margiemcth

We are arriving in Australia ( Sydney) Feb 16-March 4th. Any suggestions on 3 day itineray in Tasmania? Also lodging & Restaurants and to do beginning of trip or towards the end? We are planning on going up to Great Barrier Reef during visit. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Margie

DalaiLlama

You need to tell us why you're going to Tasmania in the first place. It's a long way from everywhere and you're going for a very short time. You must have a reason - what is it? Then we'll have a better chance at suggesting something for that very short visit.

Melnq8

Hi Margie -

With only three days I'd suggest you fly to Hobart and spend your time near there. You can easily make day trips from Hobart to Port Arthur, Mt Field National Park, Mt Wellington and the Huon Valley.

There's so much to see and do in TAS that three days really won't give it justice, but I can certainly relate to time constraints.

If you like chocolate, you might enjoy a tour of the Cadbury Factory in Hobart, but you'll need to book in advance.

If you're in Hobart on a Saturday, you'll probably want to check out the Salamanca Markets, which is held in Hobart.

Suggest you rent a car and just get out and explore as much as you can in your short time.

As far as hotels, the Henry Jones comes highly recommended here on Fodor's - I've not stayed there, but it gets good reviews here.

Bushranger

I'll take it you are looking to see as much of Tassie as you can in three days and Mel has it right about hiring a car.

Another option to arriving in Hobart would be to fly into Launceston and drive to Cradle Mountain, there being a number of lodges in area - http://www.cradlemountainlodge.com.au/ being one.

The second day you could either head down the middle of Tasmania and then veer left/east for Tasman Peninsula and Port Arthur, find a B&B for the evening down that way.

Third day drive around to Hobart and if having a third night there, stay down near Salamanca Place or alternately for a rural treat, head up the Derwent River Valley out of town to New Norfolk area for some great country guesthouses B&Bs.

There is so much you are going to miss in three days and the very early starts you should aim for and daylight saving late evenings will allow a lot of extra time for travelling if you are up to it, one option being to take more of the east coast in.

Then again you may be quite content with the northern region and settle for just the Cradle Mountain area.

Skiergirl

Oh gosh this is hard as I was in Tassie for 5 days and still didn't see all that I wanted.

My friend and I hit Hobart at the end and only for a few hours. Big mistake!!! What a great modern city. We spent about 5 hours there and did a mad rush tourist tour so I felt like it was enough, but there are several wonderful restaurants and cafes that I would have liked to explored. It was so cute and well-developed.

I personally really enjoyed Cradle Mountain and Freycinet. At CM we did the lake hike around the lake which took more than a few hours (it was hot that day). So great. Then at Freycinet we did the hike up to the Wineglass Bay overlook (the hour one). I have a breathing problem so it takes me longer to hike uphill despite being in good shape and not too old. Once up there we took heaps of photos and it was a lovely, lovely day. However, in Coles Bay (where we stayed, rented a GREAT house) there was NO FOOD. There are few restaurants in town and the one crappy one we went to kicked us and another couple out at 8:30 PM!!! Yikes, and then nothing to do but to go home and watch my FAVORITE movie "Stricly Ballroom"-which was fun to watch with an Aussie (my friend) who had never seen it and had to listen to me repeat all the great lines before he saw the film.

At Cradle Mountain we stayed at the Cradle Mountain Lodge which was lovely. The food is really good. If you only have 3 days maybe you could fly into Launceston, do a wine tour from there, and then go to Cradle Mountain.

It's tough to say because Tasmania, for as small as it looks, really has a lot to do. Just bring snacks with you in case you get stuck like we did! Have a wonderful time. I am an American but would give all my unborn children to go live in Australia for 6 months a year. I just have to keep visiting instead!

moonrise

I spent almost a week in Hobart and surrounds and found that only just long enough.Battery Point is a chunk of England...a must see...near the markets.

Susan7

If the 3 days is fixed then I'd second Skiergirl's suggestion and just go to one location, such as Cradle Mountain. The Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair wilderness area is unbelievably beautiful, you'll see lots of marsupials and there are walks for all levels of fitness.