TASMANIA ROADTRIP GUIDE

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Before going to Australia and in the midst of travel arrangements, we were not sure whether to include Tasmania in the itinerary. Going would mean having to include a flight from Melbourne back and forth, which would increase the budget. But we really wanted to know this island in southern Australia and some of its special inhabitants, such as the Tasmanian devil. So in the end we decided to dedicate a week and we can't be happier! Here we leave you the Tasmania roadtrip guide, with the stages, the kilometers traveled, the places to sleep, the essential visits, what to see and do and all the useful information you need!

Some small pildoritas with basic roadtrip information:

Start and end point: Hobart
Total days: 7
Total kilometers: 1,792
Type of vehicle: rented camper van (Euro Tourer style in Apollo or Deuce 2 in Mighty). More info in section 4.

Theroute for tour Tasmania usually a circular path, departing and returning to its capital: Hobart. We chose to do it counterclockwise, we had read that it was the best option and we agree.

The tour started in the direction southeast to visit the Tasman Peninsula, and from there we head north all over the East Coast. After passing through Bay of Fires we enter the inside from Tasmania to later travel the entire road of the North Coast. The next stage took us back to center passing through Cradle Mountain and we arrived at the island of Bruny Island. Finally we return to Tasmania from where we take a flight back to Melbourne.

We tell you the details of each stage, with the links to the articles to access our experience in each of the places visited.

♣ STAGE 1: Tasman Peninsula

255 km
Starting point: Hobart Airport
End point: Camping in Mayfield Bay
Must see views: Richmond Bridge, Tessellated Pavement, Tasman Arch, Devils Kitchen, Blow Hole, Port Arthur and its historic penitentiary, Remarkable Cave, Maingon Bay Lookout and Spring Beach.
READ THE ARTICLE

♣ STAGE 2: Freycinet National Park

230 km
Starting point: Camping in Mayfield Bay
End point: Camping in Jeanneret Beach
Must see views: Spiky Bridge, Devil's Corner Scenic Farm View, Freycinet National Park (with these stops: Wineglass Bay Lookout, Honeymoon Bay, Sleepy Bay, Cape Tourville Lighthouse and Lookout and Friendly Beaches) and finally Bicheno and its Blowhole.
READ THE ARTICLE

♣ STAGE 3: Bay of Fires

300 km
Starting point: Camping in Jeanneret Beach
End point: Camping at Liffey Falls
Must see views: The Gardens, Binalong Bay, Halls Waterfalls, Derby, Launceston and its impressive Cataract Gorge Reserve park, Grindelwald Swiss Village and the Liffey Falls.
READ THE ARTICLE

♣ STAGE 4: North Coast

298 km
Starting point: Camping in Liffey Falls
End point: Burnie
Must see views: Devonport, Penguin Road (Scenic Road), Table Cape Lighthouse, Tollymore Road (The Scenic Road) and The Nut in Stanley.
READ THE ARTICLE

♣ STAGE 5: Cradle Mountain National Park

407 km
Starting point: Burnie
End point: Ellendale (Russell Falls)
Essential visits: Cradle Mountain and some of its roads (we made the one that surrounds the 6km Dove Lake), Queenstown, Horsetail Falls and Nelson Falls.
READ THE ARTICLE

♣ STAGE 6: Bruny Island

226 km
Starting point: Ellendale (Russell Falls)
End point: Camping at The Neck, on Bruny Island
Essential visits: Russell Falls, The Neck Lookout, its campsite and its beach and the Lighthouse at the southern end.
READ THE ARTICLE

♣ STAGE 7: Hobart

75 km
Starting point: Camping at The Neck, on Bruny Island
End point: Hobart
Essential visits: we tell you 20 in the article.
READ THE ARTICLE

If, like us, you are already in Australia and want to make a van route in Tasmania, the total cost of the trip does not have to be excessive. Besides traveling by van you will save the accommodation and you can cook your own dishes, so the budget is still lower. Here we summarize thebudget per total person of a trip to Tasmania, taking as reference a trip for two people of 1 week.

Flights * → € 65

Van rental: → € 165

Gasoline → € 83

Accommodation → € 0

Food → € 50

Miscellaneous expenses ** → € 100

TOTAL → € 463

* The flights we refer to would be round trip from Melborune. Basically there are two low cost companies that make this route: Jetstar and Tigerair. As always, it is recommended to book well in advance to be more likely to get good prices. You can compare all the options on the Skyscanner website. There is the possibility of arriving by ferry to Devenport, north of Tasmania, although we believe that both for price and duration, it is not entirely advisable.

** In various expenses we have to include the pass of the national parks of the state of Tasmania, which costs 60AUS per vehicle (€ 18 per person), the proportional part of the travel insurance and something for contingencies.

One of the advantages of a roadtrip in Tasmania is that the pick-up and return of the van will be in the same office, which saves us the one-way rate.

You also have to keep in mind that usually the price includes basic coverage, which usually has a franchise amount (between 2,700 and 5,000 AUS), which will be the maximum you pay in case of an accident. There are always options to hire aextended coverage package, with a daily rate of between 25 and 50AUS that eliminated the franchise. These packages also usually include some extras, such as sheets, avoid paying the administrative fee of the franchise, table and chairs ... It is important that you compare between the different companies, since if in the end you decide to take out the insurance, you may It offers better prices on the rental then it goes up with the insurance rates ... Calculate and compare!

The rental prices They vary a bit depending on the season, the rental of a Hitop van can leave for about 50€ up to date. We made the reservation through the Motorhome Republic website that compares all van rental companies in Australia and proposes the best rates. We rented with Go Cheap (Cruisin's subsidiary) a manual Hitop for 7 days paying 562AUS (about € 350), not including the price of extended insurance, which was about 40AUS per day.

The Tasmania van week trip Click here to see lots of interesting sites. But in our top10 We give you the classification of what we liked most personally:

Trekking around Dove Lake, in Cradle Mountain National Park
The Gardens, in Bay of Fires
Wineglass Bay Lookout, in Freycinet National Park
Russell Falls
The Neck, in Bruny Island
Tasman Arch, in the Tasman Peninsula
Richmond Bridge
Port Arthur Penitentiary
Cataract Gorge Reserve in Launceston
The Nut, in Stanley on the north coast (and come on… the Blowhole in Bicheno)

Up to here our One-week roadtrip guide through Tasmania by van. We hope it has helped you and you know, if you have any questions, leave us a comment!

* Photocredit main image: by Jack Cain on Unsplash