How we spent three days in Tasmania
If you’re heading to Australia, try to fit in a trip to Tasmania. Realistically, three days in Tasmania isn’t long enough. But it’s as long as we had and we decided we’d rather see it in three days than not at all. It was definitely worth the trip, and left me wanting to go back some day.
We would have loved to see Cradle Mountain, but the drive was too far from Hobart and the other things we were doing in the south of the island. I would also have liked to spend more time in Hobart itself and around the Tasman peninsula.
Really, a week or even longer would be ideal in Tasmania. But don’t let that put you off. If you only have a few days, you can still see some of the highlights in that time. For us, three days was definitely better than none!
Why go to Tasmania?
While it’s not a destination that appears on every route around Australia, Tasmania was one of the highlights of our trip.
The scenery is probably the most beautiful that we experienced in Australia. It has mountains, beaches, forests, islands, and more to explore in its many national parks. It’s full of amazing wildlife. And in the towns you’ll find impressively delicious food – Tassie is known for its foodie scene and it did not disappoint.
How to get to Tasmania
The best way to get there is to fly internally – it’s less than an hour from Melbourne. And once you’re here you’ll need a car unless you can pay to join various tour groups. It’s also best explored by car, and hiring from the airport is relatively cheap and easy.
Our three-day Tasmania itinerary
Day 1: Freycinet National Park
We spent one day exploring Freycinet. But we could easily have stayed for three or more. In the National Park we walked the Wineglass Bay and Hazards Beach trail.
This 11 km route took us about 4 hours including stops for photos, at beaches, and to watch wallabies along the way. The signs advise that it could take 5 hours.
Though long and hot in the sun at times, this was one of my favourite hikes I’ve ever done. Even at the less-interesting points, the scenery was still beautiful.
We did the route clockwise as this means you get the steep hill out of the way at the start. But it does mean the two beaches are in the first half of the walk.
Remember to purchase a parks pass before you enter any of the national parks in Tassie. And if you’re going to them across more than three days an annual pass might be cheaper.
Freycinet is about 2.5 hours drive from Hobart so you’ll want at least one night here as it’s too much driving for one day if you want to fit in a decent hike. We stayed in Bicheno, where if you’re lucky you might see penguins on the beach at sunset.
Day 2: Hobart
We drove from Bicheno to Hobart via the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. I usually avoid zoos, but this sanctuary rescues and rehabilitates animals that have been found injured or orphaned in the wild.
Tasmania has the highest rate of road collisions with animals in the world. There is definitely more roadkill than I’ve ever seen before and it tends to be wallabies, wombats, and Tasmanian devils. So it’s easy to see how the sanctuary rescues so many animals. There’s even a veterinary surgery on site that you can watch through a mirrored window. It’s not for the squeamish but we were lucky just to see an echidna having his vitals checked.
Next we went to Salamanca Market. We arrived too late for the famous scallop pies from Smith’s, which sell our early. But there was plenty more Tasmanian food to enjoy, including lots of local ciders.
We also managed to fit in a trip to MONA on our first day in Hobart. At first I was hesitant to pay $30/£19 for entry but it ended up being one of the best art galleries I’ve been to. The building itself feels like being in an art installation.
You’ll need to download an app to guide you through the works but even that is impressive. Some exhibits have a queue but thanks to the app you can join the queue remotely and it will let you know when your space is ready, so you can carry on checking out different rooms.
We saw Egyptian mummies, religious paintings from the 13th century, modern interactive pieces, and everything in between. The collections are so eclectic, you don’t know what to expect from one room to the next. And the open floor levels means you get to experience some of the larger works from four different levels.
Day 3: Kunanyi/Mount Wellington and Bruny Island
We started the morning with a trip to kunanyi (Mount Wellington). There are various hikes you can take to the pinnacle. But because we were going to Bruny Island on the same day we decided to drive. There’s a fully tarmacked road to the peak of the mountain, which takes about 30 minutes from Hobart.
We spent about 30 minutes taking photos at the top before driving 1 hour to Kettering to catch the Bruny Island ferry. It takes 15 minutes and is free if you’re on foot or $50/£26 for a return with your car.
Our first stop was Get Shucked, an oyster bar with a sea view that sells a range of seafood and other snacks. If cheese is more your thing, the Bruny Island Cheese Company is one minute down the road.
Next we went to The Neck, a game reserve with a lookout over a thin stretch that connects the north and south of Bruny Island.
It only takes an hour to drive the length of Bruny, so it’s easy to get from one place to the next quickly. Which was a good thing when we found the Bruny Baker’s bread fridge was empty and due to be topped up in 25 minutes. It gave us enough time to get to Alonnah and pick up a coffee from Island Social and get back in time for the hourly bread delivery.
We took our freshly baked bread to Adventure Bay, paddled in the cold sea, and relaxed on the peaceful beach for an hour or so. Then we went to look for the elusive white wallaby that’s (probably) exclusive to Bruny Island.
A Google review suggested that Lockley’s Road was a good place to look. And they were right – we found two albino wallabies in the gardens of the raspberry farm!
Albino wallabies are thought to be unique to Bruny Island because they have no natural predators here. In the wild elsewhere they would likely be killed as babies but here they’re safe to live among the rest of the wildlife. That was the perfect end to our day so we caught the ferry back to Hobart.