Hobart scams: what to watch for

Hobart is a small, walkable city and most visitors never meet a scam. The incidents that do get reported are ordinary city crime rather than elaborate tourist traps: a skimmed card, a bag lifted from a bar stool, a taxi that takes the long way, a resold ferry ticket that does not scan. Treat it like any mid-size Australian city and you will be fine.

The one genuinely local pattern is ticketing. MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art, and the Derwent ferries are the two things almost every visitor books, and both sell out on summer weekends. That creates a market for unofficial resellers and for lookalike booking pages. Buy direct from the operator or from an established agent, and be suspicious of anyone offering a same-day ticket at a discount in a queue.

Nothing on this page has a ticket price attached, because the scams here are about your money being taken, not about paying for an attraction. The useful numbers are the ones you will be quoted: what a legitimate airport transfer costs, what a taxi should run, and what to do when it does not add up.

Hobart Airport is about 20 km east of the CBD, roughly a 20-minute drive outside peak. SkyBus runs a fixed-fare shuttle between the airport and the city, and metered taxis and rideshare pick up from the rank outside arrivals. If a driver at the rank quotes a flat price that is well above the shuttle fare, walk to the next car or take the bus. Fares change; treat any figure you are given as a 2026 estimate and check the operator's own page before you travel.

Almost every visitor arrives at Hobart Airport, and the airport rank is where the small stuff happens: drivers who do not start the meter, or who take the longer eastern route when the traffic is clear. The fix is simple. Use the fixed-fare shuttle, book a rideshare before you walk out, or get in a taxi and say clearly that you want the meter on. If the meter is not running, get out before the car moves.

In the city you do not need a car. The CBD, Salamanca, Battery Point and the waterfront are all walkable, and the ferry to MONA leaves from Brooke Street Pier. Parking near the waterfront is paid and enforced, and rental cars parked at trailheads or at the Mt Wellington summit are a known target for break-ins. If you are driving, take bags with you and leave the glovebox open and empty so it is obvious there is nothing inside.

For anything you book ahead, go to the operator's own site. That applies to MONA, the ferries, Bruny Island tours and any wildlife or wine tour. Third-party resale pages often look official and sometimes charge more than the operator does.