5-day Tasmania self-drive itinerary from Hobart

Hobart base with a hire car: Port Arthur, Bruny Island, Huon or Mount Field, and MONA — southern Tasmania without the full island loop.

Five days with a hire car and Hobart as your overnight base is the sweet spot for southern Tasmania: enough time for Port Arthur, Bruny Island, the Huon or Mount Field, and a MONA day without the long east-coast–Cradle loop. You start and finish in Hobart, sleep in the same neighbourhood most nights, and use the car for day drives rather than packing every morning. For the full island circuit, use the 7-day Tasmania self-drive road trip. If you would rather book hotel-pickup day tours instead of ferry queues and Tasman Peninsula driving, follow the companion 5-day Tasmania itinerary with guided tours.

Why Hobart works as a five-day base

Hobart sits within day-trip range of the Tasman Peninsula, Bruny Island, the Huon Valley, and Mount Field, and the MONA ferry leaves from the waterfront. Keeping one hotel means you can leave early for Port Arthur, return for a Salamanca dinner, and still walk Battery Point without a second check-in. A hire car is optional for pure city-and-MONA days — see Do you need a car in Hobart? — but for this itinerary it is the practical default. Book it before summer weekends sell out.

• Collect the car in Hobart on day 1 so paperwork is not stacked on a Port Arthur departure
• Stay waterfront, Battery Point, or CBD so evenings stay walkable — see where to stay in Hobart
• An automatic is fine; sealed roads cover this whole route
• Book Bruny Island ferry slots in peak season; queues build at Kettering

The route at a glance

• Day 1 — Arrive Hobart, city on foot, collect hire car, optional kunanyi / Mount Wellington lookout
• Day 2 — Port Arthur Historic Site via Richmond or Eaglehawk Neck
• Day 3 — Bruny Island (Kettering ferry) for coast, food, and The Neck
• Day 4 — Huon Valley and/or Mount Field National Park loop
• Day 5 — MONA by ferry, return hire car, depart

Day 1 — Settle into Hobart

Use arrival day for the walkable city rather than a long peninsula drive. Salamanca Place, Battery Point, and the waterfront around Constitution Dock set the tone. Collect the hire car in the afternoon, then — if weather is clear and you still have energy — drive the sealed road up kunanyi / Mount Wellington for the lookout. Cloud and wind close the summit often; skip it without guilt and save the evening for a waterfront dinner.

• Salamanca and Battery Point on foot
• Collect hire car mid-afternoon
• Optional: kunanyi / Mount Wellington summit lookout if skies are clear
• Fuel and snacks ready for tomorrow’s Tasman Peninsula run

Day 2 — Port Arthur and the Tasman Peninsula

Drive southeast to Port Arthur Historic Site — about 90 minutes without stops, longer with Richmond’s bridge and cafés or the Eaglehawk Neck blowhole and Tessellated Pavement. Budget most of the afternoon for the Port Arthur site itself; the entry ticket usually includes a harbour cruise and guided walking introduction. Leave Hobart by 8am if you want Richmond plus Neck stops without rushing the ruins. Full route notes live in Hobart to Port Arthur. Return to Hobart the same evening.

• Optional stops: Richmond Bridge, Eaglehawk Neck, Tessellated Pavement
• Port Arthur — allow 3–4 hours on site plus the included cruise
• Return to Hobart; do not stack a late Bruny ferry the same night

Day 3 — Bruny Island

Drive to Kettering (about 40 minutes), take the vehicle ferry to Bruny, and build a loop around The Neck lookout, Adventure Bay or Cape Bruny depending on time, and island food stops (oysters, cheese, berries — openings vary by season). Bruny rewards an early ferry and a clear plan for which half of the island you will prioritise; trying to “do it all” usually means mostly driving. Check ferry return times before you linger at lunch. More southern day-trip context: best day trips from Hobart.

• Book or arrive early for the Kettering–Bruny vehicle ferry in summer
• The Neck — short climb, classic isthmus view
• Pick north or south Bruny highlights rather than racing both ends
• Return to Hobart for the night

Day 4 — Huon Valley or Mount Field

Keep day 4 as a softer self-drive after two long outings. The Huon Valley run south of Hobart covers riverside towns, cider and fruit stops, and optional Hastings Caves further south if you start early. Alternatively, Mount Field National Park (about 90 minutes) gives waterfall walks and tall forest — Russell Falls is the easy classic. Either loop returns you to Hobart by evening. If weather is poor in the hills, swap to Coal River Valley cellar doors east of town and keep the mountain day for clearer skies.

• Option A — Huon Valley towns, lunch, optional Hastings Caves
• Option B — Mount Field: Russell Falls and short forest walks
• Option C (wet weather) — Coal River / Richmond wine and village loop

Day 5 — MONA and departure

Leave the car parked and take the MONA ferry from the Hobart waterfront — parking at the museum is limited and the ferry is part of the experience. Budget three hours or more inside; the collection rewards unhurried wandering. Return the hire car with an airport buffer; Hobart Airport is a short drive but queues spike when several mainland flights leave close together. If your flight is late and you already know MONA, use the morning for a second kunanyi attempt or a slow Salamanca market (Saturdays).

• MONA by ferry — book timed tickets in peak season
• Return hire car with fuel and inspection buffer
• Airport transfer from CBD is short; still allow contingency

Where Freycinet and Cradle fit

Freycinet and Cradle Mountain are the usual “why didn’t we go?” regrets on a Hobart-only week. Freycinet is a long day return from Hobart (roughly five hours driving alone); Cradle is not a sane same-day trip from the south. If either is non-negotiable, extend to the 7-day loop or replace Bruny/Huon with an overnight at Coles Bay and accept a tighter finish. Planning context: Tasmania travel guide.

Practical tips

• Best window: December–March for longer daylight; October–November and March–April for fewer crowds
• Pack layers year-round — kunanyi and Mount Field run colder than Salamanca
• Wildlife on dusk roads after Port Arthur and Bruny returns — slow down
• Download offline maps; coverage thins on the peninsula and Bruny

For neighbourhood and season detail, open the Hobart destination guide. When you want a guided day instead of driving, search Hobart experiences or use the guided tours version of this itinerary.