James Wolfe
Three days is the right amount of time for Hobart if you plan around two fixed points: Salamanca Market, which only happens on Saturday, and MONA, which is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Build the weekend so Saturday belongs to the market and the waterfront, give MONA its own unhurried day reached by ferry, and keep the third day flexible for kunanyi / Mount Wellington and a clear-eyed decision about Bruny Island. Hobart is compact, the waterfront is walkable, and nothing in this plan requires a car except the mountain and Bruny, both of which also work by tour or bus.
Quick Facts
- Salamanca Market: Every Saturday, 8.30am to 3pm, Salamanca Place, around 300 stalls, held rain, hail or shine
- MONA: Museum of Old and New Art, open Thursday to Monday, 10am to 5pm, closed Tuesday and Wednesday, reached by the museum ferry from Brooke Street Pier in about 25 to 30 minutes
- MONA tickets: Everyone needs a ticket, including Tasmanians, who enter free but still book; booking ahead is recommended
- kunanyi / Mount Wellington: 1,271 metres above the city, roughly a 30 minute drive from the waterfront, with the Pinnacle shelter at the summit
- Bruny Island: Reached by car ferry from Kettering, about 35 minutes south of Hobart; a full day, not a spare afternoon
- Base: Stay on or near the waterfront or in Salamanca so the market, the ferry pier and dinner are all on foot
- Prices checked: 14 November 2026, against the market, museum and operator pages named in this guide
How should you order the three days?
The order matters more than the list. Salamanca Market runs on Saturday only, so if your three days include a Saturday, that day is spoken for. MONA closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so a Monday to Wednesday trip needs MONA on the Monday. The mountain is the weather-dependent piece: kunanyi can be clear at breakfast and clouded in by lunch, so hold it for the day with the best forecast rather than fixing it in advance. For a wider orientation on the city, start with our Hobart and MONA overview, then use the day plans below.
Day 1: Salamanca Market and the waterfront
What is the best way to do Salamanca Market?
Arrive early. The market runs the full length of Salamanca Place below the Georgian sandstone warehouses, with around 300 stalls, and the official advice and local habit agree: the first two hours are the calmest and the best for produce. Work the length of the market once without buying, noting the food stalls, the Tasmanian timber, wool, gin, whisky, cheese and ceramics, then loop back for a serious second pass. Breakfast from a stall, coffee in hand, is the correct format. The market operates rain, hail or shine and only skips Saturdays that fall on Christmas Day or Anzac Day, so dress for the forecast rather than hoping it changes.
By early afternoon the lanes thicken. That is the moment to step off Salamanca Place into the Salamanca Arts Centre courtyards and the galleries in the old warehouses, then continue to the waterfront proper: Constitution Dock, Elizabeth Street Pier and the Mawson Place end of the harbour, where Hobart’s fishing fleet and Antarctic supply history sit in plain view. The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, a short walk inland, fills a late afternoon well and costs nothing to enter its permanent galleries.
Where should the first evening go?
Keep it close. Battery Point, the cottage-lined suburb directly behind Salamanca, repays an early evening wander along Hampden Road and Kelly Steps before dinner. Eat near the waterfront or in the city centre grid, and keep the night short if MONA is tomorrow: the ferry day rewards a fresh start, and Hobart’s pleasures here are morning pleasures.
Day 2: The MONA ferry day
Why take the ferry instead of driving?
Because the arrival is part of the work. MONA sits upriver at Berriedale, carved into a sandstone headland on the Derwent, and the museum’s own catamaran from Brooke Street Pier takes about 25 to 30 minutes, delivering you to the pier below the museum steps. Driving or taking the museum bus works fine, but the river approach explains Hobart’s geography, the bridge, the northern suburbs and the mountain behind the city, in a way the highway never does. Book the ferry and museum entry together ahead of time; everyone needs a ticket, and Tasmanians, who get free entry, still need to book one.
How long does MONA actually take?
Plan for most of the day. The museum is open 10am to 5pm, Thursday to Monday. The collection mixes antiquities with contemporary work in a subterranean building where the route is deliberately disorienting, and the grounds hold a winery, a brewery, restaurants and lawns above the river. A rushed two hours produces the common complaint that MONA is confusing; four or five hours, with lunch on site and time in the grounds, produces the intended effect. Take the mid-morning ferry out and a mid to late afternoon ferry back, and let the return sailing close the day on the water.
Back in Hobart, the evening suits the pubs and wine bars around the waterfront and Salamanca, many pouring Tasmanian pinot noir and whisky from distilleries you may have seen at the market the day before.
Day 3: A kunanyi afternoon, and the Bruny Island decision
When should you go up kunanyi / Mount Wellington?
When the summit is visible from the waterfront. The mountain, 1,271 metres high, stands directly behind the city, and its weather is its own: cloud, wind and even snow can sit on the Pinnacle while the docks are mild. The drive takes roughly 30 minutes each way, and the summit shelter gives the full survey of the Derwent estuary, the city and Bruny Island offshore. An afternoon slot works well because mornings belong to the market and the ferry in this plan, and because a clear afternoon lets you watch the light change over the river. If the summit stays hidden all weekend, swap the mountain for the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens and the Cascade area, and do not force it.
Should you add Bruny Island?
Only as a full day, and only by giving something else up or adding a night. Bruny is reached by car ferry from Kettering, about 35 minutes south of Hobart, and the island itself is two landmasses joined at The Neck, with cheese, oysters, berries and white wallabies spread across distances that punish a half-day attempt. With exactly three days, the honest answer is: MONA, Salamanca and kunanyi are the trip; Bruny is the reason to return, or the substitute for the mountain day if wildlife and produce matter more to you than the summit. Travellers continuing on the mainland can pair this plan with our three days in Melbourne itinerary, since Hobart to Melbourne is the short hop most itineraries use.
Where to stay, and getting around
Stay within the waterfront, Salamanca or the city centre and this entire plan runs on foot except the mountain and Bruny days. Hobart Airport is east of the city; a taxi or the airport shuttle bus covers the trip in about 20 minutes in normal traffic. For kunanyi without a car, shuttle tours run from the waterfront to the summit. For Bruny without a car, day tours from Hobart handle the Kettering ferry and the island loop. Pack layers in every season: Hobart’s waterfront wind and the mountain’s altitude can put four seasons into a single one of these three days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What day is Salamanca Market, and what are its hours?
Saturday only, 8.30am to 3pm, on Salamanca Place. It runs rain, hail or shine, with around 300 stalls, and is skipped only when Saturday falls on Christmas Day or Anzac Day. Arrive before 10am for the easiest browsing.
What days is MONA closed?
Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It opens Thursday to Monday, 10am to 5pm. Everyone needs a ticket; Tasmanian residents enter free but must still book, and ferry plus entry booked ahead is the reliable combination.
How long is the MONA ferry ride?
About 25 to 30 minutes each way from Brooke Street Pier on the Hobart waterfront to the museum pier at Berriedale. Book a morning sailing out and a mid to late afternoon sailing back to give the museum four to five hours.
Can you do Bruny Island in half a day from Hobart?
Not well. The drive to Kettering, the ferry crossing and the distances between stops on the island make it a full day. In a three day trip, choose between Bruny and the kunanyi day rather than compressing both.
Do you need a car for three days in Hobart?
No. The market, waterfront and MONA ferry are all walkable from a central base. You only need wheels, a shuttle or a tour for kunanyi / Mount Wellington and for Bruny Island.
What should you pack for Hobart?
Layers, a windproof and waterproof outer layer, and shoes for market lanes and museum stairs. The summit of kunanyi is routinely far colder and windier than the waterfront on the same afternoon.
