luvtravl

We are going to get to add a few days to our trip to Australia in mid November. Had planned Melbourne, GOR, Grampians, Kangaroo Island, Flinders Ranges and Sydney. Considering using those extra days for Tasmania. We would probably fly into Launceston and have 3 full days and 4 nights. We are most interested in scenery & nature. Any suggestions on itinerary?

stormbird

I loved Cataract Gorge in Launceston - such a beautiful place so close to a city!

peterSale

Three days is cutting it fine. Check out the tasmanian tourist website. Here is a taste. We spent three weeks.

South West Coast - Wilderness and river cruise; thousand year old Huon pine. Old steam train. Sarah Island convict History.

North west - some wilderness; waterfalls, caves, The Nut at Stanley; Penguins at Penguin.

East Coast - beaches and Forests. Tasmanian Devil Park

South - Hobart and Port Arthur - Convict history, wild coast line, tree top walk.

Everywhere - Breweries; distilleries (said to match Scotland for quality)food and wine arts and craft. Scenery.

No Where - High rise; people; noise etc. The Island has less than 500 000 people most of which livein the two "cities".

margo_oz

From Launceston - Cradle Mountain is the pick.

There's another national park on the NW coast - name eludes me - which is said to be spectacular

luvtravl

Great info. We're thinking we could spend two nights at Cradle Lake Lodge and two nights perhaps on the east coast but if there is a better place in the northwest we could consider that as well and depart from Devonport. Would you choose east coast or northwest for final two nights?

luvtravl

Sorry for the previous run-on sentence! We could also depart from Hobart.

peterSale

Depends on wheter you want to see Port Arthur and the convict history.The North West is full of great parks. The Tarkine wilderness is in the NW and is probably what Margo is alluding to.

The east coast is fairly typical sandy beaches and some great forests but notreally that different to the NW.

I would spend two night in Hobart doing Port Arthur and the rugged coast nearby on one day and the Tahune tree top walk and forests the other. Or hobart itself with the Cadbury factory, breweries and distilleries.

The Wrest Point Casino has a revolving restaurant, we quite liked.

luvtravl

We're most interested in outdoor scenery and wildlife. Perhaps the Northwest coast would be a good option - I'll do a little research and see what we come up with.

DebitNM

Hijacking the thread for a moment -
Luvtravl - did you ever end up staying at this rental?
I am looking at one, think it is the same place.
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ce-to-stay.cfm

luvtravl

Hi Debit - Our plans changed and we did not stay but it does look great doesn't it? I'm glad you posted the thread because we would consider staying there for a future trip.

francophiletasmania

Tasmania is bigger than it looks on a map and to go from the west coast or Cradle Mountain to the east coast is quite a drive - you can't go through the centre, you either have to go back via the northern roads or south to Strahan and back to Hobart. We are not talking highways but basically rural roads or slightly better and lots of bends. Drive with care!

If you were coming into Launceston I would suggest the following areas - Evandale which is a charming village and lots of B and Bs, cafes and a fun Sunday market. A short drive from the airport so a good first stop and you can check out Launceston, the Gorge etc from there.

You could then head west through Hadspen - if you like - visiting Entally House, see
http://www.entally.com.au/
and the charming village of Westbury, and definitely stop at Deloraine to look at the magnificent quilts done by the locals which illustrate the local history. (They are stunning and in a purpose built theatre).

Up via Sheffield (Have a look at the murals in Sheffield -not my taste actually). If you are interested in gardens, Mole Creek has two beauties and a good B and B at
http://www.oldwesleydaleheritage.com/
This is a gorgeous area too. YOu can go to Cradle Mountain from Sheffield etc.

There is an ABC Open Garden book (most newsagents) which shows dates and times of private garden Spring openings across Tasmania.
You could then go on to Stanley which is an historic town with National Trust buildings. Right on Bass Strait.
You can make arrangements via their website to visit Woolnorth from there, this is the former HQ of the Van Diemens Land Company on Cape Grim. See
http://www.woolnorthtours.com.au/accommodation.html
Supposed to have the cleanest air in the world. They have accommodation also.

That will probably be your 3 days but if not you can visit the vineyard area around Lilydale
see http://kreglingerwineestates.com/index.php
for one of the best known though there are a few.
A great B and B there is
http://www.bloomingtasmania.com/the-pear-walk.php

Also Strathlyn just west of Launceston has a winery restaurant and accommodation - see
http://www.strathlyn.com.au/

Hope this helps - maybe the east coast or the south next time?
Happy travels and just ask if any queries ...

francophiletasmania

Whoops just noticed Pear Walk website is actually
http://www.thepearwalk.com/Garden.htm

JoanneH

3 days is to short. Here is what we did and it worked for us.
Flew nto Launceston spent the afternoon doing the gorge and town, evening we went to a local. Early am took the bus across country to Hobart at rest stop we actually saw a platapuss in the wild! Spent 3 days in Hobart area, doing Port A (took most of a day), Breweries and distilleries, city area, hired driver to just drive us around for 1/2 a day it was quite cheap and we saw lots of things we might not have otherwise seen. We did not get up the mountain as it was snowing and road problems. There is a great fish place at the docks as well as a revamped area along the docks with several shops and eating places. Center of town is more up the hill from the dock area and again loaded with all kinds of shops but just driving around you will see so so much.

luvtravl

Thanks everyone. We decided to add the extra time to our existing itinerary since we couldn't really do justice to Tasmania in that time frame. We'll save your great suggestions though for hopefully a future trip!