Visit us 
Plan your trip
- We only accept bookings for groups of at least 10 students/children.
- The booking price excludes the cost of ferry travel.
- We recommend you book at least 2 months in advance as our programs are subject to the availability of our educators and guides.
- Please ensure there is adequate supervision for your group for the duration of the program, namely:
- 1-10 ratio for primary school students
- 1-20 ratio for high school students
- 1-10 ratio for children with additional needs
By ferry
- The easiest way to get to Cockatoo Island is by public ferry. The F3 and F8 services operate to Cockatoo Island daily, departing from Circular Quay, Darling Harbour and Barangaroo as well as from wharves along Parramatta River. For further information, including timetables, visit the Transport NSW website.
- If your group is travelling to Cockatoo Island by ferry, each person will need to be in possession of an Opal Card with sufficient funds. To pre-purchase Opal One Day Travel Passes for your entire group, click here.
- If you are catching a ferry to Cockatoo Island with a large group, we encourage you to notify Harbour City Ferries by email. Please ensure they are made aware of the size of your group, the ferry service you intend to use (e.g. F3 Parramatta Service @ 10am on 17 July) and where you are travelling to and from (e.g. Circular Quay to Cockatoo Island).
Nearby parking
- On-street parking is available for cars near the ferry wharves at Woolwich, Greenwich, Chiswick, Huntleys Point, Drummoyne, Birchgrove and Balmain.
- The Harbour Trust has a car park at the Hunters Hill Sailing Club (accessible via Clarke Road, Woolwich). The car park can accommodate a coach and is a short walk from the Woolwich ferry wharf. Email education@harbourtrust.gov.au to arrange parking.
The following school programs are available at a cost of $14 per student (teachers/supervisors FREE):
- Stage 1: Making History (Years 1 and 2)
- Stage 2: Convict Times (Years 3 and 4)
- Stage 3: Then, Now and Tomorrow (Years 5 and 6)
- Stage 4 & 5: History Site Study (Years 7 to 10)
- Stage 6: Social and Maritime Case Study (Year 12)
In addition, our Dark Past Tour is available for school group with a confirmed campground booking. Dark Past is also $14 per student, and teachers/supervisors able to join for free.
Our stage-specific, teacher-led Discovery Booklets provide schools with greater booking and excursion flexibility. Teachers and students are guided by the booklet to investigate the same places as the guide-led tour. Each page contains something to learn, something to think about and something to do.
We are currently trialling our Discovery Booklets for a 2023 launch. As such, we are offering booklets to groups for free until the trial ends on 8 December. After this date, there will be a small fee for each booklet.
Booklets are only available to:
- groups who request to have an outdoor learning experience on a Friday; OR
- groups who request to have an outdoor learning experience (in circumstances where we are unable to confirm an available guide).
Does your school group have a confirmed campground booking with us? Enrich your stay by arranging either a guided school program or our Dark Past Tour.
Guided school programs are available to confirmed school camping groups for the following dates and times only:
- Mondays and Wednesdays | 2:30pm to 4pm – dedicated guides available
- Tuesdays and Thursdays | 2:30pm to 4pm – pending guide availability
Our Dark Past Tour is also available at the above times to school group with a confirmed campground booking.
Where we are unable to accommodate a request for a program or tour, we can offer camping groups a Discovery Booklet.
We have education guides who are dedicated to delivering school programs at set time on Mondays and Wednesdays. Although we also offer programs at set times on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we cannot always guarantee guides will be available on these days. Further, we do not offer guided school programs on Fridays.
Between Monday to Thursday, we can (guide availability pending) accommodate schools for the following timeslots:
- 10am to 11:30am
- 12:30pm to 2pm
- 2:30pm to 4pm (school camping groups only)
[Note: We will do our best to accommodate your request for a school program on a Tuesday or Thursday, but if we are unable to, we can supply you with a stage-specific, teacher-led Discovery Booklet to enable your class to engage in outdoor learning at Cockatoo Island without a guide. Further, we can offer Discovery Booklets to school groups that are interested in visiting on a Friday. More details below.]
