So next Saturday 20th we leave on the Spirit, we are hiring a campervan in Melbourne for the trip and leave on the night trip going over, have booked a cabin for the night so will hopefully get a good sleep for when we arrive with the full day ahead of us. The one question I have is when is the best time to board the Spirit as we have friends that live just across from it, should we get in early or leave it to much later, thanks for any feedback.
Dougwe said
08:47 AM Dec 13, 2014
Sounds great Pauline. Enjoy the crossing on the good ship Spirit. Make sure you take whatever you need to the cabin with you as you can't go back down to the car etc. Also and as well even, take your own pillows to the cabin.
As to when to get there. If you get there early you get on early most times but get of later most of the time as the good ship Spirit has to reverse park at Devonport. Be prepared for a posssiblenlong wait over the too as Quarantine takes a good looksee at what you have or don't have.
Just enjoy the journey Pauline and touring around that great State. If you haven't been there before can I suggest you take a bopeep at Port Arthur and do the night tour as well. Take time to do the Convict Trail near by as that is a must do as well. Gordon River Cruise is a must do over on the West side. Mmmmmm, everything is a must do really.
Hylda&Jon said
09:38 AM Dec 13, 2014
Out of curiosity. Isn't it possible to hire a campervan in Tasmania and save on the rather high transport costs of taking the camper across by ferry?
Philw said
01:09 PM Dec 13, 2014
Pauline. You will love Tassie. Everytime we have gone over we have arrived at the port about 3 or 4 hours early and park in the back streets. Then enjoyed time on the beach. Its paid parking along the front. We usually headed up to the ferry entrance a couple of hours before. Getting on in Melbourne is a traffic jam. You simply are stuck in a line of cars and trucks in the street. Good luck and enjoy Tassie. Can I recommed Bruny Island and the fast boat cruise down the island coast. A great day.
Oh. Devenport terminal is a breeze but be careful about fresh produce. We had to give away a weeks worth of groceries to some strangers prior to boarding at Melbourne. They are really strict and the fines are severe.
phil
Ozzie_Traveller said
10:04 PM Dec 13, 2014
G'day Pauline
We are in the middle of our Tassie trip right now - so welcome to the 'south island' travellers
Some suggestions...
** Maps - there are heaps of Tassie maps selling from $0 to $12,95
May I suggest once in Tassie that you pop into a newsagent and get the $30 UBD "Street Directory Tasmania" so as well as maps of the island you'll also get reasonably good maps of the towns & esp the 1-way streets that most towns all seem to have
** National Parks pass ... if you're likely to go into places like Freyciet Peninsula / Wineglass Bay amongst others, the NP entry fee is $24 per day. The NP x 60-day pass on the boat is $60 ~ so it doesn't take too many $24 days to pass the $60 ticket
** If you have a smartfone, you might like to load Wikicamps Tasmania for dozens & dozens & dozens of places
Otherwise the regular Camps Australia Wide [or one of the equivalents] will do for camp sites
If you're a van park person, I would not bother any sort of pre-booking as most are only 1/4-1/2 full
Hope this helps a bit ~ PM me if you have other Qs
Phil
pauline said
10:16 PM Dec 13, 2014
thanks everyone for your advice..............will take it all onboard.
pomme said
09:37 AM Dec 14, 2014
Quote from Ozzie Traveller "If you're a van park person, I would not bother any sort of pre-booking as most are only 1/4-1/2 full"
Be careful there if its school holidays millions of kids, and all the cheaper places booked out, especially the west coast.
Have a good time over there wonderful place.
Pomme.
So next Saturday 20th we leave on the Spirit, we are hiring a campervan in Melbourne for the trip and leave on the night trip going over, have booked a cabin for the night so will hopefully get a good sleep for when we arrive with the full day ahead of us. The one question I have is when is the best time to board the Spirit as we have friends that live just across from it, should we get in early or leave it to much later, thanks for any feedback.
As to when to get there. If you get there early you get on early most times but get of later most of the time as the good ship Spirit has to reverse park at Devonport. Be prepared for a posssiblenlong wait over the too as Quarantine takes a good looksee at what you have or don't have.
Just enjoy the journey Pauline and touring around that great State. If you haven't been there before can I suggest you take a bopeep at Port Arthur and do the night tour as well. Take time to do the Convict Trail near by as that is a must do as well. Gordon River Cruise is a must do over on the West side. Mmmmmm, everything is a must do really.
Out of curiosity. Isn't it possible to hire a campervan in Tasmania and save on the rather high transport costs of taking the camper across by ferry?
We are in the middle of our Tassie trip right now - so welcome to the 'south island' travellers
Some suggestions...
** Maps - there are heaps of Tassie maps selling from $0 to $12,95
May I suggest once in Tassie that you pop into a newsagent and get the $30 UBD "Street Directory Tasmania" so as well as maps of the island you'll also get reasonably good maps of the towns & esp the 1-way streets that most towns all seem to have
** National Parks pass ... if you're likely to go into places like Freyciet Peninsula / Wineglass Bay amongst others, the NP entry fee is $24 per day. The NP x 60-day pass on the boat is $60 ~ so it doesn't take too many $24 days to pass the $60 ticket
** If you have a smartfone, you might like to load Wikicamps Tasmania for dozens & dozens & dozens of places
Otherwise the regular Camps Australia Wide [or one of the equivalents] will do for camp sites
If you're a van park person, I would not bother any sort of pre-booking as most are only 1/4-1/2 full
Hope this helps a bit ~ PM me if you have other Qs
Phil
Be careful there if its school holidays millions of kids, and all the cheaper places booked out, especially the west coast.
Have a good time over there wonderful place.
Pomme.