Natural beauty, food and wine make for a great combination at any time, but even more so when you’re on holiday. Tasmania is a place known for all three, and we think the East Coast is the best place to enjoy highlights of all without having to drive too far.
Distance: 3 Stops, 114 km total drive distance, Short
📍Stop 1: ST HELENS
Where to stay in St Helens?
BIG4 St Helens is a favourite in the area with modern facilities and a great range of accommodation options regardless of if you’re travelling with an RV or looking for roofed accommodation. If you’ve got the kids with you there’s endless entertainment options including a Games Room, Jumping Pillow, Swimming Pool, Table Tennis and more. The park regularly runs activities including a Friday happy hour, it’s the sort of place that has a great community atmosphere.
What to do, eat and drink in St Helens?
A short walk across the bridge crossing Beauty Bay and you’ll arrive at the township of St Helens. There’s plenty of great options here, and for a night out and some of the best food in Tassie we love Furneaux Restaurant and Comptoir where you’ll find a menu of French classics served with a Modern Australian twist and a great wine list. A destination venue whenever we are in this part of the world is the famous Pub In The Paddock, approximately 30 minutes drive inland. As the name suggests, this pub has an isolated location set amongst rolling green paddocks and is famous as one of the oldest pubs in Australia. Activities wise, the highlight of this area is the Bay Of Fires, located 30 minutes drive north, named for the fiery orange granite rocks that surround this turquoise bay. There’s options to explore by foot or bike or simply set up on the sand and enjoy a day at the beach. If you want to get the most out of your visit, we highly recommend joining a tour and the team at Bay Of Fires Eco Tours are world class. You’ll head out on a boat and learn plenty about the region whilst exploring all the natural beauty and encountering various bird and marine life along the way.
What’s the onward drive to Scamander?
One of the shorter drives you’ll see us list between locations, it will take less than 20 minutes to get to Scamander.
📍Stop 2: SCAMANDER
Where to stay in Scamander?
Scamander Sanctuary Holiday Park is a great spot, and despite being so close to our previous stop it has an entirely different feel due to its secluded location. From an accommodation perspective this park has a focus on Glamping options, but there’s several great Powered Sites and Unpowered Sites available too. In contrast to our previous stop, this isn’t a ‘resort style’ park full of different facilities, but it has all the basics you’d expect and they are clean and well maintained. Given this more boutique style, it’s a particularly peaceful place and a great spot to go to unwind, unplug and relax.
What to do, eat and drink in Scamander?
We have deliberately put this stop in not as a base to explore the broader area further (you’ll get to do plenty of that at each stop either side), but as time to relax and connect with nature and enjoy this secluded park. Surrounded by lush greenery and just metres walk from pristine beach, take a wander around and see what takes your fancy. If you’ve brought your gear, the nearby Scamander River is a great place to go fishing and you’ll more than likely catch some bream. There’s a small lot of shops nearby to the park and our go to for a morning coffee is Swims East Coast Coffee, open daily from 7am. If you are interested in wine a visit to The Farm Shed East Coast Wine Centre is a must. It’s a great starting point to learn about and taste a variety of fantastic wines from this region and then choose where you might like to visit. We recommend visiting on your drive down to our next stop in Freycinet as it is on the route.
What’s the onward drive to Freycinet?
A beautiful coastal drive of roughly one and a half hours will find you in Freycinet. There’s plenty of beautiful locations to make a stop along the way, but our favourite is the town of Bicheno.
📍Stop 3: FREYCINET
Where to stay in Freycinet?
Located next to Muirs Beach at Coles Bay, BIG4 Iluka is a perfect location to enjoy the natural beauty of this incredible area whilst also being a central base to explore Freycinet more broadly. Whilst not an over the top resort style park, there’s still plenty of great facilities that are well maintained, and both roofed accommodation options and sites are exactly what you’d expect from this consistent group of Holiday Parks.
What to do, eat and drink in Freycinet?
This area is all about exploring nature, highlighted by beautiful beaches and walking trails. The iconic Wineglass Bay is a familiar name on lists of the world's best beaches and for good reason. It isn’t the easiest place to get to however, you’ll need to either hike through the National Park or join a boat tour. If your preference is the latter, we recommend the team at Wineglass Bay Cruises. Whilst not as well known as Wineglass Bay, Coles Bay itself is also beautiful and a great spot for a swim or a paddle out on a kayak or SUP. This region is known for its seafood and one of the best ways to experience it is 10 minutes drive away at Freycinet Marine Farm where oysters and mussels are harvested fresh daily from their own marine farm. If you do need provisions, there’s a grocery store directly next to the park.
What’s the onward drive?
This is the end of our itinerary but there’s plenty more to explore if you want to keep heading south, highlighted by Hobart and Bruny Island but with lots of other great smaller coastal towns to visit along the way.
