The Raymond Island Ferry leaves from:
The crossing takes about four minutes.
0418 517 959
Resident portable passes due to expire on Monday 31 August 2026 will remain valid until the new resident pass system is introduced. Eligible Raymond Island residents can continue to access the ferry while the new system is being finalised.
Passes can be purchased over the phone on (03) 5153 9500, or in person at the Paynesville Service Centre, 55 The Esplanade, or Bairnsdale Corporate Centre, 273 Main Street.
Fares are paid when boarding. Payment by EFTPOS only.
Prices are return fares. Effective from 1 July 2027.
Annual passes can be purchased from our Bairnsdale or Paynesville service centres.
If you have any questions about the Raymond Island Ferry passes, please contact our Customer Service Centre on (03) 5153 9500.
To set up a payment account contact our Finance Department on (03) 5153 9500.
We have some specific General Local Laws for passengers on the Raymond Island Ferry.
You must not travel on the ferry without paying the fee, unless you hold a current Raymond Island Ferry Pass (which must be attached to the driver’s side of your vehicle windscreen).
You must also comply with any reasonable direction of the ferry operator. The maximum penalty for fare avoidance or failure to comply with operator directions is 5 penalty units.
An authorised officer may serve this infringement notice (Schedule 7 to the Local Law) as an alternative to prosecution.
The following service changes apply during the Christmas holiday period:
Last service departs 1.15 am Christmas Day
Train service departs 5.20 am
Services then operate from 7.00 am to 11.40 am continuous
No ferry service between 12.00 pm and 2.00 pm
Services resume at 2.00 pm with the last service leaving at 11.15 pm
Last service departs 1.15 am 1 January
If you miss the last service or need the ferry out of hours it attracts a significant fee. You will need to contact the ferry on 0418 517 959 and pay the afterhours service fee. Emergency services can access Raymond Island 24 hours a day.
This situation can occur for a variety of reasons including:
Call the ferry on 0418 517 959 when leaving Bairnsdale. The ferry will meet you at the Paynesville terminal. This is a one-way service from Paynesville to Raymond Island. Normal fees apply.
No, pedestrians travel for free.
Yes, an increase in price to some of the fares have been applied in line with Council's annual adopted Fees and Charges. Prices are reflected at the top of this page under the Fares tab.
Emergency Services travel free and take precedence when responding to any emergency event.
Read the Raymond Island Service Charter.
Scheduled outages - we have one scheduled outage of three or four weeks each year.
Unscheduled outages - while we cannot give advance notice of unplanned outages we will endeavour to communicate the outage as quickly as possible.
During outages we put the following arrangements in place:
Pedestrians are able to use a free water taxi, which leaves from:
A vehicle barge is available during extended ferry outages.
Private vehicles are only allowed to use the barge in exceptional circumstances. Requests can be made directly to the ferry operator on mobile 0437 748 736.
The vehicle barge is used for:
The barge operates from:
If the ferry breaks down, residents will be allowed to take their vehicle off Raymond Island.
Vehicle parking is available at on the corner of Victoria Street and the Esplanade in Paynesville. Ferry users are asked to avoid parking in private and commercial spaces.
Drivers are not allowed to leave their vehicles unless told to by the ferry operator.
Under maritime law, master/s of the vessel operating are responsible for ensuring passenger and vessel safety and accordingly are empowered to exercise absolute discretion on vessel operations which, in some situations, may result in the following arrangements being varied or temporarily suspended.
Certain vehicles can have trouble accessing the ferry when water levels become too high or low.
Truck and long-vehicle drivers should check with the ferry operator on 0437 748 736 to ensure there are no restrictions in place. This should be done before collecting your load.
This approach is strongly recommended as the ferry driver will know you are coming.
A group of Raymond Island volunteers run an SMS service that you can subscribe to for an annual fee.
The service lets you know about unscheduled outages and service updates, it does not give reasons or offer advice.
To find out more, email or speak to the ferry driver.
Council is not involved in the information service. Although, on occasions, we may request a particular message. The timing and content of messages is controlled by the volunteers.
Yes, if they are on a lead and you keep them under control.
First speak to the ferry operator. If you have further concerns or the issue cannot be resolved by the ferry driver you can contact us.