What to do in Tasmania this Summer

Tasmania is a unique destination that is becoming internationally famous for its rugged natural beauty, beaches, gourmet food and cultural attractions. As Australia’s single island state, access to Tasmania is by air and by sea only. While Tasmania can be fun to visit any time of year, it is particularly enticing in the warmest summer months, especially January and February.

Read our article about getting your caravan ready for the Spirit of Tasmania. You can also visit the Spirit of Tasmania website here.

A number of child-friendly event are taking place in Tasmania in January this year:

Festivale 2015

If you appreciate good food and wine, you should make it a point to visit Tasmania during this popular festival, which will be held from 13-15 February, 2015. The event will be held in Launceston City Park. This year’s Festivale 2015 will include:

Constant entertainment on two stages for the entire weekend. This will include Mental as Anything on Friday night and the Eurogliders on Saturday.
Renowned chefs, such as John T. Bailey and Peter Kuruvita will demonstrate their culinary expertise at the Launceston farmer’s market on Saturday.
Free kid’s activities will be held all weekend, such as face painting, dance workshops and drumming.
Master Classes such as Aromatic Wines and Tasmanian Salmon, Tasmanian Sparkling Wines and Four Beers, Four Cheeses.
More than 70 stalls where visitors can sample delectable foods and wine from local wineries.

MOFO Festival

The MONA FOMA Festival, which stands for Museum of Old and New Art: Festival of Music and Art, usually called simply MOFO, is the largest musical festival in Tasmania. This year it will take place from 15-18 January in Hobart. Highlights of this year’s festival will include:

Violent Femmes
Ben Salter
Augie March
Swans
Amir Farid
Jim Moginie
The Clean

In addition to these popular musical acts, the festival will have a variety of other arts related events, such as a reading by renowned fantasy author Neil Gaiman, a variety of contemporary art exhibitions, showings of classic films, food and lots more. You can purchase complete festival tickets or individual day passes.

Traveling to Tasmania with Kids

There are many great places to bring kids in Tasmania. This is an especially exciting destination to introduce children to the wonders of the natural world. The following are some guidelines to keep in mind when traveling with kids.

Consider your accommodations carefully. Some hotels and resorts are more family friendly than others. You can also consider other options such as cabins or camping.
Check out at least a couple of Tasmania’s amazing wildlife parks. Bonorong Wildlife Park in Hobart has daily feeding programs that kids always enjoy. The country’s largest wildlife park is Tasmania Zoo, which even holds night safaris.
Hollybank Treetops Adventure is a zipline tour that’s fun for adventurous families and gives you incredible views of the area’s forests.
Traveling to Tasmania by ship is less stressful, and more fun all around, than flying. This is especially true if you are taking kids along. If you have been on a long haul flight with your kids you will most certainly appreciate being able to let the kids roam free on a ship!