By air
Hobart (HBA) or Launceston (LST), short flights from Melbourne and Sydney
Australia & New Zealand · Australia
Tasmania, Australia
Wild coasts, convict history and big mountains
Getting there
Best time to visit
December to March — the warmest months
Don't miss
Cradle Mountain
Wineglass Bay (Freycinet)
Port Arthur
MONA
Things to do
Walking Dove Lake under Cradle Mountain
Wineglass Bay
MONA in Hobart
Salamanca Market
Where to eat
What to pack
Layers, a waterproof jacket, hiking boots
A quieter corner
Bruny Island's Neck lookout
Questions travellers ask
What's the best time of year to visit Tasmania?
December to March, the warmest months. Pack layers, a waterproof jacket and hiking boots.
How do I get to Tasmania?
Take a short flight from Melbourne or Sydney to Hobart (HBA) or Launceston (LST).
What are Tasmania's highlights?
Walk around Dove Lake under Cradle Mountain, see Wineglass Bay in Freycinet, visit Port Arthur and spend time at MONA in Hobart. For a hidden gem, head to Bruny Island's Neck lookout.
What are Tasmania's food highlights?
Oysters and cool-climate wines, plus Salamanca Market if you're around on a Saturday.
About Tasmania
- Island
- Mountains
Where it is
Tasmania is an island state of Australia, lying south of the mainland across Bass Strait, with a rugged, mountainous wilderness in the west and south-west and a gentler east coast of bays and farmland; Hobart is its capital.
History
Aboriginal Tasmanians, the palawa, have lived on the island for tens of thousands of years and were cut off from the mainland when rising seas flooded Bass Strait at the end of the last Ice Age. Abel Tasman reached it in 1642, and from 1803 the British made it a penal colony, Van Diemen's Land, where frontier violence and disease devastated the Aboriginal population. It was renamed Tasmania in 1856, and its south-west wilderness became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.
People
Most Tasmanians speak English and many descend from British and Irish settlers and convicts, while the palawa community keeps Aboriginal culture alive through shell-necklace making, cultural centres and the revived language palawa kani. The island is known for its apples, oysters, salmon, whisky and cool-climate wines.
Known for
- Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake
- Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park
- The Port Arthur convict site
- MONA and Salamanca Market in Hobart
- Tasmanian devils and wilderness walks
Did you know?
Tasmania is the last stronghold of the Tasmanian devil, which vanished from mainland Australia thousands of years ago.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.