Drive Hobart to Port Arthur Round-Trip in a Day (11 Must-See Stops)

I have always been fascinated by Tasmania, so when I scored a business trip to Sydney, Australia that would span two weeks, I decided to seize the moment and plan a bleisure travel weekend in Tassie.

Hobart is an ideal home base for a long weekend in Tasmania. If you hire a car, the Hobart to Port Arthur drive is an easily accessible day trip for exploring things to do on the Tasman Peninsula.

How far is it from Hobart to Port Arthur? The Port Arthur to Hobart distance is about 100 km. It takes about 90 minutes to get to Port Arthur from Hobart (not accounting for stops).

Leave yourself plenty of time for this Port Arthur day tour from Hobart and make sure you allow yourself enough time for the return journey before the sun sets.

As you’ll soon see, there are some awe-inspiring natural places to stop on the drive between Hobart and Port Arthur.

A dramatic landscape photo of the coastline near Port Arthur, Tasmania. Tall, rugged cliffs drop sheerly into deep blue ocean waters. The headlands are composed of massive, layered dolerite columns and rock formations. The cliffs are topped with dark green scrub and rolling hills that recede into the distance under a clear blue sky. A black metal railing is visible in the bottom foreground.

Read on for eleven of our favorite Tasman Peninsula attractions discovered on our Hobart to Port Arthur self-drive. There are definitely some great places to stop from Hobart to Port Arthur.

Table of Contents

1. Wine Tasting on the Tasman Peninsula

A four-panel collage depicting a vineyard and cellar door facility on the Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania. Top Left: A panoramic view of a vineyard sloping down a green hill toward a distant field and the blue ocean under a bright sky. Top Right: A close-up of a wooden counter with several bottles of red, rosé, and white wine and a person reaching for a bottle. Bottom Left: An exterior view of a red and white building labeled "Museum" and "Café," with antique farming equipment (plows) resting on the grass in the foreground. Bottom Right: An interior view showing a chalkboard sign advertising "Wines for Tasting" next to a refrigerator case stocked with various bottles.

We love to taste wine especially in lesser-known places. Tasmania features some fine vintages (especially pinot noir and chardonnay).

The East Coast wine region is conveniently located on the Hobart to Port Arthur drive along the Tasman Peninsula.

Many of the wineries do not have their own cellar doors but rather work with local shops and restaurants.

We drove past the vineyard at Cape Bernier and discovered that we could taste their wines at Vines and Designs just a few miles away. The proprietor was very friendly and incredibly knowledgeable about the wines.

2. Pirate Bay on the Tasman Peninsula

A two-panel photo of the Tasman Peninsula coastline. The left panel shows distant, layered rock headlands and sheer cliffs stretching far across the dark blue ocean. The right panel is a closer view of a small, steep, forested island or rock stack just offshore, with bright turquoise water breaking on a small beach, framed by a dark, gnarled tree branch.

Continuing our drive from Hobart to Port Arthur, the scenery grew more and more amazing as we approached the Tasman Peninsula.

Our first stop was Pirate Bay which features stunning views and bright blue, crystal-clear water with a backdrop of steep cliffs.

3. Tasmania’s Tessellated Pavement

A seven-panel collage of the Tesselated Pavement at Pirates Bay, Tasmania. The pavement is a natural rock formation of rectangular, grid-like stone blocks. Multiple panels show close-ups of the distinct, flat, square joints of the pavement leading into the clear ocean water, with views of surrounding hills and trees.

There are a number of natural attractions along the Tasman Peninsula near Pirate Bay. They were clearly marked on the local map and also reasonably well signposted.

We picked a few places to stop as we took the scenic route between Hobart and Port Arthur.

When I saw ‘Tessellated Pavement’ on a road sign, I imagined it was some kind of warning about the quality of the road. It turns out that it is a striking geological feature in the area.

A relatively uniform slab of rock lapping into the sea is criss-crossed with cuts. The Tessellated Pavement is a great place to stop and have a wander around on a sunny day.

4. Tasman Arch

A two-panel collage showing a deep, rectangular gorge or natural rock bridge on the Tasman Peninsula. The high, vertical sides of the gorge are cut through layered grey-yellow rock. The dark blue ocean water is visible through a large, square-shaped opening at the bottom of the structure. The surrounding ground is covered in low, sparse bushes.

Cross Eaglehawk Neck, the narrow gateway to the Tasman Peninsula and Tasman National Park, then continue on to Tasman Arch.

The Tasman Arch is another natural Tasman Peninsula attraction that almost seems to defy gravity. It’s possible to walk up and over the arch for more stunning views of the sea.

5. Devil’s Kitchen on the Tasman Peninsula

A two-panel collage showcasing the texture and scale of the Tasman Peninsula's sheer cliffs. The left panel is a large, close-up, vertical shot of the raw rock face, dominated by massive, horizontal layers of grey dolerite. The right panel shows a smaller section of the cliff receding toward the deep blue ocean, emphasizing the height and geological stratification.

We also hiked to nearby Devil’s Kitchen on our Hobart to Port Arthur drive. Named for the churning waters below, we were more impressed with the textured rock formations casting shadows from the sun. Backtrack to Arthur Highway and continue your journey toward historic Port Arthur.

6. The Tasman Peninsula’s Stunning Lookouts

A high-angle, scenic view of the dramatic coastline on the Tasman Peninsula. Steep, layered dolerite cliffs drop sharply into the dark, deep blue water. The rugged cliff face is prominent, covered in low scrub, and the cliffs recede along the coast toward distant headlands under a bright blue sky.

Everywhere we turned, we spotted stunning lookouts along the Tasman Peninsula. Many were just a few hundred meters from the car park. We love accessible views!

7. Weird Wildlife and Squiggly Writing in Tasmania

A two-panel close-up of light grey or white, smooth Eucalyptus tree bark. The bark is covered in distinctive, winding, brown, scribble-like patterns left by the larvae of the Scribbly Gum Moth (Ogmograptis).

We spotted this weird writing as we were hiking near the Tasman Arch. Turns out this is the mark of a scribbly gum moth. How aptly named!

Did you know that the Tasman Peninsula is actually one of the top 10 places to see wildlife in Tasmania according to Travel2Next?

8. The Blowhole

A horizontal photo looking into a deep, narrow coastal inlet or grotto carved into layered sandstone cliffs. Waves crash dramatically against the exposed rocks at the entrance to a sea cave. The surrounding cliff top is covered in dense, dark green coastal scrub.

The tide was on the lower side and the seas were fairly calm when we visited The Blowhole on our day trip from Hobart to Port Arthur.

Still, we saw some impressive splashing as the waves rushed into the small opening and exploded onto the rocks.

9. Tasmania’s Historic Penal Colony at Port Arthur

A multi-panel collage of the Port Arthur Historic Site. Key scenes include: the large, ruined Penitentiary building by the water; a view through a decaying brick doorway onto a boardwalk; an interior shot of a jail window with iron bars; a stone archway leading to the grounds; and an Australian Red Ensign flag flying from a boat, with the historic ruins visible on the shore and surrounding hills in the background.

The Port Arthur historic site lies at the very tip of the Tasman Peninsula and is UNESCO World Heritage-listed.

This historic penal colony was placed on this idyllic peninsula with green mountain backdrop because of the harbor (for ease of unloading prisoners transported from England) and ease of protection.

We strolled the grounds and imagined what it must have been like to be a prisoner at the end of the world. We also explored some of the houses and gardens used by the free residents of Port Arthur (the warden, the warders, and their families).

I could just imagine two very different experiences for the historic residents.

A landscape photo of the historic Port Arthur penal site. The centerpiece is the large, three-story Penitentiary building, a ruin constructed of yellow-orange sandstone. The ruins stand on a flat grassy area along the calm water of the cove, with steep, dark green, forested hills rising in the background under a partially cloudy sky.

10. The Tasman Peninsula’s Windswept Beaches

A landscape photograph of a long, wide, sandy beach on the Tasman Peninsula. The water on the left is choppy, and the sand is covered in footprints. On the right, tall, dry, dune grasses and dark, wind-battered trees line the beach. The background features successive layers of dark green rolling hills under a grey and white clouded sky.

On our return drive to Hobart from Port Arthur, we stopped at a couple of windswept beaches to stretch our legs and admire the views once again.

11. Tasmanian Wildlife Crossings

A multi-panel collage of Australian road signs warning drivers about native animals. The signs are standard yellow diamond warning signs. The center-largest panel shows a Wombat crossing sign with a black silhouette of a wombat, and a rectangular yellow plaque underneath reading "NEXT 8 km". The right panel shows a Kangaroo crossing sign with a silhouette of a kangaroo mid-jump. The surrounding panels show closer and different angles of the signs placed along a narrow, forested road.

In the US and Ireland, we are used to seeing wildlife crossing signs for deer and the like. In Tasmania, I loved the kangaroo, wombat, and Tasmanian Devil crossings.

The speed limit drops to a crawl after dark in Tasmania because that’s when all the native nocturnal animals come out. Roadkill is a real problem here.

Make sure to complete the Hobart to Port Arthur drive before the sun sets!

Given our ‘curfew’ to protect the local residents, we made sure we were back in Hobart with the car safely parked before the sun finally went down on our amazing day trip to the Tasman Peninsula.

Hobart to Port Arthur / Tasman Peninsula Map

For more details about the Hobart to Port Arthur Drive and stops along the way, click on this helpful map to open up an interactive version in Google Maps.