Aboriginal Tours in Sydney: Guided and Self-Guided Experiences

Aboriginal people have lived in the Sydney region for tens of thousands of years. The Gadigal, whose Country covers much of the city centre, are part of a culture that stretches back more than 60,000 years across the continent. Sydney’s buildings are new. Its human story is not.

Plenty of visitors assume they need to head to outback Australia to learn about Aboriginal culture. You don’t. I have taken every tour on this list except one, and the options below range from guided walks with First Nations guides to free rock art sites you can reach by train and ferry. All prices, days and times were checked in July 2026.

Related: Get the answers to six of the most common questions about Aboriginal Sydney.

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First Australians – Guided Tours & Self Guided Tours

There are a handful of guided tours and self-guided experiences that will give you a beginner’s understanding of Australia’s Indigenous culture in just a couple of hours. I have taken almost all of these tours and learnt something from each one.

Royal Botanic Gardens Aboriginal Experiences

Take a walk through the Cadi Jam Ora Garden, which displays the plants used for food and medicine by the Cadigal people, the first inhabitants of this part of Sydney. Follow the 50-metre Gadigal storyline, where interpretation panels explain historical events along the way.

There is a native shelter, grass trees, and plenty of signs and labels explaining what you’re looking at. It’s worth exploring on its own, but the guided tours go further if you have the time.

The Aboriginal Heritage Tours

This tour, previously called the Aboriginal Heritage Tour, explores Sydney Harbour from the perspective of the local Gadigal people. Your guide is a member of the First Nations community.

They share stories of the Gadigal way of life and traditions, and give you an insight into their connection to this land and their community. It’s a chance to see Sydney Harbour through the eyes of its original custodians.

These one hour tours are offered Thursday-Saturday from 1-2pm and depart from the visitors centre.

Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tours

If you want to learn about Indigenous bush foods, this is the one to book. During this one-hour tour, you explore the Cadi Jam Ora garden and find out how native foods were traditionally used and how they have moved onto restaurant menus. You get to taste a few things along the way.

If you have more time, the Gardens also run a Taste of Country Experience, which combines the Bush Tucker tour with a tasting lunch at Botanic House.

Bookings are essential for both tours. Visit the Botanic Gardens of Sydney website for details.

When: Thurs to Sat (excluding public holidays). Bush Tucker 11am to 12pm, Harbour Heritage 1pm to 2pm
Where: Both tours meet outside the Garden Shop/Visitor Centre
Cost: $35 adult, $27 concession, $22 child 7 to 15, free under 7

Yiribana Gallery: Art Gallery of New South Wales

The Yiribana Gallery at the Art Gallery of NSW holds the largest permanent collection of Indigenous Australian art in the country, and entry is free.

The collection includes traditional and contemporary works by Aboriginal artists, featuring bark painting, sculpture, weaving, prints, photography and watercolours.

Look out for Fruit Bats by Lin Onus, a 1991 sculpture that’s one of the most recognised works in the collection.

Free tours depart from the Entrance Pavilion on the ground level of the North Building.

When: Daily, 11am (45 minutes)
Where: Entrance Pavilion, ground level, Naala Badu building, Art Gallery of NSW
Cost: Free, no booking required

Australian Museum: An Interactive Indigenous Australian Experience

If you are interested in the culture and history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, this museum is worth a visit. There is a good range of interactive exhibits suitable for both adults and children. Listen to Dreamtime stories, learn about the Stolen Generation, and view a collection of boomerangs, didgeridoos and other artefacts.

The exhibits cover the challenges Aboriginal communities have faced, both historically and today. The museum’s website is a good place to read further before your visit.

Book a 45 minute Waranara Tour for a deeper look at the collection, led by a First Nations guide. Tours run on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with extra sessions daily at 1pm during NAIDOC Week.

When: Open daily 10am to 5pm (except 25 Dec.) l Waranara tours Wed and Saturday, 11.30am and 1pm
Where: Corner of College St and William St Sydney, opposite Hyde Park
Cost: General entry free. Waranara tour $25 adult, $20 concession, $12.50 child

I joined this 90-minute tour owned and managed by Dunghutti-Jerrinjah elder Margret Campbell and was lucky enough to have Margret as my guide.

After a long career in education, Margret started Dreamtime Southern X in 2007 with a goal of sharing her cultural knowledge with visitors to Sydney and with school and education groups.

On my tour, Margret took us on a leisurely walk through The Rocks, sharing knowledge of the Gadigal people and their deep connection to Sydney Harbour. We heard about some of the beliefs of the Gadigal, learnt about saltwater heritage, the ways they use the land and water, and their spiritual bond with the surrounding waterways and shores.

I have done at least half a dozen First Nations tours in NSW and always learn something new. This was no exception. Margret is an engaging guide, and she trains all the staff, so whichever guide leads your tour will have stories worth hearing.

A word on booking: the company announced that its public tours would end, then decided to keep them running on a reduced schedule. Tours now depart three days a week and need a minimum of six people to go ahead, so book ahead rather than planning to walk up on the day. This is the most expensive tour on this list, but it is also the longest guided option, and your money supports a fully Aboriginal-owned business.

When: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10.30am to 12 noon (closed Christmas Day and Good Friday)
Where: Cadman’s Cottage, 110 George Street, The Rocks
Cost: From $102 per adult. Private group tours available on request

Aboriginal Cultural Tours at Barangaroo

Barangaroo’s Aboriginal Cultural Tours offer a unique opportunity to explore the rich native history of Warrane (Sydney Harbour) and the deep significance of the land to Australia’s Aboriginal heritage, particularly to the clans of the Eora Nation.

Aboriginal educators lead these tours across the six-hectare headland of Barangaroo Reserve, home to 75,000 native Australian trees and shrubs.

What sets Barangaroo apart from some of the locations above is that it is the only public space in Sydney with such an extensive collection of native flora, making it a must-visit destination for gardening and nature enthusiasts.

I haven’t taken this tour yet, but it’s next on my list.

When: Monday to Saturday, 10.30am (90 minutes)
Where: Munn Street, Barangaroo Reserve
Cost: $36.30 adult, $22 concession, $16.50 child (17 and under)

Nura Diya: Taronga Zoo’s Aboriginal experiences

Nura Diya Australia means “This Country” in Sydney’s First Language. The name was gifted to Taronga through consultation with First Nations people, including the zoo’s Aboriginal Advisory Group and Cammeraigal and First Nations staff.

Along the 400-metre trail, you walk among kangaroos, get close to dingo pups, look up into the tree canopy to see koalas, then head into nguwing nura, the nocturnal zone, to spot rare night-loving animals such as the Greater Bilby and Yellow-bellied Glider. The trail also takes in a Blue Mountains bushwalk and aviaries.

It’s a good way to connect Australian wildlife with First Nations culture and Country, without needing to leave the city.

nguwing nura is a nocturnal experience where you can see rare wildlife such as the Greater Bilby and the Yellow-bellied Glider. It completes the Nura Diya Australia experience, which covers four habitats and around 230 animals across 12 nocturnal species.

This attraction, which translates to Night Country in Sydney’s First Language, gives you a chance to see wildlife that’s usually only active after dark. It also highlights the connection between First Nations cultures and Country.

When: Open every day, self-guided, allow 45 minutes
Where: Taronga Zoo, Bradleys Head Road, Mosman
Cost: Included with zoo entry

Indigenous Rock Art in Sydney’s National Parks

There are several examples of rock carvings in the national parks around Sydney. You can join a tour where a guide will lead you to hidden artworks and explain their meanings.

However if you are on a budget there are some places that are relatively easy to access including:

Berry Island Reserve

Berry Island Reserve is about 20 minutes from the city centre and easy to reach by public transport. Follow the signposted Gadyan Track to learn the story of the Cammeraigal people, who used this area as a campsite. We have a photo guide here. We have shared a photo guide here.

Signs along the way describe the engravings, which include boomerangs, sharks, fish and whales.

Jibbon Head Self Guided Aboriginal Tour

A visit to Bundeena gets you out of the CBD and down to Sydney’s southern beaches. Bundeena sits on Dharawal Country on the edge of the Royal National Park, and the area has rock art sites along the coast.

To get there, catch the train to Cronulla and the ferry to Bundeena. The best engravings are along a raised walkway at Jibbon Headland. Take the walking track from Bundeena towards Marley Head and you’ll find it.

The walk is mostly flat. Allow three hours.

Ku-ring-Gai National Park

If you have a car, there are excellent engravings at West Head in Ku-ring-gai National Park. The Basin Engraving Site and the Elvina Engraving Site sit off West Head Road, between the Elvina Nature Trail and West Head, and both are well signposted.

When: Any day
Where: West Head Road, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Berry Island is closest to the city, Bundeena is a train and ferry ride south, and The Basin needs a car
Cost: Free (national park vehicle entry fee applies if driving in)

Bangarra Dance Theatre

Bangarra Dance Theatre is Australia’s leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing arts company. They tell contemporary stories through dance, drawing on more than 65,000 years of culture. Their home is the studio at Walsh Bay, but you’ll usually see them perform at the Sydney Opera House, where they premiere a new work each June before touring nationally and internationally.

In 2026, Bangarra was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Dance at the Venice Biennale, the first Australian dance company to receive it.

When: New season each June at the Sydney Opera House, check their website for current dates
Where: Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point (performances).

For more ideas check out Welcome to Country which has a huge database of experiences across the country.