Penguin is very much a charming seaside town with its main street adjacent to the beach.

One of the coolest small towns in Tasmania, it has funky places to eat and stay and some eclectic shopping at the town’s weekly market every Sunday.

The town gets its name from the nearby fairy penguin rookeries and is home to the Big Penguin, a 3 m tall ferro-cement structure on the esplanade. You’ll also find smaller versions throughout the town.

The surrounding countryside is rich, fertile, and ideally suited to growing vegetables. This fresh produce finds its way to the Penguin Market, Tasmania’s largest undercover market, held every Sunday.

The town backs on to the magnificent Dial Range, where locals and visitors can make the most of bushwalking or mountain biking. The Penguin Mountain Bike Park is located just 2 km from the township with a good starting point for longer and more challenging rides in to the Dial Range trails including the famous Iron Tor trail and Montgomery Loop.

Penguin is a 15 min drive (17 km) east of Burnie or a 25 min drive (34 km) west of Devonport.