Driving Tasmania is nothing like driving the mainland. Distances are shorter — you can cross the island north to south in under four hours — but the roads are narrower, windier, and far more interesting. Around every bend there is a reason to pull over: a waterfall sign pointing down a gravel track, a farm gate selling cherries from a roadside table, a viewpoint over a valley that exists on no map you consulted at home. The island rewards detours. It punishes rushing. The best Tasmanian road trips are the ones where you tear up the schedule on day two and follow whatever road looks most inviting.
That said, a loose plan helps. Accommodation outside Hobart and Launceston is limited, distances take longer than Google suggests — budget thirty per cent more time than the maps say, always — and some regions require advance booking. This guide lays out four tested routes, each with driving distances, recommended overnight stops, essential detours, and the hidden gems that turn a good trip into an unforgettable one.
Before You Drive: Essential Practicalities
Speed limits: 110 km/h on highways, 80–100 km/h on rural roads, 50 km/h in towns. Police enforce actively. Speed cameras are common.
Fuel: Fill up in major towns. Stations are scarce on the west coast — never let the tank drop below half west of Cradle Mountain. Fuel prices are higher than the mainland.
Wildlife: Wallabies, wombats, and possums are most active at dawn and dusk. Striking a wombat at speed can total a vehicle. Reduce speed significantly in low light, use high beams when safe, and never swerve suddenly.
Mobile coverage: Minimal outside major towns and most national parks. Download offline maps (Gaia GPS or Maps.me) before departure. Phone-only navigation will fail on the west coast.
Mountain roads: The Queenstown access road, Ben Lomond road, and several Cradle Mountain approach roads can be fog-bound or icy in winter. Check Transport Tasmania before any highland drive.
⛵️ Spirit of Tasmania vs Flying
Fly: Hobart (HBA) and Launceston (LST) airports are served by Qantas, Jetstar, and Rex. Faster; more convenient for short trips. Hire cars at both airports but book well ahead in summer — they sell out.
Spirit of Tasmania ferry: Overnight sailing from Melbourne’s Station Pier to Devonport (10–11 hours). Brings your own vehicle, eliminates airport hire, and arrives at the north of the island perfectly positioned for a clockwise Grand Loop or direct run to Cradle Mountain. The ship has good cabins, restaurants, and the experience itself is enjoyable. Book ahead for peak January sailings.
Route 1: East Coast Explorer
Hobart → Freycinet → Larapuna / Bay of Fires → Launceston
4–5 days · ~550 km total · Best: Nov–Apr · All 2WD
The most popular self-drive in Tasmania, and for good reason. The Great Eastern Drive follows the island’s sunniest, most sheltered coastline — turquoise bays, white sand, fishing villages, oyster farms, and two of the world’s most celebrated coastal landscapes.
Day 1: Hobart → Swansea (165 km, ~2 hr)
Coal River Valley wine stop recommendedLeave Hobart via the Tasman Highway through the Coal River wine region — stop at Frogmore Creek or Pooley Wines for a morning tasting. Continue through Orford and past the Maria Island ferry terminal. Maria Island day trip note: if you arrive the evening before, an early ferry (Triabunna, 30 min south of Swansea) gives you a full day on the car-free island — wombats at close range, Tasmanian devil sightings, and the extraordinary Fossil Cliffs walk. Lunch at Kate’s Berry Farm near Swansea (berry ice cream and panoramic bay views). Overnight in Swansea for the sunset over the Hazards.
Day 2–3: Swansea → Freycinet (30 km, 30 min)
Two nights recommendedShort drive to Coles Bay and Freycinet National Park. Day 2: hike to Wineglass Bay Lookout (1.5 hr return) for one of Australia’s most photographed views, then afternoon swim at Honeymoon Bay. Day 3: walk the full Freycinet Peninsula Circuit (11 km, 4–5 hrs) — descend to Wineglass Bay beach, cross the isthmus to Hazards Beach, return via the coast. Pack swimmers and lunch. Fresh oysters from Freycinet Marine Farm before departure.
Day 4: Freycinet → Bicheno → Larapuna / Bay of Fires (150 km, ~2 hr)
Book Bicheno penguin tour for the eveningDrive north via Bicheno — stop for the blowhole walk and book the evening little penguin tour (dusk, 1 hr — guided, no torches, extraordinary). The Bay of Fires (Larapuna) extends fifty kilometres along the northeast coast. The famous orange-lichen granite boulders of Binalong Bay are the most photographed but drive further to The Gardens for swimming and Eddystone Point for the lighthouse and wild beach. Overnight in a beachside cabin or campground.
Day 5: Bay of Fires → St Helens → Launceston (200 km, ~2.5 hr)
Pyengana Dairy detour: add 30 minMorning beach walk before heading west. Detour via the Pyengana Valley for cloth-bound cheddar at Pyengana Dairy (cheesemaking since 1892) and St Columba Falls (10-min walk, 90-metre cascade through rainforest). Continue to Launceston via the Tamar Valley. Finish with dinner at Stillwater — one of Tasmania’s finest restaurants in a converted flour mill on the Tamar River.
Wineglass Bay — the centrepiece of the East Coast Explorer, worth every step of the lookout climb.
Route 2: Wilderness Circuit
Launceston → Cradle Mountain → Queenstown → Strahan → Hobart
7–8 days · ~650 km total · Best: Dec–Apr · All 2WD (summer)
The route for those who came for the wilderness. Alpine peaks, ancient rainforest, a ghost-town mining landscape, a wild river cruise, and some of the most remote pub meals in Australia. This circuit explores Tasmania’s dramatic western half — the part most visitors miss entirely.
Days 1–3: Launceston → Cradle Mountain (85 km, 1.5 hr)
Two nights minimum, three is betterDrive west from Launceston to Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park. Base at a lodge for two or three nights. Day 1: Dove Lake Circuit (2 hr, flat boardwalk). Day 2: Marion’s Lookout (3–4 hr, panoramic). Day 3: the Enchanted Walk through ancient myrtle rainforest — fifty minutes of boardwalk magic. Wombats at dusk; platypus at Crater Creek at dawn. Book accommodation before you leave home.
Days 4–5: Cradle Mountain → Queenstown → Strahan (150 km, 2.5 hr)
Queenstown stop: 45 minDrive south through mining country. Stop at Queenstown — a starkly beautiful lunar landscape stripped bare by a century of copper smelting. The hairpin descent into town is one of the most dramatic drives in Australia. Continue to Strahan on Macquarie Harbour. Book a Gordon River Cruise for the next morning — glide through silent World Heritage rainforest on tea-coloured water, with stops at Sarah Island convict ruins and Huon pine stands that predate European settlement by two millennia.
Days 6–7: Strahan → Nelson Falls → Mount Field → Hobart (310 km, 4.5 hr)
Long drive day — break into two nights if possibleDrive east through the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers region. Stop at Nelson Falls (15-min rainforest loop, spectacular waterfall). Detour south to Mount Field National Park for Russell Falls and the Tall Trees Walk. Continue to Hobart. Reserve time for MONA, Salamanca Market (Saturday), and waterfront dining at Constitution Dock.
Route 3: Southern Highlights
Hobart → Bruny Island → Tasman Peninsula → Huon Valley → Hobart
5–6 days · ~400 km total · Best: Year-round · All 2WD
The best route if you have less than a week and want to stay close to Hobart. Convict history, dramatic sea cliffs, a car ferry, the island’s finest food trail, and a penguin colony — all within two hours of the capital.
Days 1–2: Hobart → Bruny Island (60 km + ferry, 1.5 hr)
Ferry from Kettering every 30–60 minDrive to Kettering and take the car ferry to Bruny Island (25 min crossing). Visit Get Shucked oyster farm (shuck your own on the waterfront), Bruny Island Cheese Co. (raw-milk cheese), and the Bruny Island Smokehouse. Walk to Cape Bruny Lighthouse for dramatic southern ocean views. Look for white wallabies — a rare leucistic population unique to Bruny. Two nights lets you explore both North and South Bruny and watch little penguins return at dusk at the Neck.
Days 3–4: Bruny → Tasman Peninsula (130 km, 2 hr)
Port Arthur site: allow 3–4 hoursReturn to the mainland and drive east. Spend a morning at Port Arthur Historic Site — one of Australia’s most significant and moving convict heritage locations. Walk Cape Hauy (9.5 km, 4 hr) for vertiginous sea cliff views and the freestanding Totem Pole sea stack. Or do the shorter Tasman Arch and Devil’s Kitchen loops (45 min combined). Evening penguin viewing at dusk on the peninsula.
Days 5–6: Tasman → Huon Valley → Hobart (160 km, 2.5 hr)
Tahune AirWalk: allow 2 hoursDrive south through the Huon Valley — Tasmania’s apple country. Stop at Willie Smith’s Apple Shed (heritage cider, excellent food), the Tahune AirWalk (a 600-metre canopy walkway above the Huon River and forest — spectacular), and any farm gate with a “cherries” sign between December and February. Return to Hobart via the Hartz Mountains if conditions allow — the alpine drive adds 90 minutes and delivers sub-alpine scenery with no other visitors.
Route 4: The Grand Loop
Hobart → East Coast → Launceston → Cradle Mountain → West Coast → Hobart
10–14 days · ~1,200 km total · Best: Dec–Mar · All 2WD
The definitive Tasmania road trip. This full circumnavigation of the island combines Routes 1 and 2, adding the Tamar Valley wine region, Cataract Gorge in Launceston, and extended time at Freycinet, Cradle Mountain, and Strahan. Budget at least ten days — fourteen is genuinely better, and you will still wish you had more time.
Days 1–4: Hobart → East Coast → Larapuna
~350 km totalFollow Route 1: Coal River wine stop, Swansea overnight (with optional Maria Island day trip), two nights at Freycinet for the full peninsula circuit, Bicheno penguin tour, and time at Larapuna / Bay of Fires.
Days 5–6: Larapuna → Launceston → Tamar Valley
~200 km totalDrive west to Launceston. Explore Cataract Gorge — a spectacular dolerite gorge a ten-minute walk from the city centre, with a free chairlift, swimming basin, and walking tracks cut into cliff faces. Spend a day in the Tamar Valley wine region: Josef Chromy (lakeside estate with excellent restaurant), Jansz (Tasmania’s sparkling specialist), Holm Oak, and Pipers Brook. Dinner at Stillwater.
Days 7–9: Launceston → Cradle Mountain
85 kmTwo to three nights. Dove Lake Circuit, Marion’s Lookout, wildlife at dusk. See Route 2 for full detail.
Days 10–11: Cradle Mountain → Queenstown → Strahan
~150 kmQueenstown’s lunar mining landscape, Gordon River cruise, Sarah Island convict ruins. See Route 2 for full detail.
Days 12–14: Strahan → Mount Field → Huon Valley → Hobart
~310 kmNelson Falls, Mount Field (Russell Falls and Tall Trees Walk), Huon Valley farm gates, and final nights in Hobart for MONA, Salamanca Market, and waterfront dining.
😄 Northwest Extension: Stanley, the Tarkine & the Nut
Most road trip guides overlook the northwest — their loss. Stanley, a fishing village at the base of the Nut (a dramatic 143-metre circular volcanic plug), is arguably the most beautiful small town in Tasmania. The chairlift to the Nut summit is extraordinary. The Tarkine (or takayna) — the largest temperate rainforest in the Southern Hemisphere — extends through the northwest and includes the Arthur Range and Pieman River. Adding a two-day Stanley and Tarkine loop to the Grand Loop adds roughly 400 km and a completely different landscape character to the route.
Prefer Someone Else to Drive?
Our guided Tasmania tours cover these same routes with expert local guides, quality accommodation, and no navigation stress — so you can focus on the scenery instead of the road.
Explore guided Tasmania tours →Frequently Asked Questions
A minimum of five days for a focused route like the East Coast Explorer. Seven to eight days for the Wilderness Circuit. Ten to fourteen days for the Grand Loop. Regardless of route, budget thirty per cent more driving time than Google Maps suggests — roads are winding, scenic, and full of stops you won’t be able to resist.
No. All four routes in this guide are accessible in a standard 2WD car. A 4WD is only needed for specific roads: the Western Explorer (a rough gravel route through the Tarkine, best driven in a high-clearance 4WD), the Ben Lomond alpine road in winter, and a few east-coast beach access tracks. A campervan works well for all four routes.
Yes, if you have the flexibility. The overnight ferry from Melbourne to Devonport lets you bring your own vehicle, saving the cost and hassle of airport car hire. The ship has good cabins and restaurants, the Bass Strait crossing is usually smooth, and you arrive at the north of the island perfectly positioned for Cradle Mountain or a clockwise Grand Loop. Book ahead for January sailings, which sell out months in advance.
Hobart and Launceston airports both have major rental agencies. Book well ahead in summer — December to February demand is extreme and vehicles sell out. Budget agencies in Hobart city can be cheaper but check reviews carefully, particularly for insurance terms. Automatics are standard. If arriving by Spirit of Tasmania, you can bring your own vehicle or rent from the Devonport terminal.
Avoid night driving where possible. Tasmania has one of the highest wildlife roadkill rates in Australia — wallabies, wombats, and possums are most active between dusk and 10 PM. Hitting a wombat at speed can total a vehicle and cause serious injury. If you must drive in low light, reduce speed significantly, use high beams when no oncoming traffic is present, and never swerve for wildlife — brake firmly and hold your line.
Yes. Tasmania has excellent campgrounds in national parks (basic facilities, small fees, all require a parks pass) and free bush camping in some areas. Powered caravan parks are available in most towns on all four routes. Wild camping is not permitted in national parks but is allowed on some Crown land — check regulations locally. Campsites at Freycinet and Cradle Mountain book out months ahead in December and January.
Tasmania Adventure Guide
Wilderness regions, Overland Track and planning guide.
Tasmania Hiking Guide
20+ trails ranked by difficulty — day walks to expeditions.
Tasmania Food Guide
Oysters, cheese, wine, whisky and farm-gate trails.
Tasmania Wine & Whisky Guide
Cellar doors, distilleries and tasting trail itineraries.