Day trip to the Tasman Peninsula

The Tasman Peninsula is home to the fascinating UNESCO Port Arthur site, a former convict settlement. It also has some of the most stunning coastlines and nature Tasmania has to offer.

How to get there

The Tasman Peninsula takes about 1hr from Hobart. Drive East from the city across the bridge and past the Airport. Follow the A9 through Dunalley and continue onto the Peninsula.

What to do

As you drive along, there will be many viewpoints and places to stop at to enjoy the coastline.

Eagles View

About 15 minutes after Dunalley, turn left at Pirates Bay Drive. As you wind up the road, you will come to the top point at Eagle’s View. This is a magnificent view and there are picnic tables if you want to enjoy a packed lunch.

Tessellated Pavement

As you wind back down Pirates Bay Drive, you will see the sign for the Tessellated Pavements. The track starts with a beautiful view of the coastline and Pirates Bay.

Head down the track and you will see the coast lined with tessellated pavement. This is a beautiful track that follows the coast for a few kilometres if you’re up for a walk!

Shortly after you head back onto A9 you will be at Eaglehawk Neck, a beautiful drive on a narrow stretch of road with bays on both sides.

Lunch spot with a view

Turn off the A9 onto Blowhole Road on C338. This follows the coastline of Pirate Bay and after 2kms you will see the adorable Havnabite Tucker on the right. This cafe has everything you could want after working up an appetite sightseeing! There is wood fired pizzas, burgers, fish and chips and more. But the best part is the unbeatable view of the bay.

Blowhole

Continue down Blowhole Road for a few more minutes and you will reach the end of the road, which is the Blowhole. This is on the very edge of the coast and you can see some great rugged coastline with gushing ocean waters slapping against it. There is a nice short walking track you can take around it.

Tasman Arch

Go back up Blowhole Road for a minute and then turn left at Tasmans Arch Road to continue down C338. Continue a few minutes until you reach Tasmans Arch. There is a viewing platform where you can take a look at this fascinating natural formation.

Devil’s Kitchen

Continue just a minute down the road from the Tasman Arch and you will reach another great viewpoint, Devil’s Kitchen. There is a short track you can take to have a look at different areas of the coastline here.

Devil’s Kitchen

Waterfall Bay walking track

From the Devil’s Kitchen carpark, there is an amazing coastal walk called the Waterfall Bay walking track. This takes about 1hr return. The first 300m is an inland bush walk and then it extends to the coast for breathtaking views for the rest of the way. These are some of the most incredible coastlines I have ever seen.

This route took most of the day, but if you have the time, you can drive back up the C338 and then onto the A9 down to Port Arthur.  I would allow a full day to discover Port Arthur and its surrounds.