Things to do in Tin Can Bay, Queensland: Best activities

The best things to do in Tin Can Bay, Queensland, include feeding the dolphins at the Barnacles Dolphin Centre and taking a cruise on the Great Sandy Strait.

Tin Can Bay, Queensland, is a little town in the transition zone between the Sunshine Coast and the Fraser Coast. It is much less well known than its neighbours, Noosa, Hervey Bay and Rainbow Beach. But it does have considerable appeal.

Things to do in Tin Can Bay, Queensland: Barnacles Dolphin Centre

Top of the list of things to do in Tin Can Bay for most visitors is feeding the dolphins at the Barnacles Dolphin Centre. Every morning at 8am, the resident pod of nine humpback dolphins comes to the shore to be fed fish by eager volunteers.

For a feeding fee of $10, volunteers can get in the water with the wild dolphins and feed them fish. Touching the dolphins is prohibited, but you can still get really close. Usually, people will be up to their knees in the water.

There is also a café on-site at the Barnacles Dolphin Centre, which you’ll find at Norman Point – a peninsula that juts out into the Great Sandy Strait.

Hand-feeding dolphins at the Barnacles Dolphin Centre in Tin Can Bay. Photo courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.

What to do in Tin Can Bay: Dolphin Ferry Cruises

The two other main attractions in Tin Can Bay are also at Norman Point. Dolphin Ferry Cruises offers a ferry service to Carlo Point on the other side of the Strait, but its cruise options are more likely to be of interest to visitors.

The simplest of these is a 90 minute sunset cruise which costs $35 and operates on a bring your own drinks and nibbles policy.

There’s also a $50 cruise and lunch option, which basically means taking the ferry to Carlo Point Marina and back and having lunch while there.

Things to do in Tin Can Bay: Boat hire

You may prefer to get around under your own steam, however, and that’s where Tin Can Bay Boat Hire comes in. This operator rents out vessels to fishermen and boaters to explore the Great Sandy Strait. Prices depend on the size of the chosen boat and how long you want it for.

Most accommodation options in Tin Can Bay are holiday rentals. But other options include the Tin Can Bay Tourist Park, the Tin Can Bay Motel and the Kingfisher Caravan Park.

12 fantastic Sunshine Coast experiences to book now

Taste coffee and ginger, do rainforest walks, and visit the best lookouts on a highlight-packed hinterland tour.
Take a serene Noosa Everglades cruise along the mirror-like waterways – or canoe through the Everglades.
Learn to surf at a Sunshine Coast surf school – or try paddleboarding instead.
Combine sight-seeing and thrills on a fast boat tour.
Go e-mountain biking on the downhill trails of Tewantin National Park.
Kayak with dolphins as part of a beach 4WD tour.
Explore the Sunshine Coast from above on a seaplane flight.
Take an indigenous cultural tour – with bush tucker tasting.
Visit the region’s best craft breweries and distilleries on a drinks tasting tour.
Go jetskiing through the gorgeous Pumicestone Passage.
Taste wines, cheeses and chocolates on a hinterland food tour.
Watch migrating humpbacks on a whale-watching cruise.

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