Luxury and boutique hotel destinations

Why book with Smith?

  • Best rates guaranteed, member or not.
  • No booking fees
  • All hotels reviewed anonymously
  • Members get more
Become a member

Boutique hotels in Hobart

Holidays in Hobart, Australia

Hobart Overview

Australia

Cityscape
Sun, sea and sandstone
City life
Bush walks, barbecues and beer

Incredible coastlines, lush valleys, ancient mountain peaks, colonial heritage, succulent seafood, world-famous wildlife and a historical harbour – you couldn’t ask for more.

Tasmania is staggeringly beautiful, awash with an artist’s palette of natural colour: vivid blue seas and skies, white sandy shores, lush green valleys and golden hops. Its varied landscapes are breath-taking; coastal expanses, an ancient range of volcanic peaks and fertile orchards make for stunning exploring. The island’s tiny city, Hobart, is equally enticing, with its busy harbour, seductive seascapes and tempting restaurants, all overshadowed by the looming Mount Wellington. It’s unlikely that Hobart’s early inhabitants – convicts sent by the British Empire in the 19th century – got to appreciate the island’s encompassing beauty; much of Tasmania’s architecture is the fruit of their (hard) labour. Two centuries on, the locals clearly enjoy a great quality of life, so their relaxed friendliness and bonhomie should come as no surprise.

Highly Hobart

Keep your eyes peeled and ears pricked for the Tasmanian devil. The island’s most famous (and deceptively cute) species resembles a cross between a bear cub and a dog. Look out for its distinctive black fur, emblazoned with a crest of white, and beware its piercing screech. If you’re lucky enough to spot the endangered marsupial, don’t get too close: powerful fangs aside, it releases a pungent pong when panicked.

Local knowledge

Taxis
The main attractions dotted across the island are speedily navigated by taxi, and cab costs are fairly low. 131008, Australia’s nationwide taxi booking service, provides a reliable service around Hobart and the surrounding areas (www.131008.com).

Tipping culture
As with the rest of Oz, tips aren’t expected anywhere – but 10 per cent is always appreciated in upmarket bars and restaurants.

Packing tips
Binoculars for devil spotting, a sou’wester for fly fishing and trainers for scaling the rocky magma outcrops. Quarantine laws are very strict in Tasmania, so check www.discovertasmania.com to see what you can and can’t bring in.

Recommended reads
The Fatal Shore, by Robert Hughes chronicles the transportation of more than 160,000 convicts from Britain to grim prison cells, aboard ships bound for an unknown world. Wild Rivers, by Peter Dombrovskis and Bob Brown (both of whom were instrumental in saving Tasmania’s Franklin River from being dammed) gives a flavour of this spectacular wilderness area.

Cuisine
Tasmania’s seafood is among the finest Australia has to offer. Take your pick from plump oysters, silky-smooth scallops, luscious lobster, deep sea trevalla, abalone, wild trout and succulent salmon. Sample white cherries from New Norfolk, Coal River Valley venison and have a tipple of Pepperberry Bush Liqueur, produced in Tasmania from the alpines berries that grow all over the highlands. Wine worshippers rejoice; locally produced pinot noir, chardonnay and Riesling make for refreshing and delicious drinking.

Currency
Australian dollar (AU$)

Time zone
GMT +10

Dialling codes
Country code: +61; Hobart: (0)3

Do go/don't go
Foodies should head to Hobart in November or December to reap the fruits of Hobart’s harvest; in these months, farm shops sell rations for your day’s adventures by the roadside: juicy berries, fresh juices, creamy yoghurts, just-baked breads, cheeses and other goodies. Avoid Hobart in Australian winter (June–August) when the west coast of the island is lashed with rain and the Roaring Forty winds.

Don't go home without

Buying a wooden trinket from the Salamanca market. The market showcases beautiful, locally crafted woodwork made from Tasmanian timber such as Huon pine, myrtle and blackwood.