Tasmania east coast road trip: Hobart to Launceston
≈ 600 km driving in total · ~8.5 h · ideal in 8 days · 5 stops
An island small enough to drive in a week and wild enough to feel much bigger. A convict penitentiary on a peninsula, a pink-granite bay ranked among the world's best beaches, orange-lichened boulders on white sand, and some of the best food and whisky in the country in between.
Photo: Unsplash
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The route at a glance
- Hobart — 2 nights
- Port Arthur — 1 night
- Coles Bay — 2 nights
- Binalong Bay — 1 night
- Launceston — 1 night
The stops
- 1
Hobart
Salamanca Market on Saturday, and MONA — an underground museum of deliberately provocative art reached by a camouflage-painted ferry. Nothing else in Australia is like it.
- 2
Port Arthur
The best-preserved convict site in Australia, on a peninsula chosen because it was nearly impossible to escape. The evening lantern tour is the one to book.
- 3
Coles Bay
The gateway to Freycinet: pink granite peaks, and Wineglass Bay curving below the saddle lookout. Oysters on the way in at Freycinet Marine Farm.
- 4
Binalong Bay
The start of the Bay of Fires — boulders covered in vivid orange lichen against white sand and impossibly clear water, running 50 km north.
- 5
Launceston
Cataract Gorge is a proper wilderness a fifteen-minute walk from the city centre. The Tamar Valley's cool-climate wineries fill the rest of the day.
Good to know
December–February is warm and busy; shoulder months are quieter and Tasmania's weather is changeable in any of them — pack layers whatever the forecast. The Wineglass Bay lookout is a 45-minute climb, the beach itself another 30 down. Port Arthur is a place of mass tragedy twice over; it's treated with care, and so should you be. Book Freycinet accommodation months ahead in summer.
Tasmania east coast road trip: Hobart to Launceston — FAQ
- How long does the Tasmania east coast road trip take?
- 8 days is comfortable — about 8.5 hours behind the wheel across 5 stops, ≈ 600 km of driving in total.
- How far is Launceston from Hobart?
- This itinerary covers ≈ 600 km (373 miles) of driving in total, via Port Arthur, Coles Bay, Binalong Bay.
- What are the best stops between Hobart and Launceston?
- Port Arthur, Coles Bay, Binalong Bay — each one is on the route below. Open the trip on the map to add, drop or reorder them.
- Where should you stay on the Tasmania east coast road trip?
- The itinerary sleeps in Hobart, Port Arthur, Coles Bay, Binalong Bay, Launceston. Open it on the map to see places to stay along the route and what the nights will cost.
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