Hobart's Derwent boats, including the ferry to MONA, the car ferry to Bruny Island, Maria Island's national park boat and Spirit of Tasmania from Geelong.
Closest to Hobart is the River Derwent ferry between Bellerive Pier on the eastern shore and Brooke Street Pier on the Hobart waterfront. Derwent Ferries runs it for the Tasmanian Government under a commuter contract, so the timetable follows office hours: an early block into the city, an afternoon block back, a Saturday shuttle, and nothing on Sundays or public holidays. For now it is also part of the state's fare-free public transport scheme.
The service started as a trial and was made permanent, and the government has written down how it means to grow it. A new terminal is going up at Bellerive while the boat keeps running, and the draft River Derwent Ferry Masterplan names further stops, beginning with Lindisfarne, Sandy Bay and Wilkinsons Point. The free-fare scheme does not reach every boat in the state: the Bruny Island car ferry from Kettering sits outside it.
On the east coast, Encounter Maria Island sails from Triabunna to Darlington on Maria Island, a national park where the only vehicles are the Parks and Wildlife Service's own. That crossing takes two separate purchases: the ferry ticket from the operator and a parks pass, which the ferry's booking can add but which is priced and issued by the state.
The longest crossing on this site reaches Tasmania from the mainland. Spirit of Tasmania leaves Geelong and Devonport at 6:45pm and arrives at about 6:00am, with fares that move with demand above a published lead-in; from 31 October 2026 the overnight run passes to the new Spirit of Tasmania IV and V.
From the same Brooke Street Pier, the MONA ferry runs upriver to the museum on the days it opens, Thursday to Monday, on fares from $30, with museum entry bought separately.