After reading the question about parking for Spirit of Tas I thought as we are thinking of going over to the small isle next year I better find out how far ahead we need to book. Being from North Qld we obviously will only be going in spring/summer (approx. end Oct) otherwise wouldn't get out of bed before 12pm. Any suggestions when we need to book. Also what is the cost at present. We drive a BT50 Dual cab and tow a 16.6' van. Does it go by length?
Kim
Dougwe said
07:30 AM Jun 8, 2015
The more notice the better Kim. If you go onto their website you can work out the availability, costs and see cabins and floor plan of the "Good Ship Spirit". All the info needed. Go as far as you can but don't actually book unless you are ready at the time.
Well worth the effort and trip to the bottom State of OZ. You just need to keep an eye open for icebergs.
Enjoy and keep safe.
reeb51 said
07:53 AM Jun 8, 2015
There are a couple of factors to be aware of. If you are taking your van over and it is over 2.1m in height try and book a head as they have limited space for this height. Also be aware of peak times such as when we Tasmanians exit and return to our home base and some summer months when mainlanders come over to visit and support our tourism industry.
Big Gorilla said
08:22 AM Jun 8, 2015
I agree with other comments. Book ahead as much as you can. You might even score a special. Use this web site to book even if you are not a CMCA member !!
When visiting Tassie if you know the time that you intend to return to the Mainland BOOK YOUR TETURN PASSAGE many have found when wanting to return that they cannot get a passage back to the Mainland for up to two months later because of heavy tourist season bookings and have had to sit it out and extend their stay. Be aware of this!
Allen
Peter1059 said
10:18 AM Jun 8, 2015
Hi Guys
We are going next Feb and booked 11mths in advance and still couldn't get the booking we wanted as the recliners where booked out. So get in early and the best way to get costs etc is to complete the online booking but don't continue through to payment.
Peter
Long Weekend said
10:49 AM Jun 8, 2015
Hi Kim,
Nobody answered your question about length. Yes - they do go by length. You have to give them the total length of your combination when making the booking - and then they will run a tape measure over it anyway when you turn up!
We went across a couple of years ago on daylight trips there and back. From that I would recommend going over on a night trip - the reason being is that you have to get to the boat very early in the morning (meaning that we left Geelong in darkness). But you arrive in Tassie right on nightfall and after passing through quarantine (can take an hour!!!) you have to find your way to the caravan park or destination in the dark.
The same on the return to Melbourne - it is dark when you dock. Of course, we went in April - summer and daylight saving would make a difference.
By the way, the quarantine inspection is pretty thorough. They do one before boarding in Melbourne - apart from checking your fridge, cupboards, car boot you even have to open the bonnet to have the engine bay checked. All fruit and veggies are confiscated. Then on landing at Devenport they do the same thing but more thoroughly. Loose gas cylinders and butane cans are confiscated! (Cylinders bolted/clamped on your A frame are OK.)
We enjoyed our holiday there and will do it again another time.
There is one idiosyncrasy on many of their roads - no distance posts. It can be disconcerting on a long drive not knowing how far to go or how far you have driven!
Murray
dING said
11:08 AM Jun 8, 2015
Last 2 trips to the mainland I have made
Booked and paid some months in advance
Then they brought out a special offer just
Before my sailing date -- substantially cheaper
Much to my annoyance so in my opinion
Ya get done wotever you do so pay ya
Money and enter the lottery
-- Edited by dING on Monday 8th of June 2015 11:08:43 AM
PeterD said
01:17 PM Jun 8, 2015
Long Weekend wrote:
Hi Kim,
Nobody answered your question about length. Yes - they do go by length. You have to give them the total length of your combination when making the booking - and then they will run a tape measure over it anyway when you turn up!
The total length no longer applies. What you need to know is the total length of the van (coupling to the rear of the spare tyre.) I suggest that any one interested should go to the link the Gorilla gave above. Play with it, go through the motions up to the place where they ask for money and then crash out before committing yourself.
When you get to the vehicle data entry they first go through some drop down menus to identify your vehicle exactly. Their database will then have the length of your vehicle. When you have completed the details for the tug you start on the van details. You are asked here for the vans total length, this is added to their calculation of the tugs length and you are presented with the total rig length.
When you are entering the details of the accommodation you will be asked whether you want Spirit Fares of Flexie Fares. There is a large difference in the rates. Read the differences in conditions. The Spirit Fares have some penalties for making changes to your trip or cancellations. It's up to you to calculate which is your better option. In saying that I opted for the Spirit Fares when booking.
Chris61 said
01:54 PM Jun 8, 2015
The earlier you book, the better chance of cheaper prices. I think specials are only for the off season. I have booked 3 times and each time it is cheaper as I book early and look out for specials.
My prices have been from $1800 down to $1600 for a 13m combination and an inside cabin in the off peak season. I booked mid January for early July sailing. At the time every sailing had lots of bookings for over 2.1m caravans. 2 weeks later the over 2.1m caravan spots had only limited spots. Another 3 weeks on there was no over 2.1m caravan spaces.
Book as early as you can, book a return trip (you can change it online for nothing).
Don't be put off by the price of the ship if you free or low cost camp. You will also save on fuel as you can easily make a tank of diesel last a week.
Check out the link, 2 weeks camping within 60km of ferry terminal. Some sites require you to be fully self contained.
-- Edited by Chris61 on Monday 8th of June 2015 01:57:34 PM
blaze said
02:47 PM Jun 8, 2015
I booked on 5th and had the option of a sunday 7th or I chose the 11th and paid $749 one way for a deckchair and a 24 foot van one way. I have never booked early and never had a problem getting a trip one or 2 days around where I want.
cheers
blaze
Desert Dweller said
06:42 AM Jun 9, 2015
In March this year we made the mistake of booking a DAY SAILING. It was such a BORING trip over to Tassie! Overnight coming back was a far better option. LOL.
Baz421 said
10:59 AM Jun 9, 2015
PeterD wrote:
Long Weekend wrote:
Hi Kim,
Nobody answered your question about length. Yes - they do go by length. You have to give them the total length of your combination when making the booking - and then they will run a tape measure over it anyway when you turn up!
The total length no longer applies. What you need to know is the total length of the van (coupling to the rear of the spare tyre.) I suggest that any one interested should go to the link the Gorilla gave above. Play with it, go through the motions up to the place where they ask for money and then crash out before committing yourself.
When you get to the vehicle data entry they first go through some drop down menus to identify your vehicle exactly. Their database will then have the length of your vehicle. When you have completed the details for the tug you start on the van details. You are asked here for the vans total length, this is added to their calculation of the tugs length and you are presented with the total rig length.
When you are entering the details of the accommodation you will be asked whether you want Spirit Fares of Flexie Fares. There is a large difference in the rates. Read the differences in conditions. The Spirit Fares have some penalties for making changes to your trip or cancellations. It's up to you to calculate which is your better option. In saying that I opted for the Spirit Fares when booking.
Not quite correct in all cases Peter.
In our case we used their vehicle dimensions from drop down box and length of van and OVERALL LENGTH OF THE COMBINATION IS WHAT THEY USE (I have email where I queried this a couple of months ago). However the online answer using their calculation of vehicle length was our overall length WAS INCORRECT- their solution and it says it online also, is to adjust the length of the van until you derive the CORRECT OVERALL LENGTH.
I admit most wont have this problem but be aware of it.
snapper49 said
03:25 PM Jun 9, 2015
Not wanting to hijack the thread but I would like to ask about getting on the ferry in melb
I remember reading not to go a certain way because of a bridge or something ????
Chris61 said
03:53 PM Jun 9, 2015
snapper49 wrote:
Not wanting to hijack the thread but I would like to ask about getting on the ferry in melb I remember reading not to go a certain way because of a bridge or something ????
Hi All
After reading the question about parking for Spirit of Tas I thought as we are thinking of going over to the small isle next year I better find out how far ahead we need to book. Being from North Qld we obviously will only be going in spring/summer (approx. end Oct) otherwise wouldn't get out of bed before 12pm. Any suggestions when we need to book. Also what is the cost at present. We drive a BT50 Dual cab and tow a 16.6' van. Does it go by length?
Kim
Well worth the effort and trip to the bottom State of OZ. You just need to keep an eye open for icebergs.
Enjoy and keep safe.
I agree with other comments. Book ahead as much as you can. You might even score a special. Use this web site to book even if you are not a CMCA member !!
http://www.spiritoftasmania.com.au/fares/specials/cmca
When visiting Tassie if you know the time that you intend to return to the Mainland BOOK YOUR TETURN PASSAGE many have found when wanting to return that they cannot get a passage back to the Mainland for up to two months later because of heavy tourist season bookings and have had to sit it out and extend their stay. Be aware of this!
Allen
Hi Guys
We are going next Feb and booked 11mths in advance and still couldn't get the booking we wanted as the recliners where booked out. So get in early and the best way to get costs etc is to complete the online booking but don't continue through to payment.
Peter
Nobody answered your question about length. Yes - they do go by length. You have to give them the total length of your combination when making the booking - and then they will run a tape measure over it anyway when you turn up!
We went across a couple of years ago on daylight trips there and back. From that I would recommend going over on a night trip - the reason being is that you have to get to the boat very early in the morning (meaning that we left Geelong in darkness). But you arrive in Tassie right on nightfall and after passing through quarantine (can take an hour!!!) you have to find your way to the caravan park or destination in the dark.
The same on the return to Melbourne - it is dark when you dock. Of course, we went in April - summer and daylight saving would make a difference.
By the way, the quarantine inspection is pretty thorough. They do one before boarding in Melbourne - apart from checking your fridge, cupboards, car boot you even have to open the bonnet to have the engine bay checked. All fruit and veggies are confiscated. Then on landing at Devenport they do the same thing but more thoroughly. Loose gas cylinders and butane cans are confiscated! (Cylinders bolted/clamped on your A frame are OK.)
We enjoyed our holiday there and will do it again another time.
There is one idiosyncrasy on many of their roads - no distance posts. It can be disconcerting on a long drive not knowing how far to go or how far you have driven!
Murray
Last 2 trips to the mainland I have made
Booked and paid some months in advance
Then they brought out a special offer just
Before my sailing date -- substantially cheaper
Much to my annoyance so in my opinion
Ya get done wotever you do so pay ya
Money and enter the lottery
-- Edited by dING on Monday 8th of June 2015 11:08:43 AM
The total length no longer applies. What you need to know is the total length of the van (coupling to the rear of the spare tyre.) I suggest that any one interested should go to the link the Gorilla gave above. Play with it, go through the motions up to the place where they ask for money and then crash out before committing yourself.
When you get to the vehicle data entry they first go through some drop down menus to identify your vehicle exactly. Their database will then have the length of your vehicle. When you have completed the details for the tug you start on the van details. You are asked here for the vans total length, this is added to their calculation of the tugs length and you are presented with the total rig length.
When you are entering the details of the accommodation you will be asked whether you want Spirit Fares of Flexie Fares. There is a large difference in the rates. Read the differences in conditions. The Spirit Fares have some penalties for making changes to your trip or cancellations. It's up to you to calculate which is your better option. In saying that I opted for the Spirit Fares when booking.
The earlier you book, the better chance of cheaper prices. I think specials are only for the off season. I have booked 3 times and each time it is cheaper as I book early and look out for specials.
My prices have been from $1800 down to $1600 for a 13m combination and an inside cabin in the off peak season. I booked mid January for early July sailing. At the time every sailing had lots of bookings for over 2.1m caravans. 2 weeks later the over 2.1m caravan spots had only limited spots. Another 3 weeks on there was no over 2.1m caravan spaces.
Book as early as you can, book a return trip (you can change it online for nothing).
Don't be put off by the price of the ship if you free or low cost camp. You will also save on fuel as you can easily make a tank of diesel last a week.
Check out the link, 2 weeks camping within 60km of ferry terminal. Some sites require you to be fully self contained.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zC6QXaNd_JDs.kxD2Ai6nJ9-g
-- Edited by Chris61 on Monday 8th of June 2015 01:57:34 PM
cheers
blaze
Not quite correct in all cases Peter.
In our case we used their vehicle dimensions from drop down box and length of van and OVERALL LENGTH OF THE COMBINATION IS WHAT THEY USE (I have email where I queried this a couple of months ago). However the online answer using their calculation of vehicle length was our overall length WAS INCORRECT- their solution and it says it online also, is to adjust the length of the van until you derive the CORRECT OVERALL LENGTH.
I admit most wont have this problem but be aware of it.
I remember reading not to go a certain way because of a bridge or something ????
Montague St Bridge is the low bridge Snapper
It is "G" on link below
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zC6QXaNd_JDs.kxD2Ai6nJ9-g
Ta muchly.
Cheers
Kim