If you’ve made it to Hobart, you’re already in one of Australia’s most underrated cities. But the real magic of Tasmania begins the moment you leave town. Within two hours of the CBD, you’ll find UNESCO World Heritage convict ruins, remote island wilderness, ancient rainforest waterfalls, and a Georgian village that feels lifted straight from the English countryside.
Tasmania is tailor-made for road trips. The roads are quiet, the distances are manageable, and almost every route comes with a side of extraordinary scenery. Whether you’re planning a series of day trips or stringing together a week-long self-drive itinerary, these five destinations should be at the top of your list.
Here’s everything you need to know, including driving directions, entry costs, best times to visit, and a few gems that most visitors walk straight past.
1. Port Arthur Historic Site
Distance from Hobart: 97 km | Drive time: 1 hour 20 minutes | Route: A3 Tasman Highway → A9 Arthur Highway via Sorell
No list of places to visit near Hobart would be complete without Port Arthur, and there’s a reason it tops every single one. This sprawling UNESCO World Heritage–listed convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula is Australia’s most significant — and most haunting — historical site, attracting over 250,000 visitors every year.
The ruins are extraordinary. The roofless Penitentiary, the eerie Separate Prison where inmates were kept in near-total silence, the elegant Gothic church, the Commandant’s House overlooking the harbour, together they paint a vivid, deeply human picture of Australia’s convict era. Your entry ticket includes a 25-minute harbour cruise, a guided walking tour, and access to all buildings and grounds. Pick up a Playing Card at the gate and follow your convict’s story through the interactive gallery, it’s a small touch that makes the experience surprisingly personal.
One attraction that gets overlooked is the 1996 Memorial Garden, a quiet grove of 35 trees (one for each victim of the tragedy). If you visit in October, the Huon pines planted there are in bloom. It’s emotionally significant and deserves a few quiet minutes.
For the best version of Port Arthur, consider booking the Ghost Tour, a lantern-lit 90-minute evening walk through the ruins with a storytelling guide. It runs Wednesday to Sunday, is capped at 25 people, and books out fast. Many seasoned travellers plan their visit around it.
Practical info:
- Entry: $53 adult / $26 child (7–17) / $127 family. Ticket valid for two consecutive days.
- Open: 9am–5pm daily
- Ghost Tour: additional fee, bookings essential
- Facilities: two cafés, gift shop, wheelchair hire, courtesy buggy service
- Insider tip: Arrive before 9am for parking and quiet. Combine with a stop at the Coal Mines Historic Site at Saltwater River (roughly 20 min away), which is free and run by the same authority and often skipped by most day-trippers entirely.
Best time to visit: Year-round, though winter offers the quietest experience and the most atmospheric ghost tours. Summer weekends can be extremely busy, mid-week visits are noticeably more peaceful.
2. Bruny Island
Distance from Hobart: 40 km drive to Kettering + 15-minute ferry crossing | Drive time: 1 hour total | Route: A6 Southern Outlet → B68 Channel Highway to Kettering
Bruny Island is one of those places that rewards the extra effort of getting there. The ferry crossing from Kettering takes just 15 minutes, but the moment you roll off the ramp, Tasmania’s pace slows to something close to silence. The island stretches 50 km north to south, split into two landmasses connected by a narrow sand isthmus called The Neck and from the 270-step lookout at the top, you can see both the Southern Ocean and the D’Entrecasteaux Channel at the same time. It’s one of the finest views in all of Tasmania.
The drawcard that most people come for is the Pennicott Wilderness Journey — a three-hour high-speed inflatable boat ride around South Bruny’s wild coastline past 272-metre sea cliffs (some of Australia’s highest), sea caves, blowholes, and a seal colony at The Friars. It’s loud, wet, and completely exhilarating. Book well ahead in summer; it regularly sells out.
But Bruny Island is also a genuinely excellent food destination. Get Shucked Oyster Farm serves the island’s famous Pacific oysters shucked to order, eaten with a squeeze of lemon on a picnic table overlooking the bay. Bruny Island Cheese & Beer Co makes artisan cheeses and craft ales on site. Pick up a honey from Bruny Island Premium Honey, whose bees are among the few in the world certified free of Varroa mite. This is a place to eat slowly.
Keep your eyes open for white wallabies, Bruny Island is home to a population of rare albino Bennett’s wallabies that are virtually unique to this stretch of coastline. Adventure Bay has the best sightings at dusk.
Practical info:
- Ferry: SeaLink operates the Kettering–Roberts Point crossing. Vehicle return: $50.60 (car + driver), all passengers free. No booking — first come, first served. In summer, arrive early; wait times can stretch to 2 hours.
- Pennicott Wilderness Cruise: $180 adult (cruise only); book directly at brunyislandcruises.com.au
- Open: Ferry runs from 6:10am, last sailing 7pm in summer
- No ATMs on the island — bring cash
- Insider tip: Dusk penguin viewing at The Neck is ranger-supervised and genuinely special. Check the Parks Tasmania website for seasonal availability.
Best time to visit: Summer for beaches, penguins, and full cruise operations. Winter for Aurora Australis hunting on the island’s dark beaches and cheaper ferry fares ($37.50 Saver).
3. Mount Field National Park
Distance from Hobart: 73 km | Drive time: 1 hour | Route: A1 Brooker Highway → A10 Lyell Highway → B62/B61 via New Norfolk
Tasmania’s oldest national park, established in 1916, punches well above its weight. Mount Field is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area — one of the largest temperate rainforests on Earth — and it delivers the kind of scenery that stops you mid-sentence.
The centrepiece is Russell Falls, a three-tiered cascade dropping through a cathedral of tree ferns that’s been drawing visitors since the 19th century. The return walk from the car park takes around 25 minutes on a well-formed, wheelchair-accessible track. It’s Tasmania’s most photographed waterfall, and it earns the title. Extend the walk to the Three Falls Circuit (Lady Barron Falls and Horseshoe Falls complete the set) for a more satisfying 90-minute loop, or continue uphill to the Tall Trees Walk past Eucalyptus regnans — the world’s tallest flowering plant, with some specimens pushing 85+ metres.
For serious walkers, the Tarn Shelf Circuit is a genuine highlight of the Tasmanian walking calendar. This 12–15 km alpine route (allow 5–7 hours) runs along the Rodway Range through a chain of glacial tarns and buttongrass moorland, with views that stretch across the wilderness on a clear day. You’ll need to drive up Lake Dobson Road (unsealed, narrow, 16 km — passable in 2WD with care) to access the trailhead.
Keep an eye out for pademelons on the Russell Falls track — they’re accustomed to visitors and often spotted grazing at the track edges at dawn and dusk. At night, the approach to the falls passes through a natural glow worm colony.
Practical info:
- Entry: $46.60 per vehicle (up to 8 people, daily pass). Annual all-parks pass $99.20 — worthwhile for a week-long Tasmania road trip.
- Visitor centre: 9am–5pm (summer), 9am–4pm (winter)
- Lake Dobson Road: closed during heavy snow, occasionally requiring chains in winter
- Facilities: Waterfalls Café, BBQ areas, toilets
- Insider tip: On the drive back to Hobart, stop at the Salmon Ponds heritage trout hatchery near Plenty. It’s $10 entry, has beautiful ornamental gardens, and a café serving excellent pancakes. Most visitors drive straight past it.
Best time to visit: Late April to May is exceptional — this is when the Nothofagus gunnii (fagus), Australia’s only winter-deciduous native tree, turns the alpine hillsides gold and russet. The turning of the fagus is a genuinely special Tasmanian event. Winter brings cross-country skiing at Mount Mawson and snow-covered fairy-tale landscapes; summer offers full access to all trails.
4. Richmond
Distance from Hobart: 27 km | Drive time: 25 minutes | Route: A3 Tasman Highway → B31 Richmond Road
Richmond is the closest destination on this list and arguably the most charming. This perfectly preserved Georgian village in the Coal River Valley sits just 25 minutes from Hobart, and wandering its sandstone streets genuinely feels like stepping into another century.
The centrepiece is the Richmond Bridge, completed between 1823 and 1825 and built by convict labour, it’s Australia’s oldest intact stone bridge, still in daily use, and irresistibly photogenic from the riverbank below. Walk across it slowly. Feed the ducks on the Coal River. Then make your way up Bridge Street to Richmond Gaol, the oldest intact gaol in Australia. It’s a self-guided experience through the original solitary confinement cells (1 metre by 2 metres — barely enough to stand), flogging yards, and colonial courtrooms. Sobering and well-presented.
The village is also home to Old Hobart Town Model Village, a meticulously detailed recreation of 1820s Hobart with over 60 sandstone buildings in miniature, an oddly captivating 45 minutes for visitors of all ages.
Beyond the heritage sites, Richmond has quietly become one of Tasmania’s best spots for a long lunch. The Coal River Valley surrounding the village is home to 20+ cellar doors, Pooley Wines, Puddleduck Vineyard, and Frogmore Creek among the standouts, producing cool-climate Pinot Noir and Riesling that hold their own against anything on the mainland. Pick up a curried scallop pie from Richmond Bakery for the road.
Practical info:
- Richmond Bridge: Free, open 24/7
- Richmond Gaol: $12 adult / $6 child (5–16) / $30 family. Open 9am–5pm daily.
- Old Hobart Town Model Village: $17.50 adult. Open 9am–5pm daily.
- Parking: free street parking along Bridge and William Streets; can fill on summer weekends
- Insider tip: St Luke’s Anglican Church at the top of the hill is one of Tasmania’s oldest intact churches and far less visited than the gaol and bridge. The interior is simple and beautiful. Worth five minutes.
Best time to visit: Autumn harvest season (March–May) for winery visits and mild walking weather. The village suits any season but gets congested with tour buses on weekday mornings — aim for a late-morning arrival or weekend visit for a more relaxed pace.
5. Tahune AirWalk & the Huon Valley
Distance from Hobart: 90 km | Drive time: 1 hour 30 minutes | Route: A6 Southern Outlet → A6 Huon Highway through Huonville to Geeveston → C632 Arve Road
The Tahune AirWalk is the kind of attraction that sounds gimmicky until you’re standing 50 metres above the confluence of the Huon and Picton Rivers and you genuinely cannot hear anything except wind and water. It’s extraordinary.
The 619-metre elevated steel walkway lifts you high into the Huon Valley forest canopy. The walkway is wide and solid underfoot, and the gradual ramp to the upper level means it’s accessible to most visitors. The drama builds as you reach the cantilever section, a 24-metre arm extending beyond the main walkway, 50 metres above the forest floor, where the tree canopy drops away below you and the two rivers merge in the valley beneath. It’s an engineering achievement as much as a natural one.
Below the AirWalk, two swinging suspension bridges over the Huon and Picton Rivers make for an excellent 45–60 minute forest loop. The Huon Pine Walk passes some of the ancient, slow-growing Huon pines that line the riverbank — trees that can live for thousands of years and were almost logged to extinction before being protected. Sections of the 2019 bushfire damage are still visible from the walkway, providing a striking lesson in both destruction and resilience.
The drive itself is half the appeal. The Huon Valley has a particular quality of light in the afternoon, green orchards, old apple sheds, and the wide river running alongside the highway. Stop at Willie Smith’s Apple Shed in Grove for craft cider, a cheese board, and a browse of the heritage apple museum. If you can extend the day, Hastings Caves and Thermal Springs is just 30 minutes south, a remarkable dolomite cave system with a natural thermal pool.
Practical info:
- Entry: $35 adult / $17.50 child (5–16) / $87.50 family (2 adults + 3 children)
- Eagle Hang Glider zipline: additional $25 adult (weather-dependent, operates 10:30am–2:30pm)
- Open: 10am–4pm daily. Last entry 3pm — plan your drive accordingly.
- Facilities: licensed café, gift shop, toilets, free parking
- No mobile reception on Arve Road — download offline maps
- Watch for logging trucks on the Arve Road approach
Best time to visit: Summer and autumn offer the best conditions and full activity access. The AirWalk closes in hazardous weather. Winter can be spectacular with mist in the valley, but the Hang Glider and some activities don’t operate. Arrive by midday at the latest to make the most of the 4pm close.
Planning Your Hobart Road Trip: A Few Practical Notes
On the road: Tasmanian roads are narrower and more winding than the mainland. Wildlife, particularly wombats, wallabies, and pademelons, is a genuine hazard at dusk and dawn. Avoid driving after dark where possible. Fill your tank in Hobart or Huonville before heading into rural areas; petrol stations are infrequent and expensive the further south you travel.
Timing your visits: The peak summer season (mid-December to late February) brings the best weather but also the longest queues, particularly on the Bruny Island ferry, which can back up by two hours on holiday weekends. Autumn is widely considered Tasmania’s finest season: cool, dry, uncrowded, and ablaze with colour. A Tasmania national parks pass ($99.20 annually) is worth it if you’re visiting both Mount Field and any other parks during your trip.
Booking ahead: Port Arthur Ghost Tour, Pennicott Bruny Island Cruises, and summer accommodation book out weeks in advance. Everything else can generally be done on the day, but early starts are always rewarded.
Tasmania has a way of exceeding expectations. Every one of these five destinations could anchor its own dedicated day. String them together over a week and you’ll leave wondering why you didn’t stay longer.
All prices and operating hours are current as of early 2026. Always verify directly with operators before visiting, as fees and seasonal schedules change.