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Cheap Car Hire Hobart Airport

Big savings on car Rental at Hobart Airport

Compare the best Hobart Airport car rental deals from over 17 rental brands. Avis, Hertz, Budget, Thrifty, Europcar, Enterprise, National, Apex and more.

  • Low prices
  • Huge choice of brands
  • No booking fees
  • No credit card fees*
  • Instant confirmations
  • Free cancellation on most cars
  • Free amendments on most cars
  • 24/7 customer service

* Some rental car suppliers may charge a credit card fee for amounts payable on arrival.

4WD rental

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Car Hire Options at Hobart Airport

Hobart Airport is approximately 17 kilometres from Hobart’s CBD, so by having a rental car you’ll save yourself as much as $65 in taxi fare from the airport. It’s an easy 20-minute drive into town – a dual-lane highway takes you straight to the city.

There are over 17 hire car brands at Hobart Airport competing for your business. If you want to find the best deal that's a lot of websites to check out...

To make things easy, our car rental comparison search engine hunts down the very best offers available from all car rental suppliers and lists them side-by-side for you. This lets you instantly compare and find the best deals. 

At Hobart Airport you’ll find all the hire car company counters all grouped together in the Arrivals Hall at the front of the terminal.

Before you go to pick up your vehicle, make sure you have your booking confirmation voucher, a valid driver's licence for each of the drivers, a credit card or cash for the bond and suitable ID.

On-Airport Rental Brands

“On-airport” means these rental companies have check-in desks within the airport terminal.

The big advantage of this for you is convenience and speed. Once you’ve checked in you can jump in your car and get going. No waiting around for transfer vans.

But it does come at a cost. The fees are higher than off-airport rental companies to offset the costs of being at the airport.

You'll find the check-in counters for all “on-airport” car hire companies inside the Arrival Hall.

Use our price comparison search tool to find the best prices for these on-airport car hire brands at Hobart Airport:

  • Avis
  • Budget
  • Europcar
  • Alamo
  • SIXT
  • Keddy
  • Hertz
  • Dollar
  • Thrifty
  • National
  • Bargain
  • Enterprise

Off-Airport Rental Brands

“Off-airport” companies don’t have check-in desks within the airport. This means you’ll need to make your way to their car hire depot to check in and collect your car.

Most provide free shuttle services and will collect you from the terminals. This gets arranged when you make your booking and you’ll need to let them know when you’ve arrived.

Some depots are within the airport grounds and so only a few minutes drive. Others are off the airport grounds and take longer to get to.

Off-airport car hire companies aren’t as fast or convenient as using on-airport car rentals. But the big advantage is they are usually much cheaper.

Use our price comparison search tool to find the best prices for these off-airport car hire brands at Hobart Airport:

  • Apex
  • Yes Drive
  • East Coast

Maximum Choice. Best Deals.

  • All the best deals in one place from over 15 different rental brands at Hobart Airport.
  • Instantly compare the best deals. No need to waste your time checking out multiple websites.
  • Easily filter results by price, brand, or type of vehicle.
  • And if you’re finding it difficult to decide, check out the customer ratings to hear from those who’ve been there and done that.

Hobart Airport Car Hire Tips

Ways to save money on Hobart Airport car hire

Compare prices of on-airport and off-airport brands. If you’re not in a big rush, hiring a vehicle from off-airport car hire depots can result in big savings.

But you will have to take extra time with the shuttle transfer. Transfers are usually free, but limited to opening hours, so check when you book.


Don’t hire a bigger vehicle than you require and consider if you really need all the extras you’ll be offered, such as a GPS. Google Maps on your phone will normally do the trick, provided phone data charges aren’t an issue.

With lengthy distances and long travel times between major cities, petrol stops are likely to be frequent. Fuel prices can vary widely from place to the next, so if you want to spend less at the pump use a mobile app like MotorMouth to find the best prices.

Driving in Hobart

Hobart is reasonably straightforward to navigate. The roads are well-maintained and signposted. If you’re visiting during the winter months, it’s important to drive with extreme caution in bad weather. Visibility can sometimes be quite poor, and extra care should be taken. 

While Tasmania doesn’t look particularly large on a map, appearances can be deceiving. Carved out of untameable wilderness, the city of Hobart serves as something of an oasis within the wider Tasmania area — marked by winding roads, mountainous terrain, and rugged bush. Without a rental car, it’s tough to get around given the limited public transport.

Because roads are often steep, narrow (a single lane in each direction) and winding, with sharp corners, travel times can be longer than you might expect. You will also want to stop for the views along the way, so allow plenty of time for driving. Plan to travel no more than 300km in a day, and allow time for frequent breaks.

In Australia, you’ll need to drive on the left-hand side — if you’re not already used to it, you might find it difficult to adjust. Unless otherwise signposted, the speed limit in urban and suburban areas is 50km/h — 100km/h when you are driving on a highway. When driving your hire car, all occupants must wear seatbelts or an approved child restraint (a child safety seat or booster seat depending on the child’s size).

Return with a full tank

It’s recommended that you fill up your hire car’s fuel tank before returning it or you’ll be charged a refuelling fee, and that’s almost always pricey. Here's a Google Map showing locations of Hobart Airport petrol stations — the closest option to the airport is BP Hobart Airport at 3 Holyman Avenue.

Saved a lot of time thanks. Booked the car we wanted at a good price.

Fran Marshall Australia

No problem finding and booking a car.

Lisa Plummer Australia

Fair prices. Fast reply by customer service.

Brad Johnson USA

Hobart Attractions

Aerial view of tasman bridge and hobart, tasmania, australia

An hour’s flight away from mainland Australia, Hobart is the capital of Tasmania. It’s a picturesque city, with views dominated by towering Mount Wellington, and a city boasting a rich colonial history.  You’ll find artisanal produce, bold modern art, chic cafés and restaurants…and beautifully preserved historic buildings, each with their own tale from the past. There’s plenty of stylish shops to pick up souvenirs, while restaurants feature an abundance of seafood dishes fresh from the ocean. Hobart is also the gateway to a variety of driving adventures through Tasmania. If you venture beyond the borders of suburbia, you’ll also see some of the wildest places in Australia. A uniquely attractive place to visit, Tasmania is a beautiful state that many travellers don’t take the time to see.

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary

A Spotted-tail Quoll, Bonorong Wildlife Park

Spotted-tail Quoll, Bonorong Sanctuary / John Harrison CC-SA 4.0

A huge number of animals, birds and reptiles call Tasmania home, and at Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary they can live peacefully in their natural surroundings while keen wildlife-watchers observe them at a distance. Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary is located about 30 minutes north of Hobart, an easy drive via rental car, and the team there are extremely hands-on and passionate about the work they do. With multiple feedings and educational talks throughout the day, there’s loads to learn and plenty to see, so make sure you check out the day’s itinerary when you arrive.

Adults and children alike wil fall in love with Bonorong. It’s much more than a typical animal park, with a keen focus on Australian wildlife, and it makes for an outing you simply won’t get at a regular park or zoo. What really sets the sanctuary apart from other wildlife experiences are the exciting night tours on offer. Pre-bookings are vital, and there’s an additional cost involved, but it’s an experience like no other.

Many of Australia’s most fascinating creatures are nocturnal, so these tours offer an unparalelled opportunity to observe them in their natural and most active state. Tasmanian Devils, mischevious and playful, come alive at night and the adorable sugar gliders are always a hit. There’s nothing quite as exciting as glowing eyes and strange noises in the night, and with a dedicated guide to explain what’s going on you’ll be much more knowledgeable about the nation’s favourite creatures by the end of the evening.

Whether you’re coming for a day trip, a night trip, or a bit of both, Bonorong will give you something to remember.


Bruny Island

Family of four walking down the steps on Bruny Island, Tasmania

Come see the wildlife on Bruny Island, which stretches for 100km

Voted among the Top 100 Greatest Trips in the World, Bruny Island lets you get up close and personal with coastal Tasmanian wilderness — on land, underwater, and in the air. Chartered cruises allow you to see playful seals and dolphins, impossibly huge albatrosses, and sometimes even whales. Depending on the time of year whale sightings can be quite common, and it’s a truly magnificent experience to see one surface, spray water high in the air and flick a distinctive curved tail before diving to the depths once more.

As you journey across the surrounding ocean, you’ll quickly notice that the coast looks all but untouched by human activity despite the continuing popularity of the island as a tourist destination. The area is carefully maintained, and it shows everywhere you look. The rocky seashores are just as alive as the sea, and rock formations jut out of the water to create a visually striking backdrop.

For an island, Bruny is big — nearly 100 kilometres long, in fact — meaning that there’s a range of on-shore attractions to keep visitors occupied should their attention stray from the feathered, furred and finned occupants of the island. There’s an art gallery at Dennes Point, an iconic lighthouse, and even a number of accommodation options if you end up keen to extend your stay (you wouldn’t be the first!)

Bruny Island is accessible via vehicle ferry, so taking your rental car is a possibility depending on your car hire insurance agreement. The Bruny Island Ferry departs from Kettering, which is around 40 minutes drive south of Hobart, and the sea journey takes approximately 20 minutes.

Port Arthur Historic Site

Port Arthur village historic site, a 19th-century penal settlement in Tasmania

Port Arthur village historic site, a 19th-century penal settlement

Port Arthur serves as one of Australia’s most famous and important historic sites, and it’s also a popular tourist destination for a number of very good reasons. This isn’t your average museum — Port Arthur delivers immersive experiences that really take you into the lives of Australia’s early convict settlers. It’s located approximately 100 kilometres south-east of Hobart, and while there are a number of transport options available it’s hassle-free and great value for money to take a rental car.

The settlement started out back in 1830 as a small timber station but quickly became a vital hub in the industrial and early penal systems of Australia. Convicts were sent from Britain for crimes that seem trivial today. One in five prisoners were women, and there were large numbers of children transported along with their parents. The justice system of the time was utterly without mercy where recidivist offenders were concerned — hence the sad stories of men and women being banished for stealing food.

The walls of Port Arthur have seen innumerable examples of human suffering, and the tour guides work hard to paint a vivid picture of the harsh conditions prisoners were routinely subjected to. The Isle of the Dead tour, one of many on offer, centres on the many convicts and prison staff who never returned home and were buried on an island set aside as a cemetery. Life was hard, both for the men and women who laboured there as punishment and those who supervised them and kept the settlement running.

It’s unsurprising, given all the troubling history attached to the area, that Port Arthur Historic Site has a reputation as one of the most haunted places in the country. If you’re feeling brave you can take a Ghost Tour of the facility as darkness falls, where black-cloaked tour guides tell true tales of the site’s past, complete with unexplained occurrences and frightening phenomena. There are mysteries aplenty, and there’s a good chance you’ll be just as baffled by what you hear as the convicts, guards and settlers that passed on the original stories.

Take it all in — then head home with a new appreciation for the little luxuries you enjoy in life today!


Battery Point

Historic Battery Point in Hobart - winding streets, and colonial architecture.

Take in the colonial architecture at historic Battery Point

Hobart’s oldest suburbs are located in Battery Point, accessible by driving to Salamanca and taking a brief jaunt down the 175-year-old Kelly’s Steps. As you’d expect, the area has a lot of history. The name comes from the battery of guns placed on the southern side of the point to serve as coastal defences in 1818, and there’s also been a penal colony and Royal Navy base there in Australia’s early settler years.

By the 1830s, the area was full of cottages, Georgian styled homes, and sandstone mansions, many of which are still around today. The houses on Arthur’s Circus housed the town officers and harbour garrison, and Kelly’s Steps were developed by James Kelly to connect the upper and lower areas. This allowed those who did the hard and often dirty work of running the port to live in the wholesome, attractive neighbourhood that overlooked it. The area remains affluent, conservative and safe even today — walking around, you’ll really get the feeling that you’ve stepped back in time 100 years.

When you’re ready to return to reality, end the day’s touring with a meal at one of Hobart’s many fine dining restaurants, or colonial-style pubs.

Last Updated on November 9, 2023