Port Arthur, Lavender, Richmond & Tasman Peninsula
Description
Join us on a fun and action packed day out visiting the World-Heritage listed Port Arthur Historic Site. We stop along the way at the delightful Port Arthur Lavender where you can view the Lavender Fields, distillery or head straight to the gift shop and café for an array of Lavender inspired foods and gifts. A delicious place to enjoy morning tea. • Visit Port Arthur Historic Site (3 hours) • Explore Port Arthur Lavender and enjoy a delicious morning tea of Lavender inspired foods and drinks in the cafe. • Photograph spectacular views from the Waterfall Bay Cliff Top Walk • See the Tasman National Park highlights – Devils Kitchen & Tasman Arch • Enjoy stories from Pirates Bay Lookout, Eaglehawk Neck & The “Dogline” • Visit historic Richmond Village
Tour Options
Itinerary
Today is action packed and fast paced, so we make an early start from Hobart and drive directly to the stunning Tasman Peninsula. This area has amazing history, fascinating stories and spectacular scenery. It is also home to Australia’s highest sea cliffs. We enjoy the panoramic views of the area from Pirates Bay Lookout which provides a great vantage here of the surrounding area. Passing through Eaglehawk Neck and "The Dogline" our Tour Guides will share with you some fascinating stories and history of the area.
The Waterfall Bay track is one of Tasmania's "Great Short Walks". We follow a spectacular track, of around 2 km’s along the spectacular cliff tops. The walk takes around 45-60 minutes, is undulating, but categorised as an easy walk. Suitable for active and fit people. The track concludes at the remarkable rock formations of Tasman Arch and Devil’s Kitchen.
Next stop is the Port Arthur Lavender Farm. Stroll around the lavender trail or take in the ocean views while enjoying fresh Tasmanian produce in the lavender-inspired café. You will have time to enjoy a visit to Port Arthur Lavender’s visitor centre and café. Here they showcase millennia-old uses of this fragrant flower alongside modern cuisine and a fully functioning essential oil distillery.
Next stop is Port Arthur Historic Site. You will find a wealth of information and history to take in and discover. Your entry includes a complimentary Harbour Cruise around the Isle of the Dead, ‘The Port Arthur Experience' a podcast that provides a fascinating introduction to the site, and complimentary site talks throughout the day led by Port Arthur’s expert guides. Discover the grim and violent history of the early Australian Penal system and get a sense of the isolation experienced by the convicts in this “inescapable prison”. With around 3 hours here, you have ample time to explore the main penitentiary; see the solitary confinement cells and many more buildings in this World Heritage open air museum.
On our return to Hobart, we travel via the historic township of Richmond. Arriving late the in the afternoon, you will have time to meander the streets, stop for a coffee, visit the Lolly Shop, check out the Chocolatier and walk across Australia’s oldest bridge still in use – a convict built sand-stone bridge, reported to be haunted! We return to Hobart around 6.00pm.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Minimum age to participate in tour is 8 years
- This is an active tour and walking is involved; a suitable level of general health & fitness and physical abilities is essential
- We provide accurate interpretation, and keep wildlife disturbance to a minimum by viewing from appropriate distances and informing our guests how to view wildlife with patience and respect. Activities are always confined to tracks and boardwalks to minimize negative impacts.
Reviews(66)
Wonderful definitely worth it ................................................. ....................
It was all well worth it. Ben was amazing in showing us around and giving us information about history. Loved Pirate bay, Port Arthur, rich history there and vast grounds. Enjoyed lavender ice cream from Richmond to end the day.
Great experience esp Patrick as the guide it was a breeze and we really enjoyed the entire trip and back
This tour does so much -bush walk, lavender farm and Port Arthur which was amazing. Our guide Matt was terrific - fun, knowledgeable and had some great stories to share. A great day.
Fantastic, well-paced full day. Excellent tour guide and all was very easy to follow. Highly recommend.
The other travellers on the bus were really lovely. The bus driver/tour guide had a reasonable knowledge. I thought that there would be a tour of the grounds around Port Arthur as a group. It was done before entering and kind of rushed. The main reason I went on a tour rather than solo was to have a guided tour of Port Arthur so that was a little disappointing. The lavender farm was very rushed as well. I was the only one who opted for the lavender farm and I was given strictly 30 minutes. The driver was a little bit irritable at times and the experience was rather commercial. The other passengers were very amiable and pleasant and the scenery was great. I saw other groups being led around the grounds so I think it's probably better to book directly with Port Arthur and organise a tour through them.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about your tour experience. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the company of your fellow travellers and the beautiful scenery along the way. I'd like to clarify a few points about the Port Arthur component of the tour. Our guides are not permitted to conduct guided tours through the Port Arthur Historic Site itself - this is a requirement set by Port Arthur to protect the integrity of the information at this World Heritage Site. However, your entry ticket includes a comprehensive audio tour via podcast, and Port Arthur's own expert guides are stationed throughout the site offering regular interpretive talks throughout the day. Your ticket also includes the Harbour Cruise, which features on board interpretation delivered by Port Arthur. For those wanting a more structured guided experience, Port Arthur offers additional guided walking tours that can be purchased on-site. If you'd like to discuss your experience further, please don't hesitate to reach out to us directly.
This is a recommended trip to everyone! You gotta make sure you wear comfy clothes and a running shoes though as it includes an hour hike ( manageable) with breathtaking views though. Dont miss it! Ben was out tour guide and he ensured we had fun and filled us with lots of interesting information! Book it and no regrets!
Thanks for joining our Port Arthur, Richmond and Lavender Active Day Tour. We are so glad to hear you had a fantastic day and enjoyed the hike with those amazing views. Great advice on comfy clothes and good shoes. Ben will be delighted to know his knowledge and fun approach made the day memorable. So great to have you onboard – The Tours Tasmania Team.
Ian was so knowledgeable and helpful, a great day. The insight given from Ian was second to none and I have left knowing so much more about this beautiful place. Thankyou Ian.
Ian was a great guide who kept us entertained with lots of interesting history of the area and fun facts. We opted out of the lavender farm to see the Un Zoo instead and we would highly recommend it! An ice cream in gorgeous Richmond town was also a beautiful way to end the day.
It was a good experience overall. The tour guide was friendly and shared some information about the places we saw and also cracked some jokes, which is always fun. The drive consumed most of our time, and I felt like there wasn't enough time in Port Arthur Historic Site. The itinerary says 4 hours in the heading and 3 hours in the description. Anyways, we were given 3 hours, but the last 45 minutes were to be used for the cruise. 2 hours isn't really enough for the place as it has so much history and lots of things to cover. I felt like that was done in a hurry. Again, I don't know how much of it could be changed, so I understand. There was an option for Tassie unzoo where you could spot the devils, kangaroo, and so on. A few of us didn't know that was an option. Hence, that wasn't included in our itinerary, and we missed out. I had a lavender farm on my schedule, which I discovered after I went that it was the end of the season. These are little things that could be done better. Giving me the tassie Devils option would have been better. Why on earth would I go to a lavender farm at the end of the season? This could have been communicated to me or at least mentioned somewhere, or they could have given me an option, but that wasn't the case, which was disappointing. On the way back to Hobart, we stopped by Richmond for 45 minutes. Don't really need 45 minutes, 20 minutes would have been better. It was a little waste of time. I ended up grocery shopping at IGA and playing in the swings at the park. The first hike we did at Waterfall Bay was good. There are plenty of ocean/sea views to soak up on, on a pretty straightforward hike, that was good. Pirate Bay lookout - nothing much to see, and after you go to Maria Island, Bruny Island, and Wineglass Bay, this lookout won't necessarily appeal to you. But it's fine. Overall, the tour guide was friendly, the bus was comfortable, and briefly saw a few places. Could have been better or cheaper for the number of attractions we saw.
