Things to Do in Hobart with a Car: Day Trips & Drives Worth the Detour

Do You Really Need a Car in Hobart? 

The word is out on Hobart. Many a sandstone warehouse and cobblestone street have found a second life as a wine bar, a gallery or a restaurant worth flying for. 

The Apple Isle has slowly become one of Australia’s most enchanting destinations, and the good news is travelling fast. But Hobart without a car is only half the story. The waterfront is walkable, the laneways are lovely, but get a car and everything extraordinary really opens up. 

Here are some of our favourite places to go when you base yourself in Hobart with a rental car. 

In Summary 

• A hire car transforms Hobart from a charming waterfront city into a gateway for Tasmania’s most extraordinary experiences
• The best day trips (Bruny Island, Port Arthur, Freycinet and the Huon Valley) are impossible to reach properly without one.
• Cradle Mountain is three and a half hours north, but it needs a few days to really appreciate the beauty of it all. 
• Daily rates start from $35, with better value the longer you stay

Best Things to Do in Hobart with a Car 

1. MONA 

Comb through all manner of wild and wacky content at The Museum of Old and New Art in Berridale. Only twenty minutes from Hobart, the museum is the brainchild of David Walsh, who spent some of his gambling fortune building the world’s first ‘subversive adult Disneyland’. No Hobart visit is complete without a full day lost inside the subterranean galleries, making it one of the best trips to do if you’ve got a hire car.  

2. Mount Wellington 

Kunanyi/Mount Wellington sits just thirty minutes from Hobart, so it’s close enough for a morning or all-day adventure. Peppermint eucalypts and Tasmanian Daisytrees scent the air as the city falls away below. Drive to the summit for sweeping views, walk the trails beneath the dramatic Organ Pipes dolerite columns or add bike racks to your hire car and descend on two wheels. 

3. Richmond Village 

Cross Richmond Bridge with one eye open for the ghost of George Grover, history’s least-mourned flagellator, who allegedly haunts the western end on misty nights. Beyond the ghost story, Richmond’s Georgian streetscape, Coal River walk, famous Bakery scallop pies and Richmond Gaol are all worth your time. Each quaint cottage hides something sumptuous behind its doors, from boutique shops, restaurants and galleries. 

4. Huon Valley 

What’s the apple of the Apple Isle’s eye? Cider, of course. Most apples here have mostly become cider now, and very good drops at that. An hour south of Hobart, the valley delivers World Heritage wilderness, vineyard cellar doors, roadside produce and a trickling river that winds toward the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. If ground level is not enough, you can venture underground at Hastings Caves or walk the Tahune Airwalk high above the forest. 

Best Self-Drive Day Trips from Hobart

1. Bruny Island

Experience air so crisp you feel your entire body reset when you arrive just 20-minutes from Hobart. Bruny Island has no public transport, which means it’s a hire car or a guided tour. It could keep a nature-lover and a food obsessive equally, deliriously happy for days with remote coastal walks, rock archways, fresh oysters and gourmet cheese. 

2. Port Arthur 

Acres of manicured gardens and big, beautiful buildings hide a dark history at Port Arthur, located 90-minutes south-east of Hobart. It’s confronting. Especially when you join a tour to understand the manpower behind the existing sandstone ruins. 

Tickets include a harbour cruise past the Isle of the Dead and Point Puer, where more than 3,000 boys were once imprisoned in Britain’s first purpose-built juvenile prison. If the day still has light left in it, the Tasman Peninsula’s Three Capes Track and Shipstern Bluff are right on the doorstep.

3. Freycinet / Wineglass Bay 

The drive from Hobart to Freycinet takes roughly two and a half hours, but the view from the Wineglass Bay lookout makes every kilometre really worth it. Hike the four-hour circuit past Hazards Beach, taste freshly shucked oysters at Freycinet Marine Farm and watch the Hazards blush pink at sunset. 

Hobart to Cradle Mountain: Is It Worth It?  

Worth it? There’s really no question. Sitting three and a half hours north of Hobart, you really should dedicate at least one overnight to get deep into the region. 

Expect pencil pines, glacial lakes and the kind of silence that only exists at altitude. 

What Type of Car Do You Need in Hobart?  

Standard Car or Sedan 

For city driving and the popular southern day trips, a standard car handles everything comfortably. 

SUVs and Large SUVs 

Step further afield to Cradle Mountain, the Bay of Fires or the Tasman Peninsula and a standard SUV or 7-seater offers much more comfort. Better visibility on winding roads, more boot space for gear and a more comfortable ride on longer stretches.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Car in Hobart?  

Daily rates start from $35. But the longer you stay, the better the value.  

Tasmania has a way of filling every day with something worth driving to, so it’s worth giving yourself enough time to actually do it justice.

Summer, Dark Mofo and school holidays see availability disappear quickly, so if you know when you’re coming, make sure to book early. 

Find your Hobart hire car or explore our long-term rental options, and start planning the Tasmania trip you’ve always talked about.