Reasons to Visit Tasmania vs Other Australia Spots
Browse more guides: Australia travel | Oceania destinations Reasons to Visit Tasmania vs Other Australia Spots Last updated: April 2026 · 12 min read Most travelers planning Australia book the Sydney-Melbourne-Cairns triangle and never look further south. They skip the small island state hanging off the bottom of the map. So that's the mistake. I've spent 12 days in Tasmania across two trips and I now recommend it to almost every Australia visitor I talk to, and the reason is simple: the scale is smaller, but everything is within a four-hour drive, the food and wine are arguably the best in Australia per capita, and Hobart has an art museum (MONA) you literally can't find anywhere else on the planet. The mainland gives you bigger cities and bigger reefs. Tasmania gives you density. Cooler weather, smaller crowds, no traffic worth complaining about. And and you drive from a Hobart breakfast to an alpine lake before lunch, then to a vineyard for dinner. Try that itinera...