Tiwi By Design Day Tour

Name: Tiwi By Design Day Tour
Brand: SeaLink Northern Territory
SKU: 6296TIWI
Price: 293.69 USD
Rating: 4.5 (133 reviews)

Badge of ExcellenceDarwin, Australia

9 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Enjoy a rare chance to visit the Tiwi Islands and witness an Aboriginal community that holds on tightly to its traditions. Located off the coast of Darwin, the Tiwi Islands experience is led by an indigenous guide who shares local history and traditions. Partake in a traditional morning tea with Tiwi Islanders before visiting the Tiwi Museum and joining Aboriginal artists for an art-making workshop. You can also shop for Tiwi paintings, fabric, carving, pottery and clothing at island prices (own expense).

Full-day tour to the Tiwi Islands from Darwin
See informative exhibits of Tiwi art, including depictions of aboriginal dreamtime stories
Learn about ancient rituals for Tiwi burials and honoring the ancestors
Includes round-trip ferry between Darwin and the Tiwi Islands

What's Included

Local guide
Lunch
WiFi on board
Restroom on board

Food and drinks, unless specified
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Cullen Bay Ferry Terminal
Larrakeyah NT 0820, Australia
Cullen Bay Ferry Terminal, at the end of Marina Boulevard, Cullen Bay, Darwin. 5 minutes drive from Darwin CBD, free all day parking in off-street carparks.

Start time

08:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Travel by ferry from Darwin to Bathurst Island, one of the Tiwi Islands. Seating is available on an outside sun deck or in and air-conditioned indoor cabin. Sandwiches, snacks, soft drinks, and water are available for purchase onboard, and there are limited food options on Bathurst Island. Keep an eye out for wildlife such as sea turtles, dolphins, and seabirds. The Tiwi Islands provide important breeding grounds for a variety of native Australian animals.

A local indigenous guide accompanies you on your tour, which includes a scenic walk and a visit to the museum and an art-making class. At the end of the tour, your guide returns you to the ferry dock for the trip back to Darwin.

SeaLink Northern Territory

5 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Tiwi Design

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
This is a walking tour, an easy stroll over short distances between the ferry landing, art centre and mission precinct. **Please note that the Bathurst Island Museum is closed until 2022, and is no longer included in this tour**
Covid Procedures: We have always had stringent and rigorous hygiene standards, cleaning procedures and health and safety practices. During this time, we have stepped our practices and procedures up even further. Where possible we have made additional hand sanitisers and cleaning stations available to our customers and employees to exercise good hand/hygiene practices. We have also placed hygiene communications in our vessels, vehicles, accommodation, food venues, shop fronts/counters/terminals from the relevant health authorities.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 35 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

133 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 133 reviews

Authentic, educational, Thankyou

Sophie_B, Apr 2024

Amazing day trip, local guides and artists, it felt authentic and its was super educational! Great lunch, Trip tan very smoothly I learnt so much!

Tiwi Islands experience.

Anonymous, Apr 2024

I enjoyed the entire experience - the ferry ride, welcome ceremony, morning tea, tour and history of the islands, lunch and the screen printing. All of the people involved in the tour were fantastic. The artists spent a lot of time ensuring our screen prints were works of art.

Wonderful experience!

SHARON_B, Apr 2024

Seeing and experiencing the local culture and creating a screen print t-shirt souvenir to remember my tour.

Amazing

Marcus_D, Nov 2023

Vivian was an amazing tour guide; he really made us feel like his family. Thanks so much Vivian - everyone on the tour thought you were amazing. Alan, thanks also for helping us so much for helping us with the screen printing. I love this tour - 10 out of 10.

A must see for all

Barry_S, Oct 2023

A brilliant day out to see the lovely Bathurst island and Tiwi people. I made a tea towel, eat a great lunch and purchased a beautiful painting.

Enjoyable day

Karen_F, Oct 2023

The stories told by our guides and the visit to the screen printing area. Everyone we meet one the island were friendly and welcoming.

The tour was interesting...

dherszfeld, Sep 2023

The tour was interesting but for a day long tour I would have liked more content. Would like better and more extensive experience about the life of one nation people on the island.

Interacting with the...

Karleen_O, Aug 2023

Interacting with the local people. Seeing them dance and share their stories and sharing in craft work with them. I also chatted to another man who lives on Bathurst Island, fishing and catching sea creatures which he shares with his local community. It was a very meaningful time.

Not quite as expected

Sheila_S, Aug 2023

I enjoyed the screen printing, and the smoke ceremony , all staff were lovely I was dissapointed that there were no weavers or painters as this was among the main reason I went to the island . Lunch was great beyond expectations

Great day and was a good...

Annie_T, Aug 2023

Great day and was a good experience. Beautiful hospitality from the Tiwi Islanders. Really enjoyed doing the screen printing on T-Shirts!

Great taste of Tiwi culture

Cheryl_A, Aug 2023

The welcome to country, dancing, information on culture, screen printing and meeting Sister Anne xo. Alan was a great screen printing teacher and has a wicked sense of humour. Being greeted by Sister Girl Vivian made us feel very welcome and Kevin shared some wonderful stories and Tiwi history with us. It was a memorable day.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Hey Cheryl, Thank you for the 5-star review from your most recent experience with us. Thank you for choosing us to travel to Tiwi Islands. We appreciate the time you have taken to provide us with this feedback, and we look forward to seeing you on another SeaLink vessel again soon. Kind regards, SeaLink Team

A wonderful experience

John_M, Jul 2023

Meeting the really welcoming Tiwi Islanders and learning about their culture was the highlight for us

Do not miss

donelle_c, Jul 2023

I loved the yummy damper and lunch we were given, the museum was fascinating and the church beautiful. The screen painting was an added bonus where you could see everyone was enjoying themselves and engaging in their take home piece whether it’s a piece of clothing, fabric or tea towel. The staff encourages you to ask a team member to guide you through how screen printing works and use patience as each customer gets an in depth understanding of modern technology design and printing. There is a large gallery filled with Tiwi Art and Culture where you can browse or purchase something. You are invited to a smoking ceremony where First Nations people greet you with a few jokes and the rich history of Tiwi. Would highly recommend Tiwi in general whether you choose Tiwi by Design or another package. Instead of screen printing, the other group had a go at a traditional ochre body painting. Thank you to all the lovely staff and artists who made the trip very enjoyable.

Smiles all round, what a great day!!

Betty_K, Jun 2023

A wonderful experience and enjoyable day Tiwi island welcome was a highlight, Screen printing was great fun too A lovely lunch provided! Highly recommended well worth the trip to Tiwi island.

We just still want to go !!!

Kat_G, Apr 2023

One it was cancelled because the boat broke down Two still waiting for the notification Three how do we rebook for Monday 10th April?

A Unique Experience

Jan_S, Oct 2022

Loved the whole cultural experience from the Welcome Ceremony to screen printing to learning about the history of the islands. It was a very personal experience meeting the hosts and artists. It was great to see the sense of hope for the future well being of the community. Our host was knowledgeable and entertaining. Lunch delicious.

Tiwi trip

micsmate, Sep 2022

Meeting the artists and doing a one off screen print on either a t shirt or a tea towel was a highlight.. Morning Tea was lovely, tea, coffee, and damper with a choice of toppings, most enjoyable. Lunch was provided and it was great. There was a sandwich, a piece of quiche, a chocolate muffin, a mandarin and water. Our guide, Kevin, was informative and had a great sense of humour.

Well worth it.

Judith_M, Aug 2022

Nicely done… welcome to country, smoking ceremony, museum, church, explanation of calm system among Tiwi islanders, lunch well done, screen printing a great idea and well done. Enjoyed the gallery and whole day including ferry rides.

Not to be missed

Joanne_M, Aug 2022

Excellent indigenous cultural experience. Best fun & great value. Extensive range of genuine Tiwi artworks available & the opportunity to create a quality screenprinted souvenir to take home

Great day

Greg_L, Aug 2022

A totally enjoyable day. The Tiwi mob were welcoming, pleasant, entertaining, knowledgable and fully keen to explain their culture and island. Lunch was scrumptious.