Is Queenstown and Strahan worth visiting in Tasmania?
YesQueenstown for the strangeness, Strahan for the river.
Yes, and they are worth it for opposite reasons. Queenstown is a mining town surrounded by bare, eroded hills — a century of copper smelting stripped the vegetation and the rain did the rest, leaving something that looks like nowhere else in Australia. It is genuinely strange and worth the stop. Strahan sits on Macquarie Harbour and is the gateway to the Gordon River and the Franklin wilderness. Our five day loop spends two nights at Strahan, from $939, in motels or cabins with ensuites.
Checked on 6 October 2026.
Tasmania's west coast is the half of the island most people run out of days before reaching. It is also the most unlike anywhere else, and the two towns are the reason.
Queenstown
- The hills are bare.A century of copper smelting killed the vegetation with sulphur, logging took the rest, and the heavy west coast rain then stripped the topsoil. What is left is pink and grey rock.
- It is slowly regeneratingwhich is itself part of what you are looking at.
- The gravel football ovalis the local landmark — grass would not grow, so the town played on gravel.
- It is not pretty and that is the point.People find it unsettling or fascinating, rarely neither.
- The drive in over the rangesis as much of it as the town.
Strahan
- Macquarie Harbouris six times the size of Sydney Harbour, with the narrow entrance known as Hells Gates.
- The Gordon River cruisegoes up into cool temperate rainforest where the water is stained the colour of tea by button grass.
- Sarah Islanda convict settlement in the harbour, harsher than Port Arthur and earlier.
- The West Coast Wilderness Railwayclimbs back towards Queenstown on a rack-and-pinion line through the rainforest.
- Ocean Beachis 40km long and faces the Southern Ocean with nothing between it and Argentina.
The trips that go there
| Trip | Length | Where you sleep | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Day Tasmania Tour | 5 days, 4 nights | 4 nights in motels or cabins — two nights at Strahan, then Launceston and Bicheno. Room upgrades are available. Rooms have ensuite facilities. | $939 |
| 7 Day Tasmania Tour | 7 days, 6 nights | 6 nights in cabins or motels — two nights at Strahan, then Launceston, Bicheno and two nights in Hobart. Room upgrades are available. Rooms have ensuite facilities. | $1539 |
| 6 Day Tasmania in Comfort | 6 days, 5 nights | 5 nights in private motel rooms — Silver Hills Motel in Queenstown, Tullah Lakeside Lodge, Leisure Inn Penny Royal in Launceston, Scamander Beach Resort, then Eastcoaster Resort at Orford. Rooms have ensuite facilities. | $1999 |
| 10 Day Ultimate Tasmania Tour | 10 days, 9 nights | 9 nights in motels and hotels — Queenstown, Burnie, Smithton, Devonport, Launceston and Bicheno, then three nights at the Travelodge in Hobart. | $3210 |
The 5 and 7 day loops both stay two nights at Strahan. The 10 day Ultimate includes the Gordon River cruise and stays at Queenstown.
Two nights at Strahan is the detail that matters. It is a long way round from Hobart, and a single night means arriving late and leaving early — which is exactly when the harbour and the river are worth being there for.
Who it suits
- Anyone on their second visit to Tasmania.If you have done Port Arthur, Bruny and Cradle Mountain, this is the half you have not seen.
- People who like somewhere odd.Queenstown is not a beauty spot and it is more memorable for it.
- Older visitorsthe Gordon River is a boat cruise and the towns are small. Rated comfort 4 on the loops, in motels with ensuites.
- Not a short trip.If you have three days in Tasmania, spend them in the south.
Getting there
It is a long way round from either city — the loops take four or five days to get there and back, which is why almost nobody does it as a side trip. The weather is the wettest in the state, which is what makes the rainforest what it is. There is more on reaching Tasmania at all on our how do you get to Tasmania page.
5 Day Tasmania Tourfrom $9395 days, 4 nightsMotel / Cabin5 days — two nights at Strahan, from $939View trip
7 Day Tasmania Tourfrom $15397 days, 6 nightsCabins / Motel7 days — the same loop, slowerView trip
10 Day Ultimate Tasmania Tourfrom $321010 days, 9 nightsMotel Accommodation10 days — with the Gordon River cruiseView tripWhere this comes from. Trip lengths, where you sleep, what is included and prices are each trip's own details as held on its page here, and prices update on their own.