How long at Port Arthur?

How many hours do you need at Port Arthur?

Four hours for a good first visit, six for a thorough one. Under three hours you will choose between the cruise and the houses.

The site's own advice is at least half a day. What eats the time: the harbour cruise is 20 minutes plus boarding, a guided tour is 45 to 90 minutes, and the walk from the Penitentiary to the furthest houses and back is a good half hour on its own. Add lunch and the Gallery in the Visitor Centre, and four hours goes quickly.

Is one day enough? For most visitors, yes. The ticket lasts two days for those who stay on the peninsula, and history lovers use both.

What can you see at Port Arthur in 2 hours?

The Penitentiary, the Guard Tower, the Separate Prison, the Convict Church and the harbour cruise. Skip the houses up the hill.

• 0:00 Visitor Centre: pick up a map and book the next harbour cruise time.
• 0:10 Walk down to the Penitentiary and the Guard Tower.
• 0:40 The 20-minute harbour cruise past the Isle of the Dead and Point Puer.
• 1:10 The Separate Prison, then the Convict Church.
• 1:45 Back up through the Government Gardens to the Visitor Centre.

That is the pace of the Tassie Devils day, which gives you 2.25 hours. It works, but you will leave with a list of things you didn't see.

What can you see at Port Arthur in 4 hours?

Everything in the two-hour plan, plus a guided tour or talk, lunch, the Commandant's House and two or three of the houses on the hill.

• First hour: the Essentials Tour at 9:30 or 10:30am, or a free guide talk, then the Penitentiary.
• Second hour: the harbour cruise, then the Separate Prison and the church.
• Third hour: lunch, then the Government Gardens and the Commandant's House.
• Fourth hour: the houses along the hill and the Point Puer exhibition. The courtesy vehicle saves the climb.

Four hours is what the Tasman Park day, the Deep History tour and the long option of the Tasman Sights day give you.

What can you see in 6 hours or two days?

All of the above at an easy pace, plus the Premium Tour, the Isle of the Dead landing and time in the Gallery. Over two days, add the Ghost Tour.

With six hours, book the noon Premium Tour and an afternoon Isle of the Dead tour (12:30, 1:15 or 2:45pm), and use the morning for the houses and gardens. With two days, split it: the main ruins and the Ghost Tour on day one, the island, the houses and a cruise on day two. The Isle of the Dead day is the closest a tour from Hobart gets to this, at about 4.3 hours.

The longest stay of any day trip, about 4.3 hours, with the guided Isle of the Dead walk included.

★ 4.7 · 1 day · from $132

Explore the Isle of the Dead day trip → Tour details

Which places at Port Arthur should you not miss?

The Penitentiary, the Separate Prison, the Guard Tower, the Convict Church, the harbour cruise and the Commandant's House. Add the Isle of the Dead if you can.

• The Penitentiary: built in 1843 as a flour mill and granary, later convict dormitories and cells. Gutted by fires in the 1890s, it is the shell you have seen in photos.
• The Separate Prison: completed in 1853 for punishment of the mind: silence, isolation, hoods in the exercise yards. The quietest building on site, and the most disturbing.
• The Guard Tower: the round sandstone tower that watched the settlement and the water.
• The Convict Church: built by convict labour and never consecrated.
• The harbour cruise: the only way to see Point Puer, the boys' prison, from close by.
• The Commandant's House and the hill houses: how the free people of the settlement lived.
• The Memorial Garden: it remembers the 35 people killed at the site in April 1996. A quiet place; the site asks visitors not to question staff about it, and a plaque there and the Gallery give the information.

Port Arthur is known as Australia's best-known convict site, part of the Australian Convict Sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2010.

How long does it take to walk around Port Arthur?

The main loop is about 2 km: under an hour at a stroll, 90 minutes with a guide's stops. Add half an hour for the houses up the hill, or ride the free courtesy vehicle.

The core of the site, from the Penitentiary along the waterfront to the Separate Prison and the church, is a short walk. The houses are spread uphill and along the cove, on gravel paths with some steps. The site's guided tours give a sense of scale: the Premium and Ghost Tours each cover about 2 km.

The courtesy vehicle runs a circuit from 10:30am to 3:30pm, longer in peak summer, to the furthest houses and the jetty (site FAQ). The Visitor Centre, the Gallery and the harbour boat are wheelchair accessible; elsewhere expect hills, gravel and steps, with benches along the way. Bring a pram for small children: the grounds are large, though some houses can only be reached by stairs.

Is there a cafe or food at Port Arthur?

Yes: the Port Arthur Café in the Visitor Centre (9am to 5pm), the Asylum Café on the grounds (11:30am to 3:30pm) and the 1830 Restaurant & Bar for lunch.

• Port Arthur Café: sandwiches and coffee in the Visitor Centre, 9am to 5pm daily.
• Asylum Café: in the former Asylum among the ruins, 11:30am to 3:30pm daily.
• 1830 Restaurant & Bar: seasonal Tasmanian produce and wine with a view over the Penitentiary, lunch 11:30am to 2:30pm daily. Bookings are essential.
• Picnic pack: order online at least a day ahead and collect it from 10am.
• Your own food: welcome. The lawns by the cove are the place for it.

Gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options are offered across the site, per the Eat + Drink page. On a day tour, lunch is not included except on the Tasman Island cruise day. Budget for it, or bring it.

How long do day tours give you at Port Arthur?

From 2.25 hours to about 4.3. The Isle of the Dead day stays longest; the Tassie Devils day shortest.

Full comparison in the day trip guide.

Frequently asked questions