Tasmania: Touring - Driving holiday

Tasmania is easy to explore by road, whatever your choice of vehicle. The Island is compact, its roads hardly ever crowded and its scenery offers a variety of beauty you will rarely see elsewhere in the world. Moreover, Tasmania's network of highways will enable you to travel around the Island discovering an ever-changing landscape. You won't need to spend hours and hours at the wheel to have a wonderful touring holiday in Tasmania, but to make the most of Tasmania to take time to stop and explore on foot. You can take a vehicle from the Australian mainland, on the Spirit of Tasmania, but finding one to rent on the island may be cheaper. You will find offices for all of the multi-national, national and local vehicle hire companies in Tasmania, as well as a wide choice of different vehicles. You may want to think about the type of vehicle you rent in advance and this may depend upon where you are visiting. Many Tasmanian roads are “unsealed” (i.e. unmade), so a standard family saloon is probably not the best choice if you are thinking about travelling through the wilderness, or to some of the more remote destinations. (There are also insurance restrictions on some hired cars using unsealed roads). On the other hand, a fun way to explore the wilderness is to hire a 4 wheel drive vehicle. This is a great way to explore forest tracks, remote beaches or rolling sand dunes. Camper vans are a another popular option for touring holidays in Tasmania and you can hire motorcycles on the island too. To hire a basic 2 to 3 berth camper van in Tasmania for 12 nights, picking it up in Hobart and dropping it of in Launceston would cost about £325. Tasmania is a great place for a touring holiday.