Tasmania Road Trip: Ultimate 6 Week Lap
A full lap of Tasmania is one of the best road trips in Australia. Tasmania is compact enough to cover in six weeks and varied enough to feel like four different countries, and a well-set-up hybrid rig can reach almost every highlight without compromise. This Tasmania road trip maps a complete anti-clockwise circuit starting and finishing at Devonport: the North-West Coast, the Tarkine wilderness, the West Coast, Southern Tasmania, Bruny Island, the East Coast and the Northern Midlands in 42 days.
Each leg below links to a detailed sub-guide where you will find campground specifics, daily distances, road conditions and my tips. This page covers the big picture: how the legs connect, how the landscape shifts and how to pace a six-week Tasmania road trip so nothing feels rushed.
If you have more time, I suggest ways to use it. I also suggest ways to shorten the trip a little.
Before you book a ferry departure, read the section below on route direction. Getting this wrong can cost you a week of wet weather on the West Coast.
If you haven’t booked the ferry, you may like to read our Spirit of Tasmania Guide.
Route Direction and Seasonal Timing
Peak Season: December to March (Anti-Clockwise)
This itinerary runs anti-clockwise: West Coast first, East Coast last. That sequencing is deliberate. In peak summer, the West Coast, Tarkine rainforest and Central Highlands have their driest, most stable weather window of the year. The relentless westerly fronts ease off, the fire trails through the Tarkine are driveable and the highland lakes lie flat and glassy. Finishing on the East Coast later in summer times coastal swimming for February and March when ocean temperatures peak. The Bay of Fires and Freycinet are at their best in late summer, not mid-summer, so the pacing works in your favour on a December to March Tasmania road trip.
Spring Arrivals: October to November (Clockwise)
Arriving in October or November? Reverse this itinerary and travel clockwise: East Coast first, West Coast last. Spring on the West Coast is dominated by heavy rainfall, sustained westerly fronts and cold snaps that can lock down the Tarkine for days at a stretch. Heading south down the East Coast and through Southern Tasmania keeps you in the drier rain-shadow during the worst of the spring weather. By the time you reach Strahan and Arthur River, the coast and highlands will have had six to eight more weeks to dry out and warm up. The difference in experience on a spring Tasmania road trip is significant.
How to Use This Guide
This article is a bird’s-eye view of the whole island. A full lap of Tasmania over six weeks has a lot of moving parts, so the guide sticks to the big picture: the route, how the landscapes shift, seasonal timing and the daily rhythm of the trip.
We’ve kept the day-to-day entries to flow, milestones and major highlights rather than turn-by-turn navigation, campsite amenities or road grades, so this master plan doesn’t turn into an endless novel.
Each major leg links to its own in-depth itinerary with the operational details. Those guides cover everything you need on the ground.
The only departure from this format is Leg 6 (Binalong Bay back to Devonport via Ben Lomond, the Northern Midlands, and the Cradle Valleys). It has no standalone touring itinerary. Instead, our destination guides for Deloraine and Sheffield cover what to see and do as you wrap up the circuit before catching the ferry home.
6 Week Tasmania Road Trip Map
To aid in your planning, we have carefully prepared a map of the route. Later in the article, there is an interactive map for more information (jump to interactive map).
The Complete 42-Day Tasmania Road Trip at a Glance
- Leg 1 (Days 1 – 4): Devonport to Stanley via the North-West Coast
- Leg 2 (Days 5 – 8): The Tarkine Wilderness (Arthur River and Julius River)
- Leg 3 (Days 9 – 19): West Coast, Highland Lakes and Mount Field
- Leg 4 (Days 19 – 29): Southern Tasmania, Bruny Island and Hobart
- Leg 5 (Days 30 – 37): Tasman Peninsula, Maria Island, Freycinet and Bay of Fires
- Leg 6 (Days 38 – 42): Northern Midlands, Ben Lomond, Deloraine and Sheffield
Leg 1: Devonport to Stanley (Days 1 – 4)
Setting the tone on the North-West Coast
The first four days are a deliberate warm-up. After arriving on the Spirit of Tasmania in Devonport, most travellers feel the urge to push hard and cover ground. Resist it. The North-West Coast rewards slow travel: rolling red-soil country, heritage towns, tucked-away beaches and one of the most photogenic headlands in Tasmania. This is the leg that sets your pace for the next five weeks.
Day 1 is a short transit south-west to Myalla, which sets you up for two days of day trips rather than constant hitching and unhitching. Day 2 is a day trip to Table Cape, where a tulip farm on red volcanic cliffs drops straight to Bass Strait, and across to Boat Harbour Beach, a protected curve of clear water that punches well above its weight for a beach this far off the tourist radar. Rocky Cape National Park is one of the most underrated coastal drives in the state, and Day 3 takes you through it on the way into Stanley. Day 4 is Stanley in full: the colonial streetscapes, the restored foreshore and either the chairlift or the steep walking track to the top of The Nut, the 152 m volcanic plug that defines the town’s skyline from twenty kilometres away.
Days at a Glance
- Day 1: Devonport to Myalla
- Day 2: Base Myalla (day trip to Table Cape and Boat Harbour Beach)
- Day 3: Myalla to Stanley via Rocky Cape National Park
- Day 4: Base Stanley (The Nut, historic foreshore)
Leg Highlights
- The Nut, Stanley: short but sharp climb with 360-degree coastal views
- Table Cape lighthouse and volcanic clifftops
- Boat Harbour Beach: clear water, limited crowds, a proper swimming beach
- Rocky Cape National Park coastal heath and sea views
Note: the linked detailed itinerary includes a stop in Ulverstone. Skip that on this leg, as the next leg covers it. You must reach the first camp on the third leg’s first day as early as possible because it is a popular free camp.
Leg 2: The Tarkine Wilderness (Days 5 – 8)
Into Australia’s largest temperate rainforest
The Tarkine is where this Tasmania road trip shifts from pleasant North-West touring to genuine wilderness. Four days is the minimum to do it properly. The scale of the temperate rainforest here is hard to convey until you are standing in it: myrtle beech and Huon pine so dense the canopy filters out most of the sky, creeks the colour of dark tea from tannins leaching through button grass plains that run to the horizon.
Day 5 heads south to Arthur River, a small fishing community where the river mouth meets the Southern Ocean. The drive out to the coast earns the “Edge of the World” label honestly: there is nothing between this stretch of beach and South America, and the flotsam piled against the rocks makes that point better than any sign could. Day 6 stays at Arthur River, either on one of the river cruises that push deep into the Tarkine system or exploring the coastal scrub and riverbanks at your own pace. Day 7 moves inland to Julius River, the heart of the temperate rainforest, where a short boardwalk into the myrtle forest costs nothing and stops most people in their tracks. Day 8 exits via the Trowutta Road, calling at Lake Chisholm (a dissolving dolomite lake ringed by rainforest), Trowutta Arch and Sumac Lookout before heading east back to the coast at Ulverstone.
Ending this leg at Ulverstone puts you within an easy drive for day 1 on the next leg.
Days at a Glance
- Day 5: Stanley to Arthur River (Edge of the World)
- Day 6: Base Arthur River (river cruise, coastal walks)
- Day 7: Arthur River to Julius River
- Day 8: Julius River to Ulverstone via Sumac Lookout, Lake Chisholm and Trowutta Arch
Leg Highlights
- Arthur River cruise: the best way to understand the river’s scale and age
- Julius River boardwalk: ancient myrtle beech at its most atmospheric
- Lake Chisholm: turquoise sinkhole lake, fifteen minutes from the main road
- Trowutta Arch: a dolomite arch in the forest floor, accessible via a short walk
- Sumac Lookout: broad view across the Tarkine’s button grass plains
Leg 3: West Coast Wilderness and Highland Lakes (Days 9 – 19)
The longest leg, and the one that defines a Tasmania road trip
Eleven days sounds generous until you see what this leg covers. The Cradle Mountain plateau, the flooded mining valleys of the Murchison, the industrial drama of Queenstown, the Gordon River, Strahan Harbour and the tall-tree forests of Mount Field. No other section of the circuit packs so many distinct landscapes into so short a distance.
Day 9 climbs south from Ulverstone through the Forth Valley and the timber town of Wilmot to Lake Gairdner, the high-altitude base for exploring Cradle Country from outside the park boundary. Two days here cover the Dove Lake circuit, the panoramic views from Ronny Creek, highland lakes fishing and reflections and the quieter roads that make this corner of the Central Highlands feel genuinely remote. Day 12 drops west on the Murchison Highway to Lake Mackintosh, a hydro storage lake backed by forested ridges that most caravanners drive straight past.
Days 13 and 14 take in Zeehan before settling into Strahan, the only tourist town on the West Coast and a solid base for two nights. The Gordon River cruise is the centrepiece: three hours upriver through the Wilderness World Heritage Area to Heritage Landing, where a short boardwalk puts you among a Huon pine stand that was already ancient when European settlement began. Day 15 is the short transit to Queenstown, and Day 16 is one of the most content-dense days on the circuit. The 99 Bends descent into town, Nelson Falls in the rainforest corridor, the Iron Blow open-cut lookout and Greg Duncan’s carved timber installation The Wall in the Wilderness are all covered on the same day. Queenstown’s polychrome hills and copper-stained streets are worth an hour on their own once you have unhitched.
Days 17 and 18 head east through the Derwent Valley to Mount Field National Park. Russell Falls is a genuine photographic standout, the tall-tree loop to the swamp gum grove takes about ninety minutes and Lake Dobson gives high-country access without the Cradle Mountain crowds. Day 19 is the transition down through the Huon Valley to Franklin or Geeveston: highland cold traded for orchard country and the smell of apples in the valley air.
Days at a Glance
- Day 9: Ulverstone to Lake Gairdner (via Forth Valley and Wilmot)
- Days 10 – 11: Base Lake Gairdner (Cradle Country and highland lakes)
- Day 12: Lake Gairdner to Lake Mackintosh (Murchison Highway)
- Days 13 – 14: Lake Mackintosh to Strahan (via Zeehan)
- Day 15: Strahan to Queenstown
- Day 16: Base Queenstown (99 Bends, Nelson Falls, Iron Blow, The Wall in the Wilderness)
- Days 17 – 18: Queenstown to Mount Field National Park (Russell Falls, Tall Trees, Lake Dobson)
- Day 19: Mount Field to Franklin/Geeveston (Huon Valley transition)
Leg Highlights
- Dove Lake circuit at Cradle Mountain: 6 km, two hours
- Gordon River cruise from Strahan: the World Heritage river system at its most accessible
- The Wall in the Wilderness, Derwent Bridge: a carving project three decades in the making
- Russell Falls, Mount Field: the most photographed waterfall in Tasmania, and it earns the title
- Lake Dobson road: high alpine country in the park’s upper reaches
Leg 4: Southern Tasmania and Bruny Island (Days 19 – 29)
The far south, the channel and ten days at the edge of the world
Southern Tasmania is where the lap deepens. The Huon Valley gives way to the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, Southport and the roads that push toward South East Cape. The ferry across to Bruny Island takes you to a concentrated version of the Tasmania road trip experience in one small package: white beaches, a razor-backed isthmus, cold-water coastal walks and some of the best food in the state. Hobart finishes the leg with three days of culture and history, in the kind of city most caravanners admit they could have stayed in longer.
Day 19 arrives at Franklin or Geeveston. Day 20 pushes south to Gillams Beach via Cockle Creek road and the Southport area, one of the quietest and most exposed corners of the state. Day 21 follows the channel north to Gordon along the long shore road where the water shows through the trees in flashes. Day 22 gets you to Kettering for the Bruny Island ferry, crossing in the afternoon and settling in at The Neck. Days 23 and 24 cover North and South Bruny: Truganini Lookout, The Neck beach and the long gravel road south through South Bruny National Park to Jetty Beach. Days 25 and the first part of Day 26 are based at Jetty Beach for the Cape Bruny Lighthouse walk and the remote coastal tracks that most day-trippers never reach.
You spend Days 26 to 29 in Hobart. Three nights is the minimum, four is better. Salamanca Market runs Saturday morning, kunanyi/Mount Wellington gives you perspective over the whole Derwent estuary from 1,270 m and MONA is worth the ferry trip across the river regardless of what is showing. Battery Point, the waterfront and the Cascade Brewery fill whatever gaps are left.
Days at a Glance
- Day 19: Mount Field to Franklin/Geeveston
- Day 20: Franklin/Geeveston to Gillams Beach (far south, Southport)
- Day 21: Gillams Beach to Gordon (D’Entrecasteaux Channel)
- Day 22: Gordon to Bruny Island / The Neck (ferry from Kettering)
- Day 23: Base The Neck (Truganini Lookout, beach)
- Day 24: The Neck to Jetty Beach (South Bruny National Park)
- Day 25: Base Jetty Beach (Cape Bruny Lighthouse, coastal walks)
- Days 26 – 29: Bruny Island to Hobart (Salamanca, kunanyi, MONA)
Leg Highlights
- Cape Bruny Lighthouse: the second oldest lighthouse in Australia, at the end of a cliff-edge walk
- The Neck: the narrow isthmus joining North and South Bruny, with beaches on both sides
- Truganini Lookout: views over the Neck and the channel beyond
- Salamanca Market: go early, leave the caravan at camp and take the car in
- kunanyi/Mount Wellington: the road is sealed all the way to the summit
- MONA: Museum of Old and New Art
Leg 5: East Coast and the Great Eastern Drive (Days 30 – 37)
The reward leg: clear water, granite coast and Freycinet
The East Coast is what most interstate visitors picture when they think of a Tasmania road trip: blue water, lichen-orange granite boulders, white sand. After four weeks of rainforest, mining history and cold southern coast, arriving here in late summer feels like a gear change. Water temperatures peak in February and March and the light on this coast in late afternoon is something photographers chase for good reason.
Day 30 heads east from Hobart to the Tasman Peninsula, a detour that is well worth the out-and-back. Day 31 covers the peninsula properly: Port Arthur Historic Site, Cape Raoul (one of the best walks in the state) and Remarkable Cave. The sea cliffs on the Tasman Peninsula are among the highest in the Southern Hemisphere, and the walking tracks use that geography at every turn. Day 32 returns to the coast road and heads north to Triabunna. Day 33 is a full day on Maria Island: no cars, no campfires and a population of wombats that have genuinely forgotten to be wary of people. It is a walking experience that is hard to replicate anywhere on the mainland.
Day 34 continues north along the Great Eastern Drive to Coles Bay. Day 35 is Freycinet: the Wineglass Bay lookout takes 1 to 1.5 hours return and gives you the postcard view; the full circuit via the beach adds three hours and drops you onto the sand. The Hazards are worth an early-morning walk when the pink granite catches the first light. Days 36 and 37 push north to Binalong Bay and the Bay of Fires, where the orange lichen boulders and turquoise water are most concentrated. Two nights here if the weather holds.
Days at a Glance
- Day 30: Hobart to Nubeena (Tasman Peninsula)
- Day 31: Base Tasman Peninsula (Port Arthur, Cape Raoul, Remarkable Cave)
- Day 32: Nubeena to Triabunna (north along the coast)
- Day 33: Base Triabunna (full day trip to Maria Island)
- Day 34: Triabunna to Coles Bay (Great Eastern Drive)
- Day 35: Base Coles Bay (Freycinet, Wineglass Bay, the Hazards)
- Days 36 – 37: Coles Bay to Binalong Bay (Bay of Fires)
Leg Highlights
- Cape Raoul walk, Tasman Peninsula: clifftop track to dolerite columns above open ocean
- Maria Island: no vehicles, no campfires, wombats and history in equal measure
- Wineglass Bay lookout: the most recognisable view in the state
- The Hazards: pink granite peaks at close range from the Coles Bay foreshore
- Bay of Fires: head north from Binalong Bay on foot, away from the day visitor carparks
Leg 6: Northern Midlands, Ben Lomond and Cradle Valleys (Days 38 – 42)
The closing loop: history, heights and the transit home
After the coastal fireworks of the East Coast, the Northern Midlands are a quieter close: Georgian heritage towns, farming country, the massive western escarpment of Ben Lomond and the forested hills behind Deloraine. This leg does not try to compete with Freycinet or Cradle Mountain. It finishes the story, looping back through country that rewards a slower pace on any Tasmania road trip.
Days 38 and 39 move inland from Binalong Bay to Evandale via the Esk Highway. Evandale’s Federal Hotel, its Georgian streetscape and the national penny-farthing championship (held in February) make it one of the most characterful small towns in the state. The unhitched day trip to Ben Lomond National Park is the real draw: Jacob’s Ladder is a series of tight hairpin switchbacks that climb to the plateau at around 1,500 m, and the view over the northern midlands from the top is not something most people associate with Tasmania. Alpine moorland in summer, ski fields in winter.
Day 40 drops west to Deloraine, framed by the wall of the Great Western Tiers to the south. An unhitched afternoon at Mole Creek adds underground drama to what is already a strong town: the Marakoopa glowworm cave in particular is worth booking ahead for in summer. Days 41 and 42 finish at Sheffield. The outdoor murals covering almost every building in town have grown from a modest arts project in 1986 into a gallery with no roof and no admission charge. Mount Roland rises directly behind the town. The Sheffield Campground is the perfect place to end the trip before your Spirit of Tasmania sailing.
Days at a Glance
- Days 38 – 39: Binalong Bay to Evandale (Esk Highway; unhitched day trip to Ben Lomond and Jacob’s Ladder)
- Day 40: Evandale to Deloraine (Great Western Tiers, Mole Creek caves)
- Days 41 – 42: Deloraine to Sheffield (murals, Mount Roland backdrop; transit to Devonport for ferry)
Leg Highlights
- Jacob’s Ladder, Ben Lomond: a set of hairpin bends to an alpine plateau most visitors skip
- Ben Lomond plateau: open moorland, ski fields in winter, wildflowers in summer
- Evandale: the best-preserved Georgian streetscape in the state and a proper pub
- Mole Creek caves: Marakoopa’s glowworms are the draw; book ahead in summer
- Sheffield murals: forty-plus outdoor paintings on a small-town scale that works
Detailed coverage of Deloraine is at Deloraine Tasmania and Sheffield at Sheffield Tasmania. Campground reviews: Deloraine RV Rest Area and Sheffield Campground. For the ferry departure, return to our Spirit of Tasmania Guide for evening sailing tips and vehicle deck check-in times.
Interactive 6 Week Tasmania Road Trip Map
To help with your planning, we have prepared a route map. The map also shows campground locations, points of interest and starting points for walks. Each leg is on a separate layer.
You can turn the map layers on and off for clarity. Click the icon in the top left to view the layers. You can zoom into areas with a high density of points.
For those who jumped to the interactive map, you may return to the static map: click to return.
Adjusting the Length of Your Trip
Six weeks is the sweet spot for this circuit, but there is enough flex to add or drop up to a week without breaking the flow.
If You Have More Time
The important constraints on how long you stay in Tasmania are the time you have available and the weather. We spent about 3 months on the island over two summers and never ran out of things to do. Other than a visit to the north-east coast and the highlands, we followed the route on the map above. Although we did visit some places twice and did some overnight walks.
The easiest way to use extra days is slowing down on the legs you enjoy most. The West Coast and the East Coast both absorb an extra night or two without any effort: another day at Strahan, a longer stay at the Bay of Fires, a second base at Coles Bay so you can actually walk Freycinet rather than just tick the lookout. The Tasman Peninsula can also absorb extra days.
Hobart deserves more time than most caravanners give it. Three nights covers the highlights; five or six lets you settle in, get to know the Huon Valley properly and spend a full day on kunanyi without feeling like you are working through a checklist.
Launceston is easy to write off on a circuit that barely touches it. Two or three extra days opens up the Tamar Valley, Cataract Gorge and some genuinely good restaurants. It is worth the stop.
If walking is a serious part of why you are here, this circuit lines up well with a couple of multi-day routes worth planning around. The Overland Track from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair takes six to eight days. The Three Capes Track on the Tasman Peninsula is four days of some of the best coastal walking in the country. Both need advance bookings and add at least a week to the trip, but they change the experience considerably.
One option we particularly like for anyone with an extra week to ten days: after finishing the East Coast, loop back through the Midlands and pick up the Deloraine to Hobart route via the Great Lakes. It is a quieter, slower way through the middle of the island that most visitors drive straight through, and it connects cleanly with this circuit without repeating any ground. We cover this on our Central Highlands Tasmania itinerary.
Another option is to visit the north-east coast from Binalong Bay. We stayed at Waterhouse Point Campground for a couple of days. It is a free camp.
I could go on, but I think you get the gist.
If You Need to Shave Time
Drop whole sections rather than squeezing every day tighter. A compressed version of this circuit is just an exhausting version. One place you could save a day is to drop the one-night stay at Lake Mackintosh on the West Coast leg.
The Tarkine loop is the first thing to consider cutting. Arthur River and Julius River push deep into the north-west edge of the state and add three to four days. Head south from Stanley directly toward Cradle Country and you keep all the headline stops without the detour. As stated elsewhere I recommend getting to Lake Gairdner as early as possible.
The far south is the next to look at. Dropping Cockle Creek, Southport and the slower channel roads recovers two to three days. Straight from Mount Field into Hobart and you barely notice what is missing. Bruny Island is a harder call: two nights there earns its place, and the ferry is short. If something has to give, the far south comes out before Bruny does.
A standalone 4-week itinerary covering this same ground is coming. If your window is closer to four weeks than six, that is the better starting point rather than cutting this one back.
And let the forecast have a say. If a front is sitting on the West Coast with no sign of moving, do not wait it out. Cut east through the Midlands, chase the dry weather on the East Coast and save the west for next time.
For campground costs, free camp strategy and how to keep this Tasmania road trip under budget, see Best Free Camps Tasmania. For waterfall highlights across the circuit, see Tasmanian Waterfalls. For the full planning overview including rig suitability, national park passes and ferry booking windows, start at the Tasmania Road Trip Guide.
