Country
Australia
Duration
10 Days/9 Nights
Travel Type
Escorted Tour
With AAT Kings
There’s little of the Apple Isle you won’t experience on this full tour of Tasmania. This is an experience spanning Tasmania’s charming cities, World Heritage-listed sites and humbling wilderness – much of it (the Tarkine, Cradle Mountain, Gordon River) along the wild West Coast. When you’re not gazing over Australia’s best beaches in the east (Wineglass Bay regularly takes the honour), opportunities abound to indulge in regional produce – whiskey, wine or oysters.
Inclusions
9-night accommodation in double occupancy
Return airport transfers
Travel by luxury coach
English speaking experienced travel director and driver guide
16 meals: 9 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 5 dinners, 1 farewell dinner
Visits and sightseeing as per itinerary
Exclusions
International/domestic flights and airport taxes – Pre-night in Sydney – Gratuities to hotel personnel, guides and drivers – Optional excursions – Beverages unless noted in the itinerary – Any other services not specified in the inclusions.
1
DAY 1 HOBART
The Tasmanian capital of Hobart may be small in size, but it’s big in attractions, as you’ll discover this afternoon. Put your destination into perspective from the summit of Mt. Nelson, offering endless vistas over Australia’s southernmost city. View the charming Georgian cottages of Battery Point and explore the streets and convict built warehouses along Salamanca Place, the backdrop of epic Saturday markets. Gaze over boats at Constitution Dock - this is where yachts finish when competing in the annual Sydney to Hobart race, and take a stroll in the second oldest Botanical Gardens in Australia with its amazing collection of plants from around the world. Tonight, join your Travel Director for a Welcome Dinner.
Meals : Dinner
Accommodation : Best Western, 4* for 1 night or similar
2
DAY 2 HOBART - STRAHAN
Western Tasmania is like nature writ large, a place where the wilderness rules and people are few and far between. Visiting Mount Field National Park is a humbling experience, not only for the fact it’s part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, but also because it’s home to some of the tallest eucalypts and tallest flowering plants on Earth. Wander amid these giants to reach Russell Falls – take a deep breath; your Tasmania tour has begun. Records continue to be broken at Lake St. Clair, the deepest freshwater Lake in Australia, before you arrive in Strahan, gateway to World Heritage-listed Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park.
Meals : Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodation : Strahan Village, 3* for 2 nights or similar
3
DAY 3 STRAHAN
The inky waters of the Gordon River – given its colour by amber button-grass tannins – are as eery as they are beautiful, the mirror-like surface only broken by your Gordon River chariot as you cruise through Hells Gates, the treacherous entrance to the harbour before returning to Sarah Island. It’s hard to reconcile the beauty of this part of the state with its grim history as a penal colony; a place where convicts would fell Huon pines for boat building. Disembark at Heritage Landing to view one of these 500-year-old majestic trees. Safely back on dry land, it’s soon time to discover ’The Ship That Never Was’, the dramatic and hilarious true story of the Great Escape from Sarah Island! You’ll see it performed live by a group of theatre professionals.
Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation : Cradle Mountain Hotel, 4* for 1 night or similar
4
DAY 4 STRAHAN - CRADLE MOUNTAIN - BURNIE
Today your journey reaches new heights – quite literally with a visit to the 1,545-metre Cradle Mountain, your backdrop as you explore Dove Lake on your Cradle Mountain tour, the wild alpine moorlands here a natural magnet for lovers of the wilderness. The spectacular and pristine wilderness of Cradle Mountain is home to the mysterious and secretive Tasmanian Devil. You’ll love the next adventure today, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. A Day Keeper at Devils @ Cradle will lead you through the sanctuary and provide you with a thorough insight into its operation. When joining this tour you will be directly supporting these animals and threatened species conservation. Leave the Central Highlands after an uplifting day and head towards the scenic north-west coast for your overnight stay.
Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation : Beachfront Voyager Motor Inn, 3* for 1 night or similar
5
DAY 5 BURNIE - LAUNCESTON
Table Cape is by far Wynyard’s most remarkable natural wonder, at 180 metres high, ’The Cape’ - as locals refer to it - offers spectacular views of Tasmania’s coastline. As you drive to the top of the remains of a 12-million-year-old volcano you’ll reach Table Cape lookout where, on a clear day, you can see mountain ranges over 175 kilometres away. If there’s a town with a cuter name than Penguin, we’re yet to find it. Locals embrace its appeal – there are penguin sculptures at every turn, including one measuring over 3 metres tall. Your journey along the northwest coast also passes through Ulverstone and Sheffield, The Town of Murals, boasting over 100 large paintings depicting the area’s rich history and local characters. All this exploring builds an appetite. Refuel at Ashgrove Tasmanian Farm, where happy cows contribute to award-winning cheeses – everything from cheddar and red Leicester to creamy Tasmanian blue.
Meals : Breakfast
Accommodation : Best Western Plus, 4* for 2 nights or similar
6
DAY 6 LAUNCESTON
There are few places in the world where you can leave the city behind and within minutes be amid an immense wilderness area. Launceston is one. Blink and you’re at Cataract Gorge, a yawning chasm carved by ancient rivers. This rare natural phenomenon unites bushland with neat Victorian gardens, replete with ferns and exotic plants. Get a different perspective of the green cavern on the scenic chairlift, zipping you over the water to a lofty lookout. We wouldn’t blame you for lingering here, perhaps cruising the river to venture deeper into the gorge. Or sample more of Tassie’s finest fare on a Tamar Valley winery tour. This afternoon, the choice is yours.
Meals : Breakfast
7
DAY 7 LAUNCESTON - BICHENO
You’ll smell Bridestowe before you see it, this enormous lavender farm perfuming the Tasmanian countryside. The flowers grown here aren’t just used in fragrances – they’re also infused into ice-cream, teas and jams. It’s a tasty entrée to the Legerwood Carved Memorial Trees, sculpted into World War One soldiers. Little penguins come out to play in Bicheno; sign up to spot them after dark as they waddle to shore from the water.
Meals : Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodation : Beachfront at Bicheno, 3* for 1 night or similar
8
DAY 8 BICHENO - HOBART
The colours at Freycinet National Park are so vivid you’ll think someone has taken the glasses off your nose and cleaned them for the first time: The patchwork of ocean blues that lap Coles and Wineglass bays. The powdery white of sand. The intense green of the forest. There’s a reason why Freycinet adventures star on postcards. The other place on postcards is Richmond, its grand 1820s Georgian buildings today home to bijou boutiques, galleries and cafes that appear to be lost in time.
Meals : Breakfast
Accommodation : Best Western, 4* for 2 nights or similar
9
DAY 9 PORT ARTHUR
The Isle of the Dead, Devil’s Kitchen, Blowhole… the attractions at and around Port Arthur nod to the region’s notoriously harsh history. This is the best-preserved convict site in Australia, and among the most significant convict-era destinations worldwide. The stories these walls could tell.
Meals : Breakfast, Dinner
10
DAY 10 HOBART
It took early explorers months to circumnavigate Tasmania. You’ve completed your Tasmania tour in just 10 days. What a wild ride.
Meals : Breakfast
HOTEL OPTIONS OR SIMILAR
Hobart
Best Western, 4*
Strahan
Strahan Village, 3*
Burnie
Beachfront Voyager Motor Inn, 3*
Launceston
Best Western Plus, 4*
Bicheno
Beachfront at Bicheno, 3*
|
Rates in CA$, per person, starting from, in double occupancy |
Land Package |
| Departures 2024-2025-2026 | 3* and 4* |
| April 3, 2024 | 5005 |
| May 1, September 25, October 30, November 23, December 21, 2024 | |
| October 16, 2024 | 5005 |
| November 13, December 21, 2024 | |
| January 8, 2025 | |
| January 22, February 12, March 19, 2025 | |
| February 1, 26, March 8, 2025 | 5005 |
| April 2, May 7, September 3, 24, October 25, November 12, 15, December 3, 27, 2025 | 5260 |
| January 14, 24, February 11, 25, March 7, 28, 2026 | 5260 |
| Single room supplement | On request |
**Prices in this document are for information only; they were issued at press time, for the current year. Please note that due to exchange rates and temporary promotions, they can increase or decrease at any time. Contact your travel agent for the price and promotion of the moment. Prices include the contribution of customers to the Compensation Fund for clients of Quebec travel agents.
Tasmanian Wonders – Detailed itinerary
Tasmanian Wonders – Detailed itinerary
