Hobart, Australia, cruise port travel guide
It might be our smallest state capital but you’ll find plenty in easy, breezy Hobart to occupy a full day ashore.
Who goes there
Hobart is a staple on Tasmanian cruises from Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, with the likes of Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, Princess and Royal Caribbean. Many other cruise lines stop over on New Zealand cruises from Australia. Hobart is also often the starting point for Tasmanian expedition cruises from companies such as APT, Aurora Expeditions, Coral Expeditions and On Board, and for occasional cruises to East Antarctica with Aurora, Ponant and Scenic.
Sail on in
You’d be a jaded cruiser if you didn’t haul yourself up onto the deck in the early hours to see the long sail into Hobart, the Tasman Peninsula to starboard and Bruny Island to port. The channel gets narrower, then you enter the River Derwent, with fine views of Hobart and kunanyi/ Mount Wellington.
Berth rites
Macquarie Wharf No 2 Cruise Terminal is the primary dock, only a short walk around the waterfront from the city centre. The efficient terminal has tourist information, a currency exchange (useful for those heading to New Zealand), customs and quarantine, and a few small shops. Some ships might dock at Macquarie Wharf No 4/5 instead but passengers will still be processed through the cruise terminal.
Going ashore
From the terminal, walk to Constitution Dock, Hobart’s historic harbour, and visit the excellent Maritime Museum of Tasmania for its displays of everything from Indigenous to whaling craft. The shipwreck gallery is horrifying. The Tasmanian Museum opposite covers the island’s history. Then continue to Brooke Street Pier and Salamanca Place, whose old sandstone warehouses have been converted into galleries, shops and cafes, before heading up to Battery Point to admire Georgian- and Victorian-era architecture and Narryna, the house of an 1830s merchant.
Don’t miss
Businessman and professional gambler David Walsh is the eccentric genius behind Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), credited with putting Hobart on the world’s cultural map. Although opened in 2011, the museum remains as startling, intriguing, controversial and cutting-edge as ever, with provocative art themed mainly on death and sex. Love it or hate it, you won’t forget it. Calm your mind at the wine bar afterwards.
Get active
An abundance of walking and cycling trails wanders through the city and into bushland beyond. You could walk or jog south from the cruise terminal through Battery Point and along the coastal path to Sandy Bay. The Eastern Shore cycling route meanders along the River Derwent. Meanwhile, the Intercity Cycleway will take you to MONA in about an hour. Kunanyi has mountain-bike trails, with bike rides sometimes offered as shore excursions.
Best bites
Hobart isn’t short of good restaurants that showcase local seasonal produce. Head to Franklin Wharf for Aloft, whose lively flavours are matched by brilliant harbour views, and Frank for finger-licking, upmarket Argentinian barbecued meats. Peppina on Salamanca Place is a good choice for Italian. Tasmania has a great reputation for whisky, so stop by Lark Cellar Door on the waterfront to sample whisky at each stage of its development and see how the flavour emerges.
Further afield
You’ll get quite a few choices of shore excursions beyond Hobart, including food trails, historical country town Richmond, the Huon Valley, the wineries of the Coal Valley, Mount Field National Park and Bruny Island. At Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary you can inspect curious creatures such as Tasmanian devils, spotted quolls, pademelons and potoroos. Another option is colonial penal colony Port Arthur, whose ruins and exhibits trace convict history.
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Brian Johnston seemed destined to become a travel writer: he is an Irishman born in Nigeria and raised in Switzerland, who has lived in Britain and China and now calls Australia home.
