Tasmania in seven days: an underground contemporary art museum built into a sandstone cliff above the Derwent River, a full day circling Bruny Island by boat for oysters, cheese, and sea caves, the convict-era ruins of Port Arthur, the lookout above Wineglass Bay’s crescent of white sand, and a wombat-dotted walk around Dove Lake beneath Cradle Mountain’s jagged dolerite peaks — with real lodges, real operators, and 2026 prices for every stop.
Day 1Hobart Landing & Salamanca
Fly into Hobart, pick up a rental car, and spend the afternoon around the sandstone warehouses of Salamanca Place and the colonial cottages of Battery Point.
🚗 Rental Car Pickup — Avis, Hobart Airport (HBA)
~20 minutes to the CBD · From $65 AUD / day
Major agencies operate from the small terminal at Hobart Airport, a short drive over the Tasman Bridge from the city center.
Avis Hobart Airport · www.avis.com.au/en/locations/au/ts/hobart/hba
🏛️ Salamanca Place & Battery Point
~2 hours self-guided · Free
Georgian sandstone warehouses built by convict labor in the 1830s, now galleries, bars, and studios, backing onto the narrow lanes and workers’ cottages of Battery Point — Hobart’s oldest neighborhood.
🍽️ Dinner — Fish Frenzy
~1 hour · $20–$35 AUD / person
A no-frills, always-busy fish-and-chips counter on Elizabeth Street Pier looking straight out over the harbor — order at the window and eat at the outdoor tables with the fishing boats a few feet away.
Fish Frenzy · fishfrenzy.com.au
🛏️ Overnight — Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart
From $180–$240 AUD / night, for 2 people
A waterfront hotel a few minutes’ walk from Salamanca Place, with views over the harbor and Mount Wellington behind it — a convenient base for the next two nights.
Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart · www.grandchancellorhotels.com/hotel-grand-chancellor-hobart
Day 2MONA & kunanyi/Mount Wellington
A ferry upriver to one of the world’s more unusual museums, then a late-afternoon drive to the summit overlooking the whole city.
🎨 MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) — MONA ROMA Ferry
~30 minutes each way by ferry, half-day museum visit · $39 AUD / adult (ferry extra; Tasmanian residents free)
A three-level, largely underground museum carved into a sandstone cliff above the Derwent River, built around a private collection that runs from Egyptian antiquities to deliberately unsettling contemporary art — best reached by the museum’s own ferry from Hobart’s waterfront.
MONA · mona.net.au
🏔️ kunanyi / Mount Wellington Summit Drive
~30 minutes drive from Hobart, ~30 minutes at the summit · Free
A winding road climbs 1,271 meters above Hobart to a summit that’s frequently 8–10°C colder than the city below — a glassed-in lookout gives a panoramic view over the Derwent River, the city, and Bruny Island on a clear day.
🥩 Dinner — Frank Restaurant & Bar
~1.5 hours · $50–$80 AUD / person
A sleek Argentinian-style parrilla on Franklin Wharf, cooking most of the menu over an open charcoal grill — a step up from Day 1’s fish and chips, with harbor views to match.
Frank Restaurant & Bar · frankrestaurant.com.au
🛏️ Overnight — Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart
From $180–$240 AUD / night, for 2 people
A second night at the same waterfront hotel before tomorrow’s day trip to Bruny Island.
Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart · www.grandchancellorhotels.com/hotel-grand-chancellor-hobart
Day 3Bruny Island
A full day on Bruny Island, reached by a short car ferry across the D’Entrecasteaux Channel — sea cliffs, wildlife, and some of Tasmania’s best small-scale food producers.
⛴️ Bruny Island Car Ferry — SeaLink, Kettering
~35 minutes drive from Hobart, ~20 minutes crossing · ~$57 AUD return per vehicle (foot passengers free)
A frequent, no-reservation-needed car ferry across the channel from Kettering to Roberts Point — the only vehicle access to Bruny Island.
SeaLink Bruny Island Ferry · www.sealink.com.au/bruny-island
🚤 Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise — Bruny Island Cruises
~3 hours, departs Adventure Bay · $190 AUD / adult
A small-boat cruise past 200-meter sea cliffs, blowholes, and sea caves along Bruny’s exposed southern coast, with a good chance of seals, dolphins, and (in season) migrating whales.
Bruny Island Cruises · www.brunycruises.com.au
🧀 Cheese & Oysters — Bruny Island Cheese Co. and Get Shucked
~1.5 hours, self-guided · $15–$30 AUD / person
Two of Bruny’s best-known producers sit almost next door to each other on the Bruny Island Main Road — a working cheesery with tastings, and an oyster farm shucking straight off the boat.
🛏️ Overnight — Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart
From $180–$240 AUD / night, for 2 people
Back across the channel and up to Hobart for a last night before heading to the Tasman Peninsula.
Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart · www.grandchancellorhotels.com/hotel-grand-chancellor-hobart
Day 4Tasman Peninsula & Port Arthur
A drive out to the Tasman Peninsula for Australia’s best-preserved convict site and a coastline of dramatic natural rock formations.
⛓️ Port Arthur Historic Site
~1.5 hours drive from Hobart, half-day self-guided + guided walk · $55 AUD / adult
A former convict settlement — now a UNESCO World Heritage site — of more than 30 ruined and restored buildings across 40 hectares, including a guided walking tour and harbor cruise included in admission.
Port Arthur Historic Site · portarthur.org.au
🌊 Tasman Arch & Devils Kitchen
~20 minutes drive, ~30 minutes self-guided · Free
Two dramatic coastal rock formations a few minutes apart — a collapsed sea cave now spanned by a natural rock arch, and a narrow, sheer-walled chasm where waves surge in from the Tasman Sea below.
🛏️ Overnight — Stewarts Bay Lodge
From $190–$250 AUD / night, for 2 people
Self-contained cabins set in bushland right on Stewarts Bay, a five-minute drive from the Port Arthur Historic Site entrance.
Stewarts Bay Lodge · stewartsbaylodge.com.au
Day 5The East Coast & Wineglass Bay
A scenic drive up the east coast to Freycinet National Park, ending with the walk up to Tasmania’s most photographed lookout.
🌉 Spiky Bridge & the Orford Coast Road
~2 hours drive from Port Arthur to Coles Bay, with stops · Free
A convict-built 1843 bridge laid with vertical fieldstones and no mortar, one of several roadside stops along the drive north — a good excuse to break up the trip up the coast.
🥾 Wineglass Bay Lookout Walk
~1.5 hours round trip, moderate, self-guided · Free (Tasmanian National Parks Pass required: $44 AUD / vehicle)
A steady climb through granite boulders and coastal eucalypt forest to a saddle overlooking Wineglass Bay’s perfect crescent of white sand and turquoise water — the single most-photographed view in Tasmania.
🍽️ Dinner — The Bay Restaurant, Freycinet Lodge
~1.5 hours · $45–$70 AUD / person
An Oyster Bay-facing restaurant built into the lodge, leaning on local seafood and Tasmanian produce — a relaxed way to end a day of hiking.
The Bay Restaurant · www.freycinetlodge.com.au/dine/the-bay-restaurant
🛏️ Overnight — Freycinet Lodge
From $300–$400 AUD / night, for 2 people
Timber cabins scattered through the bush inside Freycinet National Park itself, a short walk from the Wineglass Bay trailhead.
Freycinet Lodge · www.freycinetlodge.com.au
Day 6North to Cradle Mountain
A cross-country drive to the highlands, with a lunch stop in Launceston, ending with a walk around one of Tasmania’s most famous lakes.
🍽️ Lunch — Stillwater Restaurant, Launceston
~2.5 hours drive from Coles Bay, ~1 hour lunch · $30–$50 AUD / person
A long-running Launceston favorite in a converted 1830s flour mill on the Tamar River — a good halfway stop between Freycinet and Cradle Mountain.
Stillwater Restaurant · www.stillwater.net.au
🚌 Cradle Mountain Shuttle Bus
~2 hours drive from Launceston to the visitor centre, ~20 minutes shuttle to Dove Lake · $15.50 AUD / adult (72-hour pass)
Private vehicles aren’t permitted to Dove Lake during operating hours — this shuttle is the only way in, running from the visitor centre past the ranger station and Ronny Creek.
Cradle Mountain Shuttle Bus · parks.tas.gov.au/explore-our-parks/cradle-mountain/cradle-mountain-shuttle-bus-information
🥾 Dove Lake Loop Walk
~2 hours round trip (6 km), easy, self-guided · Free with shuttle ticket
A boardwalk and gravel loop around the lake’s edge with Cradle Mountain’s jagged dolerite peaks reflected in the water — wombats are a near-certain sighting grazing beside the trail at dusk.
🛏️ Overnight & Dinner — Cradle Mountain Lodge, Highland Restaurant
From $260–$340 AUD / night, for 2 people · dinner $50–$75 AUD / person
Timber cabins just outside the national park boundary, with the Highland Restaurant on site serving Tasmanian game and seafood by an open fire.
Cradle Mountain Lodge · www.cradlemountainlodge.com.au
Day 7Cradle Mountain & Departure
A last, quieter morning in the highlands before the drive to Launceston for the flight home.
📸 Dove Lake Boat Shed at Sunrise
~1 hour round trip, easy, self-guided · Free with shuttle ticket
An 1940s timber boat shed on the lake’s edge, framed by the mountain behind it — the single most-photographed spot in the park, quietest in the early morning before the day’s shuttle crowds arrive.
✈️ Departure — Launceston Airport (LST)
~1.5 hours drive from Cradle Mountain · Self-guided
Closes the loop on seven days that ran from an underground art museum to sea cliffs to convict ruins to two of Tasmania’s most iconic walks — return the rental car at the terminal and check carriers’ recommended arrival times.
Avis Launceston Airport · www.avis.com.au/en/locations/au/ts/launceston/lst
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