Discover Hobart, Tasmania
Note: Before booking travel to Australia please check you meet all entry and transit requirements for your travel.
About our flights to Tasmania
Air New Zealand operates non-stop flights from Auckland to Hobart with connections available from our domestic New Zealand Airports.
When you fly to Tasmania you have a choice of seat, seat+bag, theworks and worksdeluxe.
Destination Tasmania - what to see and do
History, nature, art and food - Tasmania's got it all! Now you can fly non-stop from Auckland to Hobart to discover an island that's distinctively different.
As your plane descends to land at Hobart International Airport, you get hints of all the adventures that await you in Tasmania. Forest-clad parks laced with hiking trails are separated by broad valleys dotted with food and wine experiences. Historic towns built along rivers are full of riveting stories from Tassie's intriguing past. And Hobart city on the Derwent River has some stand-out cultural experiences, including world-famous Mona (Museum of Old and New Art) on Berriedale Peninsula.
The ferry cruise to Mona (Museum of Old and New Art) is the perfect lead-in to awesome art experiences. Above and underground, Mona's exhibits are provocative, intense and often hilarious.
Explore Hobart, then hit the road
Start your Tasmanian adventure in Hobart, where it's easy to get around on foot, ferry, the double decker bus or with Uber. This compact hilly city is oozing with heritage architecture, historic places and scenic lookouts. Urban sightseeing is complemented by a tempting choice of brew bars, gastro pubs, wharf restaurants and shopping precincts. After you've fully explored the highlights of Hobart, pick up a rental car for a scenery-packed road trip. The driving conditions are similar to New Zealand, but the sights and hikes are oh-so-very-Tassie.
Tasmanian art and history
If you love to chase art wherever you go, a compelling reason to visit Hobart is Mona (Museum of Old and New Art). The best way to get there is by ferry from the CBD waterfront; the refreshing 25-minute cruise is the perfect lead-in to some awesome art experiences. Above and underground, Mona's exhibits are provocative, intense and often hugely hilarious.
For storytelling from the past, check out the Mawson's Hut Replica Museum and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in the CBD. Also in this area, the Maritime Museum of Tasmania is full of tales of whales, warships and trading boats. Just a 10-minute stroll south is the Salamanca Art Centre, where a time-scarred heritage building houses multiple art exhibitions and performances. On Saturday, the Salamanca Market bursts into life with shopping and street food.
Just half an hour east of Hobart, the town of Richmond demands a stop. The gaol here, which dates back to 1825, is the oldest fully-intact convict-era building in Australia. Another history-rich site handy to Hobart is Port Arthur, where the 19th century penal settlement has become an open-air museum.
Where to eat and drink in Tasmania
Throughout Tasmania you'll benefit from the local obsession for good food, craft beer and well-made wine. While you're in Hobart, check review sites for high-performing restaurants. Brooke Street Pier is one of the hot spots, with several water-view eating places. Or for a divine dinner on Hobart's old wharf, find your way to Hunter St Precinct, near the historic Henry Jones Building, houses Peacock and Jones and Landscapes restaurants.
Beyond Hobart there are extraordinary food experiences that are destinations in their own right. For example: fresh oysters at Freycinet Marine Farm, organic, free-range steak at the Black Cow Bistro in Launceston, a cooking class at the Agrarian Kitchen in New Norfolk or the legendary communal lunch at Fat Pig Farm.
For a liquid adventure, check out Two Metre Tall's Farm Bar, where the Snakebite brew is a legend - a blend of apple cider and dry-hopped farmhouse ale. Hellfire Bluff Distillery is another dream destination, offering gin and liqueurs in an idyllic coastal farm location. Or load your car onto a vehicular ferry and find Bruny Island Beer, where you can sit under the eucalypts for a cheese and ale picnic.
Outdoor activities and Tasmanian wildlife
The best way to appreciate Tasmania's unique natural environment is on foot. The island has over 2,800 kms of walking tracks organised into more than 880 specific hikes.
Near Hobart, a day walk on Mt Wellington promises high-altitude scenery and a close-up look at a dolerite cliff called the Organ Pipes. In Freycinet National Park you can hike over a saddle between two mountains for jaw-dropping views of Wineglass Bay. And in Cradle Mountain National Park, the walk around Dove Lake reveals the park's one of Tassie's most iconic scenes - the 'cradle' seen from across the lake. Nearby, stop at Ronny Creek to see wombats grazing the hillsides like little marsupial cows. If you find yourself in Launceston, Cataract Gorge is really special - a mix of Victoriana and astonishing geology.
Multi-day walks include the six-day Overland Track, which includes Cradle Mountain; the four-day Walls of Jerusalem Circuit, an alpine adventure with landforms of biblical proportions; and the incredible four-day Three Capes Track, from Port Arthur to Fortescue Bay. If you want some luxury with your hiking, the Bay of Fire Lodge Walk is all about open fires, amazing food and wine, romantic wilderness lodges and four days of walking through an outrageously-beautiful coastal landscape.
While you'll probably encounter various forms of Tasmanian wildlife during your hikes, the elusive Tasmanian devil is a nocturnal creature that's unlikely to show up on the path in front of you. To see Tassie's most famous little beast, visit a sanctuary to meet a group of breeding devils and quolls that are helping to repopulate the island's carnivorous marsupial population. Watching a group of devils feed is truly hair-raising.
Keep exploring Tasmania
Essential information
What is the weather like in Tasmania?
Hobart is at the same latitude as Kaikoura in New Zealand, so Tasmania has a climate and temperature range similar to the top of the South Island. There are four distinct seasons. In summer, average maximum daily temperatures are between 17 and 23°C. In winter, daily temperatures sit between 3 and 11°C degrees and you can expect snow in elevated areas. The west coast is wetter than the east coast. If you're wondering what to pack, our advice is to pack for the season but throw in an extra layer or two and be sure to include rainwear and hiking shoes.
What daily budget should I have for a Tasmanian holiday?
This will depend on your tastes and what you want to do. As a rough guide, not including air travel and hotels, you should allow about AUD $150 to $200 a day per person for food and entertainment.
What are the travel and transit requirements to visit Tasmania?
Please check you meet all entry and transit requirements for your travel to Australia.
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