Short Tassie break in March

Hi.. My wife and I are flying to Launceston in March for a short self-drive break before flying out of Hobart 6 days later..

We would love to hear of your ideas for a proposed sight-seeing trip (day-times), with early to bed (most nights).. I know... boring!

Still, we have never been there, and would mainly be interested in Tassie's natural beauty.

Thanks for your help.

There are a lot of must do places in Tassie - 2 highlights for us was going to Dove Lake at Cradle Mountain and staying at a place named Corinna on the Pieman River beautiful wilderness on west coast

A couple of suggestions 1) A couple on nights at Cradle Mountain, then continue onto Strahan and perhaps a cruise on the Gordon River, drive back to Hobart via Lake St Clair.
2) again start with Cradle Mountain, drive back to the East Coast to Binalong Bay / Bay of fires, continue on to Coles Bay / Freycinet Peninsula.

Cradle mountain area and the west coast should take up most of our time by the sound of it..

We did a 6 day tour, starting in Launceston, some years back, and did pretty much what is suggested above.
- 2 days Cradle Mountain (stunning scenery, very wet, lots of animals, short walks, Dove lake, waterfalls etc)
- 2 days Strahan (Gordon river wilderness cruise, short walks to rainforest, waterfalls, nice village)
- then long day drive to Hobart.
Leave at least one full day for Hobart

Thanks for your excellent help everybody.. will work on what you've given us.

Lake St Clair is a really nice place to stop and breaks up the long drive from the west coast back to Hobart. I live in Hobart and I go there and other nearby lakes for trout fishing a couple of times a year. Its a beautiful area and one of my favourite parts of Tasmania. Its also a great place to stay overnight if it fits into your schedule. Pumphouse Point is a new unique accommodation and has been highly regarded since it opened 12 months ago (search on google). There are also several other slightly cheaper accommodation options.

Hi,
Just a couple of other suggestions. Liffey Falls is only an hours drive from Launceston and is very beautiful. Also some of the little towns along the north west coast. I really liked Boat Harbour . If you go up this way don't neglect to go to Stanley and climb The Nut. I would also vote for the Freycinet, even though Its in the opposite direction. My advice would be not to try and see the whole Island in 6 days or you will spend all your time in the car. Probably concentrate on one region of the Island. Unfortunately I think Strahan is a bit overrated these days- definitely a bit of a tourist trap, but generally all of Tasmania is pretty good and it's hard to go too far wrong.

Agree with hopstop re dont try see all tassie in 6 days - choose a path between zlaun and Hobart either west coast or east or down the centre and pick a few stops whatever path u choose - that would b my advice

Great advice everybody. Thank You!

We're planning our trip to basically go from Launceston to Hobart via the west coast, and will give all your suggestions a proper look first.. Cheers

Depending on the health of your budget you could fly into the South West world heritage area, spend half a day there and fly out. Not the cheapest - about $400 return I think but does include a boat tour of Bathurst Harbour and lunch - but you'll see a side of Tassie that is otherwise very difficult to get to.

A second recommendation for Corinna on the Pieman River.

I would also second Corinna. A unique place to stay. Excellent walks. Need to book as accommodation is limited ( it is a tiny place).Make sure you do the boat trip on the MV Arcadia down to Pieman Heads. Also, Zeehan has an excellent mineralogical museum. Great for a wet day ( which it often is).

A few more things on your route. Make sure you stop at The Wall at Derwent Bridge. Amazing sculpture project all in Huon pine ( don't be put off by tour buses.) Also, the walk to Nelson Falls on the west coast road is definitely worth it, and not very long, and of course you must go to MONA in Hobart.

Thank you all.. plenty to mull over. Can't wait to visit!

Bicheno penguins are great and you can do day trips to Bay of Fires (north) and Wineglass Bay (south). If going to Wineglass Bay, I highly recommend doing the longer (but flatter) walk out via Hazard Bay. There are loads of people at Wineglass but as soon as you get around the bend to Hazard, it is suddenly much quieter. Think the entire walk is about 11km but the hard bit is at the start and you can take it easier at the end. Cradle Mountain is also great as is the Tamar Valley (farm gates etc).

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