State of Tasmania Travel Forum

Good day! Trying to decide on renting a campervan or car for seeing Tasmania.

The questions are - can we just drive & hope to find accomodations when we get there? What are those chances that we can get rooms on a whim? We will be in Tasmania the first week of February.

And If we take a campervan, do we need to confirm space in those camper parks or can we just drive in? Can campervans park by a beach & make camp?

I am getting the idea that most of the small towns in Tasmania probably close up early and if we arrive late, the accomodations may be closed for the night.

Thanks! Susan from California

Hullo Susan, Getting around by car is probably the easier of the two, as some of the roads to National parks, and country roads are narrow, alright to us Australians that are used to them. As well as that, parking is easier, if you are at a popular national park on a weekend, then you may had to park on the road edges, as the parking area is full. In February, as the school holidays have finished, you should have no problem getting accommodation. If you go by car, then Motel rooms are readily available. Try and get there 4/5pm to make sure, arriving late, a room may not be available. Cararavan parks,just drive in. Caravan parks also have cabins and units, which is another nice, often cheaper option to Motels/ Hotels, as, quite often, they are in prime locations for a fraction of the price. If you do arrive late at either, there is usually a night intercom to speak to the manager of the accommodation. Shops close usually at 5.30pm, this is normal time.
I have quite a few tips on Tasmania, we spent 3 weeks on our 2nd trip there, so can help more, didn't put everything on site, too much, just email me. Hope this helps. Tasmania is a really beautiful spot to visit.

Hi Susan..on my last trip to Tasmania I used camping areas all over .They are located everywhere, as Australia is set up better than anywhere I have ever travelled for people driving and camping..There are just a lot of people on the road travelling...usually drive in and get a cabin or caravan for the night..as there was three of us it worked out (usually ) about AUST $60.00 to $75.00/NIGHT..$20.00 to $25.00 each for a self contained cabin..the couple of times that the park was full ie: Stanley (see my Tassie pages) we stayed at the local pub (hotel) great accom...wonderful restaurant and great places to meet people also..not much more than the camping areas cabins..by the way all the cabins I found had all cooking facilities to do your own..and shopped mostly at local markets for fresh produce...I will say the food in Tassie is sensational as I was hooked on the seafood...February is a good time as the school holidays are finished..roads are good although most backroads are just single lane each way..all camping areas I have encountered usually have a bell system at reception if you are late...myself.. I never drive in Australia (out of the cities) after sunset ..due to the danger of striking wildlife being out on the roadways..also if you want to visit one or many of the National Parks that Tassie has it is easier to buy a National Park Pass that enables you to visit all and is cheaper than paying for entry to each one.(I got ours on the ferry).make sure that you don't miss St. Helens and the Bay of Fires amongst the just so many things to see and do there..also Freycinet National Park and Wineglass bay.... e mail me if you want to know anything specific..trust this is of help for your trip...enjoy Tassie...Aussie best kept secret..

just be aware that motels are more expensive than on the mainland, I agree with cabins and a car, but I just find campervans very small so personally not an option I would choose. I would book ahead where possible especially Hobart, I went there on a weekend and saw "no vacancy" signs everywhere.

Yes, If you want to to book ahead to make sure of accommodation, then Tasmania is a very easy place to do it. You can make a base and go exploring, then just continue on to another base, (thats if you want to do it this way), A Person I worked with went to Tassie, sept 08. They were going to hire a camper van, then changed to car and motels, said it worked out cheaper this way. I can't comment on that if its true or not.