Tumby Villas Eyre Peninsula review | SA’s Great Travel Planner

If a relaxing beach holiday is on the cards, you can’t go wrong with a visit to Tumby Bay. The town is big enough to have all the facilities you need – but without any of the crowds.

If a relaxing beach holiday is on the cards, you can’t go wrong with a visit to Tumby Bay.

The town is big enough to have all the facilities you need – but without any of the crowds.

The only catch is you have to hit the road for six to seven hours to get to Tumby Bay from Adelaide.

Heading over on a family holiday, we decide to base ourselves at the Tumby Villas.

There are two options for accommodation at the Tumby Villas – either two bedroom, self-contained villas, with fully equipped kitchens, or more of a standard one-bedroom motel style room.

As a party of three, we opt for the self-contained villas to base ourselves for a few days. On arrival at the villas, we receive a very friendly greeting, and some help with the main reason we opted for a trip to Tumby Bay – to see the murals created through last year’s Colour Tumby Street Art Festival. Asking how to see them all, we’re given a map and told that one of the exhibits we more than likely won’t see because it was painted on the side of a local transport truck, so it’s usually on the road. Very handy to know.

Heading to our villa to unpack, we’re greeted with everything we could need for the week. There’s plenty of room for three people with two bedrooms, a large digital TV, very roomy and comfortable lounges, a fully equipped kitchen and a bathroom with a washing machine.

There’s also an outdoor setting for up to four people on the veranda, but unfortunately as we had some rather cold weather during our visit, it didn’t get used as much as it should have.

After unpacking, we rush off to make sure we make it to a place that has created a lot of buzz on the Eyre Peninsula – traditional French cafe L’Anse.

While we arrive in town a bit too late for lunch, we snap up coffees, a brownie and a Portuguese tart that you’d be hard pressed to better. The cafe certainly lives up to the strong reviews it has received.

After the caffeine break, we head off to the first set of murals, which we were advised may be a bit too far to walk to.

Tumby Bay Seafront Apartments sports an interesting mural you need to don 3D goggles to appreciate. Picture: Paula Thompson

At the local yacht club, near the marina, are artworks created by artist Adnate, in collaboration with the local Barngarla community. The stunning images are a good place to start the mural trek.

But, light is fading, so we head off in search of tea. The local Seabreeze Hotel proves a good choice, offering a great range of pub fare, with stunning views overlooking the ocean.

The mural trek starts again the next morning, and offers a great way to explore the town. It also proves the friendliness and helpfulness of the locals. We stop and chat with some women, who ask if we’ve seen the image of a swimmer and a shark at the Tumby Bay Seafront Apartments. We had, but had not noticed the 3D goggles, so head back to get a new and even more stunning look at the artwork.

After a morning of walking and mural spotting, the afternoon is spent lazing at the beach, which we are lucky enough to have to ourselves for most of our time there. If a lazy beach holiday, with a bit of culture thrown in, sounds up your alley, a trip to Tumby Bay might be just the ticket.

Reviews are unannounced and paid for by SAWeekend.

This review was first published in June 2020 and details updated in March 2021.

• 1 North Trezise St, Tumby Bay
• [phone]
• tumbybayaccommodation.com
• LOCATION Close to the beach at Tumby Bay, Eyre Peninsula, 600km west of Adelaide.
• ACCOMMODATION The choice of either two-bedroom, self-contained villas with fully equipped kitchens or one-bedroom, ensuite motel style rooms.
• FACILITIES Airconditioning, refrigerator, digital TV. Villas have front load washing machines, fully equipped kitchens and outdoor settings.
• PRICE $135-$180 a night.