Has anyone ever travelled from melbourne to Tas on the spirit of Tasmania?

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I am looking at holidaying in Tasmania next year. Has anyone ever been on the Spirit of Tasmania cruise ship. Will I need to get a room or will my husband and I be comfortable just on a seat? Any info would be great.

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I travelled over to Tasmania just recently and the room is definitely worth it!

You get a private bathroom with a shower which is such a luxury when you compare it to having to use the public bathrooms.

Another benefit of a room is security. All the doors are opened by electronic swipe cards so only you have access to the room. You can store your valuables with you and not worry about them. With a seat the safest option is holding your possessions on your lap or leaving them in your car (which you don’t have access to during sailing).

I had purchased a 00 video camera before my trip and upon reading the fine print of my insurance, I realised that my camera would not be covered if it was stolen from my car, even if I kept it in the boot!

The beds are also very comfortable and with the Spirit of Tasmania coming into Devonport at 6am its worth having a good nights’ sleep because you have the whole day head of you.

I have also heard from other people that seated areas can be a bit cold, however they do provide blankets.

If you do get a cabin, pack an over night bag with all things you need. If you get a seat, only take the minimal things that you need with.

Also take a look at the website for the Spirit of Tasmania. The pictures give you a good idea of what the sleeping areas are like.

What are some fun things to do in Tasmania?

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My partner and I (we’re both in our 20′s) are spending two weeks in Tasmania in August.

We already plan on going to Cradle Mountain and Port Arthur but what are some lesser known but still awesome/fun things to see and do?

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TAKE YOUR CAMERA!! AND LOTS OF EXTRA MEMORY CARDS!!

And I hope you’re already planning on renting (“hiring”) a car for the whole two weeks. Driving around Tas was funny at times: there were million-dollar ocean-front views, edging cow pastures (“paddocks”), not a house in sight!

My personal top pick: kayaking in the waters around the Freycinet Peninsula. Actually, the whole peninsula is just beautiful! Don’t plan on swimming, though, because August is winter, and the water is antarctic. It may even be too cold for kayaking, unfortunately. But the walking trails and photo-ops alone are definitely worth the trip. We stayed in a semi-independent cabin, and had wallabies on our porch every morning, and beautiful little birds in all the shrubs around us.

Launceston is a great little city for walking around in. Check out websites, though — they can tell you more than anyone on Y!A, ‘cuz Y!A has character limits.

You may have to go through Queenstown to get from one place to another, but you have no need to look forward to it. Queenstown, Tas, is post-apocalyptic-looking — unlike the places all around it! Such as Strahan, and Russell Falls (National Park).

Russell Falls has *loads* of waterfalls in and around the park, and a lot of not-very-shy wildlife. You can get to any number of waterfalls that are along short walking trails, by pulling off into tiny car-parks along the highway going through the park. We spent the better part of a day just getting to our hotel at the park’s edge, because we stopped and walked most of the gorgeous little trails along the way.

Strahan (pronounced “Strawn”) was great when family-and-I went there. Definitely do all the boat trips you can in the area — the historic and the wildlife-natural. And the seafood in Strahan was fantastic!

The iconic Tasmanian wildlife photographer was Peter Dombrovsky. If you want a beautiful and not-silly souvenir of your trip, try and pick up a print or two by him.

In Hobart, they have some good, easy-to-see-the-whole museums and public gardens. They also have the historic Salamanca Market (check websites for more). And they have really excellent walking trails for weekend-walkers (as opposed to the longer, seriously-sport trails at Cradle Mountain).

Definitely try to catch a whale-watching cruise, if you can — it may be a little off-season for it, though. See if you can find out what’s happening on internet news sites that cover Tasmania, in the weeks before you go.

Port Arthur was excellent, but we went there within two years of the Massacre, so a lot of the park personnel were clearly still grieving. Even so, the Ghost Tour was very good, nice and creepy without overdoing it. And the park is beautiful, even the parts that resound with tragedies-past.

My DH and I were travelling with our kids, so of course we went to places like Tasmazia (we all love hedge-mazes) and the mountain-top Pancake House in the middle of nowhere (excellent food, though!). And the Tasmanian Devil breeding centre (which also breeds thousands of venomous snakes, for venom-harvesting to produce snake-bite treatments).

I hope all this helps! Bon voyage!

What time is best to go to the east coast Australia?

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I am planning a 2 – 3 month trip to the east coast Autralia next year, from Cairns down to Tasmania. What time of year would be to go? Dont want it to be raining, but alsodont want it to be overwelmingly hot. Was thinking May – July time, anyone know?
What months does everyone recommend?

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We just came back from a 2,5 month trip in Australia and did both West and East.
We traveled Oct-Dec which was perfect for us! This period will save you from paying the full high season prices (starting 2nd half december, january and february) but will garantee you the good weather because you’re in spring time and heading to summer.

Especially Tasmania can get really cold in Autumn or Winter. So oct, nov, dec would be the best. Autumn and Winter is risky around Sydney for showers so Spring is better. Spring is also good in the north as their wet season starts late december. The first two or three weeks of december it just gets really hot but the real wet season as in showers begins around dec-january. We were fine in Cairns, stayed til the 15th of december and had great weather, even went to the great barrier reef. Didn’t spot a cloud.

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what are the weaknesses of Hobart Tasmania?

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I just want to know what is bad about hobart of the “weaknesses” and threats about it. Also the reasons for not traveling there.

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There are no reasons for not travelling to Hobart.

The weaknesses are that if you compare it to another city on the mainland there isn’t that much choice in the way of shops. Also, daily things like groceries are more expensive in Tasmania.

What all do i need to travel to Australia if im a US citizen?

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Im possibly planning to travel to australia. I was wondering what i needed. Trip would be a week or two.
Do you know if theres a fast way to get a passport or whatever for an australian citizen to come to the us?

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A current US passport and Tourist Visa. You can get an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) from our immigration website (link at the end). If you have any criminal convictions in your past I’d suggest applying for a visa via an Australian Embassy or Consulate.

Pack for all weathers, depending on where and when you are planning on visiting. This time of year it varies from cool to hot, and that’s in Sydney or Melbourne alone. The weather varies across the continent from the humid and hot tropical north, to the cool Tasmania, to the dry desert interior.

Medical and travel insurance are a must. Don’t skimp on these, it’s worth paying a little more for extensive coverage. Though medical costs are nowhere near as US high, they can certainly wipe out a holiday budget.

Banking is fine as we have plenty of ATMs across the country and most places accept credit cards. It’s always a good idea to keep some cash for small transactions. Check with your bank to see which Australia ATMs are compatible. Don’t try to use US dollars for transactions, only the most touristy of places may accept those. Australian dollars are the way to go over here, and they look good too.

The most important things to bring over are and open mind, a sense of humour and a sense of adventure.

Electronic Visa Information: http://www.immi.gov.au/e_visa/eta.htm

Edit: In reference to your second question, an Australian passport takes about 6 weeks to process. It can be done in 14 days, if necessary, but there is an extra usually high charge for rapid processing.