Things to do in Port Arthur
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Port Arthur
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Summer peak: longest days, best walking, lavender bloom in December and January, everything bookable and booked out.
Autumn shoulder: crowds fall after Easter, soft light and comfortable cape walking, with dining days narrowing by May.
Winter: about nine hours of daylight, cold and windy capes, quiet site, cheaper beds and possible track closures after storms.
Spring: wildflowers on the cape tracks, changeable westerlies, and possible whale sightings on cruises later in spring.
What's on
- Dark Mofo June, around the winter solstice
Hobart winter festival that fills city hotels and restaurants for about two weeks.
- Taste of Summer Late December to early January
Hobart waterfront food festival that pairs with a summer peninsula trip but spikes Hobart prices.
Best things to do in Port Arthur
Port Arthur Historic Site
Australia's most intact convict settlement, with entry valid two days and a harbour cruise included.
Port Arthur Ghost Tour
A 90 minute lantern lit walk through the ruins after dark, built on storytelling rather than jump scares.
Isle of the Dead
A guided walk on the island cemetery where convicts and free settlers were buried side by side at sea.
Coal Mines Historic Site
Free, unstaffed World Heritage convict mine ruins that give a quieter, rougher counterpoint to Port Arthur.
Port Arthur Lavender
A free entry lavender farm and cafe near the site, at its best in bloom from December into January.
McHenry Distillery
Australia's southernmost whisky distillery, pouring tastings made with spring water from the property.
Where to stay in Port Arthur
Hobart Waterfront and CBD
most visitors, luxury, dining and day trips
Far better hotels and dinners, with a 90 minute drive to Port Arthur and tour departures from Franklin Wharf.
Port Arthur village
Three Capes walkers, Ghost Tour and slow stays
Walk to the Historic Site and avoid a dark drive home, at the cost of thin dining and quiet nights.
Fortescue Bay
walkers camping for an early Cape Hauy start
National park camping at the track start, with no shop, no power and little coverage.
Best restaurants in Port Arthur
1830 Restaurant & Bar
The peninsula's best table, inside the Visitor Centre, with peninsula produce and views over the ruins.
On the Bay Restaurant
The lodge restaurant by Stewarts Bay, the default good dinner for anyone sleeping on the peninsula.
The Fox and Hounds Restaurant
Pub style dining in a historic inn near the site, with local fish, steaks and a fireplace.
Port Cafe
The cafe inside the Visitor Centre, the pragmatic on site lunch that keeps your day in one place.
Eucalypt Cafe
A small village cafe for breakfast and coffee at village prices before an early site or walk start.
Outdoor things to do in Port Arthur
Three Capes Track
A 48 km, four day cabin walk to Cape Pillar and Cape Hauy, capped daily and booked through Parks Tasmania.
Cape Hauy Track
The best peninsula day walk, 9.4 km return from Fortescue Bay to dolerite columns and famous sea stacks.
Cape Raoul Track
A quieter, wilder cape walk to lookouts over huge dolerite cliffs and a seal colony far below.
Tasman Arch
A huge natural rock arch at Eaglehawk Neck, minutes from the Blowhole and Devil's Kitchen lookouts.
Devil's Kitchen
A sheer coastal chasm near Tasman Arch where waves surge into a collapsed sea cave below the platforms.
Remarkable Cave
A sea tunnel through the cliff near Port Arthur, reached by boardwalk and stairs to a viewing platform.
Tessellated Pavement
A natural rock platform cut into near perfect rectangles, best walked at low tide at Eaglehawk Neck.
Tasman Island Cruises
A three hour Pennicott cruise under Cape Pillar and Tasman Island, with seals, caves and 300 metre cliffs.
Best hotels in Port Arthur
The Tasman, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Hobart
Hobart's flagship luxury hotel by the waterfront, the splurge base for day tripping to Port Arthur.
MACq 01 Hotel
A waterfront storytelling hotel where each room is themed around a Tasmanian character from history.
Crowne Plaza Hobart
A reliable modern CBD hotel with harbour views, an easy walk to the waterfront and tour departures.
Hobart Central YHA
The central budget hostel base in Hobart, close to the bus interchange for the limited Port Arthur services.
Stewarts Bay Lodge
Self contained chalets in bush on Stewarts Bay, a short walk from the Historic Site, with a restaurant.
Port Arthur Motor Inn
A simple motel opposite the Historic Site entrance, so you can walk to the site and the Ghost Tour.
NRMA Port Arthur Holiday Park
Sites, cabins and safari tents in bushland near the site, practical for vans and Three Capes walkers.
Fortescue Bay Campground
Basic national park camping behind a sheltered bay, at the start of the Cape Hauy track.
Is Port Arthur expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | A$110 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | A$200 a person |
| Splurge | A$380 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Port Arthur Historic Site: a few days ahead
- Port Arthur Ghost Tour: a few days ahead
- Isle of the Dead: a few days ahead
- Three Capes Track: months ahead
- Tasman Island Cruises: a few days ahead
- The Tasman, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Hobart: weeks ahead
- MACq 01 Hotel: weeks ahead
- Crowne Plaza Hobart: a few days ahead
- Book summer Three Capes Track dates months ahead through Parks Tasmania.
- Book Stewarts Bay Lodge, Ghost Tour, Isle of the Dead sailings and peninsula dinners ahead in peak season.
Is Port Arthur safe?
- Avoid driving the Arthur Highway fast after dark, as wallabies and pademelons feed at the road edge.
- The capes are fully exposed, so carry windproof and waterproof layers, sun protection and water in every season.
- Mobile coverage drops out at Fortescue Bay, on Cape Raoul and in parts of Tasman National Park, so download maps offline.
- The nearest hospital is in Hobart, and fuel, groceries and medical services are limited on the peninsula.
Port Arthur travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not try the site, a cape walk and the drive back to Hobart all in one day.
- Do not arrive at the site at midday with the tour buses and leave after only the Penitentiary lawn.
Getting around Port Arthur: public transport and more
- You need a car for almost everything beyond one organised day tour from Hobart.
- The Arthur Highway runs about 95 km from Hobart via Sorell and Dunalley, roughly 90 minutes.
- Tassielink runs roughly one bus a day each way between Hobart and Port Arthur.
Who Port Arthur suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Port Arthur your trip
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