kimJ

Can anyone recommend a hotel in the Port Arthur area? Will be there at the end of Feb 08.

Thanks

Melnq8

Hi Kim -

I can't make any personal recommendations, as we've only visited Port Arthur as a day trip from Hobart. Here are a few sites that might help you select a place though:

http://www.stayz.com.au/accommodatio...ia/port-arthur

http://www.discovertasmania.com.au

www.wotif.com is also a good site, but you can only book a maximum of 28 days in advance.

Good luck.

kimJ

Thanks for the info Mel I'll check out those sights.

It would be great to hear from anyone who's stayed in the area. Is it worth staying for a night or two around Port Arthur,or better to make it a day trip from Hobart? We have 14 days in Tas and plan to make our way up the East Coast to Launceston and then tour back to Hobart. Any itinerary suggestions would be welcome.

Cheeers Kim

stevew

Greetings Kim

We were in Port Aurthur 3 weeks ago and stayed at the Port Arthur Motor Inn - which is part of the comfort inn chain.

http://www.portarthur-inn.com.au/

The rooms were a bit small, but the facility was fabulous. They have a gate that lets you right into the Historic Port Arthur Prison area. So you don't have to drive anywhere, just walk in.

They offer several packages. We booked the Ghost Tour package which included dinner, breakfast and of course the Ghost Tour.

The meals were excellent. We also enjoyed the Ghost tour. We wish the tour sizes were smaller, but its a lot of fun.

We spent 2 days (1 night) and wished we would have stayed another day. So much to see

Cheers

Steve and Andrea

PS the laundry facilities were also excellent at the hotel

Melnq8

Hi again Kim -

It's nice to hear from someone who's spending a reasonable amount of time in TAS! So much to see and do...

We've been to TAS twice, spending 14-16 days each time and we loved it.

We faced the same dilemma - we originally planned to spend 2-3 nights near Port Arthur, but instead decided to visit as a day trip from Hobart (on the recommendation of a fellow Fodorite). I'm glad we did, as we found that our time was better spent elsewhere.

I have two Tasmania trip reports posted here that might give you some ideas regarding itinerary:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34540728

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34790967

And some photos:

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/332559/index.html

TAS is a great place.

kimJ

Great trip reviews and photos melnq8!! I've printed the reviews for later reading and the photos are beautiful. We're really looking forward to seeing TAS in person!! The driving kinda scares me though as we are Canadians and are used to very wide highways and of course navigating the opposite side of the road. We toured NZ a few years ago and found some of the roads a challenge. Glad to see someone has the same appriciation for wine as us!!

Thanks Stevew for the info on the Comfort Inn. I was checking out their packages and was wondering what it was like.

Cheers, Kim

prue

We also stayed at the Inn whilst at Port Arthur and enjoyed it very much. It was nice to be able to come and go 'through the gate' and also take part in the evening events.
The rooms were comfortable and we enjoyed the meals.