Gordon River Cruise from Hobart

The Gordon River cruises leave from Strahan, on Tasmania’s west coast, not from Hobart: the Strahan waterfront is 290 km by road from Hobart, about 3 hours 55 minutes without stops, and 272 km from Launceston. Check-in for the 8:30 am cruise opens at 8:00 am, and no day tour from Hobart includes the cruise, so the plan is a night in Strahan before it. The cruise is Strahan: Gordon River Cruise with Lunch & Sarah Island Walk, from US$116 a person (checked November 2026).

The calendar above is Gordon River Cruises’ morning cruise from Strahan, with 469 reviews (checked November 2026).

The short answer

Drive, and sleep in Strahan the night before. The cruise takes most of the day, the drive from Hobart or Launceston takes most of another, and the only bus into Strahan arrives in the evening. Without a car, the realistic way is a Tasmania circuit that spends two nights in Strahan, where the cruise is an extra at your own cost.

The drive

Distances and times routed by road, without traffic or stops. From Hobart the road is the Lyell Highway west past Lake St Clair and through the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park to Queenstown, then on to Strahan. The roads are winding and slow in the mountains, and Transport Tasmania’s 2026-27 statewide resurfacing program includes the Lyell Highway between Queenstown and Strahan, with lane closures and delays usually between November and May. Targa Tasmania may close roads around the state from 18 to 22 November 2026.

Parking in Strahan

Gordon River Cruises asks you not to park in front of its terminal: all-day pay-and-display parking is 250 m away, and it suggests bringing coins to the value of A$10. World Heritage Cruises points to the car park at 10 Esplanade, about 200 m from its office, at A$1.10 an hour (both operators’ own pages, November 2026). Parking on the wharf itself is kept for the commercial operators while the West Coast Council’s waterfront works go on.

Staying the night before

Strahan is small and the morning is early: collect boarding passes by 8:15 am for Gordon River Cruises, or check in 30 minutes before the 9 am sailing with World Heritage Cruises. Staying in Strahan itself means a short walk to The Esplanade. Queenstown, 41 km away, is the next town if Strahan is full.

By bus

Transport Tasmania lists a daily Tassielink service between Strahan, Queenstown and Burnie: it leaves Strahan at 7:30 am and arrives back from Burnie at 6:45 pm (from Burnie at 2:44 pm Monday to Thursday, 2:50 pm on Friday), with connections towards Devonport, Launceston and Hobart. Queenstown also has a service to Hobart by Derwent Bridge on Tuesdays and Fridays, booked ahead. Whichever way you come, the bus gets you to Strahan in the evening, so a night there before the cruise is part of the plan.

No car: a circuit that stops in Strahan

The guided circuits from Hobart drive the same roads and spend two nights in Strahan. On both carded below, the Gordon River cruise is an optional extra at your own cost on the free day, not part of the price:

Prices per person from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). The Parks and Wildlife Service has listed the Montezuma Falls viewing platform as closed since 26 August 2026.

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.