Convict Life Sydney: Escape from Cockatoo Island
120 min · 3 km · 13 stops
Starts at Cockatoo Island Ferry Wharf
Six to eight teams, one phone each, 60 to 120 minutes on foot. 5 € per pupil, teachers free.
More than 3,000 classes and groups have played Questo together.

Real students playingMore than 3,000 classes and groups have played Questo together.
We are a group of language students and we played the game with our teacher: a great and fun way to practise, and learn interesting stuff about our city that we didn't know.
Perfect with a group of A Level pupils. Loved it.
Quests for classes
Sydney on foot, as a game. Teams of 3 to 5 pupils follow a story on one phone and solve a puzzle at every stop. Each quest takes 60 to 120 minutes, so a class can play one in the morning and a second after lunch.
120 min · 3 km · 13 stops
Starts at Cockatoo Island Ferry Wharf
125 min · 2.9 km · 15 stops
Starts at Customs House
111 min · 5 km · 14 stops
Starts at Commissioner’s Steps Circular Quay
90 min · 1.7 km · 12 stops
Starts at Point 1 - LBC
78 min · 3 km · 12 stops
Starts at Rumsey Rose Garden
90 min · 2 km · 12 stops
Starts at State Library of New South Wales
100 min · 2.5 km · 14 stops
Starts at Morshead Fountain (opposite State Library)
120 min · 3.6 km · 13 stops
Starts at Sun disks
90 min · 2.1 km · 12 stops
Starts at State Library of New South Wales
Teams of 3 to 5 pupils, one phone per team with the Questo app and mobile data.
A shared power bank per team is useful on a two-quest day.
One adult with every two teams for ages 8 to 11, one adult per three teams from 11 up, with agreed meeting points along the route.
Teachers and chaperones play free.
Start points are squares, stations and landmarks in Sydney; each quest card above names its own.
Check the quest page for any stop that needs a ticket.
The quests can be played in the rain.
If the weather ruins the day, the class can replay for free within 30 days.
The events and people behind the landmarks of Sydney, told on the spot where they happened.
Following a route on a map, estimating distance and time, finding the way with landmarks.
Many quests are available in several languages, so a language class can play in the language it studies.
Every clue is answered by the team, so pupils argue a case and agree before they lock in an answer.
Price and terms
No minimum group, no time slot.
A class of 30 on one quest: 150 €.
Choose a questTell us the quest or city, the class size and the dates. We send an invoice to the school.
In short
A school trip to Sydney with Questo is a self-guided city quest. Pupils in teams of 3 to 5 follow a route of 11 to 15 stops on foot, solving a puzzle at each, in 75 to 125 minutes. 23 quests suit classes aged 8 to 18. There is no guide and no time slot: the class starts when it arrives. The price is 5 € per pupil, and teachers play free.
Pupils are an estimate: groups of four or more teams starting one quest together, at about four pupils a team, across all cities since 2018. Ratings are from players of these quests.
In a randomised study of 10,912 students, a single cultural trip raised critical thinking, tolerance and interest in culture weeks later.
458 Amsterdam pupils walked the medieval city in teams, solving tasks on phones at real locations. They learned more than classmates taught the same topic in lessons.
Source: Huizenga et al., Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 2009
Across hundreds of studies, game-based learning beats non-game teaching on knowledge and retention; story and playing together are what make the difference.
Source: Sailer and Homner, Educational Psychology Review, 2020
| A Questo quest | A guided walking tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is active | Every pupil, in a team | 30 pupils listening to one guide |
| Start | When you arrive | 10:00 sharp |
| Pace | Each team at its own, pause for lunch | The group moves on |
| What the teacher gets before | Plays the whole route free | A confirmation email |
| Price | 5 € per pupil, teachers free | 12 €–25 € per pupil, teachers often charged |
Teacher FAQ