Port Arthur tickets

How much is the Port Arthur entry fee in 2026?

A$55 for an adult, A$27.50 for a child aged 7 to 17 and A$44 for a concession. Children under 7 enter free with a paying adult.

Adult entry was A$53 from 1 July 2025 (site notice); the price list valid from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2028 sets it at A$55. The site takes card payments only, on its visitor information page. US dollar figures use the 1 October 2026 rate of about 0.69 and move with the exchange rate.

What does the Port Arthur entry ticket include?

Two consecutive days on site, the 20-minute harbour cruise, free 10 to 15-minute guide talks, a self-guided audio experience and the Point Puer exhibition.

• Two days: the ticket is valid on the day you visit and the next one. Useful if you stay on the peninsula.
• The harbour cruise: a 20-minute loop of Mason Cove past the Isle of the Dead and Point Puer. You pick a time after checkout. It is optional, and skipping it does not lower the price (FAQ).
• Guide talks: short talks by site guides through the day, free with entry.
• Buildings: more than 30 historic buildings, ruins, restored houses and gardens across 146 hectares.
• The exhibition: Little Depraved Felons: The Boys of Point Puer, about the boys' prison across the bay. The Point Puer post has more.
• Extras on the ground: free Wi-Fi across the site and a courtesy vehicle to the furthest houses and the jetty, 10:30am to 3:30pm, longer in summer.

Not included: the paid guided tours, the Isle of the Dead landing, the evening Ghost Tour and food.

Can you buy Port Arthur tickets at the gate?

Yes, at the ticketing counter in the Visitor Centre. Booking online means you skip that queue and lock in a time on any paid tour, which have limited places.

The official FAQ gives two reasons to pre-book: the counter queue, and limited capacity on tours. For entry alone, on a quiet winter weekday, turning up works fine. In summer and school holidays, book online the day before, and book any paid tour or the Ghost Tour well ahead. The Premium Tour takes 15 people.

Do you need to pre-book at all if you are on a day trip? No. The operator holds your entry and the cruise; you get your ticket from the guide on arrival.

Is there free entry to Port Arthur?

Only for children under 7 and for carers with a Companion Card holder. There are no free days and no free online tickets.

Searches for free online tickets lead to resellers selling the same entry, not free passes. We found no cheaper source than the site itself, and no free-entry days in the 2026-28 price list.

Families with young children do well here. Two adults with a five-year-old and an eight-year-old pay A$137.50 for two days.

Why is Port Arthur so expensive?

The money keeps more than 30 heritage buildings standing on 146 hectares. The site's managers spent about A$8.6 million on conservation in a single year.

Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority, the state body that has run the site since 1987, told Pulse Tasmania that conservation cost about A$8.6 million in the previous year, with materials, labour and energy all rising. Looking after the buildings is also a duty under the World Heritage Convention: Port Arthur is one of the 11 Australian Convict Sites inscribed in 2010. The site says ticket, shop and café sales all go back into the place (site notice).

Measured per hour, it is not dear. A$55 covers two days and a boat trip. Spend five hours on site and that is about A$11 an hour, less if you come back the next morning.

How can you get cheaper Port Arthur tickets?

There is no discount code. Use the rules: free entry under 7, concession rates, both days of the ticket, and the free guide talks in place of a paid tour.

• Come back on day two. The ticket covers it at no cost. Stay one night on the peninsula and you get two visits for one fee.
• Skip the paid tour. The free talks and the audio experience cover the basics. Add a tour only for the part you care about most.
• Visiting Hobart's Female Factory too? The Ticket of Leave, below, can pay for itself.
• No car? A day trip doesn't make entry cheaper, but it bundles entry with transport: the Tasman Sights day is $108 with entry, the cruise and the drive.
• Bring lunch. Picnics are welcome, and the grounds have plenty of benches.

What do Port Arthur's own guided tours cost?

Between A$65 and A$85 for an adult, entry included: that is A$10 to A$30 on top of General Admission. The Ghost Tour is A$35 and sold separately.

Prices are adult rates from the site's tours page; child rates (3 to 16) are half and family tickets cover four people.

Which one to add is its own question, answered in self-guided or guided. Short version: the Premium Tour if you add one.

What is the Ticket of Leave pass, and is it worth it?

A two-year upgrade, A$20 per adult or A$40 per family, that gives unlimited entry to Port Arthur and the Cascades Female Factory in Hobart. It doesn't cover tours.

The site entry page says you add the Ticket of Leave at the ticketing counter when you arrive, and it is valid for free entry to both sites as many times as you like for two years. The FAQ confirms it covers the Cascades Female Factory in South Hobart, the women's convict site that shares the World Heritage listing.

Worth it if you plan to visit the Female Factory on the same trip, or live in Tasmania and will return. For a single visit to Port Arthur, skip it: the standard ticket already gives you two days.

Frequently asked questions