Tasmania

Is it worth visiting during a six week trip to Oz? I don't know anything about it. Hoping to fit in NZ for a week too...
Leah.

Hi Leah, what time of year will you be in Australia? If you're coming in winter (jun-aug) then I'd give Tasmania a miss as it will be very cold down there. If you're coming in summer (dec-feb) then Tasmania is a great place for hiking and has some magnificent terrain if you enjoy that kind of thing.

Tasmania is fantastic – it was one of my favourite parts of Australia and I would definitely recommend going. I got a return flight from Melbourne to Hobart for $100 with Jetstar, booking a couple of months in advance. I spent 2 weeks there but if you have less than that I ‘d recommend visiting Hobart (try and be there on a Saturday morning when the Salamanca market is on) and then you can had up the east coast to Freycinet national park and wineglass bay which is beautiful. You can also to a day trip to Cradle Mountain from Hobart which is worthwhile. I did an organised tour to the east coast for 3 days which was great but hiring a car is also a good way to get around as transport is not as good as it is on the mainland.

Thanks for the advice.
I'm planning on going Oct/Nov time if poss. If not then Feb (I want to be at home for xmas) so will try fit it in. I'm not a big hiker at all but the Salamanca market and Freycinet national park sound good.
I won't be able to hire a car unfortunately as I can't drive and am off on me tod!

[ Edit: Edited on 13-May-2009, at 04:10 by leahcrow ]

Hobart is a great little town with plenty of interest and the wilderness is lovely. For what it's worth I didn't much enjoy visiting Launceston.