Maria Island is entirely occupied by the Maria Island National Park and has only a few park rangers as inhabitants. If you want to stay overnight your options are various campgrounds where you can pitch a tent, or a basic bunkhouse style sleepover in the old penitentiary. There are no shops or cafes, and neither is there electricity or potable water. You must bring everything you need with you - and take it all back out when you leave.
I'm not sure this is exactly a vacation spot for me... but the number of tourist visits has almost doubled from the year pre-covid (38,000 2019-20 to 53,000 in 2023-24 to a record high of 74,000 2024-25 with a projected 99,000 2025-26) which is clearly not sustainable for a protected habitat.
This rugged island is only 12 miles long by 8 miles at its widest point, (19x13 kilometres)
