Tasmania is the one state where the distances are genuinely small and the planning is genuinely hard. Nothing is more than a few hours away; everything worth staying in books out months ahead, and the weather does what it likes regardless of the month.
Tasmania covers about 68,000 square kilometres, which is roughly the size of Ireland. Hobart to Launceston on the Midland Highway is 200 km and just over two hours — the longest fast drive on the island. Everything else is slower than the map suggests, because the roads follow terrain rather than cutting through it. Hobart to Strahan is 300 km and takes four hours. Launceston to Cradle Mountain is 150 km and takes two and a half.
This compactness has two consequences. First, you can genuinely see a great deal in a week without spending it behind the wheel: a seven-day east coast run from Hobart to Launceston covers about 620 km in total, less than a single day on the Bruce Highway. Second, everyone else has worked this out too. Between December and March, Freycinet, Cradle Mountain and Bruny Island operate at capacity, and the vehicle deck of the Spirit of Tasmania ferry from Geelong is booked out for peak sailings many months in advance.
The other planning constraint is fuel and daylight in the west. Between Queenstown and Derwent Bridge on the Lyell Highway there are effectively no services for 85 km of winding mountain road, and there are similar gaps south of Strathgordon and on the road to Corinna. Mobile coverage disappears across most of the central plateau and the west coast. In winter, useful daylight in the highlands is short enough that a late start genuinely limits what you can do.
The Tasman Peninsula, Maria Island, Freycinet, the Bay of Fires and the north-east. Short driving days throughout — the longest single leg is under two hours. This is the trip to book earliest, because Coles Bay accommodation is the tightest on the island.
Launceston or Devonport into Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, then out through Sheffield and the north-west coast. Private vehicles are restricted past the visitor centre in peak periods; the shuttle bus to Dove Lake is the normal way in.
Hobart across the central plateau to Derwent Bridge, down through Queenstown to Strahan. The Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers country either side of the highway is the reason to go. Rain falls on more days than not; plan around it rather than for it.
A short vehicle ferry from Kettering, 40 minutes south of Hobart, then a compact island of sealed and gravel roads. The isthmus lookout, the Neck, is the well-known stop. Ferry queues on summer weekends are long enough to cost an hour each way.
The whole island at a workable pace, arriving and leaving by ferry with your own vehicle. Twelve days lets you sit still for two nights in three or four places rather than moving daily. Book the vehicle deck months ahead for summer sailings.
Pink granite peaks above Wineglass Bay. The lookout walk is about an hour and a half return and steep in the middle; continuing down to the beach roughly doubles it. Parking at the main trailhead overflows by mid-morning in January, and the park operates a shuttle in peak periods.
The Dove Lake circuit is a two-hour boardwalk loop and one of the most rewarding short walks in the country when the mountain is out — which is perhaps one day in three. The park is also the northern trailhead of the Overland Track, which is booked and fee-controlled in season.
An hour from Hobart, with Russell Falls a ten-minute stroll from the car park and alpine terrain 15 km further up a narrow gravel road. It is the easiest place in Tasmania to see both tall wet forest and highland vegetation in one afternoon. The upper road can close in snow.
Sea cliffs on the Tasman Peninsula, including some of the highest in the southern hemisphere. The Cape Hauy and Cape Raoul day walks are exposed, undulating and take longer than the distances imply. Wind off the Southern Ocean is the main hazard on the cliff tops.
| Leg | Distance | Driving time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart to Port Arthur | 95 km | 1 h 30 m | Slow, winding peninsula road |
| Hobart to Coles Bay | 195 km | 2 h 30 m | Freycinet's access town |
| Hobart to Launceston | 200 km | 2 h 15 m | The island's one fast road |
| Hobart to Strahan | 300 km | 4 h | No services for 85 km west of Derwent Bridge |
| Launceston to Cradle Mountain | 150 km | 2 h 30 m | Last fuel at Sheffield or Mole Creek |
| Devonport to Launceston | 100 km | 1 h 15 m | Standard first leg off the ferry |
| Launceston to Bay of Fires | 180 km | 2 h 30 m | Via St Helens |
| Hobart to Mount Field | 75 km | 1 h 10 m | Easy half-day trip |
December to March is the season, and February is the single best month: the water is at its warmest, the highland tracks are clear of snow, and the daylight runs past nine in the evening. March is nearly as good and noticeably quieter once school returns. April is a genuine shoulder month — cool, often still, and the last of the reliable highland walking.
From May to August the island is cold and wet, the highlands carry snow, and short daylight limits what you can do in a day. It is not a write-off — Hobart, the Tasman Peninsula and the wineries around the Tamar are all fine in winter, and accommodation is both available and cheaper — but it is not the time for the Overland Track or a Cradle Mountain summit attempt.
The one thing to internalise about Tasmanian weather is that altitude matters more than season. Snow has fallen on the central plateau in every month of the year. A February walk at Cradle Mountain can involve horizontal rain and near-freezing wind chill, and the park's own advice is to carry warm and waterproof layers on every walk regardless of the forecast. That is not an abundance of caution; it is the normal condition.
Tasmania uses a single parks pass system covering all its national parks, sold as a vehicle pass for a set period rather than a per-park entry fee. For anything longer than a couple of days, the holiday pass is the sensible option. Passes are bought from the state park service or at the larger visitor centres; check current pricing with the Tasmanian park service before you travel. Camping fees inside parks are separate.
Campsites inside the parks are generally small, unpowered and popular. Freycinet's campground is balloted for the peak summer period. Outside the parks, Tasmania has an unusually good network of free and low-cost council campgrounds, especially along the east coast and in the north-west, though these also fill in January.
Bringing a caravan means booking the Spirit of Tasmania vehicle deck early — the length-based fares are charged by the metre and peak sailings sell out first. On the island itself, the roads that cause trouble are the Cradle Mountain approach, the Gordon River Road beyond Maydena, and the narrow section of the Lyell Highway through the Franklin valley. All are sealed; none are enjoyable with a large van behind you.
Living here, the mistake I see most often is a seven-day itinerary that tries to include both Freycinet and Strahan. They are on opposite sides of the island and the crossing eats two of your days. Pick a coast. The east in one week, the west and Cradle in another — and if you have ten days, do the east coast and Cradle Mountain, and leave Strahan for a trip that has time for it.