Thanks for the amazing tips Cat! Berry ice creams sound amazing, I’ll have to make that stop when I’m in Tas next – really hoping to get back soon. I’m also from Tas, Claremont baby :D But we left for Canberra when I was 14 so I really enjoy getting back to actually travel and explore the State because we didn’t really appreciate the beauty as much as we should have when we were kids.

Might plan for a few extra days and create a winery trip :D Thanks!

Absolutely Lori – I would definitely recommend 1 – 2 weeks in Tasmania is you have the time, though really you can still get a fabulous insight and taste for the State even if you only have the weekend.

You absolutely could! I would personally recommend 2-3 weeks for Tasmania, because there’s truly so much to do, but you can easily see a lot of the State if you’re in more of a rush too.

Can’t go wrong with a pristine beach and fine wine :D And they have the Tassie devils there too :D

Hi Shilpa – you’ll love Tasmania, so excited that you’ll be visiting! Car rentals can vary depending on the time of year – from memory we paid around $70 AUD a day. It will depend on the time of year though because you can get cheaper deals in off season and obviously prices peak over summer which is November – February. Around that mark though :)

Hi Whitney, thanks for stopping by. If it’s your first trip to Tasmania I would recommend the Freycinet/Hobart combination. Reason being Hobart is a fascinating capitol city, and a great introduction to Tasmania if you haven’t previously been. Combining with Freycinet gives you the chance to sample both the city / historical culture of Hobart, as well as the wild landscapes and nature for which Tas is known.

It depends on what your priorities are though because Cradle Mountain is a gorgeous area, with fantastic opportunities for outdoor adventure. Though I think you’ll get more variety out of a combination of Hobart and Freycinet if it’s your first time.

Hope that helps! Have an amazing trip to Tas … having to decide between the two just means you’ll have to return for a second trip :D

Take warm clothes with you, because March is usually when the season starts to make a noticeable switch.

So glad to hear you had a fabulous time Virginia! Absolutely agree that the wildlife around Cradle Mountain is fantastic :)

Hi Maria, thanks for reaching out, it sound like you have a fabulous vacation planned!

For your 4 days in Tasmania (assuming you’re flying into Hobart?) you can still keep our suggested itinerary for Day 1, ie visiting Salamanca Market (even though the markets won’t be on on a Tuesday, this is still a great place for history, shopping, and enjoying the waterfront), taking in the sights around Hobart, and venturing up to Mt Wellington for the view. Do pack really warm clothes though, especially if you go up Mt Wellington, as it gets very chilly, and sometimes the mountain might have a little bit of snow.

But yes, for the other 3 days, the beaches and bush-walks are probably better in warmer weather. That said, winter is colder, sure, but it doesn’t make the sites like Freycinet any less beautiful – I wouldn’t recommend you go swimming, but you can stay at the lodge in Freycinet and enjoy views overlooking the Hazards mountain range, Freycinet Peninsula and the pristine Great Oyster Bay. The air is crisp, but the beaches are still beautiful to walk. And some of the bushwalks are actually better at this time of year because you don’t have to push past hoardes of other tourists. There are a range of trails so you can pick shorter hikes of an hour if you’re not keen on long full day bushwalks.

Depending on your interests, and your budget, instead of Freycinet, you could make your way up to Cradle Mountain after visiting Hobart – this is probably one of the State’s biggest attractions, and you’ll have the benefit of seeing sites like Dove Lake without the crazy summer crowds (the tourism in summer gets intense). It’s quite a beautiful setting when it’s covered in snow, and there is a lodge within the park where you can settle into cozy accommodation, with great local produce, and take short walks if you’re up for it. Cradle Mountain is a 4 hour drive from Hobart though so I would recommend renting a car and you would probably want to spend two nights here to make it worth the drive up.

But otherwise you can take great day trips from Hobart if you’re more a fan of settling into one place and using it as a base; if you’re interested in history, there’s Port Arthur which is one of the countries most well preserved convict sites (though I would only do this if you’re interested in the history behind it), if you’re interested in wildlife, Bruny Island is a great choice; the scenery is absolutely stunning in winter, though keep in mind that you might get hit with rain at this time of year, so pack compact umbrellas or a raincoat (good tip in general actually). The Huon Valley is another great day trip from Hobart where you’ve got Tahune Airwalk, (personally I prefer to do all of these with a rental car because you have flexibility, and can adapt your itinerary if the weather is bad, but you can book via a tour company too), as is Mount Field National Park, and being that winter has high rainfall, the waterfalls in Mt Field are going to be at their fullest which is cool.

So you can either do Day 1 & 2 in Hobart and Day 3 & 4 up around Frecyinet like I’ve described above. Or trade Day 3 & 4 for Cradle Mountain. Or if you’re not feeling the moving around, stay in Hobart for 4 days, but do day trips to different parts of the state on Days 3 & 4.

I’m really going to advocate for getting a car rental because it makes everything so easy, and Tas is a very safe place to drive. In terms of which area to stay at in Hobart, it’s not really a very big city and the majority of tourist accommodation is concentrated in the same area, so you can’t really make a bad choice if you enter “Hobart” into a booking search. It will just depend if you care about being closer to the waterfront, or a couple of blocks back. There are a few different accommodations in South Hobart, and Sandy bay, but I would stick to the main CBD.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions at all :)

Hi Anushree, it really depends on what you like and what you want to see, because there’s quite a lot to do for different interests. If you’re not keen on the above itinerary, 4 days would give you enough time to spend a day in Hobart and then spend the rest doing day trips like the Huon Valley, Bruny Island, Port Arthur (very touristy, and I would say only go if you’re really interested in the history, otherwise it’s probably a day best spent elsewhere). So you could definitely base yourself in Hobart for a day, and then check out the surrounding regions with a car rental :)

Have a great trip to Tassie!

Hi Sujit, thanks for reaching out. How long you’ll spend in Tasmania depends on a lot of things;

– How long you want to spend on the Australian mainland for other destinations.

– How much of the State you want to see, whether you want to drive, or just base yourself in one place and do day trips.

– What your interests are.

You could easily spend the whole 12 days road tripping around the whole State, but let me know the answers to the above questions and I can suggest a couple of places.

Thanks!

Hi Tina, what suggestions are you looking for? The above itinerary would work for groups as well as solo travelers :)

Best

Hi Dipanjan, that sounds like a great itinerary :)

From the sounds of it, I’m guessing you’re driving in on Spirit of Tasmania? If so, Devonport to Cradle Mountain is roughly 2 hours, you can do a bit of a detour for breakfast that day if you’re so inspired, and stop at the Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm which is a great foodie stop (big breakfasts and awesome pancakes with raspberries from the farm).

Re Cradle mountain accommodation, we’ve stayed at The Cradle Mountain Hotel, and that was a great experience – here’s a link to the review I wrote if you’re interested: https://www.mappingmegan.com/cradle-mountain-hotel-review-tasmania/

If you’re then heading from Cradle up to Bay of Fires, thats a 4 & a half hour drive, you could do a 40 minute detour to Liffey Falls along the route which is a truly incredible waterfalls in the region.

For budget accommodation for Bay of Fires, most people stay in St Helens though we stayed in Scamander, and there are great safari style glamping tents at Scamander Sanctuary Holiday Park. This is right on a BEAUTIFUL ocean beach (like a 5 minute walk anyway), and you’re only an hour from Bay of Fires, so makes for a good base for easy exploring of Binalong Bay.

As you’re coming down the East Coast to Hobart, I thought the stop at East Coast Nature World in Bicheno was well worth an hour – great wildlife park with gorgeous tassie devils and you can watch the feeding.

The drive down to Hobart is about 3 & a half hours. It’s a lot of stuff to pack into 3 days and you’ll have a lot of driving and a very packed itinerary – with summer hours and long days though you should be able to pull it off, just understand that it will be a packed itinerary (sunset in January is around 8 – 9 pm so you get a lot of daylight which is nice for packing stuff in!).

Hope you have an amazing trip! XX

Hi Loreto, so glad our post was helpful for you :)

Buses for getting around the State are honestly pretty limited, but check out http://www.tassielink.com.au – if you’re wanting to go from Hobart to Freycinet, you can catch a Hobart – Bicheno bus, and then connect onto one that goes from Bicheno – Coles Bay. The 737 leaves Hobart city at 4 pm and gets into Bicheno at 7pm – it should cost between $35 – $40 AUD.

The other option would be doing day tours from Hobart – http://www.wineglassbay.tours runs day tours up to Freycinet – it’s a long day to do it this way, but it’s an option if you’re not planning to drive. Worth noting that I haven’t personally taken one of their tours, but they seem to get excellent Tripadvisor ratings :)

Hope that helps!