We are trying to plan a trip to Tasmania some time between February and May 2019, although we are open to a different time frame if there is a better time to go. Duration would be around 2 weeks and we want to do some day hikes, so weather will figure into our plans. Looking for the sweet spot of fewer tourists and lower prices, but good hiking/driving weather. I’ve looked at school holiday dates around Easter and they are either April 6-22 or April 13-28, depending on location. There are also several national public holidays between April 19-25. I have no idea how these would impact travel in Tasmania.

During a previous trip to Oz (from the US) we spent 3 weeks exploring NSW. Since travel time is so long, I’d like to explore some other areas on this trip. The red center? Queensland/Daintree area? I know that Australia is so huge that there’s no perfect time to explore different regions.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I forgot to mention that we also explored Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road during our previous trip.

Hi martharap -

I hesitate to try to help, as it's been eons since we last visited TAS, but IME the 'sweet spot' is after Easter. Good Friday through Easter Monday will mean plenty of closures, high prices and a lot of travelers - it's a very busy long weekend in Australia (we were in TAS one Easter weekend and had trouble finding a meal, let alone petrol). In the seven years we lived in Australia, we avoided traveling during Easter like the plague.

Weather in TAS can be variable - by Australian standards it's quite cool, but 40c temps in the summer are not unheard of. What you consider good weather might not be the same as what I consider good weather - I like cool, especially for hiking!

I have two rather ancient TAS trip reports posted here on Fodor's - we're avid walkers, so you might (or might not) glean a few tidbits from them.

HELP! The type size is suddenly tiny and I don’t know how to revert to the original size. Apologies for that.

I should have guessed you would answer my query! You helped immensely with our previous trip to Australia and our New Zealand travels. Thanks.

I’ll keep in mind what you say re: avoiding travel over Easter. I’m guessing that tracks and roads will be okay in May and that winter weather holds off until June. I’ll also check out your old trip reports.

well, it posted in the correct size, so it’s just my typing that is tiny!

I would try and go before Easter to get nicer weather, I was there in February last year and the weather was pretty nice, a little colder than I would have liked but still lovely, and it wasnt too busy.

Thanks. I also just discovered that Daylight Savings ends April 7 in Australia, so we will plan to finish our trip by then to take advantage of longer daylight hours.