A place where you can suspend your busy schedule,
listen to your heart and relax
Tasmania, in south-eastern Australia, has a mild climate and 40% of its area are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and protected national parks. Embrace nature – the dense forests, spectacular waterfalls, lakes and mountains, beautiful bays and sandy beaches; meet artisans and trace your roots; and savor local cuisine, freshly caught from the sea or just picked from the earth. More than half a million people have made their home on the island.
Tasmania’s main attractions are found in the island’s eastern region, where old towns, rainforests, bays, mountains and lavender fields unfold like a scroll around the cities of Hobart, Swansea and Launceston. The west is dominated by forest parks, of which Cradle Mountain is the most famous.
Hobart: old town strolls, apple culture & bushwalking
Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, is located in the southeast of the island. As Australia’s second oldest city, Hobart has seen a lot of change over the years. With Mount Wellington at its back and the Derwent River running through the city, it has a soft and dynamic feel. Walking through the streets of Hobart, you can feel the strong colonial atmosphere. Battery Point, one of Hobart’s oldest areas, is home to well-preserved 19th-century buildings, many of which have been converted into antique stores, galleries and cafes, and often host a variety of art exhibitions and cultural events. Surrounded by sycamore trees and 19th-century Georgian sandstone warehouses, Salamanca Place hosts the prestigious Salamanca Market on Saturdays. There are a wide range of stalls and goods, from handicrafts, seafood and produce to household items. Street artists, musicians and performers showcase their talents and creativity here, leading you to immersion in Tasmania’s multiculturalism. Don’t forget to enjoy an authentic Tasmanian seafood meal at a local oyster and abalone farm.
Mt Wellington is about a 20-minute drive southwest of Hobart city center. It takes about 2 hours to hike to the summit, or you can choose to drive straight to the top, with buses departing from the Visitor Information Center in the city center at 9:30 and 13:30 daily. On the way up, you’ll pass Cascade Gardens and the Cascade Brewery. The latter is one of Australia’s oldest distilleries and still makes wines with traditional methods, while its museum showcases the history and people of the distillery and surrounding area. At the top of the hill stands a viewing platform with panoramic views of Hobart. The best time of day to climb is in the evening, when the city is bathed in the glow of a stunning sunset.
Tasmania is known as the Apple State, and Huonville plays an important role in that. Not only does it produce apples, but it has also developed a unique apple culture, with an apple museum displaying a variety of materials and artifacts related to apple cultivation and production, as well as more than 500 different varieties of apples. During the apple harvest season, be sure to stop by and enjoy the apples. Every March, Huonville hosts the Taste of Huon food festival, with a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, wine, and honey to wow your taste buds. After eating your apples, head down to the Huon Valley and experience the Tahune Airwalk, a 48-meter-high, 500-meter-long aerial walkway above the forest canopy that completely immerses you in the verdant secrets of the pristine forest.
Mt. Field Park, Tasmania’s oldest national park, can be reached by car from Hobart in about 1½ hours. The forested park is definitely a natural oxygen bar. There are 13 hiking areas set up here, with various types of hiking trails ranging from half an hour to 8 hours for visitors with different preferences. There are many mountain huts built in the park to provide accommodation. A 10-minute walk from the Tourist Information Center will bring you to the majestic Russell Falls, which cascades down the mountain in several tiers and slopes gracefully against the backdrop of lush vegetation. Horseshoe Falls, located near Russell Falls and named after the horseshoe shape of the falls, is another natural wonder not to be missed.
Swansea: all about charming bays
The center of Tasmania’s east coast, Swansea is also one of Tasmania’s oldest towns, retaining much of its Victorian architecture and surrounded by a number of stunning bays.
Coles Bay is the main gateway into Freycinet National Park. Surrounded by the pink granite peaks of The Hazards, the bay overlooks the calm and clear waters. It is ideal for offshore swimming, kayaking and fishing out of the sea. From Coles Bay, follow a guided kayak tour for a quiet paddle under the pink granite of The Hazards and see marine life up close. Each May, there is also a spectacular view of the whale migration. A host of restaurants offer great seafood choices. We recommend The Bay Restaurant, Ice Creamery & Co.
Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park is known as one of the world’s top 10 most beautiful beaches, famous for its half-moon shaped white sand and turquoise waters, which look like a crystal glass filled with wine when viewed from above. The beach’s surroundings are characterized by red and pink granite, giving the coastline a unique pink hue and a mysterious and enchanting visual experience. Wineglass Bay offers a wide range of water activities such as deep-sea fishing and scuba diving. In addition, there are a large population of white-bellied sea eagles, which can be seen up close soaring through the air and swooping into the water to catch fish. For those who enjoy hiking, Wineglass Bay is also a great choice.
Right next door, Honeymoon Bay has ochre-red rocky beaches contrasting with the clear waters. The color of the water changes from azure blue to Tiffany blue depending on the weather and the light. The bay is surrounded by oddly shaped rocks, and from the air, the inner bay looks like a heart, adding a touch of romance to the place. There aren’t a lot of water sports options here, but it’s a quiet place, so you can just lie on the beach and soak up the sun and enjoy the peace. Photography enthusiasts can often capture unforgettable photos here.
Launceston: murals and lavender
Tasmania’s second-largest city, Launceston, is the fortress to Tasmania’s north.
The Tamar River runs through the city, and a sense of history pervades the city with its classic Edwardian and Victorian architecture. As a representative of this City of Parks, Launceston City Park is a lush and leafy park with bandstands, bell tower pavilions and Victorian fountains, as well as a Japanese macaque pavilion. The city of Launceston is surrounded by farms and wineries. A 15-minute drive from the city center is the Cataract Gorge Reserve, where you can take a cable car hundreds of meters up to overlook the gorge’s landscapes and tree-lined lakes and mountains. In the canyon, there are walking trails, swimming pools, restaurants and cafes, making it a great place to relax and unwind.
The town of Sheffield, at the foot of Mount Roland, is known as the City of Murals and is an artists’ paradise. Murals are everywhere in the town, almost no wall is blank. The murals vary in content from landscapes, to characters, stories, and random graffiti. The town hosts an annual week-long mural exhibition, starting on Easter Sunday.
The Tamar Valley, just outside Old Launceston Seaport in Launceston, is Tasmania’s main wine region. The Tamar Valley is home to more than a dozen wineries, each with their own specialty wines. We recommend visiting Rosevears Estate, St Matthias Vineyard and Daniel Alps at Strathlynn, which not only offer wine tastings, but also allow visitors to tour the vineyards and learn about the winemaking process. In the valley, there are pastures, orchards, vineyards, and beautiful scenery, making it also very suitable for hiking, biking, and self-driving tours. There is a resort in the middle of the lakes, with a shopping village, a 9-hole golf course and an 18-hole miniature golf course, a good place for leisure and vacation.
Just north of Launceston lies Bridestowe Lavender Farm, the largest lavender farm in the southern hemisphere. The lavender purple bears that have become so popular on social media are from this farm. However, due to its high popularity with tourists, the farm has a limit of one per person. Lavender is in full bloom from mid-December to mid-January every year, when the farm is filled with purple flowers and pleasant scents. People walk through the flower fields, take photos, taste lavender-flavored ice cream, and buy some lavender oil and soap as souvenirs.
Cradle Mountain hiking
Western Tasmania is dominated by national forests, the most famous of which is Cradle Mountain. There are buses to Cradle Mountain from both Hobart and Launceston.
Cradle Mountain – Lake St Giles National Park has a wide range of hiking trails with varying degrees of difficulty. One of them is the Overland Track which is rated as one of the top 10 hiking routes in the world by Lonely Planet.Starting from Cradle Mountain and ending at Lake St Claire, 82 kilometers long from north to south, it usually takes 6-7 days or more to finish the hiking, passing through mountains, rainforests, rivers and plains, swamps, and crossing over Mount Ossa, the highest mountain in Tasmania, and Lake St. Claire, the deepest lake in Australia. One of the most popular routes is the Dove Lake Circuit, which is 6 km long and takes 2-3 hours to complete, with breathtaking views of Cradle Mountain and the orange waters of Dove Lake. Professional climbers can challenge themselves to reach the summit of Cradle Mountain.
The Cradle Mountain region is a wildlife paradise, where you will have the opportunity to see wombats, wolverines, kangaroos and other uniquely Australian animals up close and personal. The park offers visitors many accommodation options from self-contained cabins and specialty treehouses to luxury spa resorts, as well as a number of restaurants and snack bars serving local and international cuisine. All relevant tourist information and walking trail maps are available at the Visitor Information Center at the entrance near Lake St Clair.
Tasmanian indulgence: outdoor bathing
Sink into a deep tub, watch as sunset turns to dusk and a blanket of stars settles overhead. Let your mind drift. Sink deeper. There are outdoor tubs in Tasmania with peerless ocean views and mountain outlooks.
Located on the border of the Blue Tier Forest Reserve, The Keep is an intimate retreat perched on a 650-meter-high rocky outcrop, with 360-degree views of the forest reserve and the entire north-east coastline. The resort has an outdoor bath carved out of granite and fit for two, complete with Tasmanian aromatic bath bombs.
Gleneagle Tasmania luxury campsite is located in Riana in north-west Tasmania, close to Cradle Mountain and Port of Stanley, where each of the four seasons are stunning with a variety of native trees bathed in a temperate climate. The two dome cabins are comfortably situated in a natural setting. There is an outdoor bath on a high deck that takes in the beautiful lake and Dial Mountain. You can also enjoy a cup of coffee on the beach, shop at the local boutiques, or dine at one of the local restaurants.
Eagles Nest Retreat boasts four separate luxury spa resorts set in the idyllic countryside near Sheffield and Cradle Mountain in north-west Tasmania, each offering a unique bathing experience — outdoor idyllic bath with 12 massage jets, lakeside spa bath, mountain-view bath and milk bath. Pour yourself a glass of pinot wine on the terrace, indulge in a picnic platter at sunset, and then bath in the aromatic outdoor tub with views of the Highlands below Mt Roland.
Porky Beach Retreat is nestled on Kings Island’s private beach, just 10 minutes from Currie Town. Amidst the stunning natural backdrop of the Southern Ocean, the azure blue views are visible through floor-to-ceiling glass. The resort has a sunken wooden bathtub where you can take in the uninterrupted ocean views while enjoying a cheese platter, a Kings Island specialty, paired with a glass of wine.
Thalia Haven is a paradise on Tasmania’s east coast, situated on a private peninsula surrounded by crystal clear waters, five kilometers of secluded coastline with golden sandy beaches. Four stone cottages are built around an olive tree courtyard by the sea. The resort gets its water, electricity and heating from the earth, breeze and sun of Thalia. Wake up to the sound of the waves, take a stroll on the beach, cook a gourmet meal in the professionally equipped kitchen, and at nightfall, relax by the bonfire or in the open-air bath under the stars.
In central Tasmania, on the shores of Lake St Clair, the deepest lake in the southern hemisphere, Retreat at Pumphouse Point offers one of Australia’s most iconic wilderness experiences, with 19 boutique rooms and suites surrounded by century-old forests. You can ride, kayak, enjoy a highland massage, and end the day with an invigorating soak in the open-air hot tub.
Whisky tasting tour
Tasmania is uniquely situated as Australia’s only island state. This pristine land has some of the cleanest air in the world, fertile and productive soil, a mild climate and pure rainfall. The natural environment and strict biosecurity measures provide the perfect conditions for the production of delicious seafood, fresh fruit, premium wines, delicious non-alcoholic beverages and juices, and the world’s best whisky.
Taste Australia’s oldest single malt whisky at Hellyers Road Distillery. The distillery sits on Hellyers Road which leads from Bass Strait deep into the wild, rugged and remote mountains of north-west Tasmania. It was here in 1956 that a small group of family-owned dairy farms formed a cooperative which still thrives today. By 1997 they sought to diversify, choosing to respect the world’s purest air, purest water and temperate climate of this incredible land, starting what has become Australia’s oldest continuously operating single malt whisky distillery.
Lawrenny Estate Distilling has been established as one of only a very few “paddock to bottle” estate single malt whiskies in the world. The barley grains are grown and harvested from the Lawrenny fields then mashed, fermented and distilled using the pure waters that flow through the estate. Lawrenny has a range of award-winning gins, vodka and liqueurs that all represent an element of Lawrenny Estate.
Nocton Vineyard, located in Tasmania’s cool climate, is a unique winemaking gem renowned for its exceptional Pinot Noir. With an ideal location and the perfect balance of temperature, Nocton crafts exquisite cool-climate wines that capture the essence of Tasmania’s terroir.
Old Kempton Distillery strives to be known as Tasmania’s Artisan Distillery. With a focus on quality over quantity, their spirit range is handmade, bottled one by one and each label handwritten. Located in the heritage listed Dysart House, the cellar door is open seven days a week for tours, tastings and Tasmanian produce-filled meals.