Tasmania

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Quick Facts

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Capital

Hobart

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Introduction

Moina, Tasmania

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An increasingly popular destination for travellers to Australia, Tasmania's rugged natural beauty is its primary draw card.

Geography

An island, with smaller surrounding islands, located 200 km south off the coast of eastern Australia, separated by the Bass Strait. The subantarctic Macquarie Island is also under the administration of the state.

Cities

• Hobart is the state capital and largest city, located on the south-eastern coast.
• Burnie, a port city on the northwest coast.
• Devonport is where the Spirit of Tasmania ferries operate from, in the north of the state.
• Launceston is the state's second largest city.

Sights and Activities

Cradle mountain

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National Parks

There are 19 national parks in Tasmania, a testament to the state's extraordinary beauty and diversity. Freycinet National Park and Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park are two of the most popular. Many of the National Parks and reserves have been combined associated together to create the Tasmanian Wilderness, which covers 20% of the island.

Read more: National Parks in Tasmania

Other sights and activities

• Port Arthur is a former convict settlement, east of Hobart. Operating from 1830 - 1877, with over 12,500 adult male sentences served, the settlement was a bustling industrial prison at its peak. Today the area is open for visitors, with guided history walking tours of the area during the daytime and Ghost Tours at night.
• Bay of Fires
• The Overland Track is Australia's best known walking track, stretching for 80 kilometres across the heart of Tasmania from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair. It is roughly a 5 day hike.

Events and Festivals

• Outdoor music festivals are popular throughout Australia. Read more about those festivals unique to Tasmania: Outdoor Music Festivals in Tasmania

Weather

The Tasmanian climate is extremely variable with high fluctuations in temperature and wind speed during the average week.
Summer lasts from December to February and has an average maximum temperature at sea level of 21 °C. Winter lasts from June to August with an average maximum temperature at sea level of 12 °C. Still, it can be around 35 °C on some summer days and below zero during some winternights.
Although rain is possible in every month, the wintermonths of June to August tend to be somewhat wetter.

Getting There

By Plane

The two major airports in Tasmania are Hobart International Airport (HBA) and Launceston Airport (LST). From Hobart, there are services to Melbourne-Tullamarine, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra. Launceston only services Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

By Boat

A ferry service, the Spirit of Tasmania runs between Melbourne and Devonport every night of the year and during the day in peak periods.

Getting Around

By Plane

The main airports are in Hobart and Launceston (see above) which also have connections to smaller regional airports like Burnie and Devonport.

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Eat

Drink

Sleep