thepinkginpassportTasmania, Australia’s smallest state, an island a ferry journey or short flight from Melbourne is often missed on many travellers’ Australia itinerary. However, Tassie has mind blowing landscapes, excellent hiking and incredible local produce from wines, cheeses and oysters that it is not a destination to be missed.
How to get to Tasmania
I flew from Perth (getting to anywhere from Perth flying is your best and often only feasible option). If you’re based in Melbourne there is the option to get the ferry. If you have your own car/camper the ferry would be a great option as Tasmania has so many free camping spots unlike the rest of Australia. I flew to Hobart, the capital, which was a great starting point before joining a 5 day tour I booked through Viator. If you’re a solo traveller, I really recommend this tour as it was only $900 (AUD) (450 GBP or 500 EUR) to see the whole country. If you’re a couple or group I imagine it would be cheaper to split costs of car hire, camping equipment and national park fees.
Also, I would recommend visiting in January/February- the hottest months (which are still a chilly 10-25 degrees) otherwise intense rain/snow might derail some of your plans.
What to do in Hobart, the Tasmanian capital city
The most popular thing to do in Hobart for tourists is Mount Wellington. You can drive to the car park at the top and walk around to admire the panoramic views of the whole city.
Cascades Brewery offers a tour or you can also just enjoy a local beer and pub lunch in their beautiful beer garden that offers a view of the brewery.
Enjoy world class dining! Get a traditional Tasmanian scallop pie. Jackman and Ross have a few bakeries, we went to the one in Battery Point which is a very quaint suburb to walk around too. There are lots of restaurants and pubs around Salamanca (which also has a great Saturday market). Dinner at Bar Wa Izakaya was excellent but you will be lucky to nab a table as it gets every busy- excellent sushi and cocktails. Hobart has a range of hotel and hostel options for all budgets. For solo travellers/backpackers I really recommend Narrara Backpackers, Mo the manager is lovely, it’s a great location and very homely.
If I had more time I would have paid a visit to MOMA art gallery, you can get a boat to it (or bus/Uber) and I heard great things about it.
How to get around Tasmania
As previously mentioned, you can either road trip and camp at free camping spots (or book your own accommodation) or book a tour. I booked Under Down Under’s Famous Five Tour through Viator which was incredible. It was a great way to meet other solo travellers and travel the entire state in a short period of time without having to plan myself or drive through all the road kill that Tasmania is unfortunately infamous for.
Best places to visit in Tasmania
Strahan
Our first two nights we spent in Strahan- a lovely quiet town/village with nearby ex mining towns like Queenstown that you visit on the way down. While in the West of Tasmania we went to Russel Falls, Lake St Clair, Henty Sand Dunes and other rainforest walks. While we really enjoyed this, the week just beeped getting better and better.
Cradle Mountain
We spent 4 hours at Cradle Mountain which gave us time to hike up to Marion’s Look Out and back to the car park spotting a few cute wombats on the way back. The views we got were incredible and after spending quite a bit of time in the car on a tour for 5 days this was a perfect way to “dust the cobwebs off”.
Launceston
We spent a night in Launceston which has famous for having the best restaurants in Tasmania. However, being a group of young solo backpackers short of time we sampled chicken parmies at the local Irish Pub and McDonalds (no complaints from either) but would love to return and explore this city more.
Cataract Gorge
The next morning we visited the gorge to walk up to the look out, saw peacocks and wallabies before going for a cold water swim.
Bay of Fires
Now firmly in the East of Tasmania we visited a beach (that also has a free camping spot) that took our breath away. Having lived in Western Australia for 7 months before this trip I had become somewhat of a beach snob. However, this was one of the most incredible beaches I have been to in the whole of Australia. Crystal clear blue water with waves crashing into orange coloured rocks. Despite the colder temperature Tasmania has to the rest of Australia you couldn’t get us out of the water.
Sheffield
Along the drive we stopped for an hour in Sheffield, a small town filled with murals to attract visitors. It was lovely to see a small town with something to be so proud of- the murals were fantastic and the town itself surrounded by mountains it felt like we were in a movie.
Bicheno
We stayed in this beautiful beach side town on our final night. While we didn’t see penguins returning to the beach that evening (which you sometimes can do) we did enjoy watching the blow hole, and a great dinner at The Lobster Shack (definitely add chips to your lobster roll you won’t regret it).
Wineglass Bay
When I said this week kept getting better and better the finale of Wineglass Bay was just spectacular. I had seen so many pictures from the look out which was just as amazing as expected but what took us by surprise was the beach if you walk down the hill from the look out. Who knew we would be doing so much swimming in chilly Tasmania! Swimming in the clear water surrounded by white sand and dramatic hills/mountains it felt like we could be in Hawaii. If you are only visiting Tasmania for a weekend I would say definitely do a day trip to Wineglass Bay above anywhere else.
