26 Important Aboriginal-Led Tours to Experience in NSW

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Countries on which these tours take place who have occupied and cared for these lands and waters for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

Connecting to Culture and Country

NSW has many Aboriginal-led tours that are valuable and enlightening opportunities to connect to the land and its Traditional Custodians. The state is made up of a multitude of Aboriginal nations, all of whom continue to have a deep connection to Country – from time immemorial to today.

Taking an Indigenous cultural tour is a great way to support Aboriginal tour operators. And the best part is, there’s more than one way to do it! Between these 15 Aboriginal tour operators, there are 26 unique, engaging, and immersive tours to choose from.

Broaden your understanding of First Nations knowledges while stand up paddling, riding quad bikes over sand dunes, or scaling the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Join a walkabout tour in the Blue Mountains, taste your way around Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, or sip wines made with native botanicals.

Whether you’re tasting bush tucker, learning the local language or immersing yourself in ancient ceremonies, these experiences will no doubt enhance your own connection to Country.

Wajaana Yaam Adventure Tours

Tours:

• SUP Tours (2.5 hours)
• Full Day Cultural Tour: Paddle and Walk Premium (5 hours)

Location: Gumbaynggirr Country / Coffs Harbour
Price: Starting from $80 per person

Wajaana Yaam Adventure Tours offer you a chance to ‘Feel, touch and taste the soul of our Country’. Join an adventure paddle through the homelands of the Gumbaynggirr nation with the direct descendants of the world’s first stand up paddlers.

It’s a chance to connect to land and sea through stories and language, as well as collect and taste seasonal bush tucker. For a full day experience, you can immerse yourself in the ways of the Gumbaynggirr people with a combined SUP and walk tour.

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Explore Byron Bay

Tours:

• Cape Byron Aboriginal Tour (1.75 hours)
• Broken Head Aboriginal Tour (1.5 hours)
• Bangalow Bush Tucker Tour (1.75 hours)

Location: Bundjalung Country / Byron Bay
Price: $65 per adult and $19 per child

Explore a different side of Byron Bay with Delta Kay, an Arakwal Bundjalung woman who’s passionate about sharing Aboriginal culture.

Delta leads tours at Cape Byron, Bungalow or Broken Head, connecting guests to the culture of the Arakwal people. You’ll feel a whole new appreciation for the land as you learn some Bundjalung language, taste local bush tucker and discover natural medicines, tools, and artefacts.

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Unkya Aboriginal Cultural Tours

Tours:

• Gaagal Yuludarla / Ocean Dreaming Tour (1.5 hours)
• Gaagal Wanggaan / Beach South Tour (3.5 hours)

Location: Gumbaynggirr Country / Scotts Head
Price: Enquire for prices

The Unkya Aboriginal Cultural Tours explore the Gumbaynggirr people’s connection with the land and ocean.

Immerse yourself in their creation stories on the Ocean Dreaming Tour as you learn about traditional food sources and totems related to the ocean.

Or take a scenic bush and beach walk through the Aboriginal-owned Gaagal Wanggaan National Park on the South Beach tour. It’s a chance to discover a delicate ecosystem and the Gumbaynggirr people’s holistic approach to the landscape.

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Wollombi Aboriginal Cultural Experiences

Tours:

• The Guardian Sunset Tour (3.5 hours)
• Follow the Songlines Tour (full day)

Location: Yengo Country / Wollombi
Price: Starting from $140 per adult and $80 per child

Wollombi Aboriginal Cultural Tours are centred around Mount Yengo – a place as sacred to the peoples of the east, as Uluru is to those of the centre.

Venture onto Country on the Sunset Tour to participate in a Cleansing Ceremony and taste local bush tucker. Or experience the Songlines Tour to learn about Indigenous artefacts and hear the lore stories of this sacred area.

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DreamTime SouthernX

Tour:

• The Rocks Aboriginal Dreaming Tour (1.5 hours)
• Explore Sydney’s Aboriginal Dreamtime (half day, bus tour)

Location: Gadigal Country / Sydney
Price: Starting from $59

Spend a morning in Sydney on a leisurely walkabout tour, journeying into Dreamtime – the ancient and ongoing culture of Aboriginal people.

This tour was developed by Aboriginal Elder, Margret Campbell, a Dunghutti-Jerrinjah woman. It’s led by Aboriginal guides who have her permission to share her cultural knowledge. It’s an enlightening look into the ancient Dreamtime and how the modern city environment continues to influence the way Aboriginal people live today.

You can also take the bus tour to further explore these cultural connections at five different Indigenous sites across the city.

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Ngaran Ngaran Cultural Awareness

Tour:

• Yuin Retreat (3 days)

Location: Djirringanj Country / Narooma
Price: Starting from $880

The traditional custodians of Yuin Country invite you to come, walk, and listen to a sacred dreaming of Djirringanj Country – heartland of the Yuin people.

With a maximum group size of eight, this is an intimate way to experience ceremony and dreaming stories that’ve been passed down across generations. Discover the sacred significance of the region for the Yuin people in an immersive three-day retreat.

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Guringai Aboriginal Tours

Tour:

• Ku-ring-gai National Park Rock Art Tour (3.5 hours)

Location: Guringai Country / Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
Price: Starting from $65 per adult and $40 per child

Venture through Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park to explore rock art sites and hear the stories of the local First Nations people – told by Guringai man Laurie Bimson.

Laurie’s a descendant of Bungaree, a leader of the Guringai tribe at the time of European arrival. Laurie’s people have been custodians of Guringai Country for around 40,000 years. He started Guringai Aboriginal Tours as a way to keep his people’s traditions alive.

Walking the Basin Track you’ll discover ancient rock art and learn not only how Laurie’s ancestors cared for the land – but also how it cared for them.

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Sand Dune Adventures

Tours: 

• Indigenous culture, sandboarding and quad bike tour (1.5 hours)

Location: Worimi Country / Port Stephens
Price: $135 per person

Learn about Aboriginal cultures on the beautiful Mid-North Coast, while riding and sliding around the Stockton Beach sand dunes near Port Stephens.

You’ll discover bush resources and dig for freshwater, before racing around the dunes on quad bikes, riding past ancient campsites and middens. You’ll also get to sandboard down the largest moving coastal dunes in the southern hemisphere!

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Aboriginal Blue Mountains Walkabout

Tour: 

• Blue Mountains Walkabout (6 hours)

Location: Dharug and Gundungurra Country / Blue Mountains
Price: $95 per person

Join this walkabout songline of sacred sites in the Blue Mountains and connect to the culture of the Darug language group. Walk gently with your local Aboriginal guide Evan Yanna Muru and discover ‘The Dreaming’.

Venturing into the rainforest you’ll taste bush foods, learn about bush medicines, and try creative ochre bark and body painting. This tour isn’t just about uncovering the Aboriginal cultures, but also gaining ancient knowledge that’ll enrich your own life.

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The Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney

Tours:

• Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tour (1 hour)
• Aboriginal Harbour Heritage Tour (1 hour)

Location: Gadigal Country / Sydney
Price: $30 per adult and $20 per child, under 6 free

Gain a new perspective on Sydney’s history as you immerse yourself in the culture of the Gadigal people. There are two Inidgenous tours to choose from in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, both led by a First Nations guide.

Take the Bush Tucker tour to learn about and taste Indigenous bush foods. Or stroll along the Harbour foreshore and hear stories of the Gadigal lifestyle, traditions, and connection to Country.

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Bondi Walking Tours

Tour:

• Bondi Aboriginal Walking Tour

Location: Bidjigal and Gadigal Country / Bondi
Price: Enquire for prices

Join First Nations artist, teacher, and performer Walangari Karntawarra as he leads you on a tour of Bondi.

An Aboriginal elder and Bondi resident, Walangari shares his knowledge of ancient Indigenous rock carvings, as well as traditional bush foods and medicines that still grow along the coast today.

You’ll gain valuable insight into the history of Bondi beyond the crowds of Sydney’s most famous beach.

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Firescreek Botanical Winery

Tour:

• Firescreek Aboriginal Storytelling and Wine Tasting Experience (1.5 hours)

Location: Kuring-gai Country / Holgate
Price: $150 per adult and $75 per child, under 3 free

Head to the Firescreek Botanical Winery to meet a local Darkinjung Elder and share in traditional Aboriginal stories. In this unique setting, you’ll participate in a discussion and tasting of native bush tucker, as well as examine traditional Inidgenous tools and artefacts.

To finish, the Firescreek winemaker will take you through a tasting of their wines made with native botanicals.

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Bundyi Cultural Tours

Tours:

• Taste of Wiradjuri Tour (1 day)
• Aboriginal Special Places Tour (half day)
• Aboriginal Walkabout Tour (2 hours)

Location: Wiradjuri Country / Wagga Wagga
Prices: Starting from $88

Explore regional NSW with Wiradjuri man Mark Saddler on his bus or walking tours through the Wagga Wagga region.

Mark’s aim is to connect you with his land and teach the ways of his people, with time to look, smell, touch, and immerse yourself in his ancient Country and culture.

Choose from bus tour options or the Aboriginal Walkabout in central Wagga Wagga along the Marrambidya Bila / Murrumbidgee River.

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Bridge Climb Sydney

Tour:

• Burrawa Indigenous Climb – Sydney Harbour Bridge (3 hours)

Location: Gadigal Country / Sydney
Price: Starting from $328 per adult and $149 per child

Gain a fresh perspective of Sydney Harbour as you climb the Harbour Bridge with an Aboriginal storyteller as your guide. Connect to the city like never before as you take on the 1,332 steps and experience 360-degree views from the top.

Along your journey, you’ll learn the Indigenous history of the area, as well as the origins of Aboriginal places names Bennelong and Barangaroo. Simultaneously feel on top of the world, yet grounded by the connection to First Nations culture.

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Southbound Escapes

Tour:

• Self-guided E-Bike Tour (4 hours)
• Tread Lightly Two Worlds Cultural Tour (8 hours)
• Bush Tucker and Bush Medicine Cultural Walk (6 hours)

Location: Yuin Country / Narooma
Price: Starting from $295

Connect with a local Yuin Elder to explore the First Nations cultural heritage of the NSW South Coast.

Choose two wheels for a self-guided tour, including a meeting with a Yuin Nation guide, or take a full-day tour of the Tilba area, including meeting your Yuin guide, a historical walking tour, and lunch at a local winery.

You can also take a cultural walk on the Bingi Dreaming Track in the Eurobodalla National Park.

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FAQs About Aboriginal-Led Tours in NSW

Can I take a private Aboriginal-led tour in NSW?

Yes, many of these tour operators offer private tour options – contact them directly to find out more.

There are also some excellent immersive Aboriginal-led experiences that you can participate in, with private options available as well. Try a Bush to Bowl Workshop in Terrey Hills, the Warakirri Dining Experience in Mudgee or an Art Workshop with Kate Constantine in the Northern Rivers region.

How can I learn about Aboriginal culture without taking a tour?

Taking an Aboriginal-led tour isn’t just a valuable experience for you, but it’s a great way to better understand, connect to, and support First Nations people. However, if you’re not able to take a tour, there are other ways you can support Aboriginal Australians.

Time to go on an Aboriginal-Led Tour in NSW

Wherever you’re exploring NSW, incorporating an Aboriginal-led tour into your adventures is sure to be an enlightening and rewarding experience. Hopefully this list gives you inspiration to connect deeper to our First Nations peoples and culture – don’t forget to share it with your mates to plan your next adventure together!

Photos thanks to Destination NSW