Tasmania Travel

Planning your next motorhome road trip along this iconic and popular route?
Use our travel resource to be inspired and plan your next dream motorhome holiday.

Vast rugged wilderness & breathtaking scenery!

Journey past lakes and beaches, through mountains and pockets of rainforest interspersed with charming little villages. Experience wineries, short and longer walks and an array of wildlife.

DISTANCE: 2,000 kms
SUGGESTED TIME FRAME: 14 days minimum
BEST TIME OF YEAR: November to April

Watch this video for a quick taste of the Tasmania route:

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Highlights of a driving holiday from Tasmania

Travelling clockwise from Hobart

  • After visiting Hobart City, take a drive up scenic Mount Wellington. Rising 1270 metres, experience amazing changes in scenery from temperate rainforest at the bottom to glacial rock formations at the top.
  • Drive along the Channel Highway which hugs the coast and provides stunning views of Bruny Island.
  • Visit the Tahune Air Walk, west of Geeveston – spend some time in the forest and enjoy the tree top walk.
  • Enjoy exploring the Huon Valley, before you make your way up the Lyell Highway to your next major destination Strahan.
  • En-route, enjoy the Salmon Ponds near Plenty and Russell Falls. The Falls are a worthy detour to stretch the legs. You can camp at the Falls, or you’ll find freedom camps further up the Lyell Highway if you prefer.
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  • ‘The Wall in the Wilderness’ is a worthy stop where you’ll see quality woodcarving.
  • Head into Lake St Clair – a perfect location for a picnic lunch on the lake edge. There’s also a good information/interpretive centre worth having a look at.
  • Travel across the highlands towards Queenstown – stop to enjoy walks to rivers/falls and stunning viewpoints. You’ll find a few freedom camps as you make your way into Queenstown on the banks of the river – perhaps you might even try your hand at trout fishing?
  • Queenstown is a mining town with quite a dramatic entry as you wind your way down from the highlands to Strahan. Head out on a popular boat cruise to explore the stunning ancient rainforest in Gordon Valley and Sarah Island to see the ruins of an old convict settlement.
  • Detour to Cradle Mountain. Take the free shuttle (part of your national park pass) to Dove Lake to enjoy many short and longer walks in the area.
  • Heading further north west, you could visit Stanley to enjoy the Nut Chairlift which offers excellent views over Stanley and the surrounding area. Travelling east towards Launceston, you can get ‘lost’ for days exploring the waterfalls, canyons, caves and numerous wineries and cheese farms.
  • Along the north coast in locations such as Low Head, it is possible to see the Little Penguins coming ashore in the evening.
  • Making your way to the East Coast, enjoy the beautiful Bay of Fires. If you have a love of oysters, you’ll definitely want to make it to St Helens where they have the near perfect Georges Bay oysters available.
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  • Freycinet National Park is another of those simply beautiful areas. Wineglass Bay is a great walk if you have time and the weather is kind to you. There’s also a variety of short walks with stunning views.
  • On your way to Port Arthur, you will see plenty of natural attraction. You can see blowholes, lookouts and beautiful beaches. You could also pop into the Tasmania Devil Conservation Park at Taranna.
  • Spend some time in Port Arthur, on the southern coast. Previously a convict settlement, it is where you can visit an old prison which gives a wonderful insight into what life was like in those days.
  • Before heading back to Hobart, pop into Richmond which has several 19th century Georgian buildings. It is also home to Australia’s oldest bridge which was built by convict labour in the 1820’s.
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Learn more details and useful planning tips about this route.

Grab yourself a drink, sit back and relax while you watch this 8-minute video providing more insight to help your road trip planning for Tasmania.

Tasmania route planning tips

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  • Best travelled over the summer months (November to April) as it is cold in winter.
  • Even in summer the weather can be changeable in Tasmania, so suggest packing a few layers including a jacket. February is a nice to time to experience Tassie once school holidays are over and before it starts getting cooler.
  • To experience Tasmania, we offer motorhome hire to/from Hobart. It doesn’t matter which direction you do the ‘lap’ of the island – and yes, we even have motorhomes which can travel on the ferry to Bruny Island. Let us know if that is on your route trip plan.
  • You’ll find helpful information centres along your route.
  • There are a number of sealed road options to weave your way around the island of Tasmania – for this reason a 2WD self-contained motorhome hire is most popular from Hobart.

Suggested minimum time frame of 14 days; many of our retired clients take 28 days or longer if you wish to do a lap of the island.

  • There is a range of commercial caravan parks, national park and freedom camping options on this route. The area can be busy in the popular summer travelling months – if you have pre-planned your route, it is worth booking your caravan park sites in advance to avoid disappointment.
  • Refer to the Camps Australia Wide Guide book for locations for freedom camps which can be purchased along your route at some information centres, book or camping stores. You can also purchase an app called ‘Wiki Camps’ if you use a smart phone or tablet, plus the information centres en-route are a gold mine for local information.
  • As a traveller along this route, please do note some areas have alcohol restrictions.
  • See plenty of wildlife when travelling in this area like kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, echidnas, platypus, a range of birdlife such as the little penguins or maybe you’ll see elusive tasmania devil!
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We’d strongly recommend obtaining a national park pass for Tasmania. There is an entry fee for each NP – most travellers wish to visit some of these, so it is very easy to save money with the pass. It also includes the shuttle bus at Cradle Mountain.

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