Port Lincoln is a town in the Eyre Peninsula region of South Australia.

Understand

Port Lincoln today is a town of around 16,000 people, it has a foreshore area, marina district, and is close to the Lincoln National Park. Although tourism is important to the area, this is a working city, and you are just as likely to see trawlers in the marina as you are luxury yachts or tourist charters. While swimming at the foreshore jetty, you can see the large grain silos and conveyors load grain ships at speed.

History

The area has been known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngala people. Matthew Flinders visited the large harbour in 1802 and named it after his home of Lincolnshire and hence Port Lincoln is yet another Australian town that remembers this explorer. Flinders was looking for fresh water during his visit, which lasted several weeks. He eventually located some, which enabled him to continue his voyage into the Spencer Gulf.

He lost eight of his crew in a rowing boat prior to discovering the harbour. The boat was found but the bodies of the crew never were. The cape at the tip of Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area is called Cape Catastrophe after the event, and the surrounding islands named after each of the lost crewmen.

Climate

Port Lincoln doesn't get as warm as you may expect during summer, with averages remaining lower than Adelaide.

Geography

Most of the town of Port Lincoln finds itself along the coast, with beaches and rugged coastline.

Get in

By car

About 8 hours drive from Adelaide, a little quicker and less driving when taking the ferry arriving at Lucky Bay from Wallaroo on Yorke Peninsula.

By plane

• 1 Port Lincoln Airport (PLO  ^IATA) (situated around 15 km north of the town on the Lincoln Highway (B100) and near North Shields at the north western end of Boston Bay.). The regional airport is the second-busiest airport in South Australia.  

Rex Regional Express and Qantaslink fly from Adelaide several times daily. Compared to the drive, flying is quick (directly across the Gulf), and flights are easily obtainable. This is compared to the much longer road route to the north via Port Augusta and around the top of the two gulfs and top of Yorke Peninsula.

Whyalla is the next closest airport with scheduled services, about 3 hours' drive (268km) to the north. Flights there are less frequent and more expensive.

By coach

Premier Stateliner run daily services to Adelaide via Whyalla and Port Augusta.

Get around

Rental cars are available in Port Lincoln and at the airport taxis and taxis operating around the town including Enterprise

Bike hire is available from Port Lincoln Adventure Hire.

See

• Whaler's Way is a drive on private land commencing 20 km south of Port Lincoln. The drive itself is around 15 km, and will take around 3 hours to see all the sights along the road. You need to purchase a $30 permit to enter from the visitors centre, and show it at the gate. You can also buy the permits at the gate when it is attended. You can get a key to the gate from the visitors centre in Port Lincoln for after hours entry with a $10 deposit. Expect to see dramatic cliffs edges, rockpools, craveasses, islands, rock falls and seals.

Lincoln National Park

Lincoln National Park is 15 km drive south of Port Lincoln, The road is sealed (paved) for most of the distance to Cape Donnington and a well graded gravel road for the remainder. Near Cape Donnington there are many emu, kangaroo and goanna. Bring binoculars to see the wildlife on Donnington Island.

• Cape Donnington has a fairly modern looking lighthouse, rocks, and waves. Views out to Donnington Island.
• Stamford Hill at 1.6 km return walk to the Flinders monument. A great view over the town and beaches. This is the point to which Flinders climbed when he located the water that allowed him to continue his journey.

Do

• Coffin Bay with its two conservation parks, oyster farms and beaches, and Tumby Bay make ideal day trips.
• Swimming

• At the foreshore. There is a park, swimming enclosure and jetty just in front of the main shopping area. Showers and change rooms are available in the park.
• At the beach

• Go cage diving with great white sharks. Three operators have cage diving tours leaving from Port Lincoln, one offering a day trip and another offering multi-day sleep on board trips. The best time for seeing great white sharks is in the winter months as they like cooler water.

• Rodney Fox Shark Experience, ☏ +61 8 8363 1788 (office), +61 428 810646 (cellular mobile), expeditions@rodneyfox.com.au. Liveaboard trips start at 3D/4N with diving and accommodation packages. From $1,995. 

• Calypso Star Charter, 3/10 South Quay Blvd, ☏ +61 8 8682 3939, fax: +61 8 8682 6877, info@sharkcagediving.com.au. One day 'Shark Cage Diving' adventures $395 per spectator and $495 per diver. 

• Adventure Bay Charters, 2 Jubilee Dr, ☏ +61 8 8682 2979, info@adventurebaycharters.com.au. One day 'Shark Cage Diving' adventures $345 per spectator and $445 per diver. 

• You can swim with the tuna in enclosures. You can see the circular tuna nets out beyond Boston Island. Each can hold up to 3,000 tuna, with little room for anyone to jump in with them. The swim with Tuna platforms are purpose built, and have enough tuna so you can fit in as well. Tuna are large fish, with constantly open mouths, and they can swim up to 80km/h when darting for a pilchard. Swimming with them isn't a calm snorkeling experience, but rather a slightly freaky experience with tuna darting rapidly at you, and then turning away with precision accuracy as they avoid everything that isn't a pilchard. Wetsuits, gloves and booties are supplied if you want to dive in.

• Adventure Bay Charters, 2 Jubilee Dr, ☏ +61 488 428862. Visit a Tuna farm and enjoy hand feeding, seeing fish from the underwater viewing platform or get in for a swim. This two hour tour is a fascinating insight into the history of the Tuna industry and includes a taste of sashimi. from $65. 

• Swim with the Tuna. Underwater viewing, two pools, feeding and swimming. Free coffee and tea, and cookies and sausages available for purchase. No tuna available here though, so this may be the place for those who are more into watching them than eating them. 

• You can Swim with the Australian Sea Lion. A marine encounter. Half day tour including light lunch and morning tea. An experience not to be forgotten.

• Adventure Bay Charters, 2 Jubilee Dr, ☏ +61 488 428862. 

Buy

Tasman Terrace is the main shopping strip of Port Lincoln, with shops occupying one side of the street, and the park and waterfront on the other. There are some fashion stores, cafes, restaurants, as well as all the essential supplies available.

Eat

If you have been touring the Eyre Peninsula eating in pubs and at fast food outlets, Port Lincoln may give you a chance to branch out a little. There is a selection of restaurants here, with seafood being a speciality.

• 1 Del Giorno's Cafe, 80 Tasman Terrace, ☏ +61 8 8683 0577. A small cafe with outdoor dining specialising in Italian style cafe dishes along with a view of the coastline. (updated Jan 2022)
• 2 L'Anse French Cafe & Croissanterie, Shop 5 & 6/60 Liverpool St, ☏ +61 8 7609 1025. M-F 7:30AM–3PM, Sa Su 8AM–3PM. As the name of the cafe suggests, this is an authentic French cafe nestled in the middle of the central business district. (updated Jan 2022)

Drink

• Marina Hotel. A nice spot in summer, with the bar looking out over the water viewing the boats in the Marina 

Sleep

• 1 Port Lincoln Hotel, 1 Lincoln Hwy. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. (updated Nov 2021)

Connect

Mobile phone connectivity might not be as good as you are used to in Australian urban areas. Plan on outages, especially when traveling outside of the town.

Go next

Routes via Port Lincoln

Ceduna ← Coffin Bay ←	NW B100 NE	→ Tumby Bay → Port Augusta
Wudinna ← Cummins ←	NNW B90 S	→ END

If you are heading onwards, you have three roads to choose from, two ultimately heading west towards Ceduna, and one heading east towards Port Augusta.

• Coffin Bay Fresh oysters and the Coffin Bay Conservation Park.
• Tumby Bay
• Arno Bay walk along the Arno Bay Boardwalk, through the mangroves and down to the beach.
• Cowell and the ferry departing from Lucky Bay to Wallaroo on Yorke Peninsula.
• Cleve an agricultural centre and administrative centre to the north. 18 hole all season golf course, skate park, bowling greens, netball/tennis/basketball courts with coin operated lights, town oval and playgrounds.
• Whyalla
• Flinders Ranges to the north of Port Augusta and a gateway to the north of the state
• Wallaroo on nearby Yorke Peninsula (via ferry)
• Lock
• Elliston follow the coast further to Ceduna and onward to the Great Australian Bight.
• Nullarbor Plain