Longest on site
The coach day
Entry and harbour cruise
- Whole trip9 hours
- At the site270 minutes
- Ratings700
Cost for your party
Port Arthur tours from Hobart, compared stop by stop
Port Arthur Full-day Guided Tour with Harbour Cruise and Tasman National Park
★ 4.7 · From 700 reviews
Summary
Port Arthur tours from Hobart run 8 to 10.5 hours; the coach day gives 270 minutes on site with entry and a harbour cruise, while cruise days add 3 hours on the water.
Tour essentials
Weigh up 4 options
Compare four days from Hobart
Choose how many are travelling and compare what each day costs from.
- Coach day with cruise9 hours · for each guest from $126
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View - Tasman Sights shuttle8 hours · for each guest from $102
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View - Active day with devils10 hours · for each guest from $139
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View - Wilderness cruise day10.5 hours · for each guest from $242
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View
Converted at the ECB reference rate, from-prices as listed by GetYourGuide. The precise amount is shown when you book.
Port Arthur tours from Hobart range from a timetabled shuttle to a long day on the water. Here is how they differ in time on site, extra stops, group size and price.
Editorial team, portarthurtour.quest · Updated November 8, 2026 · ~7 min read
Facts at a glance
- Our pickA 9-hour coach day with admission and 270 minutes on site, from $126.
- Cheapest dayA timetabled shuttle day with entry and a 20-minute harbour cruise, from $102.
- With devilsA 10-hour active day adds the devil unzoo and a clifftop walk, from $139.
- On the waterA 10.5-hour day pairs a 3-hour wilderness cruise with 3 hours on site.
- Drive timeThe road from Hobart to Port Arthur takes about 1.5 hours each way.1
What every day trip from Hobart has in common
Port Arthur tours from Hobart all solve the same problem: the historic site sits 95 km south-east of the city, about 90 minutes by road, at the far end of the Tasman Peninsula.2 The authority that runs the site puts the drive at about 1.5 hours.1 Every tour spends a good part of its day on that road, and what changes is what fills the rest.
The classic shape is a coach day with entry and the harbour cruise built in. On the way down, the tours we compare stop at viewpoints such as the Pirates Bay lookout, Tasman Arch or Eaglehawk Neck, and several pause at Richmond Bridge near Hobart. At Port Arthur, they hand you the grounds, the gallery and the boat, and leave you to explore.
Admission is the other common thread. Most of the day tours below include it, and the site ticket on its own carries the 20-minute harbour cruise and the short guide talks.3 That means a tour price already holds a fee you would otherwise pay at the gate, which matters when you compare a tour cost with the cost of driving yourself.
Days side by side
Length, time on site and price
| Day | Whole trip | At Port Arthur | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coach day with cruise | 9 hours | 270 minutes | $126 |
| Our GYG coach day | 8.5 hours | 4 hours | $112 |
| Tasman Sights shuttle | 8 hours | Up to 4 hours | $102 |
| Active day with devils | 10 hours | With harbour cruise | $139 |
| Active day, longer visit | 1 day | About 4 hours | $119 |
| Wilderness cruise day | 10.5 hours | 3 hours | $242 |
| Deep history small group | 9 hours | 4 hours | $132 |
Each figure is the listing's starting price; the real fare shifts with your travel date and party size.
The classic coach day with a harbour cruise
The day we recommend on this page is the Viator listing of the full-day guided tour with harbour cruise and Tasman National Park. It runs 9 hours from Brooke St Pier on Hobart's waterfront, includes admission, and spends 270 minutes at Port Arthur with a site talk, the gallery and a cruise looping round the Isle of the Dead. It starts from $126 and holds 700 ratings averaging 4.7.
On the way it stops for 15 minutes at Richmond Bridge and 15 minutes at the Pirates Bay lookout and Tasman Arch, and on the way back it visits Remarkable Cave and a chocolate factory for 15 minutes each. The group can reach 100, and lunch is bought on site or packed from home. Free cancellation runs up to 24 hours before.
The coach day this site books on GetYourGuide is a similar trip of 8.5 hours with 4 hours at Port Arthur, from $112, rated 4.6 from 466 reviews. Its Saturday run is different: about 2 hours at Salamanca Market first, a coach at 11:00, and no cave, Richmond or chocolate stop. If you travel on a Saturday and love markets, that is a bonus; if you want the cave, book another day.
What guests rate
Listing ratings, out of five
- Lavender day4.4
- Our GYG day4.6
- Coach day4.7
- Devils day4.7
- Active day4.8
- Shuttle day4.8
- Cruise day4.8
- Deep history4.9
Each score is the listing's own average and review counts range from 28 to 700, so read small samples with care.
Shuttle days and plain buses
The Port Arthur Tasman Sights day is the timetable option. It leaves Hobart at 9:30 AM, reaches Port Arthur at 12:00 PM, leaves at 4:00 PM and is back at 5:30 PM, and the listing warns that a missed bus is not refunded. On the way it stops at the Pirates Bay lookout, the Dog Line at Eaglehawk Neck, a chocolate foundry and the Port Arthur Lavender Farm.
Admission, the audio experience and a 20-minute harbour cruise are included. You can stay 4 hours on site, or leave after 3 hours for Remarkable Cave, where 115 steps lead down to a viewing platform. It starts from $102 and holds 455 reviews averaging 4.8. The fixed clock is the trade-off: you cannot linger over a last museum house when the bus is due, but you also never wonder when to leave, and the lavender farm and the cave give the afternoon a shape that a self-drive visitor would have to plan alone.
If you want only transport and a ticket, Pennicott Wilderness Journeys runs a Port Arthur day tour with site entry and a return guided bus at AUD 120 for adults and AUD 100 for children, with a return bus alone at AUD 70 and a one-way ride at AUD 40.5 Its timetable gives more than six hours on site, more than any coach day here.6 The bus back leaves Port Arthur at 4.45pm.7
Pick your day
Which day from Hobart suits you
Choose the thing that matters most to you on the day, and the matching tour shows up.
If The most time among the ruins
The coach day
It spends 270 minutes at Port Arthur with admission included.
If The lowest price with entry
The shuttle day
It starts from $102 with entry and a harbour cruise.
If Tasmanian devils as well
The devils day
It visits the unzoo with a devil feeding in a 10-hour day.
If Sea cliffs and seals
The wilderness cruise day
It adds a 3-hour cruise before 3 hours on site.
If A small group and deep stories
The deep history tour
It takes up to 20 guests with a convict-descendant guide.
Three styles of day
Coach, active or on the water
Wildlife and walks
The devils day
Unzoo and clifftop walk
- Whole trip10 hours
- Minimum age8 years
- CancelUp to 2 days before
Cliffs from the sea
The wilderness cruise day
Sea cliffs, then the site
- Whole trip10.5 hours
- Cruise3 hours
- At the site3 hours
Active days with devils and clifftop walks
A pair of active days adds walking and wildlife. The 10-hour day with Tasmanian devils meets at 20 Davey Street at 7.25am, walks the Waterfall Bay clifftop, sees Tasman Arch and Devils Kitchen, visits the Tasmanian Devil Unzoo with a devil feeding, and adds a harbour cruise at Port Arthur and a stop in Richmond. It starts from $139 with 423 reviews averaging 4.7.
The active day without devils trades the unzoo for more time on site: about 4 hours at Port Arthur, a harbour cruise the listing gives as 25 minutes, and a clifftop walk of 2km that takes 45-60 minutes. It starts from $119, holds 238 reviews averaging 4.8 and scores 4.9 for its guide. The clifftop walk replaces a coach stop with a stretch of coast on foot, which is the closest a day tour comes to the views that hikers get on the longer tracks of the peninsula, and the longer visit leaves room for the free guide talks on the grounds.
Both set a minimum age of 8 and allow free cancellation only up to 2 days before, a longer notice than the coach days. They suit walkers who want the cliffs on foot and not just through a coach window, and families whose children are old enough for a long, busy day. Wear shoes with grip for the cliff paths, and pack layers, since the walks are exposed and the weather on this coast can turn within an hour. A coach day suits anyone who would rather look than walk.
The coach day in order
How the classic day unfolds
Morning
Check in at the pier
The day starts at Brooke St Pier in Hobart.
15 minutes
Richmond Bridge
A short photo stop at the convict bridge.
15 minutes
Pirates Bay and Tasman Arch
Lookouts over the coast on the peninsula.
270 minutes
Port Arthur
Admission, a site talk, the gallery and the harbour cruise.
15 minutes
Remarkable Cave
A stop at the sea cave on the way back.
15 minutes
Chocolate stop
A chocolate factory visit before Hobart.
Cruise days: the coast from the water
The most expensive days trade time on the grounds for the open sea. The Tasman Peninsula tour with cruise runs 10.5 hours: coach from Hobart, morning tea, a 3-hour wilderness cruise, then 3 hours at Port Arthur with lunch. Check-in is at 7:15 AM at the Dock Head Building on Franklin Wharf, and the drop-off is around 6 pm.
It starts from $242 with 368 reviews averaging 4.8, and water and windproof jackets are handed out for the cruise. Lunch is part of this day, while the coach days leave you to buy your own. A similar day swaps the historic site for the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park after the cruise and lunch, also from $242, with 241 reviews averaging 4.8.
Pick a cruise day if the cliffs matter more to you than the ruins. The boats pass beneath Cape Pillar, which the operator bills as the tallest vertical sea cliffs south of the equator, along a coast it says hundreds of seals call home.11,12 Our cruise guide compares this trip with the shorter boats that leave from the historic site itself.
Video
A Port Arthur day trip from Hobart
Bec’s Travel Itinerary on YouTube · The clip loads only after you tap play.
Deep, cold ocean, thick forest and 300-metre high sea cliffs made Port Arthur a natural prison from which escape must have seemed impossible.
Booking checklist
Questions to settle before you pay
Read the listing3
- Compare hours at Port Arthur, not just the whole day
- Check that site admission is included
- Note whether free cancellation is 24 hours or 2 days
Plan the day3
- Find the waterfront meeting point the night before
- Bring a card for lunch; most days do not include it
- Check minimum ages before booking with children
Small groups, deep history and cruise ship days
The deep history tour caps the group at 20 and is led by a guide descended from convicts. Over 9 hours it stops in Richmond, at the Tessellated Pavement for 15 minutes, at Port Arthur for 4 hours with entry included, and at Devils Kitchen and Tasman Arch for 10 minutes each. It starts from $132 and holds 28 reviews averaging 4.9.
A Port Arthur Historic Site tour can also mean a guided walk on the grounds. The day with the Isle of the Dead adds a 1-hour guided walk on the cemetery island to 4.33 hours at the site, and starts from $133. Its listing warns that the cruise does not suit people with mobility issues. On the grounds themselves, the site sells its own guided tours with entry, from a short introduction to a 90-minute Premium Tour, and our tickets guide sets out their times and prices for anyone driving down alone.13
Cruise passengers docking in Hobart have a shore excursion of 6.5 hours from the Macquarie Wharf cruise terminal, limited to 6 guests, with 3 hours at the site. Ships that anchor at Port Arthur itself send passengers to the jetty by tender, with no road trip at all.14 Check where your ship calls before you book a tour from Hobart.
Port Arthur tour cost and how to choose
The Port Arthur tour cost on these listings runs from $102 for the shuttle day to $242 for the cruise days. The extra money buys a wilderness cruise, wildlife, a smaller group or a longer guided walk, and not more time at the site itself: the cruise days give 3 hours on the grounds while the coach day gives 270 minutes.
Weigh four things before you book. How long do you want on the grounds? Do you need hotel pickup, or can you reach the waterfront? Can you cancel up to 24 hours before, or only 2 days ahead? And does a Saturday run change the stops? The listings answer each question differently, and the table further up puts them side by side.
If the convict site is the point of the trip, take the coach day with admission and the long stay. If you also want devils and a walk, take the active day. If the cliffs are the point, take a cruise day and accept a shorter visit. Whichever you pick, the site's advice for the grounds alone is half a day at minimum.15
FAQ
Fast answers to common questions.
How long is a Port Arthur tour from Hobart?
Usually 8 to 10.5 hours.
The shuttle day runs 8 hours and the cruise day 10.5 hours, with 9 hours for the coach day.
How much does a Port Arthur tour cost?
From $102 upward.
The shuttle day starts from $102 and the cruise days from $242.
Do Port Arthur tours include entry?
Most of them do.
The coach day and the shuttle day both include admission and a harbour cruise.
How long do tours spend at Port Arthur?
From 3 hours to 270 minutes.
Cruise days give 3 hours and the coach day 270 minutes on site.
Is there a Port Arthur tour with Tasmanian devils?
Yes, a 10-hour active day.
It visits the Tasmanian Devil Unzoo with a devil feeding and sets a minimum age of 8.
Can children join a Port Arthur day tour?
Yes, with some age limits.
The active days set a minimum age of 8; the coach days list none.
Where do Port Arthur tours leave from in Hobart?
Mostly the waterfront.
The coach day checks in at Brooke St Pier, and the cruise day at Franklin Wharf.
Is there a small-group Port Arthur tour?
Yes, capped at 20 guests.
The deep history tour takes up to 20 guests and includes entry.
Sources
- Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (portarthur.org.au) · FAQs ↩
- Discover Tasmania (Tourism Tasmania) · Port Arthur ↩
- Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (portarthur.org.au) · Port Arthur Entry (General Admission) ↩
- Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (portarthur.org.au) · Plan your visit
- Pennicott Wilderness Journeys (operator official site) · Port Arthur Bus ↩
- Pennicott Wilderness Journeys (operator official site) · Port Arthur Bus ↩
- Pennicott Wilderness Journeys (operator official site) · Port Arthur Bus ↩
- Pennicott Wilderness Journeys (operator official site) · Tasman Island Cruises ↩
- Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (portarthur.org.au) · Plan your visit ↩
- Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (portarthur.org.au) · FAQs ↩
- Pennicott Wilderness Journeys (operator official site) · Tasman Island Cruises ↩
- Pennicott Wilderness Journeys (operator official site) · Tasman Island Cruises ↩
- Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (portarthur.org.au) · Premium Tour ↩
- Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (portarthur.org.au) · Cruise Ships at Port Arthur ↩
- Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (portarthur.org.au) · FAQs ↩
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