We had an amazing five day road trip around Tasmania and honestly, I am just blown away by the diversity of landscape, the wildlife and the stunning scenic beauty of Australia’s only island state. We did the overnight ferry crossing on the Spirit of Tasmania from Melbourne to Devonport – quite a rough crossing – but I was prepared with strong anti nausea medicine which made the night go smoothly! The kids had no issues with the rolling waves and swaying of the boat at all. We left Melbourne at 9pm and got to Devonport at 6am. From here we planned to make our way to east coast of Tasmania, where we had booked a cottage by the sea – Carmens Inn – at Scamander, a popular surfing beach.
Carmens Inn
We knew very little about Tasmania and how best to plan our travels here. After a bit of research we settled on the following 5 day itinerary – Great Eastern Drive – Hobart – Queenstown. Now that we have completed it, I would want to do the whole thing again exactly like this but over a months time! Seriously, there is just so much to do and see in Tasmania!
But back to the beginning of our trip – we chose Carmen’s Inn as this was located on the northern end of the east coast and was conveniently located between two of the places we wanted to visit – Bay of Fires and Freycinet National Park. What we had not anticipated for all the other great finds we discovered just driving from Devonport to Scamander and the lovely white sand beach at Scamander itself 🙂
A glimpse of our drive from Devonport to Scamander through patches of rainforest, waterfalls and finally reaching the coast.
St Columba Waterfalls
Carmen’s Inn was easy to find and we had one of the cottage with lovely ocean views, the beach was less than five minutes walk from the cottage. Our cottage had all the amenities we needed – 2 bedrooms, a fully furnished kitchen, spacious living room and a lovely verandah overlooking the sea. What we had not anticipated was how cold Tasmania is (at this time of the year) compared to where we had just come from – Auckland! We went from 24 degrees to 10 degrees at night. It was cold! Thankfully the cottage had two portable heaters and an electric blanket in the master bedroom.
living room, Carmens Inn
Carmens Inn
Scamander is a small village with all the basic amenities one might need – a liquor shop, a lovely coffee shop, Corner store with a small cafe where you can order hot food for takeaway. Additionally, what the kids enjoyed most – a play area and skate board walk just in front of the beach. There is also a little lagoon area where we saw kids on little dinghy boats. The water was so crystal clear and the beach itself – white sand, blue waters, really big waves – I can see why this is a popular surfing beach! This was our first exposure to beaches in Australia and our first in Tasmania, it was as I had seen in postcards and other people’s travel posts.
play area at Scamander beach
short walk from Carmens Inn to Scamander beach
scamander beach
What made Carmens Inn such a great location to be based for travels around the East Coast of Tasmania?
Besides the lovely beach at Scamander itself, the next town over – St Helen’s is a big fishing town and very popular for game fishing. We saw one guy weighing a Marlin that he had caught..I won’t put up the picture as found it very disturbing and sad, but wow, it was HUGE! What we liked best about St Helens was the lovely bookshop and cafe. A very cute little town with restaurants, cafes and shops to browse at. A short drive from there, you get to Binalong Bay and we were blown away by how amazing the beach was there! The sand squeaked when you walk on the beach and the colour of the sand and sea…straight out of a postcard 🙂 It was really cold though, we only swam for a little bit before we had to get out of the water.
Binalong Bay
Binalong Bay Beach
Continuing from Binalong Bay, you get to Bay of Fires and this was possibly our most favourite spot along the east coast of Tasmania. Simply magical!
Bay of Fires
All this was just north of Scamander and within an hours drive from Carmens Inn. You go south from here you and you get several interesting places as well – most famous of all Freycinet National Park and Wineglass Bay. But that will have to wait for another post 🙂 We could have easily spent a week along this coast and Carmens Inn allows for long term lets as well. They have a wealth of information of all the other activities and attractions around this area – Makes me want to do them all!
Carmens Inn – lovely cottage by the sea, Scamander, Tasmania
Disclaimer – We are grateful to Carmens Inn for media discount during our stay. All opinions, as always, are our own.
Linked to Weekend Travel Inspiration
Stumble It! 
Although were only a few hours away, I’ve never actually been to tassie, sounds like a nice wee place
I’ve heard that for such a small Island, Tassie really offers so much to see and do and your post really shows it! Great itinerary but when I copy it I’ll make sure to allocate a bit more time 🙂
When we retire we’re planning on spending a year in Australia and I doubt that will even be long enough! Your drive around Tasmania looks incredible. Thanks for linking up with #wkendtravelinspiration!
Your photos are lovely. I must admit that I don’t know much about Tasmania, but I’m keen to go now.
the beach looks incredible! I love places like Carmen’s Inn, they’re so quaint and inviting!
Tasmania looks gorgeous, Hope we get to visit when we visit Australia! Carmens Inn looks like a lovely little spot.