If you book car hire through Expedia and it turns out to be Stix in Hobart - beware! Stix doesn't…read moreexist. Neither does a free airport shuttle from Hobart airport to Stix. After some research, you may discover that the free shuttle has stopped and that you have to take a taxi to kennedy drive. You are reimbursed for the taxi immediately; however, we were not reimbursed for the taxi when we returned the car. They are undergoing renovations so they had a makeshift office in an 'under construction' building. Insurance costs around 45 dollars if you don't want to pay the 1,000s of dollars in excess. It is cheap but involves some hassle.

The people who work at AAA Car Rentals are totally awesome! Paul and Jason were incredibly helpful…read moreto us Americans finding our way in Tasmania. It is very personal service and the rates are good. The economy car we rented wasn't that great, but it got us where we needed to go around the island. One point: Saving money hiring in town instead of the airport really cost us more since we had to take a taxi to get back from the airport and return to it for flights. But there could not be a nicer company to deal with than AAA, and that's worth a lot! Thanks so much for your service!

When I booked a car through another major rental company and when I show up and they canceled my…read morereservation without telling me, I called AAA Car Rental and they were able to accommodate me immediately. They will always be my first call when I need a car in Vegas!

Visited Tasmania last year and one of the attractions that I wanted to see was Mount Wellington…read more Public transportation wasn't an option since the buses won't take you to the top. They will drop you off at a lower level and you need to trek up.the mountain. My only options were to rent a car or book a tour. I decided on the latter since it was easier and saved me the trouble of driving in Australia. I looked through tours available on Viator and decided to book a package consisted of a tour of Mount Wellington and admission to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. The Viator site doesn't specify the tour operator until you make your purchase and the tour is confirmed. After a couple days, I received a tour confirmation e-mail and learned the tour operator was Adventure Island Tours. I was given the start time of the tour and was picked up outside of my hotel. Adventure Island is a Tasmanian owned and operated tour business. They use 13 passenger tour vans so the number of people on the tour is smaller than if you book with a large company like Gray Line. They have a number of Hobart tours, but their most popular tours are the ones to Port Arthur. On my tour, it was just me and an Indonesian family so I learned plenty of tidbits about Tasmania. My tour guide was very knowledgeable about world affairs (ex. US election) which was impressive and even talked about his travels to Seattle. Mount Wellington was definitely worth the visit. My guide made stops at the summit as well as down the mountain, so I could get views of the area at different altitudes. After the visit to Mount Wellington, we headed over to Bonorong. The tour guide checked us in to the sanctuary and then picked us up to drive back to Hobart to conclude the tour. I would recommend this itinerary if you are interested. Though make sure to bring a jacket or windbreaker as it is cold on Mount Wellington, particularly during the winter. Also I would pack a lunch and bring some water since the tour is all day. My tour guide did make a pit stop so I could pick up a couple meat pies at a bakery for lunch on our way to Bonorong. For the price, I was very satisfied with the tour. Primarily attribute this to my tour guide who was very knowledgeable about the area. This is something that you wouldn't get if you decide to do the journey on your own.

Unless you're a really great swimmer, you don't have much choice other than to get the ferry when…read moreyou want to visit Bruny Island. Luckily, it's reasonably priced, efficient and actually pretty fun! A return trip in a small car will cost $30. Drive to the Kettering dock, where you will line up in lanes waiting for the ferry to arrive. Once cars are offloaded, you drive on up and shortly thereafter you are on your way, 15 minutes by water, to one of the most serene and beautiful places you may ever visit. We drank Moo Brew on the upper deck and stood in the sunshine, pretending we were characters from The Titanic (you know, the "I'm on top of the world!" bit, not the sinking dying bit). It was a really great way to mark the next part of our holiday. A word of warning: if you're trying to arrive or leave Bruny Island on a particularly busy day (say, the last day of a long weekend) then you need to arrive at the ferry well in advance to ensure you get a spot. When leaving the island, we arrived only 5 minutes beforehand to realise we wouldn't be able to make the next departure. Not to worry, we sat in the sun and enjoyed he surroundings for an hour while we waited for the ferry to go back and forth to Hobart, but had our flights back to Melbourne been any earlier we would have missed them.

Seemingly affordable and reliable. Transport vehicle and people to the amazing island.read more

When I planned to do this adventure cruise with my wife I was in dilemma about which touring…read morecompany to choose but a simple call to Kevin from this company sorted it all for us. I chose the full day tour from Hobart including Tasman island adventure cruise and Port Arthur historic site. You are picked up in a small tour bus from Hobart and taken to their booking office in Eaglehawk Neck, Arthur Hwy. Here you have to make your payment for the cruise, they have a deal running at the moment where buying of 1 full trip ticket will get you the second ticket at 50%. You can have your breakfast here (I suggest otherwise if you have the tendency to throw up on boats). You are provided with wet suits which is a life saviour if the sea get rough and some ginger root tablets to help your stomach adjust to the waves. You are joined with the rest of the group who decided to drive their own from Hobart and taken on a bigger bus to the jetty. Here you meet skipper Craig who is just great behind the wheel. You make your way to as the website suggests "NEWEST and ULTIMATE 4WD of the SEA". This baby can surprise you at times with the power of its Yamaha engines. The 3hr cruise is the best experience if you are not a frequent one on the sea. I had an amazing time of my life on that cruise and we even spotted a humpback whale. If not anything you will surely see some seals who are seen often on the coastline. The amazing features made from dolerite and sea stacks such as candlestick, the totem pole and cathedral rock is a treat to the eyes and added to that the journey into carved caves will stay in memories fora long time. After the cruise you are back to the blue seal cafe where your pre-booked lunch is served. Kevin had taken special care to get our meal specially prepared by his chef as we are vegetarians and had indicated this to him during the time of booking. After that we'll deserved lunch you are dropped off at the Port Arthur historic site where you can look around and enjoy the scenic beauty and history associated with this site. There is an entry fee to this site which your covered in your booking. You are the collected from there for a trip back to your accommodation. All in all this is a great package, Kevin, Roshan and the rest of the staff are just a great bunch of guys and this trip will be in the list of my most memorable adventure trips ever....

The Tench guided tour is well worth a stroll for tourists and locals, alike. I fall somewhere in…read morethe middle there, being that I'm a local but have only been for the last five years, and I love learning about Hobart (although I don't really actively seek it out much these days). Sometimes working in the industry gives me perks like visits to tours like this for free, and sometimes people are slack and don't book these tours and I end up getting an almost-personal (there was one other lady) tour on a drizzly Saturday morning. The Penitentiary is owned by the National Trust, and enthusiastic volunteers run guided tours through the remains of the building, giving you a history lesson at the same time. It's close to the centre of town, which is a bit amazing when you learn about the history of the place. The Tench as it stands is the remains of what held the convicts that were brought to Hobart, before becoming Hobart's gaol, before finally being closed down in the 1960s. Only bits of the original Penitentiary remain, and only bits of those bits remain (the Chapel building is the most remarkable and it's had certain bits and pieces pulled/knocked down, as people did a lot before realising how important it can be to preserve history). You get to hear about the full evolution of the space over the years, with a rather grim ending at the hanging corner. It was an hour absolutely well spent and if you're taking the time to visit Port Arthur on an historic bender then you'd best look after yourself and add a visit to the Tench as well.

We did the Bruny Island Traveller tour which was wonderful!! Our guide Alan was knowledgeable,…read morepersonal and could drive the bus like no one else!! Got to see and experience things we wouldn't have on a lone exploration of the island. We are not big bus tour folks at all, but this one was wonderful!! They even took care of dietary needs for lunch! My dairy free fish and chips was amazing! Highly recommend! Even if you're not usually keen on tours this one is great!

The overall sense I had was that this was the sort of place where you pay your money and everything…read moreis taken care of. The particular trip I did involved taking a bus down from this location in Hobart to nearby Bruny Island, and a boat to see the rugged south side of the island. Getting to the island was a hassle, as there is a ferry with limited capacity. I rather wish there had just been a boat from the city down to the island, which I imagine would take some doing but would be great. The waits were a pain. Once there, however, the tour had a lot to offer. They did morning tea beforehand and lunch after, both of which were simple but pretty good. I've seen tours skimp on food before but at least they put some effort in. Their pumpkin soup was pretty tasty, and the vegetarian sandwich included feta and a nice variety of things. The tour boat was a pretty prime watercraft, speedy and able to handle the rough waters. The tour was pretty well run, including some advance ginger tablets to ward off seasickness (which worked for me but not for everyone) and they included gloves, hats, and waterproof smocks for those of us who don't pack for the arctic breeze, and the climate did change markedly over the trip. The rock features on the island were well worth seeing, and the seal colony at the end fairly entertaining. Other wildlife included albatross and some fellow traveler dolphins on the way back; of course sightings will vary. The company's slickly produced video advertisements don't oversell the thing by a whole lot; the whole area is really quite spectacular. This trip didn't allow one to see the island itself except in passing, but the company offers plenty of different trips to this island and elsewhere. The guides were very much salt-of-the-earth locals, retired from other jobs, and the business overall struck me as being professionally and responsibly run. You'll pay a lot of money, but you'll get an experience.

Great tour company. Took their tour to Bonorong, Mt Wellington, Richmond and Mt Field National…read morePark. Really a great day spent exploring. Our guide Simon was really friendly, talkative and very knowledgeable. We throughly enjoyed this tour and felt the cost was well worth it.

I was hosting some friends from New Zealand and they wanted to visit Tasmania, I used iWander as my…read moretour guides because they were affordable and I found them super easy to communicate with. The tour itself was amazing, visited some beautiful scenery, and then an hour later was sitting in a nice family owned restaurant tasting some beautiful local seafood. My favourite place was Mt. Field and Russell Falls. The Tasmanian devils were really interesting as well. The guides were lovely. Jarrod was incredibly knowledgable and proud to show of his home town, and knew all the interesting off-the-track local spots. Our plans changed a little bit and the guides went out of their way to accomodate the changes. Overall, what you see is what you get. Amazing scenery, beautiful wine and food, interesting wildlife, friendly guides, at an affordable cost. Thank you Jarrod.