What to do within walking distance at the port in Hobart Tasmania

We are on a shore excursion in Hobart Tasmania on 12/26/14. Our tour is from 1:15 pm to 5:15 pm. The ship (Celebrity Solstice) is in port from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. What is there to do before we start our tour, that is within walking distance. Would like to explore close to the ship. Any advice?

which shore excursion are you doing. No point in making a suggestion if your your already covers it. Hobart is not all that large.

We are on a shore excursion in Hobart Tasmania on 12/26/14. Our tour is from 1:15 pm to 5:15 pm. The ship (Celebrity Solstice) is in port from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. What is there to do before we start our tour, that is within walking distance. Would like to explore close to the ship. Any advice?

MrsWaldo: which shore excursion are you doing. No point in making a suggestion if your your already covers it. Hobart is not all that large.

As wisely noted by MrsWaldo' date=' much depends on what you are doing in the afternoon and your personal interests, desires, travel style, etc. Also, [b']how "close" do you consider being nearby to the ship?[/b] Tell us more! Hobart is not Sydney and the ship docks in a somewhat "industrial/warehouse" type of zone at a little distance from certain of the more charming, interesting areas in this town. Nothing that I would call "great" was right nearby within a block or two of where the ship docks. Nothing bad nearby. Just what it is for such a ship docking area.

You will be there on a Friday. There is a “Salamanca market” that takes place every Saturday, right downtown Hobart, near to the Salamanca Inn. Per their website, on Saturdays, Salamanca Place comes alive with the famous Salamanca Market operated by the Hobart City Council. Over 300 stallholders sell fresh and gourmet produce, arts, crafts and handiwork crafts from all over Tasmania, interstate and overseas. But, your timing is off by a day.

In the live/blog below, it details that we were on the Solstice in January and February, including stopping in Hobart. Overall things worked fine for us and the six other couples in our travel group from Central Ohio. Check out these postings for more info/background on this nice ship, its entertainment, food options, the many port stops, excursion potentials, etc.

Key question for you: Queenstown Overnight Excursion? Are you considering this option? It's not cheap, but seeing the middle part of NZ's South Island is spectacular.

Happy to answer any other questions, share other info, etc. Just post here or better yet, go to the live/blog, post there and I will respond to any needs for added background.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these

Ahhh, that's where local knowledge comes in…

almost right at the dock Henry Jones Art Hotel is a Gallery. They run guided tours each Friday afternoon of the several floors of local works

http://www.thehenryjones.com/artandhistory/ (this doesn't work for the OP though)

You also have the Plimsoll Gallery in the Art School (this will be closed as the 26th is a Public Holiday)

Terry you would have walked right by and just assumed it was a hotel..

It's also possible that there will be significant construction work in the area as the major Tasmanian Accommodation and tourism company is converting wharf 1 into a hotel due to open next year.

have a wander around the dock area itself.

head over to the sandstone buildings of Salamanca Place and the shops there selling arts and crafts etc.

Battery Point is also in this area and you could spend some time wandering around these charming streets (we spent a few hours doing just that on our port day)

We have booked all our shore excursions through the ship. Not very successful in booking out of country with my credit card, even though I called to say I was making a purchase in Australia - credit card denied!! What a mess to call the credit card company again and to stop my possible credit card fraud! That is why I pre-booked with US Dollar and through the ship.

Anyway, we are on the Richmond and Tassie Devils tour at 1:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Since the ship arrives at 8:00 a.m., wanted to wander close to the port. Appreciate all your suggestions.

Mahalo from Hawaii!!

I grew up in lovely Hobart so as Whimsy suggested, I would head over to Salamanca Place which should be on the left side of where you dock. There are lovely sandstone buildings, shops and cafes. From there you can head into Battery Point where there are sandstone cottages and cafes.

If that doesn't interest you, it's an easy walk into the city from the dock. It would only take 15 minutes. In fact, you could cover Salamanca Place, Battery Point and the city in the morning if you so chose!

Have a great cruise and stay in Hobart. Richmond is lovely so you will enjoy that too.

PS make sure you dress in layers as the weather in Hobart can be unreliable even in summer.

Excellent..

So obviously you like old stuff?

If you wander around from the waterfront and head to your left you'll find Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). It doesn't open until 10 (actually snot much does and it will be public holiday. I'd suggest walking around to Salamanca via the waterfront to the old stores, then up the stairs behind to Battery Point, (from the stairs head straight and then the road curves right) cute old houses and coffee shops, some Antique shops but they may be closed, and then down to St David's Park. There is a cemetery wall with old headstones from the first settlement. TMAG is then back down the waterfront.

It's donation entry. Good display about Thylacines (Tassie Tigers which are now extinct) and an Antarctic Gallery. Takes about an hour and easily doable from the dock.

http://www.tmag.tas.gov.au

The other alternative is the hop on hop off which will give you a look around town,

http://www.reddecker.com.au/?p=value#city

It leaves from the corner not far from TMAG..

Please be aware that as you are visiting Hobart on Boxing Day, which is a public holiday I would expect most shops, cafes, galleries etc to all be closed or have limited opening hours. You will be able to wander around the waterfront and see the nice old sandstone buildings and some boats in the harbour, but unfortunately, due to the day you are there there might not be much open.

Although - I just checked and Mona is open and well worth a look. You can get a ferry across (leaves a short walk from where the ship docks). Mona.net.au.

mtn

tmag is open,

Mona on boxing day is a nightmare…. I would not do the ferry with an afternoon tour…. unless pre booking it now and you'll only get 1h 30 mins due to the schedule as they would have to be on 11.30 ferry back as 12.30 is too tight to get back for the ship tour (great idea though)