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Tasmania

Australia · Oceania · southern hemisphere

Lakes & CoastlineHikingCity & CultureFestivals & EventsWildlife

Tasmania is at its best for city & culture in March to April and November to December. Good but not prime in January, February and June. Crowds peak in January and bottom out in September.

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Lakes & Coastline
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16
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4
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Hiking
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16
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City & Culture
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Festivals & Events
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15
90
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Wildlife
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Crowds

Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.

primegoodpossibleoff-seasoncrowds, on this place’s own scale

The short version

The Overland Track runs a booking season of 1 Oct – 31 May with a hard quota of 34 walkers a day, north to south only — and the whole season goes on sale in one morning, the first Tuesday in July

What the walking is like

Day walks everywhere, plus the six-day Overland Track on a booking. No guide needed, though Tasmania’s own advice is not to walk alone.

When not to come

Assuming you can book the Overland late. The entire 1 Oct – 31 May season goes on sale on the first Tuesday in July at 8am through a virtual waiting room, with no waitlist and no standby; over 3,000 walkers booked within six hours. Winter walking outside the season is allowed on a free registration, but the huts are unstaffed and it is a different trip.

Busiest

December–January school holidays, and late April for the fagus turn

With children

Distance. Cradle Mountain is five hours from Hobart and the Overland is a six-day carry; Freycinet and the day walks are the family version.

Where to stay

Hobart prices spike for Dark Mofo and again over the summer holidays. Launceston and Devonport are cheaper and much closer to Cradle Mountain, which is a five-hour drive from Hobart.

Dates that matter

  • Dark Mofo (June) — a winter arts festival that inverts the season entirely
  • Fagus turn (late Apr–May) — Tasmania’s only winter-deciduous native, peaking around Anzac Day rather than at Easter
  • Summer school holidays (mid-Dec–early Feb) — the busiest and most expensive stretch

Walks

  • Overland Track — Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair, six days, permit and quota
  • Wineglass Bay and the Hazards, Freycinet — a half day for the view, longer for the circuit
  • Cape Hauy and the Three Capes — dolerite sea cliffs on the Tasman Peninsula

Close to half the island is national park or reserve; these three are the ones people plan a trip around.

Crowds, month by month

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0 is this destination’s own quietest month and 100 its busiest. The scale never compares one destination to another. Source: Wikipedia — Hobart

See everything else at its best in Mar

Organised trips

Multi-day trips to Tasmania

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Elsewhere in Oceania

Fiordland & Milford SoundMarlboroughSydneyMargaret RiverQueenstownWanaka & CardronaThredbo & the Snowy MountainsBarossa Valley