10 Day Tasmania Itinerary: What to See & Do (1st Hand Guide)

Have you been looking for the best 10 day Tasmania itinerary? I’ve got you covered!

I’m an experienced traveller and meticulous planner, and am used to building itineraries to maximise our time in a destination. I’ve lived in Victoria for four years so have had the beautiful island of Tasmania right on our doorstep. This 10 day itinerary of Tasmania is an exact replica of a trip we took as a family, and I hope it helps you to build the perfect trip of your own.

Planning can be the most difficult part of a holiday, so this itnerary is designed to take away all the pain for you and make it super easy to find the best route around the island, hitting all the items on your Tasmania bucket list.

Make planning even easier by booking a 5-day tour. Combine with 5-days in Hobart for the complete itinerary & save on hire car costs.
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P.S. This itinerary assumes you are flying in to Tasmania mid-week and flying out on a Saturday, as Salamanca market only happens on a Saturday. You could do it slightly differently, flying in on a Saturday to enjoy the market before covering the rest of the island.

Drive to Strahan

After touching down at Hobart, it’s time to head out west to the wonderful little seaside village of Strahan.

We got the 0840 flight out of Melbourne and landed at 0955.

This is a big day of driving at around 300km. On paper, it’s 4 hours and 23 minutes, but by the time we picked up the hire car, stopped to do some shopping, navigated the windy roads of Tasmania’s forested interior and stopped off at Nelson Falls we got to Strahan around 1700, so the whole of day one was lost to travel.

Nelson Falls

About 3/4 of the way between Hobart and Strahan you’ll find Nelson Falls, which is well worth a stop, especially if you’ve been driving as long as I had. It’s a short walk to the falls and will be your first experience of Tasmania’s moody temperate rainforest.

Take a Gordon River Cruise

Taking a Gordon River Cruise was my main reason for coming to Tasmania, and I wasn’t disappointed. I am a UNESCO Heritage Site geek (Tasmania’s wilderness area is actually the most qualified UNESCO site in the world) and I can’t think of any better way to first experience it than exploring the rainforest by boat like an Amazon explorer.

I wrote an entire piece about my experience on the Gordon River, but the short story is it was magnificent, and you absolutely have to set a day aside in your Tasmania itinerary to do it.

🎫 Save money on your Gordon River Cruise by booking here

Sunset at Ocean Beach

The cruise will be done about 2pm, so there’s still time left in the day to explore around Strahan, so we opted for a drive out to Ocean Beach lookout to take in the sunset.

Unfortunately, a huge storm swirled in, and we quickly doubled back to Strahan to avoid it, but even on a grey day it was still a beautiful beach, so hopefully you will be more lucky.

Ride the West Coast Wilderness Railway

I pride myself on writing first-hand travel guides, but in this instance it’s not a first-hand recommendation, but not for a lack of trying. This post about what we did in Strahan explains exactly why our trip on the West Coast Wilderness Railway was cancelled, but either way it’s the second most popular tourist attraction in the area for a reason, and it receives a near perfect 5-star rating from over 1,500 reviews on TripAdvisor.

🎫 Book your West Coast Wilderness Railway tickets here

Watch The Ship That Never Was

There are always amateur drama productions on show in small towns, but believe me, you’ve never seen anything quite like this one. The Ship That Never Was tells the tale of convicts on Sarah Island who steal one of the final ships made there. They manage crowd involvement (including a huge water fight that left our daughter in giggles) and more laugh out loud moments than most sitcoms, all whilst gradually constructing a ship on stage. Book, it’s well worth it.

🎫 Book The Ship That Never Was tickets here

Hogarth Falls

It’s hard to believe this place is in Strahan as the second we got out of the car park it felt like being lost in the jungle.

You’ll need about half an hour for the walk to and from the falls, keep an eye out in the slow moving streams by the path for playtpus.

Henty Dunes

Henty Dunes are around 15 minutes outside Strahan and on the road to Cradle Mountain. A steep scramble up the dunes (the photo above is looking down to where we parked) once on top, the dunes run for over a dozen kilometres along the coast.

It’s possible to sandboard here, but the hire is back in Strahan, which isn’t convenient if you’re not heading back, so if you’re a thrillseeker, plan this for a different day.

Devils @ Cradle

Right beside the main parking for Cradle Mountain National Park you’ll find Devils @ Cradle a sanctuary and breeding program for Tasmanian Devils. We only took about half an hour here, but got some wonderful sights of these snarly little beasts. On the cuteness front, they were definitely upstaged by the quoll though, just look at that little guy!

🎫 Book a ‘Day Keeper Tour’ of Devils @ Cradle for less than $20

Seahorse World & Platypus House

Seahorse World and Platypus house sit right beside each other on the pier at Beauty Point.

Seahorse World was interesting, but a little sad. We thought the seahorses were being bred to supplement the natural population, but in fact they are sold to the pet trade. This soured our view of the place a little, even though the tour and the tanks full of seahorses at various stages in their lifecycle was actually quite good.

Platypus World was definitely our favourite of the two, with some big platypus tanks and a separate area where we sat with their monotreme cousins, the echidna.

Grindelwald

A strange fact about Tasmania is that there’s an entire Swiss alpine village just outside Launceston. The vision of ex-retailer Roelf Vos, it is now a fully-functioning resort town. We stopped in for an hour or so, grabbed a coffee, played in the arcades and pictured we were back in Europe.

Beaconsfield

We stayed just outside Beaconsfield and enjoyed this little mining town. The Mine and Heritage Centre is an interactive museum of mining that’s worth a visit and (perhaps more importantly!) next door is the Miner’s Gold brewery. Do yourself a favour and grab a red ale and a burger, you won’t regret it.

Tamar Valley

The Tamar Valley is a treasure trove for foodies and wine enthusiasts alike. A suggestion for your visit would be Josef Chromy Wines, a renowned winery that offers not only delicious wines but also a fantastic restaurant overlooking the picturesque vineyards. Also pen in some time at the Bridestowe Lavender Estate, where you can stroll through fields of fragrant lavender and treat yourself to lavender-infused goodies like ice cream and chocolates.

Take a Wine Tour of the Tamar Valley: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from 500+ Reviews

Launceston

Launceston is an industrial looking old city, it reminded me of being in northern England. I’ll be honest with you, we visited on a morning of grey, wet weather so did not make the most of the town city. City Park with its Japanese Snow Monkeys was beautiful, the architecture stunning but unfortunately the weather pushed us inside. Thankfully Launceston is a UNESCO city of gastronomy so we weren’t too hard done by, but next time we’re on the island we’ll head back and hopefully see it on a better day.

Cataract Gorge

On nearly every top 10 things to do in Tasmania list alongside Wineglass Bay, Cradle Mountain and the Gordon River you’ll find Cataract Gorge. A Victorian playground it is 5km of forested reserve surrounding a deep gorge, threaded with walking tracks and crossed by the longest single-span chairlift in the world.

⛵ Cruise Launceston to Cataract Gorge from $35 per person

Wineglass Bay

MONA is the most visited, Cradle Mountain the most famous but surely Wineglass Bay has to be the most photographed place in Tasmania? These sweeping shorelines have appeared in many travel agent’s window as a lure down south.

The classic walk from the Wineglass Bay car park took us just under an hour of rather steep hiking, but was well well worth it. I mean look at those views! There are other stop offs in the national park that you can get to by car, but the rest of Freycinet National Park needs you to don those hiking boots and head off further into the bush, something we didn’t have the urge to do with a 14kg toddler strapped to our back.

Either way, it kind of goes without saying that you’ve got to come here. A Tassie icon that lives up to its reputation and left my breathless in more way than one!

🎫 Take a 5-hour guided walking tour of Freycinet National Park

Devil’s Corner Winery

I haven’t included individual wineries elsewhere on this itinerary, but take one look at the photo above and you can see why I included Devil’s Corner. You’ll pass it on the road from Wineglass Bay to Swansea and (alongside some delicious wines) it has the most beautiful views back down the valley. Stop in for some lunch or dinner if you get the chance.

Sunset from Rosny Point

If you get back to Hobart in time and are all settled at your accommodation, do a Google search for Rosny Point and head up for sunset. I got the photo above from here, sweeping views over Hobart with the sun setting behind Mount Wellington.

Richmond

Richmond is a small town about 20 minutes from Hobart. I wanted to visit to see Australia’s oldest bridge (yes, really, welcome to my poor wife’s world) but it turned out to be a lot more than this.

We visited:

• The unusual but fun Pooseum (yep, it really is what you think it is)
• The model village of early Hobart
• A beautiful little gingerbread shop

Richmond gets included on a lot of tours from Hobart, or you can get the bus. If you’ve got a car it’s an easy drive, you’ll probably need a couple of hours. There are some great wineries nearby if you’re looking for a lunch stop too.

🎫 No hire car? Book a shuttle service from Hobart to Richmond

Museum of Old & New Art

I’m unlikely to write anything about MONA that hasn’t already been said. Voted in the top 20 places on earth by Lonely Planet’s ‘The 500 Best Places on the Planet… Ranked‘ it’s certainly not been short of plaudits. Founded be Tasmanian Millionaire David Walsh, it’s a museum-cum-gallery dug into a huge hole in the ground, and stuffed full of his collection. A poo machine, wall of vaginas and musician writing a new piece daily sit alongside books by Isaac Asimov, artefacts from ancient races and controversial movie posters.

The setting itself is worth the entrance fee, with views along the Derwent from the entrance and then the backdrop of the cut rock sitting behind the works on display.

You could spend all day here, with food stalls, a winery and concerts on site. We were here a few hours and felt like we’d had our fill, having a toddler in tow certainly sped up our exit.

🎫 Combine a Hobart city sightseeing tour with a Derwent River cruise and visiting MONA

Hobart Royal Botanic Gardens

Botanic Gardens our rarely a let-down, and Hobart’s are no exception. The Japanese Garden was a highlight, the huge pumpkins the most memorable. If you’re here, walk the few hundred metres up the road to see the gates of the long-extinct Beaumaris Zoo, the place that the last known Tasmania Tiger (Thylacine) met the same end.

Salamanca Market & Hobart Old Town

Visiting Salamanca Market only runs on a Saturday morning, so you’ll need to plan your itinerary to end up here. The market itself is crazy, 300 stalls and thousands of people shopping everything from handmade wooden toys to locally produced gin.

Once we escaped the crowds we were much happier and Hobart’s Old Town is a delight. Narrow laneways lead to crumbling squares filled with second-hand bookshops, artist’s studios and cool cafés. We spent a good few hours wandering, with the harbour and Battery Point the areas worth exploring.

Mount Wellington

I’m told the best views of Hobart are from Mount Wellington. Unfortunately, the weather gods weren’t on our side when we scaled the old mountain’s steep slopes, but even so, the odd glimpse we got through the mist was sesonational.

🎫 There is a great hop-on-hop off bus that covers Hobart’s sights and also goes all the way to the top of Mount Wellington

Cascade Brewery

Oldest brewery in Australia? Count me in. The old brewery building looks more like a boarding school than a brewhouse, but it’s still running! Similar to most breweries, they have a paddle tasting board and a pub style menu.

???? Want to have more than one drink? Grab bus tickets

The best time of year to visit Tasmania is during the summer months, specifically from December to February. This period offers ideal weather conditions, with temperatures ranging from 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, allowing you to comfortably explore the stunning landscapes and attractions of the island.

Where to Stay in Tasmania

We were trying to keep this trip as cheap as possible, so opted for BIG4 and Discovery Parks for most of our stay..

The full list of places we stayed was:

• Big4 Strahan Holiday Retreat
• Big4 Kelso Sand Holiday & Native Wildlife Park
• Swansea Beach Chalets (this place was our favourite, with modern chalets and beach access)
• Discovery Parks – Hobart

There are lots of accommodation options on Tasmania, try a search using the form below.

It you’ve found any of the content on this post useful it would be great if you could book your accommodation using one of the above links, as it means I get some money without it costing you any more.

Getting Around Tasmania

I think the only simple way to get around Tasmania is by hiring a car. It cost us just under $800 to rent a car for ten days, though I did have a discount thanks to a benefit I get with work.

It is possible to navigate to place such as Cradle Mountain, Launceston and Port Arthur from Hobart on tours, but getting out to the west of the island isn’t as commonly covered.

See options for multi-day Tasmania tours here

FAQs

How many days in Tasmania?

I would say ten days to two weeks is ideal if you want to take in most of the island.

Here are some suggestions of itineraries by length:

• Weekend: You could probably do Hobart in a long weekend without much trouble.
• 5 Days: Hobart and Launceston or Hobart and Cradle Mountain could be done in five days or less.
• A Week: For a week you could fit in more of the east coast or add a trip to Strahan and back for the Gordon River Cruise
• 10-14 Days: I would say this is the sweet spot. 10 days still felt like a bit of a rush, if we’d had a full two weeks we would have added another day in Cradle Mountain and would also have headed to the Bay of Fires.

How much money do I need for 10 days in Tasmania? 

Here were our top level costs in AUD for 10 days in Tasmania:

• Total: $4,486 for two adults and one toddler
• Flights: $1,099 for three return tickets
• Accomodation: $1,152
• Hire Car: $771 (with Budget)
• Other: $1,464 spent food, fuel and experiences, including the Gordon River Cruise