dishes with live, hands-on interactive classes at the Sydney Fish Market. Each class starts with a demonstration before you whip up a delicious meal (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. 

Spearfish for mud crab 

If you’re looking to truly connect with Australian seafood culture, embracing ancient Indigenous traditions is the most authentic and memorable place to begin. Australia’s First Peoples have long enjoyed mud crabs or “muddies”, found around most of the Australian coastline and readily available year-round.  

Try your hand at spearfishing and handling as they have been practised for thousands of years with Queensland’s Traditional Landowners via Walkabout Cultural Adventures. Mud crabs are best consumed as soon as possible after catching so, for the best and freshest taste, catch and cook your own lunch (if you can!) as you get your hands dirty in the Port Douglas Daintree region for the ultimate culinary cultural adventure.

Shuck your own oysters fresh from the ocean

Embark on an epicurean adventure along South Australia’s stunning coastline. Referred to as the ‘Seafood Capital of Australia’ uncrowded Port Lincoln is renowned for its oceanic treats and local seaside culture. Perfect for those who love seafood, a good scenic voyage and a restful atmosphere.

In Coffin Bay, Oyster Farm Tours will take you wading out into the idyllic waters 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 rich and salty Coffin Bay oysters at the Port Lincoln Hotel, where you can pair your platter with samples of local produce, wine and beer.  

Trap your own lobster for a gourmet lunch 

Western Australia’s seafood is some of the finest you’ll ever taste, especially when you pair it with a luxe gourmet cruise complete with rock lobsters you catch yourself. 

Embrace your inner-adventurer with Rottnest Cruises as you catch your own western rock lobster before having it cooked up by the on-board chef as part of your five-course deluxe seafood banquet. Imagine a dreamy day spent on beautiful Rottnest Island, diving off the ship's bow, dolphin spotting and eating fresh seafood plucked straight from the crystal waters below.  

Catch and cook your own like a local 

Feeling a little more daring? The Northern Territory is world-famous for wild barramundi, which comes into season between March and November each year. The long-held local ritual is to earn your seafood feast aboard a rigorous fishing charter, then head ashore to “the Barra” (The Arnhem Land Barramundi Lodge) to fry up your catch and swap stories with the other “salty dogs” (fishers). You won’t want to miss this energetic seafood experience.

Lounge seaside while indulging in haute gastronomy 

Fine dining more your thing? Stay connected with the natural setting as you take in the stunning ocean vista of Melbourne’s breezy, bohemian 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, exquisitely prepared in the style of haute modern Australian cuisine. 

Taste your way down the Clyde River 

There’s no doubt that oysters taste their best straight from the water, but locking lips with them while floating on the river itself takes the cake. In beautiful Batemans Bay, on New South Wales’ South Coast, the Oyster Tasting Kayak Tour blends kayaking, exploration and fabulously fresh oysters in one. Glide down the glassy river learning local cultivation techniques from the farmers themselves and tasting the finest produce from pure Australia’s waters.