Is Tasmania Worth It? Why it’s the Best Add-on to Your Australia Trip
If Tasmania isn't on your radar yet, it should be. Tucked off the southern coast of mainland Australia, this island is beautiful, quirky, and wildly underrated. Up until it became a reality that we’d be visiting, I’m embarrassed to say, but I thought it was it’s own country. In reality, travel to and from, makes it feel like its own country, though it’s a territory of Australia.
It's home to some of the coolest wildlife encounters I've ever had, a seaside capital reminiscent of Western Europe, and a few strange local rules you'll want to know about before you land. We only planned two nights for Tasmania on this trip, and I'm not too proud to say, that you’ll want to plan for a minimum of 3.
Kangaroos at Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary
Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary
This was, hands down, one of my favorite stops on the whole trip. Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary lets you get up close and personal with hundreds of kangaroos that are somehow even softer and lazier than you'd expect. Most of them are perfectly happy to nap right next to you while you hand-feed them. You'll also meet real Tasmanian devils, plus a huge variety of native birds, wombats, and echidnas that wander their expansive enclosures. The sanctuary itself is also a working rescue and rehabilitation center, so a portion of what you spend there goes directly back into caring for injured and orphaned wildlife, which makes the whole experience feel less like a tourist stop and a little more like showing up for something that matters.
If you only do one wildlife experience in Australia, make it this one. It's the experience you’ll remember for a long time to come.
Top Hotel Pick: Lenna of Hobart
We had the opportunity to stay at Lenna of Hobart, a heritage hotel built into a sandstone mansion from 1874 in the historic Battery Point neighborhood. The building was originally the home of Alexander McGregor, a whaling and trading merchant who, according to local history, built a lookout tower into the roofline specifically so he could watch for his own ships coming up the Derwent estuary. The mansion itself is heritage listed, and the whole property sits with a commanding view over Sullivans Cove, close enough to Salamanca and the harbour that everything we needed was a short walk.
Lenna of Hobart historic hotel
Hobart
Hobart might be my favorite kind of destination, a small seaside town with big personality. Bars and restaurants line the harbour with outdoor seating made for lingering over a long lunch, historic inns and boutique hotels give the whole city a cozy charm, and the bakeries had me convinced for a moment I'd wandered into Europe instead of Australia. Salamanca Place, just steps from the water, is worth an afternoon on its own, especially if you can time it around the Saturday market.
It's also a surprisingly easy place to have a kid in tow. Hobart is incredibly walkable, and there's a playground around nearly every corner, we, of course, stopped to play at every single one, letting our daughter rate them moving on to the next. It's a city where you can wander from the harbour to Salamanca to a bakery without ever needing the car seat, which, if you've read anything else I've written, you know is how I love to travel with kids.
A Few Things to Know Before You Go
Tasmania has a few quirks worth knowing before you land. First: they are serious about their traffic laws. I have a $400 seatbelt ticket to prove it, and I was wearing my seatbelt. Second, the island takes enormous pride in protecting its biodiversity, so expect extra screening both entering and exiting to keep invasive species out; even a stray apple in your bag can turn into a whole conversation. And finally, keep an eye out for cockatoos, they're treated like the local pigeon here, and you'll find them all over the streets and trees, squawking like they're the ones running the island.
Mount Wellington landscape
Tasmania is proof that some of the best trips are the ones you didn't know to ask for. Two nights gave us just enough to fall for the place and not nearly enough to see it properly. If this sounds like your kind of adventure, let's start planning, and let's build in more than two nights this time.
