Hiya, it is the first time I drive in Tasmania. I'm planning to spend 3 days in TAS. Get off from the Spirit of Tasmania in Devonport, then travel to Hobart, come up to Freycinet Oyster Farm, go to Bicheno and then back to Launceston airport.
However, I don't know the way to drive. Any driving map or route that I can refer to?
Many thanks!
Driving route in TAS
Travel Forums > Australia / New Zealand & The Pacific > Driving route in TAS
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Driving route in TAS
Started on 16-Mar-2009 09:20 by skjwoo | Posts 1 - 6 of 6 |
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Post # 1
skjwoo |
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Post # 2
Sander |
That's an awful lot of driving time to cram into three days, especially if you'd like to see something as well. Yes, Tasmania is 'tiny' compared to the rest of Australia, but don't underestimate the distances (especially when you go off the few main highways). You're also totally missing Cradle Mountain National Park, which (imo) is the nicest bit of Tasmania. Personally I'd skip Hobart altogether (yes it's a nice city; but there's lots of nice cities in Australia) and thus stick to the north and east. (You could still do Cradle Mountain as a first stop from Devonport.) For a map, I usually make do with my lonely planet, plus plotting out the roads to take in advance using google maps (particularly noting the route numbers). Major cities are pretty well signposted along the various roads, so as long as you know what's where in relation to each other, it's hard to get lost. The rental agency where you're picking up your car should also have at least a rudimentary map they can provide you with, though last time I was there, they wanted payment for a more extensive one. [ Edit: Edited on 16-Mar-2009, at 13:23 by Sander ] |
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Post # 3
lavenlaar |
I'd be inclined for 4 min see map route taking in the sights and scenery along the way [ Edit: Edited on 17-Mar-2009, at 17:51 by lavenlaar ] |
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Post # 4
jadeverell |
Yeh 3 days is quite short. I did a week touring around Tas last year, and only manage to do the SE corner (Hobart) up the E. coast and along to Launceston Route 1 - Hobart to Port Arthur and back to Hobart as the hostel was rubbish! The drive times are purely if you drive from a - b and dont do much sight seeing. We took it quite steady and saw quite a few sights, but we didn't get time to visit the North and west coast which is meant to be amazing. If you go to the Infomation centers in any cities (normally sign posted with a big blue 'i') they have loads of maps with the driving routes and are very helpful. If you need any help let me know. JD |
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Post # 5
Whistler 2 |
I agree with Sander - 3 days is definitely not enough time to visit Hobart even without adding in Bicheno. Even driving to Freycinet NP is a waste of too little time - you won't have time to enjoy the beauty of Tassie. The minimum time for the east coast is 6 days - what's the point of driving if you don't have time to stop at all the interesting places along the way? A better alternative would be to drive to Cradle Mountain via the Bass Highway and spend you first night there. there are many walks you can do and both the Dove Lake circuit and the Rainforest Walk are good. You can do a night walk (guided) and see the nocturnal wildlife and also star gazing. The next day head up through Moina and the Great Western Tiers -Kooparoona Niara more Info here; stop at Mole Creek and do one of the cave tours, King Solomon's is a dry cave, wile the Marakoopa Cave is a wet cave. There's a honey farm at Chudleigh, Lobster Falls is further up on your left travel through Deloraine and Exton to Launceston. Almost forgot, the Trowunna Wildlife Park at Mole Creek is something you really shouldn't miss - the Tasmanian Devils are ugly little buggers but there's something rather primeval about them. You can also hand feed them and there's koalas, you can hold a baby wombat, there's kangaroos, Echidnas, Quolls and other wildlife too. [ Edit: Edited on 19-Mar-2009, at 00:21 by Whistler 2 ] |
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Post # 6
aharrold45 |
3 days is definitely not enough time to see Tasmania the way you are planning. Even driving straight to Hobart from the boat by the time you get to Hobart you have used almost half the days daylight hours. By that time you could drive up to Mount Wellington get a good view and go to Salamanca and have a quick look around and then your whole day is practically used up and you have not even began to see hobart. The only area of your whole trip that is kind of what it should be is the bit with the day in Bicheno and even that could be in a different place. You are going to be spending nearly the whole time driving and half of that driving time in areas not really worth seeing. Really if you can not allocated at least 5 days I don't think it is really worth even coming to Tasmania. A lot of people spend 3 days in Launceston seeing the city and a bit of the surrounds. At least in 5 days you could possibly have one day where you weren't driving the whole entire time, but even that is a very short visit to Tasmania. I've lived in Tasmania all my life and been in the car for quite a few hundred hours on travelling in Tasmania and not even come close to seeing everywhere worth seeing in the state. Google Maps is a great place for getting driving directions in Tasmania but keep in mind that it shows the shortest route and not necessarily the nicest way to do the trip. [ Edit: Edited on 21-Mar-2009, at 02:32 by aharrold45 ] |
(3 hours each way)