Hobart Hop on Hop off Bus Tours

Hobart offers many attractions and some of them are located at very distant points, so the tour buses will allow you to save time and also help you to organize the tour. Here are the options available.

Matías Rodríguez

Matías Rodríguez

10 min read

Hobart Hop on Hop off Bus Tours

Bus rojo en Hobart |©tunatownfc

If you are planning to visit Hobart and want to have an organized itinerary, the city's tour buses will provide you with an ideal opportunity. With a tour that will take you through the main points of this destination, you can save time and money on transfers and also choose the options that best suit your travel plan, with tickets for one or two full days and options that include a visit to the popular Mount Wellington.

On the free hop on-hop off bus tours of the city you can hop on and off as many times as you like during the term of the contract and with the explorer bus you can access an organized tour of Mount Wellington, which is located just outside the city. Whichever option you finally choose, you will be able to enjoy one of the best things to do in Hobart.

What are the best tour buses in Hobart?

Hop On, Hop Off,|©Bernard Barnwell
Hop On, Hop Off,|©Bernard Barnwell

Hobart is the capital of Tasmania and also the most visited city on the island. In addition to the historical tour it offers for its colonial architecture and varied museums, it is also very close to some of the best natural attractions in the state, such as Mount Wellington and the Derwent River. All of these sites can be toured on Hobart sightseeing buses while saving time and money.

Hop on-hop off sightseeing bus, the most popular alternative

By booking this hop-on-hop-off tour you will be able to:

  • Tour 18 stops at different locations around Hobart.
  • Use the free stops during the validity of the ticket
  • Take the full non-stop tour which lasts 1.5 hours
  • Book it for a full day or two days
  • Get discounts at some of the main attractions

Mount Wellington explorer bus, the most complete option

By booking this explorer tour you will be able to:

  • Have a day pass to explore Mt. Wellington
  • Enjoy 30 minutes of free touring time
  • Listen to the audio guide that is included on board
  • Use a hop on-hop off bus ticket from Hobart
  • Discover the 1,200-meter high lookout point on Mount Wellington

1. Hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus ride in Hobart

red bus on the street|©Bernard Barnwell
red bus on the street|©Bernard Barnwell

If during your trip in Hobart you want to visit the best museums of the city or visit the main sites and do it in a comfortable and effective way, the hop on-hop off tourist bus could be the ideal alternative for you. These hop-on hop-off services, which you can hire for 24 or 48 hours starting from activation, will allow you to use the 18 stops of the circuit in the way that suits you best.

From the Old Town to South Hobart via the warehouse district of Salamanca Place, Battery Point and Victoria Dock, this bus will give you the opportunity to tour the busiest parts of the city and combine this service with a ride on Hobart's best cruises or adventure tours, which are very popular in this destination.

Also, if you do not want to make stops or if you want to start with a complete tour to know the city, you can use the service from end to end, in a tourist trip that lasts approximately 1 hour and a half. Also, keep in mind that you can get on or off as many times as you want at any of the stops along the established itinerary. On board the bus you will have at your disposal an audio guide in several languages.

This daytime tourist bus operates from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm every day of the week, so you can combine the transfer with a visit to the Tasmanian Maritime Museum or Cascade Brewery Bar, two of the most visited sites by tourists. The summer frequency is one bus every 30 minutes, while in the winter it is one bus every 1 hour approximately.

Stops included in the tourist bus

  • Brooke Street Pier, Hobart's floating ferry terminal.
  • Salamanca Place, the city's warehouse district
  • Princess Park, one of Hobart's most famous green lungs
  • Battery Point, the epicenter of the local urban center
  • St. George's Anglican Church, the most popular church in the city
  • St. Georges Terrace, Hobart's main street
  • Wrest Point Hotel Casino, one of the most visited sites of this destination
  • Sandy Bay Road, the access to Hobart's waterfront road
  • Cascade Brewery, Tasmania's oldest and most traditional brewery
  • Cascades Female Factory, the women's penal colony housing a museum
  • South Hobart, one of the city's most popular suburbs
  • Village Cinemas Hobart, the city's entertainment epicenter
  • Hobart CBD, the business district of Tasmania's capital city
  • Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, one of Hobart's most popular museums
  • Hobart Convict Penitentiary, the city's most famous men's penitentiary
  • Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre, Hobart's water sports center
  • Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, Tasmania's largest botanical garden
  • Victoria Dock, Hobart's most popular and most visited wharf

Details of interest

  • Price: From €27 per person, for the 24-hour free-stop service option.
  • Duration: The complete tour, without stops, will take you about 1 hour and a half.
  • Advantages of these excursions: You will have at your disposal a comfortable and economical alternative to tour the main sites of the city in an organized circuit and with free stops.
  • Disadvantages of these excursions: The winter frequency of the services is about 1 hour between each bus.

Book tickets for the tourist bus

2. Explorer bus tour of Mt. Wellington in Hobart

yellow bus on the road|©Andrew Surgenor
yellow bus on the road|©Andrew Surgenor

One of the best things to do in Hobart is to visit Mount Wellington, a rock formation 1200 meters above sea level that can be seen from different points of the city and is the biggest challenge for visitors looking for an adventure tour. While you can visit this site on your own or on a guided tour from Hobart, the explorer bus offers a very interesting alternative.

During this tour you can schedule a visit to Mount Wellington, which in the local Aboriginal language was called Kunanyi, and you can climb to the top to discover the sweeping views of the city from there. Once you reach the highest point you will have 30 minutes free to explore the area on your own and then you can return to the bus that will take you back to Hobart city center.

Please note that you will not have the assistance of a local guide on the Mount Wellington trek, but you will be provided with a printed map of the available hiking trails, which are very accessible to everyone, especially during the summer. However, with the printed information you will have the opportunity to enjoy this natural site and understand why this mountain is one of the undisputed protagonists of the best hikes in Hobart.

In addition to the explorer bus tour, these tours also include in combination the full two-day hop on-hop off bus pass. This will give you access to two of the city's best experiences and also allow you to get to know Hobart in depth, not only in its urban part but also in its natural surroundings.

Details of interest

  • Price: Approximately €45 per person, which includes the explorer bus ride and also the two-day pass for the hop on-hop off service in the city.
  • Duration: The explorer bus tour lasts approximately 4 to 5 hours, including 30 minutes free for you to tour the top of Mount Wellington on your own.
  • Advantages of these alternatives: They provide a complete overview of Hobart's urban and natural environment and will save you money by combining two popular alternatives.
  • Disadvantages of these alternatives: They do not include the assistance of an expert local guide on the climb to the top of Mt. Wellington, although you will be provided with a printed map indicating the route of the available trails.

Buy tickets for the scout bus

What routes do Hobart's tour buses travel?

Battery Point, Hobart|©Brad Touesnard
Battery Point, Hobart|©Brad Touesnard

Hobart's hop on-hop off tour bus runs from Old Town to Victoria Dock to most of the tourist sites in this destination. This includes the Salamanca Place warehouse district, Battery Point, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and South Point. Therefore, with this alternative you will have the best attractions of the city within immediate reach.

Also, as it is a bus that includes free stops and that you can board anywhere, you can combine the itinerary with other typical activities of the city, such as a kayak tour or a ride on the best boat tours in Hobart, which is one of the most interesting attractions in Hobart, as you can see the historic harbor and the skyline of the city from another profile.

If you opt instead for the explorer bus, you will be able to discover Mount Wellington and the surroundings of this mountain range, which is one of the highest in Tasmania and an omnipresent natural site in Hobart's skyline. In addition, this alternative is also combined with the hop on-hop off service of the city's tourist bus, so you will also have the opportunity to get to know the traditional route of this destination.

Join a Derwent River Cruise Tour

What are the advantages of using Hobart's sightseeing buses?

Tour bus|©Mike Steele
Tour bus|©Mike Steele

Whichever you choose, the tour buses will save you time and money on transfers. The hop on-hop off service will allow you to tour the city from end to end including 18 stops at some of Hobart's central sites, leaving you in close proximity to Hobart's best museums, historic buildings and landmarks in the island's colonial capital.

In addition, it will also help you to organize an itinerary during your trip, since although it is advisable to start the tour from the beginning, you can get on at any part of the circuit and give higher priority to the attractions that are of greater interest to you. Also, you can also access real-time information while visiting each place, because the bus has an audio guide in several languages.

Also note that if you do not want to use any of the stops along the route, you can choose to do the whole tour on the bus, in an itinerary that will take you approximately 1 hour and a half. At the end of the itinerary you can get off or return to the starting point on the next bus.

On the other hand, the explorer bus will be useful to make an organized tour to Mount Wellington with an excellent cost-benefit ratio and, at the same time, within the same price you will also have included the hop on-hop off bus ticket for two full days, so you can complement an adventure visit with an urban itinerary.

Book a tour to Mount Wellington

What are the Hobart tour bus schedules?

Bus in Hobart City|©Josh Boyd's Transport photos
Bus in Hobart City|©Josh Boyd's Transport photos

The Hobart hop on-hop off sightseeing bus operates a daytime service and can be used from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm. During these hours, and for the duration of your ticket, you can hop on and off as many times as you like at any of the 18 stops along the established route. The summer frequency is one bus every half hour, while in winter it is one bus every hour approximately.

The explorer bus is also a daytime bus and generally offers services from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. Please note that Mount Wellington is about a 30 minute drive from the center of Hobart, but the tours include a climb to the top and also some free time at the 1200m lookout point to take in the panoramic views of the city, so the experience takes about 5 hours.

Hobart offers a pleasant climate all year round, although summer is a wet season and rains are very frequent. In any case, touring this destination during the morning is one of the best alternatives to get to know one of the best faces of the capital of Tasmania.

Book tickets for the tourist bus

How do Hobart's tour buses operate?

On the city Explorer Bus, Hobart Tasmania|©adriannah
On the city Explorer Bus, Hobart Tasmania|©adriannah

The operation of the hop on-hop off sightseeing bus is quite simple, as you will only need to purchase the option that best suits your tour and activate it. You will be able to choose between the full-day or two-day alternatives, and once you have activated the ticket with the first use, it will be valid until the time limit expires. In the meantime, you can hop on and off at the stops along the route as many times as you like.

The hop on-hop off bus route can be used to hop on and off in any order along the route or also as a classic tourist bus, making the route from end to end between the stops Brooke Street Pier and Victoria Dock. If you decide on the latter option, completing the itinerary will take approximately 1.5 hours.

The explorer bus operates on a reservation basis, so you will need to choose the day you plan to visit Mount Wellington and report to the tour provider's office in downtown Hobart. Although it does not include the assistance of an expert local guide, you will be provided with a printed map and will have free time to tour the summit viewpoint on your own. This tour also includes a hop on-hop off bus ticket.

Buy tickets for the explorer bus

So... Which alternative is the most convenient?

Hobart Red Tour Bus|©Simon_sees
Hobart Red Tour Bus|©Simon_sees

The answer will depend on the travel plan you decide to follow, although generally speaking the hop on-hop off tour bus will serve you for a quick, economical and efficient tour of the main sites of the city and will give you the opportunity to see the best attractions in less time. For this reason, it is the ideal alternative if you are planning a short stay in the Tasmanian capital.

If you want to visit one of the natural sites that is usually included in the best tours of Hobart, you can opt for the explorer bus, which in addition to visiting Mount Wellington will also give you access to the hop on-hop off bus ticket. This will allow you not only to combine two of the most interesting activities in the city, but also to discover different profiles of this destination, which stands out both for the historical colonial legacy of its urban center and for its natural wonders.