Where should I go in Tasmania, and how long do I need?
Cradle Mountain, Wineglass Bay, Port Arthur, Bruny Island and the Tarkine are what people come for. You can see any one of them from Hobart in a day, but three days links the best of them without driving the same road twice, and a week reaches the wild west coast as well.
Checked on 5 October 2026.
Tasmania looks small on a map and is not. The roads are beautiful and slow, so the real question is not where to go but how to link places without driving the same stretch twice. Here is what each place gives you, then the loops that join them up.
The five places to plan around
- Cradle Mountain — the one on the postcards. Dove Lake, the boardwalks and the best alpine walking in the state.
- Wineglass Bay and Freycinet — the curve of white sand everyone photographs, on the east coast.
- Port Arthur — the convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, and the most affecting history in Australia.
- Bruny Island — a short ferry from near Hobart, and a whole day of coastline, lighthouse and food producers.
- The west coast and the Tarkine — rainforest, Strahan and the Gordon River. The furthest to reach and the wildest.
How long you actually need
| If you have | What fits | Trip | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Two days** | Bruny Island and the best of the south, with a night out of the city | 2 Day Best of Tasmania Tour | $299 |
| **Three days** | The sweet spot — Bruny, the east coast and the mountains, no doubling back | 3 Day Best of Tasmania Tour | $449 |
| **Five days** | Adds Cradle Mountain and the west properly, sleeping in cabins and motels | 5 Day Tasmania Tour | $939 |
| **A week** | The full circuit including the Tarkine and the west coast | 7 Day Tasmania Tour | $1539 |
| **Ten days** | Everything, slowly, including the corners most visitors never reach | 10 Day Ultimate Tasmania Tour | $3210 |
All of these include pick-up from your accommodation. Prices are per person and update on their own.
Starting in Hobart or Launceston?
- Hobart is the better base for a short trip — Bruny Island, Port Arthur, Wineglass Bay and even Cradle Mountain are all day trips from it.
- Launceston is closer to Cradle Mountain and the north, so it suits you if you are flying into one and out of the other.
- Doing both? There are one-day scenic runs between the two cities that double as the transfer, so the travel day is a trip in itself.
The trips that link it all up
People also ask
- What are the best day trips from Hobart?
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- What are the best day trips from Perth?
- Which Kakadu tour should I do from Darwin?
Where this comes from. Each operator's own itinerary and pick-up sheet, as held on that trip's page here. Prices are the current from price and update on their own.