Renting a Car in Tasmania is part of the TPOL Down Under Trip Report.
Since I didn’t know how long I was staying in Hobart nor did I plan ahead what I was going to do there, I thought it was a better idea to Uber from the airport than to pay for a rental and pay for parking at the ibis. The next morning I tried booking with Hertz like I did with Darwin (see Do You Take Photos of Your Rental Car?). It was sold out. I tried walking into Europcar and Budget and was offered obscene prices. A two day rental was $400USD. The only affordable car was $160USD but I would have to go back to the airport to pick it up.
My original plan was to rent a car for two days, visit Mount Wellington and MONA (see Museum of New and Old Art Tasmania: What the £µ¢&!) on the first and Bruny Island on the second. With no cars available, I pushed off the mountain for day two (something I ended up skipping completely) and booked a rental from the Budget for $140USD for the next day. The reason I rented a car was to get to Bruny Island, the highlight of my Tasmania experience. With a rental, I was able to explore the island on my own terms versus a miserable, organized tour (see Amalfi Coast: A Beautiful Tourist Trap). From Bruny, we drove straight to the airport, paid the $30AUD drop off change fee, and said goodbye to Hobart (see What to Do in the Citaaay, City of Hobart).
Overall
Due to the steep rental prices, I would only rent a car for 24 hours and see as much as you can. However, planning ahead of time will save you the headache that I brought upon myself.
