Painted Cliffs on Maria Island, Tasmania
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Tasmania

Hike Tasmania's wildest coastlines, from the sea cliffs of the Tasman Peninsula to Wineglass Bay and the Bay of Fires, with wombats for company on Maria Island.

Highlights

  • Clifftop tracks out to the dolerite capes of the Tasman Peninsula
  • Day walks to Wineglass Bay beneath the pink granite peaks of the Hazards
  • Wombats and Cape Barren geese grazing on Maria Island
  • UNESCO-listed convict history at Port Arthur and Darlington
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Why Go on a Walking Tour in Tasmania?

Tasmania's east coast keeps its national parks right on the sea, and the walking changes with the rock. Granite rises from turquoise bays at Freycinet, dolerite caps the summits of Maria Island, and on the Tasman Peninsula the sea has carved softer sandstone into arches and caves.

Freycinet National Park is Tasmania's oldest national park, reserved in 1916 together with Mount Field. The peninsula is two blocks of granite, worn down over 400 million years and joined by the sandy isthmus that forms Wineglass Bay. Its tracks are often steep granite and loose gravel, so wear sturdy boots. The park lies in the homelands of the Oyster Bay nation, and beside Richardsons Beach is one of the most extensive shell middens known on the east coast.

Maria Island has no vehicle access, so you take the half-hour ferry from Triabunna and explore on foot. Aboriginal people made the same crossing by canoe for thousands of years, to the island they knew as wukaluwikiwayna. You are likely to spot forester kangaroos, and Parks Tasmania names the island as a place to see Tasmanian devils, found wild only in Tasmania. The Tasman Peninsula has a healthy devil population of its own, and it keeps growing.

Cape Raoul, the Bishop and Clerk and the Wineglass Bay Lookout all appear among Parks Tasmania's 60 Great Short Walks, the state's own pick of its best walks.

Up the north-east coast, Aboriginal people called the Bay of Fires larapuna: a meeting place for three family groups. In the warmer months, look out for the critically endangered swift parrot.

Ask our agents which Tasmanian walk fits your dates →

Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on how you like to travel.

The Three Capes walk has one base, in Port Arthur. You keep the same room throughout, and a driver drops you at each day's trailhead. Two of the walking days are long, on steep and rough ground.

The East Coast walk moves between three towns. A ferry, a water taxi and coaches link Maria Island, Freycinet and the Bay of Fires. Most days are 11–15 km, and the last two are mostly on the sand.

Yes. Both walks start in Hobart. The Three Capes walk ends there too, so the East Coast walk can follow it.

The East Coast walk departs only on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, so the dates have to line up. Extra nights in Hobart are easy to add. Tell us your dates and we'll plan them back to back.

No. Both are multi-day walks with nights in huts, booked with Parks Tasmania. On our walks you sleep in a private room and carry only a day pack.

Our Three Capes walk uses day tracks on the same peninsula. It also reaches Cape Raoul, which the hut walk never visits. The Overland Track crosses Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park, and most walkers take six days.

October to April, when the days are long and the weather is warmer. The East Coast walk runs only in those months.

The Three Capes walk runs all year. In winter, expect cold, often clear days, with whales offshore.

Yes, in the high country. Parks Tasmania warns that snow can fall there even in summer. These walks keep to the coast.

The weather can still change fast anywhere on the island. Carry a warm layer and a rain jacket every day, even when the morning is sunny.

Fly to Hobart, where both walks start. The East Coast walk ends in Launceston, which has its own airport, so you can fly home from there.

There is also a ferry. Spirit of Tasmania sails across Bass Strait from Geelong, near Melbourne, to Devonport on the north coast.

Yes, three species: the tiger snake, the lowland copperhead and the white-lipped snake. Snakes avoid people. If one is on the path, stop and give it time to leave.

Stay on the track and wear boots rather than sandals. If you are bitten, keep still and call 000.

Yes. Every national park in Tasmania needs one, and the pass is included on both walks.