Tasmania
Compact island touring with big wilderness and short hops.
2 caravan parks · 1 touring route
Tasmania rewards caravanners who slow right down — it's small enough to circumnavigate in ten days but rich enough to justify a month. The East Coast (Bay of Fires, Freycinet, Bicheno) is sealed, mild and dense with holiday parks; the Cradle Coast and Central Highlands are cooler, hillier, and where the state's genuine wilderness character shows up, with narrower roads and more caravan-park spacing.
Ferry logistics via the Spirit of Tasmania (Melbourne–Devonport) are the first planning decision most mainland tourers make, and they book out well ahead over summer — sort that before anything else if you're bringing the van across. Once on the island, the East Coast is easy towing; the Cradle Mountain and West Coast roads are windier and slower going but still sealed and manageable for most rigs, just budget more time per kilometre than the mainland.
Summer (December–February) is peak season and when most of the East Coast's parks fill; Tasmania's shoulder seasons (autumn especially) are genuinely pleasant for touring with far fewer crowds, though Cradle Mountain and the highlands can get cold overnight even in summer.
Regions of Tasmania
Caravan parks in Tasmania
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Touring routes through Tasmania
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Common questions about Tasmania
- Do I need to book the Spirit of Tasmania ferry ahead for a caravan?
- Yes, well ahead for summer sailings — vehicle-and-van bookings (Melbourne–Devonport) sell out over the December–January peak, sometimes months in advance.
- Is Cradle Mountain caravan-friendly?
- Yes, the approach roads are sealed, but they're narrower and slower than East Coast highways — allow more time per 100km than you would on the mainland, and expect cool-to-cold nights even in summer.
- How long should I budget for a Tasmania lap?
- Two weeks covers the highlights at a reasonable pace; three to four weeks lets you actually stop rather than transit. It's a small island on the map but the roads and the number of worthwhile stops both argue for slowing down.
Trev and his wife Denise have been doing laps of the country since he hung up the boots. He knows which pubs let you camp out the back, which servo has the good pies, and which showground is worth the donation. He writes the way he yarns — slowly, and with a tangent.
Retired; 6 continuous years on the Big Lap