Flying into Tasmania or Shipping the Van

The decision is where the loop starts, not how you get there

Your arrival point shapes the first and last days of a Tasmanian road trip. The Spirit of Tasmania arrives in Devonport in the north, while flights also serve Hobart in the south. A Devonport arrival can suit a route that starts with the north or west; Hobart offers another starting point for the south, east coast and beyond. Plan the order around the places you want to visit and the time you have.

Both shapes work. They are not interchangeable, though, because the island's geography is lopsided. The roads are slower than the distances suggest, and the western half in particular eats a day that the eastern half would not. A loop that starts in Devonport has a different number of comfortable days in it than one that starts in Hobart, even if the map looks identical.

Shipping the van: what you are actually buying

Bringing your own vehicle across means a booking with the operator, not a ticket at a gate. Bass Strait is a real stretch of water and the vessels carry vehicles and passengers as one booking, so the van and everyone in it travel together on a sailing you choose in advance. In summer those sailings fill, which is the practical reason the ferry decision has to be made early rather than at the end of planning.

The upside is that you drive the vehicle you already know, with your own bedding, your own kitchen and your own mess in it. The downside is that you pay to move it in both directions, and you spend the first and last days of the holiday on roads that are getting you to and from a port rather than to and from somewhere you wanted to be.

There is also a quarantine dimension to bringing a vehicle in. Tasmania is strict about what arrives on wheels, and the operator and Biosecurity Tasmania publish what has to be clean and what cannot come at all. That is a check worth doing before you book, not at the ramp. The operator's own guidance is the place to read it: Spirit of Tasmania.

Flying in: the version with no crossing

Fly into Hobart and the island starts at the airport, which sits at Cambridge on the eastern shore of the Derwent, roughly 17 kilometres from the city. Collect a vehicle there and the east coast is in front of you rather than behind you. The Freycinet peninsula, the Tasman Peninsula and the Huon Valley are all reachable without a single long transit day at either end of the trip.

Hiring a campervan in Tasmania means comparing the hire and airport transfer with the cost of bringing your own vehicle. Check where and when you can collect and return it: a depot may be near the airport rather than at the terminal. A one-way trip can offer another itinerary, if the operator permits your chosen pickup and return locations.

The cost that does not appear in either quote

Compare the two versions properly and the numbers land in different places. The ferry version has a visible cost — a vehicle crossing, booked in advance, paid in both directions. The flying version has a scattered one: a hire vehicle, two terminal transfers, and whatever happens to your own car while you are away. Only one of those is easy to look up, which is why the flying version so often looks cheaper than it turns out to be.

If you drive to your departure airport and leave your car there, include parking in your flying budget. Compare the full price for your dates, including any transfers to and from the terminal, rather than multiplying a headline daily rate. You may instead arrange a lift or use public transport.

For a fair comparison, add fares, vehicle charges and the journey to the port on the ferry side. On the flying side, include flights, any rental vehicle, airport transfers and parking where needed. Your own vehicle and travel dates can change the result.

What the arrival and departure actually cost you in time

Check the airport terminal opening hours and your airline’s bag-drop deadline for your travel date. If you have an early flight, make sure your transport reaches the airport when you need it and check whether the terminal will be open on arrival.

If you are flying out of Hobart at the end of the trip, the same constraint applies in reverse: an early departure means arranging transport that actually runs at that hour, rather than assuming you can wait inside the terminal until your flight.

Airport buses, taxis and rideshare can offer different routes and prices. Check current fares, operating hours and pickup points before travelling. A city-bound bus may not stop at your rental depot, so confirm the last part of the journey with your operator.

If you are the one flying out of Hobart

For a Tasmanian flying out of Hobart, the calculation can run the other way: a personal car may need somewhere to stay during the trip. Compare Hobart Airport parking options, checking dates, access and the cost of any taxi or rideshare transfers before booking.

Visitors planning to explore Tasmania by van can check campervan hire in Hobart. The Wicked depot is in Cambridge; check its current hours and arrange any airport transfer or after-hours pickup directly before booking.

Disclosure: the Cambridge car park linked in this article is operated by the same group that publishes this site.

Choosing the trip that suits you

For a shorter trip, flying and hiring locally may leave more time to explore, depending on where you start and the flight and rental prices for your dates. Allow time for the airport transfer and vehicle collection.

Bringing your own van can appeal on a longer trip, particularly if you value its familiar equipment and layout. Compare the return sailing and travel to Geelong with the cost of flying and hiring, and check availability before committing to an itinerary.

Either way, decide this before you book anything else. Every later choice — how many nights, which coast first, whether the last day is a drive or a flight — is downstream of it, and reversing it later means rebuilding the trip rather than adjusting it.