Port Arthur harbour cruise or a wilderness cruise to the cliffs

For the coast itself, the Tasman Island cruise is the Port Arthur boat tour to look at first. Pennicott Wilderness Journeys runs it along the coast between Port Arthur and Eaglehawk Neck, and it runs under Cape Pillar, whose cliffs the operator calls the Southern Hemisphere's highest vertical sea cliffs.^12,3 The operator says the coast is home to hundreds of seals, migrating whales and thousands of sea birds.¹³

The cruise starts at a booking centre at 6961 Arthur Highway, 100m before the historic site entrance, and the route changes each day with the sea.^14,15 A morning cruise runs all year from about 10am to 1pm, with check-in by 9.15am, and an afternoon cruise runs from 1 December to 28 April, from about 2pm to 5pm.¹⁰ Each boat takes up to 43 guests, with a toilet, a canopy and tiered open-air seats facing forward.^16,17

Booked direct, the cruise costs AUD 190 for an adult, AUD 115 for a child and AUD 590 for a family of 2 adults and 3 children.¹⁸ The GetYourGuide listing starts from $133 with free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and holds 765 reviews averaging 4.8. The operator is honest that it cannot guarantee wildlife.¹⁹

If you are wondering how long the Port Arthur cruise is, it depends which boat you mean. The harbour cruise in your ticket takes 20 minutes, the Cape Raoul cruise 90 minutes and the Tasman Island cruise about 3 hours.^1,2 The Isle of the Dead tour uses a boat too: allow 65 minutes, of which the ferry takes 20.²¹

Length shapes the day. The harbour cruise fits anywhere in a visit to the grounds, and the Cape Raoul times leave room for the site before and after.²⁸ The Tasman Island cruise takes a whole morning, but the operator says its booking centre is next door to the historic site, and both fit in one day.¹¹ Plan lunch for after the boat rather than before it, and leave the afternoon for the Penitentiary and the gardens.

On a coach day from Hobart, the boat is usually the harbour cruise. If you want the cliffs without driving, the cruise operators sell their own day from Hobart: the Cape Raoul option with bus and entry leaves at 7:45am, gives about 6.5 hours on site and costs AUD 260 for an adult.³⁷ The Tasman Island version pairs a 3-hour cruise with 3 hours at the site.

Wildlife is the reason many people pay for the longer cruises, and the operators describe it with care. They mention sea eagles over the cliffs, dolphins riding the bow wave, albatross on the wind and shearwaters skimming the swell, while saying sightings cannot be promised.¹⁹ Seals live along this coast in their hundreds, according to the operator.¹³

The geology is the sure thing. In the Parks and Wildlife Service's words, dolerite spires rise from the Tasman Sea and end in capes Hauy, Pillar and Raoul.⁴¹ From the water you see the scale that walkers on the Three Capes Track look down from, with Australia's highest sea cliffs above the boat.⁴² If you are not prone to seasickness, bring a camera with a quick shutter and keep it on a strap: the boat moves, the spray flies, and the best frames come from looking up at the columns rather than out to sea.

Keep your distance in mind on the boat and on land. The historic site notes that native wildlife is abundant on the peninsula, and it asks visitors not to approach animals.^43,44 Watching from a moving deck is exactly the kind of encounter the operators set out to give you, and a good pair of eyes beats any lens when a pod of dolphins arrives.