[jade5]

We are planning a holiday to Tasmania with our 2 DD's for next year around Feb/March. I know it's 12 months away but it gives me a good amount of time to save (and I love planning things early!)

We will have about 2 weeks, maybe longer. It's a place my hubby and I have never been to so it is on the top of our list for a holiday.

We will take our car over on the boat, as I think it will be cheaper then hiring a car and less hassle with all the stuff we will have packed for kids.

Has anyone done a similar trip and have any recommendations for accommodation, routes to travel, things to see etc??

Our DD's will be 4 and 18 months. We love the beach, and no doubt DH will have his surfboard.

Not sure if we should book accommodation before we arrive as we don't know how long we will be in each destination? It wont be school holidays when we go.

Happy to stay in caravan park cabins and maybe somewhere really nice as well, if anyone can recommend something that would be great!!

[MicM]

We went to Tasmania in January our favourite place was Bay of Fires a must see.

We had a motorhome so can't help you with accommodation though.

[ellebelle]

We went in January and didn't prebook accomodation until day before each destination. We had no trouble getting somewhere to stay. We had a lovely time. Some favourites were the Seahorse Farm and the cheese factory (sorry - forget it's name). Also enjoyed Port Arthur. We were only there for a week and it wasn't enough time. We flew into Launceston and drove around anti clockwise.

[jade5]

We did also think of flying and hiring a motorhome/campervan but not sure how that would work with the kids being in car restraints.

Thanks for the suggestions so far I will add them to my list!

[ellebelle]

We usually paid between $80 and $120 per night for accom and hiring a van ended up being not that different for a week. Bonus of having own bathroom and television is good for kids!

[Caseymay]

Hi,

We have been to Tassie a few times and loved each visit. We priced up to take our car and caravan on the boat and it was really expensive! It might not be so bad with just a car but we have always found it cheaper to do accommodation, car hire and flights. I always fly Virgin to Tas because the flights are direct (I am in QLD) and you can take car seats, portacots and prams for free.

I love Launceston and we have stayed at Ashton Gate Guest House. There is a two bedroom cottage which is separate to the main b&b so good for kids. The gorge is pretty and there are lots of peacocks to see.

Port Arthur is a must see. Make sure you do The Isle of the Dead.

Sarah Island was fantastic too if you like history. They did a little play when we were there called 'the Ship that Never Was' which was really good.

Last trip we did Frecinet and it was a lovely place. Wineglass bay is well worth a look. It is a bit of a hike so I would absolutely take a baby carrier or two!

Bicheno is nice. There is a little boat that you can take kids on called the glass bottom boat. Plus you can do a night time penguin tour!

Cradle mountain has haps of bush walking tracks and wombats.

There is heaps more, I could go on, I love Tas!

This post has been edited by Caseymay: 26/02/2013, 03:23 PM

[*the*lucky*one*]

We did a similar trip a few years back. Rented out a whole house 3 bedrooms and 2 outside rooms set up as bedrooms (totally gorgeous). Cost us $750 for 10 days. Link is below. If you call the local tourist information centre you'll get it a lot cheaper if it's not booked. Was beautiful. Room for the kids to run around, a gorgeous house, beautiful fire, gardens to die for, massive claw foot bathtub and a hop, skip and a jump away from everything.

http://au.totaltravel.yahoo.com/listing/63...keview-cottage/

[Itchy_Witch]

We did Tasmania last year with a 5 year old and 3 year old.
We stayed in Discovery Holiday parks, they have self contained chalet type things (we used one that slept 6) and they have BBQs and playgrounds on site, very affordable.
Some of the things we did: Mt Field National Park and Russell Falls, Port Arthur, Botanical Gardens, Peak of My Wellington, Zoodoo and visited Richmond, Alpinevale Miniature Railway, Tasmania Zoo, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, Salmon Ponds, Cataract Gorge, Hastings Caves and Thermal Springs (although DS found the caves a bit overwhelming and wanted to be carried the whole time), oh and the Sorrell Fruit Farm was lots of fun for the kids.
Be prepared to do a lot of driving. we spent the bulk of our time based in Hobart, with two nights in Launceston.

[Punky's Dilemma]

Tassie's great - you'll love it!

Things to do:
Beauty Point Seahorse farm - mentioned by PP. About a 40min drive from Launceston.
Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary - wildlife park as opposed to zoo. has free roaming wallabies that kids can feed, as well as has devils, koalas etc in enclosures.
Richmond - A historic town about 30min from Hobart. Lots to do including art galleries, a maze, zoo doo, a model village and it's very picturesque.
Mt Wellington - lots of walks and nice picnic spots. Great views of Hobart on a clear day.
Freycinet National Park - National park on Tasmania's east coast, close to Friendly Beaches - a great surf spot. Accommodation and Camping spaces are available inside the park.
East Coast - any of the towns along Tasmania's East Coast are very picturesque and cosy. Plus lots of great surf beaches in the are, as well as along the north coast of Tas. the Bay of Fires (mentioned by PP) is also in the East Coast.
Mt Field National Park - Alpine National Park about an hour and half from Hobart. Nice, easy bush walks and pretty much guaranteed to see at least some wombats and wallabies.
Cradle Mt National Park - Similar to Mt Field but in the north of the State. Home to Tassie icon - Cradle Mt. Accommodation and Cabin spaces are available inside the park.
Port Arthur - Old penal colony. Lots of ruins and history stuff, plus possible boat cruise, and lots of space for kids.
Tahune Airwalk - A walk through Tassie forests canopies with swinging bridges and elevated walkways. About an hour south of Hobart.
Salamanca markets - market full of local produce and handmade Tasmania crafts, plus great cafes (try The Machine Cafe in Salamanca Square for the best/cheapest muffins in Hobart), great toy and book shops and art galleries. Plus close to Salamanca Lawns and St Davids Park for a great place to let the kids run wild.
Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm - about 30min from Devonport. Great cafe that serves berry related food and drink. Similar to Kate's Berry Farm (near Swansea on East Coast).
Strahan - on West Coast. Very picturesque and near Sarah Island, another penal colony (only available by boat cruise though)

Places to stay:
Depends on your budget. Most places have camping grounds for camper vans etc, or cheap motels/cabins etc. Feb/March shouldn't be too busy as kids will be back at school but you may have to put up with quite a few grey nomads that set off at about the same time. I think the easiest way to find places is by googling.

I'm sure other people have more ideas.

Enjoy!


Edited for Spelling

This post has been edited by blue.bird: 27/02/2013, 10:08 AM

[antsy]

We went in for 2 weeks in January this year and it was absolutely amazing! I am so in love with tassie that I almost want to move there now. I just loved the natural scenery, the food, and the way the roads were never busy and it was slower paced compared to Melb.

We went over on the ship as it worked out cheaper to do that compared to flights and car hire for a family of 5. The kids loved the experience on the boat - it really added to the excitement of the holiday, and we found the cabin very comfortable as well. I have heard others say that flights and car hire is cheaper, but it didnt work out that way for us, probably because we would have had to hire a large car and 3 car seats for the kids. Also, it is so much easier to take your own car and fill it with all your stuff. The kids even brought their scooters, and that was a great cause we found heaps of skate parks over there.

My favourite place there was the seaside town of Bicheno. Gorgeous beaches and scenery, and coles bay/wineglass bay is only a 30 minute drive away. We stayed at this holiday rental http://www.bichenobluehaven.com/index.htm and it was the best holiday rental house we have ever stayed in - location was great as it was walking distance to the beach, heaps of toys and dvds for kids, clean and great facilities.


I also loved Strahan. We werent going to visit because it is so far away but I am really glad we did. It is a sleepy and gorgeous little fishing town, and there are heaps of attractions there as well eg the gordon river cruise (highly recommend) or the train trip.

Cradle mountain was gorgeous but freezing cold when we were there, so we didnt get to see much of it as the kids were freezing. But that was just bad luck cause the day we left it warmed up a lot.

Heaps of things to do around Hobart, i wish we spent more than the 2 nights we had there.

We basically did an anticlockwise trip around the state - started in launceston, then cradle mountain, Strahan, Hobart, Bicheno and finished up at Binalong Bay. The most we had was a 4 hour drive which suited us perfectly. We stayed 2-4 nights in each place, though I found you need at least 3 days in each place to really see it properly and not feel rushed.

You are so lucky! Wish I could go back there again, tassie is such a beautiful place

This post has been edited by antsy: 27/02/2013, 10:07 AM