Arriving at Hobart Airport

Arriving at Hobart Airport – Be ready for a treat

The trip from the Mainland of Australia will take just over an hour from Melbourne, 1 hour and 40 minutes from Sydney or about 2 hours from Brisbane. Arriving at Hobart Airport is a bit of a step back in time – no jetways here.

The flight will either fly down the Coal River Valley – the views of Hobart will be on the right hand side of the plane – or will circle around over Frederick Henry Bay and Seven Mile Beach to land from the south.

You can get out of the front or rear of the plane – down the steps and walk across to the Arrivals Building. If it is raining, umbrellas are available at the foot of the stairs. If it is windy – more likely than not – be ready to hang on tight.

The arrivals area is not large and is dominated by people waiting to meet the passengers, drivers with signs and racks of promotional brochures. The luggage will arrive onto the single carousel. There are regulations regarding bringing fruit and vegetables into Tasmania and the cute sniffer dog will give your hand luggage a going over before moving on to the checking the carousel.

The car rental offices are about 25 metres from the exit doors. The coach transfer to Hobart City meets every flight and you can buy tickets on board the bus. Taxis leave from in front of the building (turn right when you  go out the door – about 50 metres along). If you are picking up a Campervan rental, call the rental company from the arrivals area.

You will drive into Hobart by crossing the Tasman Bridge - you cannot see the City from the Airport .

A note on dropping a Rental Car on leaving from Hobart Airport:

It is OK to drop the car off about 1 hour 15 minutes before flight time. This will give you plenty of time to get into the departures building and check in.

More Information > Hobart International Airport – Wikipedia

Travel in Tasmania

Travel in Tasmania

I was born and raised in Hobart, and for the last 20 years have designed and delivered interesting trips to Tassie that show visitors its unique and unusual aspects.
In these Posts I will blend history, geography and current activities to help you gain some perspective on Tasmania before you arrive.
Tasmania has only matured as a destination over the last 10 years. Before this it was regarded as a bit of a backwater. Today it is enjoying a well earned reputation as a great place to spend a very interesting 10 days of your life (more or less is fine, too).
I will assume you are interested in visiting Tassie. Getting here is simple: you either fly (usually to Hobart or Launceston) or travel on the Spirit of Tasmania Ferry from Melbourne to Devonport. It is possible to ferry one way and fly the other if you are not taking your own car.

How Big is Tasmania?

It is 200 Kms from Hobart to Launceston and the drive takes about 2 1/2 hours without hurrying or stopping. Hobart to Cradle Mountain is about 300 Kms and takes about 4 1/2 hours.
Cradle Mountain to Strahan is about 4 hours, longer elapsed time if you stop and look around any of the old mining towns enroute. Allow about 5 hours to drive back to Hobart. These drive maps will help throw things into focus:

List of Tasmania Self Drive Itinerary Maps for Travel in Tasmania

> Drive Map Hobart to Port Arthur | > Drive Map Port Arthur to Freycinet
> Drive Map Freycinet to Launceston | > Drive Map Cradle Mountain to Strahan
> Drive Map Stanley to Cradle Mountain | > Drive Map Launceston to Stanley
> Drive Map Launceston to Cradle Mountain | > Drive Map Strahan to Hobart

While travel in Tasmania is not difficult, it is easy to misjudge the timing and find you still have 2 or 3 hours driving to your next accommodation at 6 in the evening.
If you are coming to Tasmania as an overseas visitor, please look at Australian.com