Tasmania — Travel Tips
International Travel
Getting There By Air
All direct flights come from the Australian mainland. Direct flights to Hobart arrive from Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, with quick connections available from Cairns, Canberra, Darwin and Perth. Launceston, Devonport and Burnie also receive flights from the mainland.
Airlines serving Tasmania include Jetstar (JQ) (www.jetstar.com.au), Qantas (QF) (www.qantas.com.au), Rex - Regional Express (ZL) (www.regionalexpress.com.au), Tiger Airways (TH) (www.tigerairways.com.au) and Virgin Blue (DJ) (website: www.virginblue.com.au). Airlines of Tasmania (www.airtasmania.com.au) flies to Flinders Island. King Island Airlines (www.kingislandair.com.au) and TasAir (www.tasair.com.au) fly to King Island. Both islands are directly accessible from the Australian mainland, as well as from Tasmania.
Departure Tax
None.
Main Airports
Hobart International Airport (HBA) (www.hiapl.com.au) lies 16km (10 miles) east of Hobart. To/from the airport: Shuttle buses operate to the city center. A taxi into the city takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Facilities: Banks/ATMs, bars and car hire.
Getting There By Water
Main port: Devonport (www.tasports.com.au) on the northwest coast of the island.
The Spirit of Tasmania (tel: 1800 634 906; www.spiritoftasmania.com.au) sails daily in both directions across the Bass Strait between Melbourne and Devonport though schedules are subject to change depending on demand (journey time - 9 to 11 hours).
Getting There By Rail
There are no passenger services. However, the West Coast Wilderness Railway (tel: 1800 420 155; www.federalgroup.com.au) runs a tourist service between Queenstown and Strahan; it is a reconstruction of the original Abt railway that carried ore from the mines to the coast. The railway's steam locomotives use a rack-rail system to climb the steep gradients of the rainforest wilderness it passes through. It runs for 35km (22 miles), crossing a number of small rivers and passing through restored stations including Lower Landing, Dubbil and Baril (journey time - approximately 5 hours).
In the northwest, the Don River Railway (tel: (03) 6424 6335; www.donriverrailway.com.au) also runs regular excursions using both steam and diesel locomotives. The rail trips usually take half an hour, to Coles Beach and back.
Getting There By Road
All settlements on the island are linked by a road system running for 22,000km (13,670 miles), over which there are bus services connecting the main cities and towns. The main routes are: the Lyell Highway from Hobart to Queenstown; the Huon Highway from Hobart to Southport; the Heritage Highway from Hobart to Launceston; the Tasman Highway from Hobart along the east coast; and the Bass Highway, linking the ports of the north and northwest coast.
The Marlborough Highway links the Lyell Highway to the Lake Highway and reduces the journey time between the west coast and central highlands. There are 11 pre-planned touring routes to help discover the unique Tasmanian scenery and natural attractions.
Coach: Tasmania has its own coach services: Tasmania's Own Redline (tel: 1300 360 000; www.tasredline.com.au); and Tassielink Coaches (tel: 1300 300 520; www.tigerline.com.au), which offers an Explorer Pass for seven, 10, 14 or 21 days' unlimited travel.
Bus: Local bus networks are operated in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie.
