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• Up-to-date information -  all businesses were rechecked before publication to ensure they are still open after 2020’s COVID-19 outbreak
• NEW top experiences feature  - a visually inspiring collection of Tasmania’s best experiences and where to have them
• What's NEW feature  taps into cultural trends and helps you find fresh ideas and cool new areas
• Planning tools for family travellers  - where to go, how to save money, plus fun stuff just for kids
• Colour  maps and images throughout
• Highlights   and itineraries  help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests
• Insider tips  to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots
• Essential info   at your fingertips  - hours of operation, websites, transit tips, prices
• Honest reviews for all budgets  - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss
• Cultural insights  give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, people, music, landscapes, wildlife, cuisine, politics
• Over 50 maps

Covers  Hobart & around, Tasman Peninsula & Port Arthur, the Southeast, Midlands & Central Highlands, the East Coast, Launceston & around, Devonport & the Northwest, Cradle Country & the West

eBook is available in ePub, MOBI and PDF.

ISBN: 9781787017788

Edition: 9th

Publication Date: December 2021

Writers: Charles Rawlings-Way, Virginia Maxwell

320 pages, 320pp color, 54 maps | Dimensions: 128mm × 197mm

Next edition due: August 2024

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Heading to a popular region within a country? These guides provide the extra depth and detail you need. Following the same format and style as our Country and Multi-country guides, they help you get under the area’s skin to discover its defining characteristics, like its cuisine, markets, culture and festivals.

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Tasmania Atlas & Guide

 The definitive guidebook for discovering Tasmania, featuring the Top 15 4WD Trips of the State and 5 of the best walking tracks.

This first edition Tasmania Atlas & Guide contains 40 atlas pages at a large scale of 1:150 000 in a stunning cartographic style. The guide features the Top 15 4WD Trips for Tassie, which has been field checked by Hema's Map Patrol. Also included is an introduction to the region, as well as information sections on planning the trip and what to see and do. There are detailed touring sections on the distinct regions of Tasmania. The Top 15 4WD Trips are broken into their respective localities, with each trip containing comprehensive trip information including gradings, distances, relevant travel information and drive coverage from start to finish.

Key Features

• 40 atlas pages at a scale of 1:150 000
• Top 15 4WD Trips
• Top 5 Walking tracks
• Best campsites
• Adventure activities
• Trip planning tips

Key Specifications

Edition: 2nd

Publication Date: 01/04/23

Number of Pages: 229

Height: 297mm

Width: 215mm

Depth: 15mm

Weight: 0.955kg

Customer Reviews

Very informative and easy to understand / read.

Excellent Atlas, well worth the money. Great service.

I have a Hema gps so I like to have Hema map books of the states we will visit

I believe it is an excellent product particuLarly for tourists as it details”things to see in each area” A very good planning tool. Even for me as one who has travelled through Tassie extensively and lived for a approximately 1/3rd of my life in each of the major areas.

As brilliant as the previous one which I used extensively on two visits.

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Lonely Planet Tasmania: Perfect for exploring top sights and taking roads less travelled (Travel Guide) Paperback – 17 Dec. 2021

There is a newer edition of this item:.

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Lonely Planet’s Tasmania is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Hike Cradle Mountain, discover historic Port Arthur, and raft the Franklin River; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Tasmania and begin your journey now!

Inside Lonely Planet’s Tasmania Travel Guide: 

Up-to-date information - all businesses were rechecked before publication to ensure they are still open after 2020’s COVID-19 outbreak

NEW top experiences feature - a visually inspiring collection of Tasmania’s best experiences and where to have them

What's NEW feature taps into cultural trends and helps you find fresh ideas and cool new areas

Planning tools for family travellers - where to go, how to save money, plus fun stuff just for kids

Colour maps and images throughout

Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests

Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots

Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, websites, transit tips, prices

Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss

Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, people, music, landscapes, wildlife, cuisine, politics

Over 50 maps  

Covers Hobart & around, Tasman Peninsula & Port Arthur, the Southeast, Midlands & Central Highlands, the East Coast, Launceston & around, Devonport & the Northwest, Cradle Country & the West

The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet’s Tasmania , our most comprehensive guide to Tasmania, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less travelled. 

Looking for just the highlights? Check out Pocket Hobart , a handy-sized guide focused on the can't-miss sights for a quick trip.

Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet’s Australia for a comprehensive look at all the country has to offer.

About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and phrasebooks for 120 languages, and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, videos, 14 languages, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more, enabling you to explore every day. 

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• Print length 320 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Lonely Planet
• Publication date 17 Dec. 2021
• Dimensions 12.95 x 1.59 x 19.56 cm
• ISBN-10 1787017788
• ISBN-13 978-1787017788
• See all details

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From the Publisher

Get to the heart of Tasmania

Revelling in isolation, Tasmania is busting out with fab festivals and sensational food and drink, riding a tourism-fuelled economic boom that’s the envy of all Australia.

• Tasmania’s top experiences : Step into the wild at Maria Island National Park, explore Aboriginal art and history at the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery, or indulge in fresh oysters and Tasmanian wine on Bruny Island. These are our picks of Tasmania’s most unique experiences.
• What’s new: We reveal what’s happening, from brilliant new mountain biking trails and King Island retreats to the Tasmanian spirits gaining international recognition.

Essential information for planning a trip to Tasmania:

• Visa requirements
• Best time to visit: high, shoulder and low season details
• Daily costs: budget, midrange, top end
• Eat & drink like a local
• Tasmania with kids
• Transport tips
• What to pack
• Maps: Over 50

Product description

From the back cover, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lonely Planet; 9th edition (17 Dec. 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1787017788
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1787017788
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.95 x 1.59 x 19.56 cm
• 634 in Travel Reference & Tips
• 1,700 in Specialty Travel
• 7,760 in Home & Garden (Books)

About the author

Lonely planet.

With over 150 million guidebooks in print, Lonely Planet is a trusted source for any traveler. Since our inception in 1973, we've inspired generations of travelers to discover amazing places and enabled curious travelers to get off the beaten paths to appreciate different cultures and become agents of positive change.

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Tasmania Travel Guides

Our complimentary A5 visitor guides to Tasmania includes the Welcome to Tasmania, Welcome to Hobart and Surrounds plus the Welcome to Launceston and Surrounds showcasing the very best the state can offer.

View our online guides below or pick one up at any Tasmanian Visitor Information Centre, airports, tourism brochure racks or on board the Spirit of Tasmania.

Latest Information

Our Welcome Guides contains the latest details from all the best tours, attractions, restaurants, shops, transport operators and accommodation providers - and much more!

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Mobile Friendly

Don't have a hard copy of our guide? No problem! Our website is mobile friendly and the guide can be viewed on your smartphone by following the links below.

Welcome to Tasmania Guide

Welcome to tasmania, welcome to hobart guide, welcome to hobart and surrounds, welcome to launceston guide, welcome to launceston and surrounds.

©Posnov/Getty Images

Reveling in isolation, naturally beautiful Tasmania is busting out with fab festivals and sensational food and drink, riding a tourism-fueled economic boom that's the envy of all Australia.

Attractions

Must-see attractions.

Freycinet National Park

The East Coast

Framed by some of the state's finest beaches and rising into spectacular low mountains, Freycinet incorporates the southern end of Freycinet Peninsula,…

Twelve kilometres north of Hobart's city centre, MONA is burrowed into the Triassic sandstone of a peninsula jutting into the Derwent River. Arrayed…

Salamanca Place

This picturesque row of three- and four-storey sandstone warehouses is a classic example of Australian colonial architecture. Dating back to the whaling…

Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park

Cradle Country & The West

Part of the World Heritage–listed Tasmanian Wilderness, this 1614-sq-km national park incorporates the state's most famous mountain (the eponymous Cradle…

Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park

This World Heritage–listed national park came to prominence when the wild Franklin River was very publicly saved from hydroelectric immersion in the 1980s…

Port Arthur Historic Site

Tasman Peninsula & Port Arthur

This amazing World Heritage–listed convict site is one of Tasmania’s big-ticket attractions. The dozens of structures here are best understood via guided…

Kunanyi/Mt Wellington

Ribbed with its striking Organ Pipes cliffs, kunanyi/Mt Wellington (1271m) towers over Hobart like a benevolent overlord. The view from the top stretches…

Cataract Gorge

At magnificent Cataract Gorge, right at the city centre's edge, the bushland, cliffs and ice-cold South Esk River feel a million miles from town. At First…

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5 Great Books Set in Tasmania That We Love

If your only frame of reference for Tasmania is the (adorable, vicious) Tasmanian Devil, let us introduce you to the other fantastic things this heart-shaped island has to offer.

There’s gorgeous, rugged scenery, a pleasingly craggy coastline, a wind that screams and rumbles, and adorable animals. (Hello, wombats and platypuses!) Tasmania is just as extraordinary as you’d expect an island at the edge of the world to be.

Here are five books set in Tasmania that took us there on the page: true accounts of a rip-roaring sea adventure and the search for the lost Thylacine, a murder mystery set on the craggy coast, a family story set in a lonely lighthouse, and a coming-of-age novel that’s also a magical realism road trip.

To hear us discuss these books and more, listen to our podcast Tasmania: The Heart-Shaped Island at the Edge of the World .

Wildlight - Robyn Mundy

Purchase Wildlight —

If you’ve ever wished you could chuck your day-to-day into a rubbish bin and run away to an isolated lighthouse on a windswept island, this is the story for you. Set on Maatsuyker Island off the coast of Tasmania, it’s a coming-of-age story set at the edge of the world.

Maatsuyker Island is home to the southernmost lighthouse in Australia. It was the last lighthouse to be replaced by an automated light, but the island still needs caretakers. In real life, that duty is fulfilled by stalwart volunteers who do weather readings, tend the grounds, and keep an eye out for fires.

In the enthralling world of Wildlight , 16-year-old Steph has been dragged from Sydney to the island by her parents. Her twin brother recently died, and they are grieving hard. Back in the day, Steph’s grandfather was the lighthouse keeper. Now, her mom is convinced the family can heal from their loss by recreating the nostalgic glow of her childhood.

Steph disagrees. Strongly. And when she arrives on the island, she learns that there’s no cell signal and no internet. Although the book romps through some YA territory — young romance, parents who just don’t understand, the agony of homework — it also delves into the after-affects of tragedy and how families navigate their grief (or don’t).

Author Robyn Mundy is an adventurer who has volunteered on Maatsuyker Island. Her sensory descriptions of the plants and animals could only come from experiencing them firsthand — and she weaves them into the plot in meaningful ways. The weather is ever-present: in epic storms, in painfully beautiful days, in bone-chilling, sleepless nights. { more }

The wind squealed like a terrified child. Steph braced herself, angled her body as she rounded the corner after leaving the weather office. She was ready for the onslaught. She made her way down the path to the house, mindful of her footing. The screen door of the laundry caught a squall and flew back on its hinges. Steph struggled to close it. She peeled off her waterproofs and towel-dried her hair. She hung her clothes on the inside line to drip on the linoleum. The windows shook, translucent with salt, the Needles a blur of sea spray and mist. A squall raced across the ocean and laid down the waves. You could barely see halfway to the Cape. Steph put the kettle on. She searched the kitchen cupboards. The smell of mold seemed worse when you first opened things. — Robyn Mundy

Ten Rogues - Peter Grose

Purchase Ten Rogues —

Imagine an island prison so brutal that you’d rather take your chances — in the open sea, aboard an unfinished boat, with a group of backstabbing blackguards — than spend another night on that island.

That was Sarah Island in the mid-1800s. A particularly unpleasant penal colony on the west side of Tasmania. It was buffeted day and night by vicious winds, sandwiched between open water patrolled by sharks and swaths of impenetrable rainforest. If you could somehow breach the prison walls, you might have been eaten by something come morning.

But one day in January of 1834, a motley mix of 10 prisoners banded together to steal an unfinished ship to escape the prison and sail 6700 miles across the Pacific to the coast of Chile. The tale of this six-week journey centers on our antihero Jimmy Porter who was, ‘by his own account, a killer and a thief.’ Yet, he’s also, somehow, a lovable rogue: brazen, brave, foolish, and foolhardy.

This is a ripping good yarn with solid history to ponder thrown aboard for good measure. { more }

It’s hard to know whether to like or dislike Jimmy Porter. He was, by his own account, a killer and a thief. He was also a deserting husband and father, and a tireless schemer and con man. His real persona bears a fair resemblance to one of those enduring heroes of popular fiction, the lovable rogue. He was a self-pitying liar, but then his survival more than once depended on his being economical with the truth. And if his survival led to a few clamorous bouts of self-promotion and fact-twisting… well, what are lovable rogues for? — Peter Grose

Carnivorous Nights - Margaret Mittlebach & Michael Crewdson

Purchase Carnivorous Nights —

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Once upon a time, Tasmania was home to a marsupial that looked something like a large cat and a fox and a wolf, all put together. It was striped, like a tiger — dark streaks against a yellow-brown coat — with jaws that opened so wide, you might imagine it could carry a watermelon in its maw. Known as the thylacine (or Tasmanian Tiger), it roamed Australia for two million years. Then it was wiped out. Or was it?

This is the question that drives our intrepid and outstandingly curious heroes, Margaret Mittlebach and Michael Crewdson. In a quest to find a thylacine, they enlist an artist friend to join them and head off to Tasmania.

The team roams and rambles all over Tasmania. They encounter the forces of nature: weather and dangerous beasts (leeches! venomous ants!). They meet scientists and cryptozoologists, rangers and bushwhackers; there’s even a team trying to clone the thylacine. It’s a treasure trove of fascinating, perhaps eccentric, people with a shared mission.

You might come to this book for the adventure or because you, too, love weird science. But the lasting gift of this narrative is hope. It’s a strong argument for the wonder of nature and the joy in believing that, yes, there just might be a stealthy tiger family hiding out in the rugged hills of Tasmania. { more }

Alfred Russel Wallace was a naturalist, a contemporary of Darwin’s, who in 1856 had traveled from Bali to Lombok — a space of just fifteen watery miles — and been in for the surprise of his life. It was as if he had passed through a veil into another world. Species were more different between those two islands than they were across oceans. While Wallace primarily focused on birds in his study of the region, the most obvious difference to us was that the mammals on the other side of Wallace’s Line had pouches. Australasia was filled with odd creatures such as kangaroos and koalas. And Tasmania was home to some of the strangest of all of the region’s animals. Many species that had died out or were barely hanging on elsewhere survived on the island: the Tasmanian devil, the spotted-tailed quoll, the long-nosed potoroo. The idea that Tasmania could still be a haven for the thylacine was tantalizing. — Margaret Mittelbach & Michael Crewdson

Flames - Robbie Arnott

Purchase Flames —

Pack a duffel and hop in the car. You’re about to embark on a magical realism road trip around the island of Tasmania. There will be ghosts and wombats, stunning landscapes, and challenging conversations along the way. Buckle up.

The story’s outline is deceptively simple: After her mother’s death and the subsequent crumbling of her family, 23-year-old Charlotte sets out on a journey around Tasmania. Mostly to escape her older brother Levi, but also, maybe, unintentionally, to find herself.

She visits beaches and a wombat farm and the snowy peaks of Cradle Mountain, and so many other places in nature, you could use this novel as a tour guide to scenic spots to visit in Tasmania.

The story is told through an exchange of letters and the records of a hard-boiled female detective. There’s also a personification of fire, a river rat who may or may not be a god, and a tender, life-changing friendship between a fisherman and a seal.

There are also gorgeous, vivid descriptions of scenery and weather — all of which make the setting come to life as a character but are also a metaphor for the emotions of the characters. This would be far too heady and literary were it not so readable and engaging; author Robbie Arnott is a magician of the highest order. { more }

Charlotte begins her offer: she will pay, she will work, she will scrub decks, she will clean fish, she will de-cling barnacles and limpets, she will hoist sails and shimmy down masts, if this boat will take her to Melaleuca. The grey man lifts a hand to say something, but Charlotte won’t be stopped. She will lasso albatrosses. She will harpoon whales. She will re-paint the yacht whatever colour he likes. She goes on and on and her breathing becomes a ragged, shallow tide… — Robbie Arnott

The Survivors - Jane Harper

Purchase The Survivors —

Welcome to Evelyn Bay, Tasmania. The beach is lovely. The beers at the Surf and Turf are cold. And that shipwreck off the coast? It’s a divers’ dream. Just don’t ask too many questions about that storm 12 years ago.

When that epic storm ravaged Evelyn Bay, population 900, the town took a physical beating, but the emotional toll was worse. On that fateful day, a handful of tragedies struck. During the years since, most families swept their feelings under the proverbial rug and stayed. But not Kieran, the protagonist of our story. He took off as soon as he was old enough to make his own decisions. Now, a more mature man, he’s back in his hometown to help his mother — an expert at deflection — pack up their family home and move his father into a nursing home. This is not a good time for their family.

And then a lifeless body is discovered on the beach.

Memories are excavated. Secrets are revealed. Long overdue conversations finally take place — with devastating results.

None of the action could take place without the setting. You will know this beach town from the first few pages. You can smell the sea air and hear the roar of the waves — especially around the sea caves that loom large in the plot and the town’s mythology.

This is a gripping, well-constructed mystery, an ideal beach read to whisk you away to a compelling destination. But that suspense story is also a clever decoy for the real story: an exploration of guilt, grief, and how even the most beautiful place can be haunted by collective memory. { more }

The Surf and Turf looked exactly the same as it had three years ago. Ten years ago, even. One whole side of the weatherboard building was still adorned by an outline of a giant crayfish, fashioned entirely from sun-bleached shells glued to the wall. A painted sign at the entrance read: IN HERE FOR FISH FROM THERE, with an uneven arrow pointing to the ocean that lay a stone’s throw from the outdoor dining deck. — Jane Harper

Top image courtesy of Laya Clode/Unsplash .

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Tasmania’s Travel, Lifestyle & Hosting Service providing luxury bespoke travel experiences.

Eliminate the frustration of organising an extraordinary itinerary from afar and tap into local expertise for a customised experience tailored to your interests. Maximise your experience in Tasmania, cut your research time and let us make suggestions and bookings for your visit.

Tasmania is renowned for its wilderness excursions, multi-day walks, hidden beaches and historic landmarks. It is also Australia’s foodie state, with a plethora of artisanal farms, top chefs, international-award-winning restaurants, wineries and distilleries.

With the opening of the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, the art and cultural scene is exploding. MONA presents two major music festivals - Dark MOFO and Mona Foma - that bring international music acts to the state, along with art installations, and the best night life a reveler could dream of.

BLACK BOOK is closely affiliated with these developments enabling us to provide our clients with exclusive, insider experiences. Our local knowledge will help you make the most of your time.

We have developed unique itineraries that can be customised to meet your brief. We will coordinate all your travel plans and if you choose, an expert host can accompany you and your group, to ensure that your time is well spent and your experiences exceed your expectations.

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I Got a Close Look at Tasmania’s Famous (and Endangered) Wildlife — Here’s How Travelers Can Help Preservation Efforts

This lodge inside the Freycinet National Park is dedicated to saving Tasmanian devils from extinction.

Courtesy of Saffire Freycinet and Tourism Tasmania

Our group of seven stood in a small wooded area filled with eucalyptus and banksias in eastern Tasmania’s Freycinet National Park. Anticipation filled the air. “We’ll just pause here for a moment,” said our guide, Ashlee Ugle, who works at Saffire Freycinet , a 20-suite lodge inside the park. “Sometimes, the devils can hear our voices and they might just come along.” As if on cue, a grizzled black ball of fur emerged from the bushes. “There’s one!” someone in the group called out. It was a Tasmanian devil, the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial. (The animals are actually quite small, standing about a foot tall and weighing between 15 and 30 pounds.)

“This one’s named Moltema,” Ugle said. The creature scampered over, sniffing the air in search of food. Then another female, Mayberry, appeared, and the two came face-to-face, growling and barking. “It’s not necessarily aggression,” Ugle reassured us. “Often they’re just sizing each other up to determine who’s hungrier.”

Saffire is one of Australia’s most luxurious nature escapes, with wraparound views of Great Oyster Bay and the Hazards Mountains that you can take in from your private patio or, in some rooms, your plunge pool. The property is also at the forefront of the effort to save Tasmania’s best-known animal from extinction. 

The devils have not been present on the Australian mainland for about 3,500 years, but are a key species in Tasmania’s ecosystem because they scavenge and remove carcasses from the landscape, and also suppress invasive species like black rats and feral cats. Stereotypes have long portrayed them as diabolical (hence the name) or, like the Looney Tunes cartoon character Taz, prone to tantrums. But in reality, devils tend to be shy, solitary creatures, and their spine-tingling screams are simply a way to establish hierarchy. 

Sadly, because of habitat destruction and a high incidence of road collisions, the species is facing extinction. There’s also a more immediate threat: Devil Facial Tumour Disease, or DFTD, a transmissible cancer that was discovered in the late 1990s. The condition, which is spread throughcontact, including bites, causes tumors to cover the mouth and jaw, making eating an agony for the animal; the devils ultimately die of starvation. Given that DFTD has a fatality rate of nearly 100 percent and that only 15,000 devils are left in the wild, the future of the species is in extreme peril. 

But there is hope. The captive breeding program Save the Tasmanian Devil has been producing a new population of cancer-free animals. Once mature, the devils are sent to “retirement” homes, like the one at Saffire Freycinet, to live out the rest of their days and ensure they remain healthy. Saffire currently has six devils, who reside in a 2.5-acre forested enclosure, which is where our group had gathered to see them. The property offers a guided experience, like the one I did with Ugle, to witness the devils in their habitat. Saffire also sponsors research of a DFTD vaccine, which is under way at the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute, in the state capital, Hobart. After guests participate in the devil experience, a short, handwritten letter is left in their room asking if they’d like to sponsor one of the creatures by making a donation to the institute.

After we witnessed the scuffle between Moltema and Mayberry, we got to observe mealtime. Ugle had brought a wallaby carcass — as well as that of a pademelon, a smaller marsupial — to the enclosure. I watched with a mixture of awe and horror as the devils, in small groups of two and three, jockeyed for position, grunting and snarling, their powerful jaws and teeth breaking bone and tearing flesh. Ugle explained that they were actually working together to share the difficult job of tackling the two cadavers. Even Melvin, the lone male, who was missing nearly half his fur because of bites, seemed to be getting his fill, as the dominant females allowed him to feed. 

Seeing how Melvin had been taken into the fold, I recalled something I had been told by Nicole Dyble, Saffire’s head “devil keeper,” who has been working with the animals at the lodge since 2014. “This is surprising to a lot of people, but the devils can be affectionate, especially with enough contact,” she said. “They can also form bonds with each other, and in captivity often sleep together in the same den.”

Watching them now, calm after their meal, running through the bushes and washing their paws in the pond, I couldn’t help wanting to touch one, especially little Melvin. I couldn’t, of course, but I was still grateful to have seen him, and Mayberry, Moltema, and all the others — these embattled icons of Tasmania, healthy and happy in the twilight of their years. 

A version of this story first appeared in the April 2024 issue of  Travel + Leisure  under the headline "Devils' Advocates. "

Things to do in Tasmania beyond Hobart

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Huon Valley was named one of the best places to go in Oceania for 2024 by Conde Nast Traveler. Photo / 123rf

A four-day Tasmanian road trip gives travellers a good taste of what’s on offer outside of Hobart, at Tassie’s newest hotspot, Huon Valley, writes Ivy Carruth.

Why visit Tasmania’s Huon Valley?

Only 45 minutes south of the scuttle and scurry of Hobart , you’ll find everything from underground caves with stalagmites the size of elephants, to cantilevered catwalks that peer into the sun-dappled forest (way) below. For water lovers, there’s a lot of that, too; fresh and clean and maybe containing even a platypus or two.

We’re on the Huon highway, twisting and turning on country roads as we drink in the views from the car. We’ve hired a vehicle in Hobart, a van with lots of room; it might even allow for a catnap or two. The view outside our window bears a ridiculous charisma — the charm is off the charts. Perhaps that’s why it was named by the behemoth US travel publication , Conde Nast Traveller , as one of the best places to go in Oceania for 2024. That’s no small feat.

The first Europeans , the French, arrived in the Huon Valley about 1792, though it was not settled until 1840 when apple growing, for which it was once famous, became its main industry. Place names retain remnants of the Gallic influence, though any Francophile would shudder at the way Antipodean tongues pronounce them; “Hewin” versus “ooowanh”, “cygnet” versus “seenya”.

Where to eat

Willie Smith’s Apple Shed, Grove

Stop in for a paddle of alcoholic (or non-) apple ciders and a peek at memorabilia from the glory days of appledom. Our favourite cider? The “wild”, funky and complicated after being left to ferment and process naturally at the whims of Mother Nature right there in the fields. Peckish? Grab a gourmet lunch, the rabbit pot pie is divine.

READ MORE: What it’s like on Tasmania’s Freycinet Experience eco walk

The Lost Captain Taphouse, Cygnet

Casual but upmarket, the local grilled fish and gnocchi are standouts. Dine under a covered tented structure or beneath the sprawling branches of the shade-making tree out front; both are close enough to the river that you can hear it burbling.

Cinnamon and Cherry, Franklin

Turkish and Tassie come together at this buzzy cafe where I recommend you look at everything available before committing; the most difficult part will be choosing, so maybe something for the road? The food is as colourful and fresh as it is delicious with fresh in-season produce. The Turkish coffee is life.

Osteria @ Petty Sessions, Franklin

What’s exceptional about this authentic Italian restaurant run by a local husband-and-wife team is the lengths to which they go to source everything locally. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. And the tomatoes, and the beef, and the flour … Don’t leave without having the caprese salad.

River Run Lodges, Dover

Summer camp turned hipster holiday hotspot, enjoy rustic dinners on the lawn or in the intimate timber restaurant next to the fire. This will take you back to your childhood in the best way.

Kiln, Ranelagh

More than a creative meal, though it certainly is that, the Kiln is a picturesque venue with its own little boutique next door. Seasonally driven menus and the nook-and-cranny seating keep residents coming back to this restored oast (a kiln for drying hops) house.

Take in the Lavender Goat Farm, Petcheys Bay

Ellen, whipsmart ex-lawyer turned Earth Mother cum lavender whisperer, welcomes guests to explore her amethystine crops by appointment, usually in group activities like yoga, or the one we enjoyed — vapour distilling. After snipping fresh blooms, stuff them into a copper still to be turned into organic scented water, ideal for a pillow spray, facial refresher or to keep in your car during traffic; use liberally. And get a goat selfie with Glenda, she’s a pro.

Kayak with Esperance Adventures, Franklin

Get up with the roosters and glide through the tannin-rich waters around South Egg Island. Matt, the owner, knows all there is about this hushed sanctuary and can’t wait to fill you in. Morning tea at the halfway point consists of the best brownie I have ever eaten in my life. Make sure you get one. Or five.

Trek the Tahune Airwalk, Geeveston

Wheelchair accessible and dog friendly, this elevated path sits 30m above the loamy rainforest floor and concludes with a cantilevered viewing deck almost twice that above the Huon River. All in, allow 50 minutes. Don’t miss the cable-controlled hang-glider.

Go subterranean at Hastings Caves and Thermal Springs, Hastings

Newdegate is the largest dolomite cave open to visitors in Australia, with staggering stalactites that still drip after millenniums. Step inside to see a world of topsy-turvy where the ceilings resemble the sea floor, nature repeating herself for effect.

Travel to the End of the Road, Cockle Creek

It’s the farthest south one can go in Australia , accessed through Cockle Creek at Southwest National Park. The walk begins on flat beach before turning more challenging along boulders and lichen-crusted crag. Take a beanie for the wind, then stand and soak it all in.

Sweat it out with Elsewhere Sauna, Mobile

The brainchild of Bellingen-born Selena de Carvalho, an artist with a penchant for wellness, this (typically) beachfront mobile sauna is part relaxation and part mind over matter. Selena leads guests through a holistic practice of sauna, natural scrubs and sea. After spending time inside the 85-degree remodelled trailer (trust me, it’s stunning) and sweating out the toxins, a bracing Tasmanian sea dip is just the thing to get your circulation going and your immune system boosted.

Where to stay

The Old Bank, Cygnet

For a peaceful sleep close to the centre of town, the comfortable Old Bank can’t be beaten. There are only three rooms, and breakfast is included in the cafe downstairs. Easily walk to everything from here.

The Cape House, Dover

Set smack on the peak of the peninsula, the Cape House is a turn-of-the-century renovated farmhouse with three bedrooms, 360-degree views across the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and set on acreage to ensure you see no one else your entire time there (pademelons excepted).

Alto Franklin, Franklin

Like a proud peacock, Alto sits atop Periot’s Rise to command a view of the valley and the waterways beyond. To the north is the peak of Sleeping Beauty, but you may not want to leave the luxe interiors, especially if you get the main. Animal lovers will love the blacknose sheep and the two resident Highland cows.

GETTING THERE

Fly from Auckland to Hobart International Airport with one stopover with Air NZ, Jetstar and Qantas.

discovertasmania.com.au

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Inside the Literary Travel Boom

Book butlers! Curated libraries! Custom cruises! Literary-themed vacations are the hot new trend in tourism.

In January, when packing my bags for a “reading retreat” in the Dominican Republic, I agonized about which books to bring. A few days later, bellied up to the beachside bar at the all-inclusive Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana resort (where, in place of barstools, swings are suspended from the thatched ceiling), I sipped a mojito, cracked open James Salter’s Light Years, a novel I reread annually, and knew that I’d chosen well.

But if I’d had any regrets, summoning a new paperback would’ve been as easy as ringing for a book butler. I was down in the DR to experience Pages in Paradise, a collaboration between the publisher Penguin Random House, Belletrist Book Club (the brainchild of actress Emma Roberts), and Apple Vacations (no relation to the iPhone maker). For readers who like to beach, the retreat left no page unturned. The programming kicked off even before check-in: Ahead of arrival, guests could log in to the resort’s app to reserve beach reads from an on-site library curated by Belletrist. Housed in the airy hotel lobby, the collection included buzzy contemporary fiction by the likes of Zadie Smith and Curtis Sittenfeld. Guests could also order books via room service (or personal butler) anytime or select one from the chic library carts located at the adults-only pool. The property’s various bars featured the “Pages Pour,” a specialty cocktail themed to the program’s inaugural book-of-the-month selection, Jenny Xie’s debut novel, Holding Pattern . They called the drink a gin-fashioned—a fruit-forward riff on the old-fashioned, zippy with pineapple-cinnamon syrup.

Exotic as this tropical gathering of book lovers might have been, it’s just one example of a fast-growing business trend: literary-themed travel. We have the pandemic to thank. Reading surged in the early days of Covid, and the habit stuck as lockdowns eased: The biggest two years on record for print book sales in the U.S. were 2021 and 2022. Hotels and tourism companies, eager to lure back travelers, seized on the surge and began featuring books in their marketing. What began as a travel perk has become a full-blown movement to cater to readers with an explosion of new programming, from big-ticket experiences promising author access to solitary retreats. I know, I know—planning a trip around your reading list may never replace your annual golf weekend, but when else will you get the time to actually enjoy that stack on your nightstand? And if it all sounds like giving yourself homework, don’t worry—there definitely won’t be a quiz, and did I mention the drinks?

As a professional book recommender, the question I’m asked most often is “What book should I bring on my vacation?” ​But now there’s a new question to consider: What kind of literary vacation should I plan?

Not every reader is content to lie by the pool and read for days on end. Some are looking for a more kinetic experience—one that lets them interact with fellow readers, and even their favorite writers. Enter the “ Gone Girl cruise.” In fall 2022, author Gillian Flynn set sail down the Danube with some of her biggest (and most well-heeled) fans as part of Avalon Waterways’ Storyteller Series, cruises that offer literary travelers a chance to voyage in close quarters with authors and other storytellers. When Flynn tweeted about the cruise, it quickly became a viral sensation. On-board accounts detailed a true-crime extravaganza, with guests returning to their rooms each night to discover blood-spattered notes, themed to Flynn’s novels, on their pillows. Sure, it’s a little dorky—but we’re all fans of something, and if crime novels are your thing, what could be better?

For readers who can’t splash out for getaways abroad, there are literary destinations closer to home, too. In the artsy hamlet of New Hope, Pennsylvania, the historic luxury hotel River House at Odette’s offers Riverside Reading (in partnership with Bedside Reading), a program that pairs complimentary access to a curated library (via digital app or hard copies throughout the hotel) with intimate author experiences. With bookshelves stationed on each floor and authors rolling through seasonally, guests can dip in and out of the programming as they please.

When I visited River House deep in the grips of a harsh Pennsylvania winter, I discovered a reader’s paradise: My room boasted a fireplace, a private balcony, and serene views of the rushing Delaware River. After turndown service, I found a keepsake leather bookmark on my pillow. That evening, a few dozen guests gathered for a talkback with the novelist Jean Hanff Korelitz. In a ballroom festooned with red carnations (a nod to the cover of her latest book, The Latecomers ), Korelitz fielded rapid-fire questions about her inspiration, her writing process, and her hit novel The Plot . After the formal conversation concluded, starstruck guests crowded around her at the bar. “When people come up to you and say, ‘I loved your book,’ that really means something to writers,” Korelitz told me. As the owner of BookTheWriter, a service connecting authors and readers through pop-up book clubs hosted in New York City apartments, Korelitz knows a thing or two about making connections. In the recent boom of literary travel experiences, she sees a broader post-pandemic trend of readers craving the chance to get up close and personal with their favorite writers. “The ways of access to authors have multiplied exponentially,” she said. “I find it to be very inspiring.”

For an early-career author like Xie, who was at Pages in Paradise, seeing her novel highlighted was both exciting and transformative. That’s the thing about literary travel—it allows us to transcend our ordinary lives in more ways than one. “There’s a certain sense that we don’t have the space to read unless we’re traveling or living outside of our day-to-day,” said Xie. “A book takes you outside of your physical environment and your lived experience. Travel does that, too, so they join together in this really beautiful way to truly transport you.” That’s a journey worth taking.

HOW TO PLAN YOUR OWN LITERARY VACATION

Ready to take off on a bookish getaway? Literary travel isn’t “one size fits all,” so whatever type of reader you are, we’ve got a prescription for it. Choose your own adventure below.

For the fan

The Gone Girl cruise is over, but Avalon Waterways isn’t slowing down anytime soon: Its upcoming slate of Storyteller Cruises includes actor Graham McTavish (sailing down the Rhine River) and Outlander phenom Diana Gabaldon (voyaging down the Danube).

For the R&R chaser

Looking for a more relaxed experience? At the Reeds at Shelter Haven, an upscale resort on the Jersey shore, guests can participate in Reeds’ Reads, a seasonal book club featuring guided discussions, with authors sometimes joining via Zoom for Q&A sessions.

For the aspiring writer

Chances are, your favorite author is side-hustling by leading retreats in pastoral Europe. To get in on the action, pay close attention to their social-media feeds, or search for guided trips through an experiential-tourism outlet like TrovaTrip.

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What Steve Madden Can’t Live Without

If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what everyday stuff famous people add to their carts — like hair spray or an electric toothbrush . We asked designer Steve Madden — whose brand’s new fragrance, Goldie Eau de Parfum , launches today — about the meditative book, rejuvenating under-eye patches, and the Yankees baseball hat he can’t live without.

I love eye patches . I don’t sleep well, so I always feel like I have big bags under my eyes ; I put those on and they wake me up. In fact, I should get ’em now. They kind of refresh you. They’re a great invention. It’s like the wheel.

A friend of mine had this and gave it as a gift . It’s just a helpful guide for every day and maybe helps me not personalize things so much. Every day you get a new insight. Today’s was about changing your mind. It’s okay to change your mind when you receive new evidence. It’s okay to say, Oh, I thought this way. But now that I know the facts, I think the other side of this — which a lot of people don’t do. They tend to stay in the same thought; even when they’re hit with new data, they don’t change.

One of my favorite things to do is to work out , and I work out to cowboy music . I listen to all that stuff. It’s so funny because I’ll put on the Rolling Stones or something, but I always end up at country music. I don’t know why that is. I’m really a New York boy. It’s very not on brand. I’ll listen to George Strait, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson. I use wired headphones , and I like them to plug into my phone. It looks so antiquated. I look so silly in the gym with my wires hanging all over me while I’m working out, but I don’t really care.

Oh God. I love this more than life itself. Okay, I’m going to tell you about the Coffee Mate. Are you ready? I got a story. So I went to prison for two years, and I was involved with the “Wolf of Wall Street” guys, just in case you didn’t know. But anyway, I was very worried because I was wondered what would I do about milk when I was there. I love whole milk, and it was a big fear of mine. We lived in dormitories, so I would get freeze-dried coffee and put hot water on it and mix it with this creamer. It was the greatest coffee I had in my life. It was so good. Can you imagine being stuck in prison and having great coffee? It saved my life.

I always wear baseball hats because I guess I like to cover up. I wish I could wear a ski mask. I really do. It’s not that I hate my looks — I don’t — but I just like to have less of them on display. And I love my Yankees hat. I probably overdo it with hats even. There are restaurants that don’t let me in with my baseball hats, which I’m really upset about. Polo Bar — I love that restaurant. I’ve got to call Ralph up. They used to let me in, then all of a sudden they said, “Mr. Madden, you can’t come in with your baseball hat.” It’s a wonderful restaurant, and I love Ralph Lauren. I look up to him, but he won’t let me sit with my baseball hat in the restaurant. Anyway, I’ve got a lot of Yankee hats. Hundreds of hats.

I love golf . I have a favorite driver. It has a pink shaft and it’s called the Autoflex. So you could say my Autoflex pink shaft driver makes me happy when I use it. I can’t live without it. I love pink. It’s a great color.

Here’s the thing: There’s a place called Breads Bakery on Third Avenue and 74th and 75th on the west side of the street. They make this bread called Caraway Rye — they only make it on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I live for it. I really have to kind of lose weight a little bit, but I love it so much, and I eat it right out of the bag. I used to do that with my mother when I was a little boy. She would get something and she would give me a piece out of the bag, and so it’s sort of Proustian in a way. It’s my favorite thing in the world, and I love that place. They have a commitment to very delicious pastries , and they’re so professional. I want my shoe business to run like that bakery does.

The bottle is great, and it smells so good. Actually, my daughter, Stevie, was wearing it, and I said, “What are you wearing? It smells so good.” And she goes, “it’s Goldie!” It’s named after my other daughter, Goldie, and really, it’s a vibe. You know Steve Madden, it’s Goldie; it’s everything you touch turns to gold. It’s just such a beautiful sort of thing. It evokes a very beautiful spirit.

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Today’s Top Clicked

Time travel and surveillance state paranoia collide in a witty, thought-provoking romance novel

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Book Review

The Ministry of Time

By Kaliane Bradley Avid Reader Press: 352 pages, $28.99 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org , whose fees support independent bookstores.

“People aren’t history,” scoffs Adela, vice secretary of the Ministry of Time, whose work is shrouded in secrecy and subterfuge. This retort comes late in Kaliane Bradley’s debut novel, “The Ministry of Time,” but it’s a telling line. Its dismissal of individual lives reveals the novel’s stakes. If people aren’t history, what is? This is a disturbing statement to come out of the mouth of a high-ranking British bureaucrat. For a book that could also be easily described as witty, sexy escapist fiction, “The Ministry of Time” packs a substantial punch.

Of late, many critically acclaimed books embrace mystery and absurdity in a way that both suspends and expands conventionally held notions of time. Hilary Leichter’s “Terrace Story,” National Book Critics Circle award winner Lorrie Moore’s “I Am Not Homeless If This Is Not My Home,” Ali Smith’s “Companion Piece,” National Book Award winner Justin Torres’ “Blackouts,” and Marie-Helene Bertino’s “Beautyland,” among others, forge poignant, bracing emotional connections. Their playfulness reveals possibilities and perspectives that might be lost in a novel bound by fact-checked 21st century reality. After all, in a world where nothing feels normal, fiction that embraces a disregard for physics and convention mirrors our new upside-down quotidian life.

To this end, Kaliane Bradley proves that it’s possible to address imperialism, the scourge of bureaucracy, cross-cultural conflict and the paranoia inherent in a surveillance state through her utterly entertaining novel. “The Ministry of Time” begins with a sixth-round job interview for an undisclosed position. The unnamed narrator is caught off guard when “the interviewer said my name, which made my thoughts clip. I don’t say my name, not even in my head. She’d said it correctly, which people generally don’t.” For the narrator, who “plateaued” as a “translator-consultant” in the Languages department of the Ministry of Defense, this top-secret job that pays three times her current salary is worth the mystery.

Soon the work is disclosed. The narrator, whose mother immigrated to the United Kingdom from Cambodia, will be working closely with people who might bristle at the term “refugees.” She’s now part of the Ministry of Expatriation working with one of five “expats” scavenged from the past. Confident in her storytelling, Bradley sweeps away the details of how and why time travel exists in the novel.

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“All you need to know is that in your near future, the British government developed the means to travel through time but had not yet experimented with doing it.” With that, from the jump, readers and characters alike are asked to take a leap of faith as the narrator assumes the role of a “bridge” between an “expat” and modern life. The larger purpose of her work is elusive to her as well, but, in short, the narrator is tasked to be the roommate of an explorer named Commander Graham Gore who died on a doomed Royal Navy Arctic exhibition in 1847. He’s mannered, understandably jumpy, but also rather sexy for someone who died close to 200 years ago. Will this be an odd sort of meet-cute, or is something more chaotic afoot?

Buckle up, the ride has just begun. Juggling notions of “hereness” (the present) and “thereness” (the past), the novel’s five expats come to grips — or not — with the fact that they have been snatched from the past. The ministry selected individuals who were on the point of death so that their departures from the past would in no way rupture their historic timelines. But how would they affect the present? The bridges take notes, and medical examinations are de rigueur, but these collected data are merely passed along without much in the way of analysis.

The expats and bridges adjust to life together in a largely amusing fashion, sharing lovely homes provided by the ministry, visiting pubs, learning about the very existence of cinema. Music streaming services are a hit, but, generally speaking, the expats find it hard to accept the scale of modern life. Whether this is due to some physical mutation created by the process of time travel or if it’s merely the challenge of cultural displacement for people “loose as dust in narrative time,” true fissures begin to surface.

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In a manner that feels wholly unsurprising to the reader, suspicions arise as to the nature of the project. Why exactly is there a need for secrecy and what are the particulars about this ability to time travel that we’re asked to tacitly accept? Tensions also flare between the narrator and another bridge, Simellia, who are the two people of color in this tightly knit circle. The specter of imperialism looms and informs a certain tension between the narrator and Gore. Yet, as a green bureaucrat, happy to rise in the ranks, she confronts Simellia, saying, “You signed up for this job… [knowing], as much as I did, that what we were doing was world-changing. That’s what you wanted, remember? Do you think the world changes by being asked politely? Or do you think there has to be risk?”

But this brash confidence begins to waver. The narrator recognizes, “Every time I gave Graham a book, I was trying to shunt him along a story I’d been telling myself all my life.” Then she notes that the ministry “fed us all poison from a bottle marked ‘prestige’ and we developed a high tolerance for bitterness.” While the book does assume some obvious postures of university level post-colonial theory and language, it moves past these more cliched moments by focusing its attention on the characters. A tight narrative rich with witty banter, cutting observations and interspersed passages from Gore’s doomed expedition also keep the novel taut.

“Maybe I was tired of stories, telling them and hearing them,” muses the narrator. Curiously, while she made languages her profession (hence her tendency to consider that “the great project of Empire was to categorize: owned and owner, coloniser and colonised, evolué and barbarian, mine and yours.”), her antagonistic younger sister became a writer. Finding herself falling in love with Gore, the narrator becomes the story, upending history.

As the story’s momentum builds into that of a spy thriller, Bradley pulls off a rare feat. “The Ministry of Time” is a novel that doesn’t stoop to easy answers and doesn’t devolve into polemic. It’s a smart, gripping work that’s also a feast for the senses. An assassination, moles, questions of identity and violence wreak havoc on our happy lovers and the bubble they create in London. Yet our affection for them is as fresh and thrilling as theirs is for one another, two explorers of a kind, caught in a brilliant discovery. Bradley’s written an edgy, playful and provocative book that’s likely to be the most thought-provoking romance novel of the summer. Check your history: That’s no small feat.

Lauren LeBlanc is a board member of the National Book Critics Circle.

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