Best time to visit Tasmania

From December-February the temperatures are just fine, around 25-30°C. I was there end of January for 10 days in 2008 and the weather was simply lovely. If you can, avoid the Christmas New Year's peak season, you will stay off crowds and pay less for your stay !

Of course you can visit Tasmania also in winter, bu if you do so be prepared for cold temperatures: snow, rain and you know the typical wheather you get in winter. How much time to do you need to visit Tasmania ? If you are not going to do undertake any specific outddor activities like hiking or cruising than in 5-6 days you can see much of Tasmania. I would not go to Tasmania for a couple of nights though !

The most impressive Tasmania landmarks are in my opinion: the "Tasmanian Colours" if you know Australia you will soon notice the difference especially the dark green of the tasmanian plains, which will probably remind you more of the green foliage you see in the northern hemisphere, rathern than the typical colours of Australia. The "Tasmanian Air" is the purest air you will ever breath, this is indeed very impressive, the air is so fresh, even at the airport, when you get off the plane you will notice it ! Here below I give you some tips how to go there and what to do there.

How to get to Tasmania?

To save time fly to Hobart instead of using the Spirit of Tasmania (ferry), which is a good option but takes much longer. From Melbourne to Hobart it takes only 45 minutes by plane. From Sydney and Adelaide the flight takes approx. 1,5hour. There are many flights during the day, especially if you leave from Melbourne or Sydney. Watch out for cheap flights to Hobart. I can recommend Virgin Blue, they run good offers all year through.

 

What to see and do in Tasmania?

Start your trip around Tasmania from its capital:

Hobart

• Salamanca Markets! a great arts & crafts market with over 400 stalls!
• visit the harbour, you find here the best dining venues for fish and local food!
• take a nice walk up to Mt. Wellington, you have a gorgeous view from the summit!

Then according to your time frame, the best way to visit is to hire a car, it is easy to drive about the whole island! So ready, set off on to your journey around Tasmania, visiting first these 3 National Parks:

Tasmania National Parks

• Mount Field National Park

  Tasmania oldest National Park, here you can spend a whole day, you will see the Russell Falls, the Lady Barron Falls, have a wonderful walk among tall trees, the famous Tall trees Walk, you will see the tallest swamp gums! Click on the link for more information about the Mount Field National Park.

• Franklin Gordon Wild Rivers National Park

  In the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park you will see the Gordon and the Franklin River. The Gordon River is Tasmania's longest river, it cuts through a thick impenetrable wilderness, a World Heritage Area Wilderness. You will go through numerous Aboriginal sites: Aboriginal people lived in this region during the Ice Age and these sites continue to be of great spiritual significance to today's Aboriginal community too.

• Cradle Mountain - Lake St. Clair National Park

  Do the nice walk around the Lake St. Clair and if you are fit enough climb up to the top of Cradle Mountain. From Cradle you can also start the world-famous Overland Track, a marvelous 6 day walk that will take you through the heart of some of the finest mountain regions.

If you wish to learn more about the Tasmanian National Parks visit the official site. There are altogether over 20 National Parks to visit!

The West Coast of Tasmania

On your way to the north west coast, when you look for hotels in Tasmania, I would recommend to stay overnight in one of these little towns:

• Strahan, a little fascinating fishing village with comfortable hotels. You can go on a cruise on Gordon R.
• Zeehan, an historic mining town, great base for fishing in the west coast.Tullah, near lake Rosebery, great for walking and kayaking too.

The East Coast of Tasmania

Frecynet National Park - Wyneglass Bay

The Freycinet Peninsula is one of Tasmania's most scenic coastal areas and if I had to rank it among its beauty I would place it on top! If you love the sea, the beach and the forest together than Wyneglass Bay will fascinate you. Ideally I would recommend to spend at least a couple of days there, so that you can make a few of the fantastic walks in the park. If you are on a tight schedule then spend a whole day. This is one of the places in Australia where it was really hard for me to leave!! If you wish to know more about the Frecynet National Park click on the link.On your way to the Freycinet NP, starting from North East Coast stop at the spectacular Bay of Fires, with white sand beaches, blue water and granite stones splashed with orange lichen! St. Helens, further south to Bicheno and finally on your way back to Hobart stop at Swansea.

Reading about Tasmania

If you want to read something about Tasmania you can download your FREE Tasmania Pick & Mix Chapter directly from the Lonely Planets website or if you wish you can choose which individual chapters or travel guide you want to buy. Take a look at Lonely Planet Publications.

For more information you can contact me

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