What You Need To Know Hobart

Hobart is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1803 as a penal colony, Hobart is Australia’s second oldest capital city after Sydney, New South Wales. The city is located in the state’s south-east on the estuary of the Derwent River, making it the most southern of Australia’s capital cities and its harbour forms the second-deepest natural port in the world.

At its fashionable Salamanca Place, old sandstone warehouses host galleries and cafes, and a popular market is held on Saturdays. Nearby is Battery Point, a historic district with narrow lanes and colonial-era cottages. The city’s backdrop is 1,270m-high Mt. Wellington, a hiking and cycling destination offering sweeping views.
Area: 655 mi²
Population: 205,557 (2012)

Currency

• Hobart, as part of Australia, uses the Australian dollar ($) as its currency.
• Most major credit cards are accepted in Tasmania. There may be a minimum purchase amount in some retail outlets.
• Foreign currency can be exchanged at banks and some Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) will accept overseas cards.
• The majority of banks open between 9:30am and 4pm Monday to Thursday, closing 5pm Fridays.

Climate

Hobart has a mild temperate oceanic climate.  The highest temperature recorded was 41.8 °C (107.2 °F) on 4 January 2013 and the lowest was −2.8 °C (27.0 °F) on 25 June 1972 and 11 July 1981.  Annually, Hobart receives 40.8 clear days. Compared to other major Australian cities, Hobart has the second fewest daily average hours of sunshine, with 5.9 hours per day, Melbourne having the fewest.  However, during the summer it has the most hours of daylight of any Australian city, with 15.2 hours on the summer solstice.

Language

• spoken language in Hobart is english
• The Tasmanian or Palawa languages were the languages indigenous to the island of Tasmania. The languages were last used for daily communication in the 1830s.

Getting around

The public bus system in Hobart can actually be fairly complicated. There are more than a dozen different fare types (and prices) depending on route/location, planned destination, concession types, time of day (sometimes) and more. On the plus side, schedules tend to be clearly posted, buses tend to be on time, staff is generally very patient, friendly, and helpful, and drivers can give change, so exact coin when purchasing a ticket is not necessary.

The simplest and most cost effective way for visitors to get around by bus is to buy a “Day Rover” ticket on your first trip of the day. The Day Rover ticket can then be (re)used for any trip on public buses in the city for the remainder of that day. In December 2014 a one way regular fare was over $3 while a full fare day rover was $5.30.

The main city bus hub is downtown in the area around Elizabeth St and Macquarie St. Timetables and routes can be checked online. And if you are staying in Hobart for a longer period (months or more) it might be worth investing in a ‘Greencard’. These RFID cards are about the size of a credit card and work the same as cards like London’s Oyster. They provide a 20{9b6bfb22645c41945b69fddb1f3fc513c5f86c293f6b632960a3395bd698f6a8} discount over single fares purchased on the bus.

Because Hobart is fairly small walking or biking can both be reasonable options. There are several services that let bicycles and most of the city’s major tourist points of interest are within an hour’s walk from downtown.

Driving

A current Australian (or international) driver’s licence is required. Speed limits are 50km/h in built up areas and 100km/h outside cities and towns, unless otherwise sign-posted. tasmania has a 0.5 alcohol limit for fully licenced driverd

Emergency numbers

Police/ Fire/ Ambulance

Ph: 000 or 112 from mobile