We have booked a 9 days motorhome holiday Hobart/ Hobart in late January.

Can anyone advise if the following is a practical itinery, wanting to see as much as possible but without making the mistake of trying to cram too much in and rushing around. We think trying to do the whole island in just 9 days is too much and have sort of decided on:
Hobart, Launceston, then Tamar Valley, across to St Helens, Freycinet, then Convict trail and Huon Valley before returning to Hobart.
Also is overnight parking allowed en route (like NZ) or must you use campgrounds in Tasmania.
Cheers medears

We will be in TAS in our van from mid Dec to mid Jan.
You can camp pretty much anywhere. I'll check out a website or two for you so Stay Tuned. Otherwise I will photocopy my book for you.

Blue Tier near St Helens is worth a look if you like hills and walks and abandoned mines. Cradle mountain is fastastic as well. Nine days is a good amount to see quite a lot and not be rushed.

There are six Distilleries too if you like scotch as well.

Back again.

Here are some websites for you.

This book costs about A$55 and will pay for itself in a night or two. Or I can photocopy sections of ours.
http://www.campsaustraliawide.com/index.php

Some good deals here if you are into paid attractions.
http://www.seetasmaniacard.com/

General Tourism site.
http://www.discovertasmania.com/

Forestry site for cheap and free campsites. Some may cost a $4-5 per person per night.
http://www.forestrytas.com.au/

There is lots to do and see, but nine days will give you a great overview.

Where are you from and what interests do you have?

I would skip the beaches unless they are a big thing for you. Even in summer the water is Very cold. It can be quite cool overall as well.

Penguin in the north as the name suggests is home to a Fairy Penguin Rookery. Worth a look.

Let me know what else you want. We spent three weeks last time and will do four this time - mainly hiking this time.

Cheers.

Thanks for that, I will look at those sites. We are from UK (Devon) and enjoy the freedom of a camper, not done Aus in one but spent a few long motorhome holidays in NZ which we love.

Going to Aus again cause daughter moving to live in Melbourne shortly so are taking the opportunity to visit Tasmania.

We love the coastline, scenery, history, walking (as opposed to long hiking) and local cuisine (oyster buff) but mainly just the freedom of touring around. Must say the distilleries sound inviting as will the vineyards and local beer!

Thanks again.

You are missing the west coast with this itinerary, the best bits in my view: Cradle Mountain, Lake St Clair, Strahan. Have you thought of doing a slightly different circle: Hobart-Freycinet--Cradle Mountain--Strahan--Lake St Clair--Hobart?

That might be a bit rushed in 9 days but you could drop out Lake St Clair.

With Beer - Boags is from Launceston and Cascade is from Hobart. So to save a very slight amount of intercity rivalry don't ask for the wrong one. Both are very nice. I prefer the Boags as it has a fuller flavour.

There are some good ciders as well.We will need to explore those for you, before making any recommendations.

I agree with Susan.

Yes, see your point re West coast, but we thought something had to be missed so opted for middle and East coast route, nothing is decide yet so will take all your advise, thanks.
With a daughter in Melbourne tho' we expect to visit often, and if Tasmania appeals we will certainly go again, (nice to see and visit families, but also nice to escape after a while!)

You can't camp just anywhere in Tasmania and rangers in the State's parks will move you on unless there is a designated camping area. Also if you are going into Parks you would be wise to get an All Parks pass through the Service Tasmania website as this is a cheaper option and absolutely required.
(See http://www.discovertasmania.com/abou...i_purchase_one
Many Councils do not permit just-anywhere camping either so one has to be aware of that. Really depends on how you cope with being moved on ......
Also if you are coming between Christmas and the beginning of February, this is summer school holiday period in Tasmania (as it is across Australia) and accommodation and camping sites are booked out months ahead. I would be surprised if there would still be any vacancies on the East Coast but you could try to book ahead now for your own peace of mind.
You go through Hobart to get to the Huon valley so would suggest you keep that in mind while organising your itinerary. Nine days is ok as long as you are not too ambitious. My suggestion would be Hobart for 3 days with a day trip into the Huon Valley. Launceston as a base for 3 days including visiting the Tamar Valley and its wineries, and the East coast for 3 days. You have more hope of getting a booking somewhere if it is not just an overnighter. Hope this helps anyway.

Just to add: there is a list of free campsites at
http://campingtasmania.com/free-camping-tasmania.htm
though I think all of these are in rural rather than urban areas. Much depends on whether you are most interested in urban centres or bush camping.

We've never had a problem camping just about anywhere. We only stay for a night and not where there are "No Camping" signs. In 14 years we are yet to stay in a commercial caravan park. We do stay longer in state and national parks, though.

Thanks for the above website. We will use it too. We are spending a month over Christmas in our van.

Spend a bit more time in the Huon Valley. There are places that you can stay at without a problem - one of them is Eggs and Bacon Bay or Randels Bay, a nice little spot on the river at Franklin, there is also a nice spot in Cygnet, a van park ( of sorts) in Dover across from the sea, some other wonderful places in and around Surges Bay, Police Point. Plenty of places that you can stop en route to the Tahune Airwalk - check out the Huon Valley Map when you arrive. One of my favourites places is at Conningham which is south of Margate. You keep following the road till you find the beach - lovely safe beach with great swimming and sandstone rocks behind it with little boat houses - if you continue on the dirt road you will come to an area with a walk above a large sea cave - there will be no one else about and the views are lovely. Wonderful quiet spot. Then of course there is a nice caravan park at Snug Beach which has the luxury of having the Snug Pub close at hand where you can get a fantastic Pub meal. Try the Super Steak or perhaps try it for the two of you 'cause its big enough. Local's have to book on weekends here. Also the lower pub in Cygnet is a wonderful place - great food and a nice place. Lastly there is a camping site at Gordon which is right on the beach - you cannot miss it as there will be a lot of other people doing the same thing. You can fish of the pier and if you go up to Middleton ( about 2 klms away) and go down the esplanade you can get oysters off the rocks. Enjoy this area as its lovely!