Port Arthur Deep History Tour｜Guided by a Convict Descendant
Description
Port Arthur & Tasman Peninsula: A Descendant’s Perspective Join a full-day tour led by a guide with 17 convict ancestors. This isn't a shuttle service; it’s a deep dive into the human stories of Van Diemen’s Land. The Journey: Richmond (30m): Explore an early convict settlement where forced labor built the iconic stone bridge and village. The Natural Prison: Visit Pirates Bay and the Tessellated Pavement. See how Tasmania’s rugged coast acted as a physical and psychological wall. Port Arthur (4h): Entry included. Go beyond the ruins to hear personal stories of daily routines, punishment, and survival. Coastal Wonders (30m): Witness Tasman Arch, Devil’s Kitchen, and the Blowhole—nature’s boundaries that made escape impossible. Lavender Farm: An optional, peaceful contrast to the peninsula's harsh history. Ideal for travelers seeking a meaningful, narrative driven connection to the landscape.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Start with a visit to the well-preserved colonial village of Richmond to see Australia's oldest bridge and take the chance to grab coffee from the Richmond bakery.
In geology and geomorphology, a tessellated pavement is a relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into more or less regular rectangles, blocks approaching rectangles, or irregular or regular polygons by fractures, frequently systematic joints, within the rock.
World Heritage listed Port Arthur Historic Site is the best preserved convict site in Australia, and among the most significant convict era sites worldwide.
One of the Tasman Peninsula's firest coastal lookouts is actually on the Forestier Peninsula, high on the hillsides above the Tesselated Pavement. Pirates Bay Lookout gives panoramic views down the east coast of Tasmania Peninsula and overs spectacular vistas towards Cape Hauy and Cape Pillar, which are both visible on a clear day.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We are able to pick you up from 7 meeting points, covering most of the Central Hobart area. The pick-up time will be between 7:30 am and 7:50 am. Please select the closest meeting point from your accommodation. If you have any questions regarding pickups/meeting points, please contact us. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- May be operated by a multilingual guide
Reviews(32)
What a great day one of the highlights of our entire 2 weeks in Tasmania. Port Aurthur was amazing and the driver keep the trip up there interesting with lots of history, stories and facts
The maximum group is 11 people so we can go to many places and not waste time waiting. Richmond Village is beautiful and quaint. Because I had to leave before 9am, I couldn't get into Old Hobart Town. Port Arthur is wonderful. Guide Jarrod gave us a lot of interesting and useful information, and managed the time appropriately.
Excellent day out enjoyed scenery looking out of bus. Port Arthur is a must visit. So educational. Our driver Jarred was lovely & his talk was very educational too. Would definitely recommend.
A very interesting tour with great experiences. A very interesting excursion into the history of the island under English rule.
Great tour with interesting stops along the way. Guide was knowledgeable about the area and timed his ride to comfortably appreciate the tour.
Our great tour guide Scott fit so much into the day from the first stop at lovely Richmond, many scenic nature spots both on the way to and from Port Arthur, the Port Arthur lavender farm and even stopping for people to buy fresh oysters on our way home. We also had a boat trip at Port Arthur. Scott was knowledgeable, interesting, friendly and good humoured. We had a fun and informative day. Highly recommended.
Our tour director Jarrod made the trip very enjoyable. He kept us informed about the local landmarks and history and took us to some excellent viewing sites. We had plenty of time at Port Arthur to explore and appreciate the historic buildings and wonderful surroundings. Jarrod picked us up and returned us to our hotel making the outing very smooth. We would highly recommend the tour.
Really happy we chose the small bus tour. Jarrod, our driver, was knowledgeable, friendly and flexible. We saw everything we wanted, and more! Had the right amount of time at each stop with clear information when we got there. Couldn’t have been happier how the day went. Highly Recommended!
Myself, my husband and our adult son did the tour together. Our guide Paul was brimming with local information and you could tell he really enjoys running these tours. We stopped at some amazing places like the tessellated pavement, Devils Kitchen (our absolute highlight) and the Tasman Arch. It was interesting and enjoyable to see Port Arthur in person and learn more about the history of this very significant place. Richmond is such a lovely little town with lots of things to see so we went back the next day to spend a bit more time there. The only down side for this tour is that as you have to travel quite a distance to get to Port Arthur from Hobart you don’t get to spend much time in each location. All in all we had a great day.
Fantastic day tour. The driver was very knowledgeable off all things in Tasmania. The tour guides at Port Arthur were also great. A long but enjoyable day.
