Launceston doesn't get the same spotlight as Hobart in most Tasmania travel content, but it's arguably the better base for exploring the north of the state — closer to Cradle Mountain, sitting right at the mouth of the Tamar Valley wine region, and surrounded by some of Tasmania's best-preserved colonial history. Founded in 1806, it's one of Australia's oldest cities, and its compact CBD, wrapped around the junction of the North and South Esk rivers, still reflects a lot of that early colonial layout today.
If you're basing yourself here, or driving up from Hobart and want to make the most of your time in the north, here's the full rundown — every genuine day trip worth doing, plus every small town you'll pass through if you're driving the Midland Highway to get here in the first place.
The small towns on the drive from Hobart to Launceston
If you're driving up the Midland Highway (also called the Heritage Highway) rather than flying directly into Launceston, you'll pass through a string of small, historic towns along the 176km route. Most are worth at least a short stop rather than driving straight through, and treating this drive as part of the trip — rather than just the transit between two cities — changes how the day feels.
Brighton, Pontville, and Bagdad are the first towns out of Hobart, still within the greater Hobart area rather than rural stops — worth knowing the names as you pass, but not necessarily worth stopping for on this particular trip.
Kempton and Melton Mowbray follow, small rural service towns along the highway. Kempton has a handful of colonial buildings worth a glance if you're stretching your legs, and a bakery that's a popular stop for travellers doing the drive in one push.
Jericho, once bypassed by a dedicated highway deviation in 1982, is a quieter historic stop just off the main route, worth a brief detour if you're interested in the smaller, less-visited pockets of colonial Tasmania.
Oatlands, about 84km north of Hobart, is one of the standout stops on this drive. It holds the largest collection of colonial sandstone buildings anywhere in Australia — more than 150 of them, giving the main street a striking, uniform Georgian character. The convict-built courthouse once served as regional Tasmania's only Supreme Court, with the authority to hand down death sentences. Callington Mill, a restored 1837 windmill and now home to a working distillery, is the other big drawcard here, and there's enough colonial architecture along Campbell Street to justify a proper wander rather than a five-minute photo stop. Budget at least 45 minutes to an hour here if you want to see it properly.
Tunbridge, a former coaching stop dating to 1809, is a smaller, quieter town worth a brief pause if you're interested in Tasmania's convict-era road history — it developed specifically to service travellers making this same Hobart-to-Launceston journey two centuries ago.
Ross, a further 36km north of Oatlands, might be the single best stop on the whole route. The Ross Bridge, built by convicts and completed in 1836, is Australia's third-oldest bridge and features 186 carved panels — portraits, Celtic symbols, and animals — carved by convict stonemason Daniel Herbert, whose extraordinary work on the bridge earned him a pardon. The Midland Highway now bypasses Ross itself, which has helped the town keep its quiet, elm-lined, almost Cotswolds-like character. It's also home to the Tasmanian Wool Centre, reflecting the region's long history as a fine merino wool-producing area, and a well-known bakery worth timing your visit around — it's often cited as one of the best lunch stops on the entire Hobart-to-Launceston drive.
Campbell Town, another 11km on, was established in 1821 and is known for the Reibey Toll House, the Red Bridge, and a biennial National Sculpture event that brings large-scale outdoor art to the town's main street. It's a good stretch-the-legs stop with cafes right on the highway, and one of the more practical places to break up the drive if you're travelling with kids.
Epping Forest and Perth round out the final stretch before Launceston, with Perth in particular marking the point where most travellers rejoin the main approach into the city.
Realistically, this drive takes around 2 hours 25 minutes non-stop, but budget 3 to 4 extra hours if you want to properly explore even a few of these towns — Oatlands and Ross alone are worth an hour each, and treating the drive as a genuine day of sightseeing rather than a point-to-point transfer is, for a lot of visitors, one of the most memorable parts of a Tasmania trip.
Why Launceston makes such a good base
Launceston's real advantage is geography. Cradle Mountain — one of Tasmania's most iconic destinations — is roughly 1.5 hours away, compared to 4 to 4.5 hours from Hobart. The Tamar Valley wine region starts right at the city's edge. And the historic towns and UNESCO-listed convict sites around Longford and Evandale are a 20 to 30-minute drive, rather than the hour-plus most Hobart day trips require.
Launceston itself is also a pleasant small city to be based in — compact, walkable, with a strong food and coffee scene of its own, and Cataract Gorge sitting close enough to the CBD that you can fit in a walk before breakfast. If your Tasmania itinerary includes both cities, it's worth deliberately weighting more of your "must-see" list toward the days you're based in Launceston, simply because the driving math works so much more in your favour here — you'll spend less time in the car and more time actually doing things.
Getting around from Launceston
A car is the only practical way to cover this list. Public transport in regional Tasmania is limited, and while a handful of towns along the Midland Highway are technically served by long-distance coach routes, none of the specific attractions covered below — the Tamar Valley cellar doors, Evandale's miniature railway, Mole Creek's caves — are realistically reachable without your own vehicle.
The good news is that Launceston-based driving is generally easier than Hobart's equivalent day trips: distances are shorter, the roads through the Tamar Valley and toward Longford and Evandale are well-maintained and mostly straightforward, and you're rarely more than an hour from the city on any of the day trips covered here except Cradle Mountain and Ben Lomond.
Cataract Gorge — right in Launceston itself
You don't even need to leave the city for this one. Cataract Gorge sits a short walk from the Launceston CBD, and it's one of the most dramatic urban natural landmarks in Australia — a genuine river gorge with cliff walking tracks, a chairlift (one of the longest single-span chairlifts in the world), a spring-fed swimming pool at the First Basin, and free-roaming peacocks in the surrounding gardens.
The First Basin area has a restaurant, picnic lawns, and a suspension bridge across the gorge, making it easy to spend two or three hours here without feeling rushed — walk in via the King's Bridge side for the more dramatic cliff-face approach, and take the chairlift back if you'd rather not retrace your steps. It's an easy half-day activity, free to walk around (the chairlift and pool have their own small fees), and a good option for literally any day of your trip, including a spare hour before a flight out of Launceston Airport.
The Tamar Valley wine route
The Tamar Valley is Tasmania's northern wine region, running along both banks of the Tamar River from Launceston toward the coast. It's a genuine alternative to the Coal River Valley near Hobart, with its own distinct cellar doors and a more relaxed, river-valley feel rather than the more clustered village setting around Richmond.
Cellar doors are spread along both the East Tamar Highway and West Tamar Highway, so a full day's wine trail typically means picking one side of the river rather than trying to cross back and forth repeatedly. Names worth knowing on the East Tamar side include Pipers Brook Vineyard and Jansz Tasmania, both well-established producers known particularly for cool-climate sparkling wine. On the West Tamar side, Josef Chromy Wines (technically just south of the valley proper, but commonly included on a Tamar wine day) and Tamar Ridge are among the better-known names, with Tamar Ridge in particular offering sweeping views back across the vineyard from its cellar door.
A day spent driving the Tamar Valley wine route — stopping at a handful of cellar doors on either side — pairs naturally with several of the other stops below, since Beaconsfield, Beauty Point, and Low Head all sit along the West Tamar route heading north from Launceston, making it easy to combine wine tasting with the rest of that loop.
As with any wine trail, sort a designated driver before you go — the roads are easy, but a day of tastings and driving don't mix, regardless of how manageable the route looks on a map.
Eating well in Launceston between day trips
Launceston has built a strong food and coffee scene of its own, which matters if you're spending several evenings in the city between day trips rather than just passing through. The city centre has a good concentration of restaurants and cafes within walking distance of most CBD accommodation, and Tasmania's broader reputation for produce-driven dining — cheese, seafood, cool-climate wine — shows up clearly on menus here, not just in Hobart.
If you've spent the day at Tamar Valley cellar doors, several producers also run their own on-site restaurants, meaning you can build lunch directly into your wine day rather than needing to plan a separate stop.
Beaconsfield — mining history and the 2006 mine rescue
Beaconsfield, about 40 minutes from Launceston, is home to the Beaconsfield Mine & Heritage Centre, built around the town's gold mining history. It's also the site of the globally reported 2006 mine collapse and rescue, and the museum covers that story alongside the broader history of mining in the region, including original mining machinery and displays on what was once one of Australia's richest gold mines.
It's a engaging stop if you're interested in Australian history beyond the convict-era sites that dominate so much of Tasmania's historical tourism, and it works well as the first stop on a West Tamar loop day heading further north toward Beauty Point and Low Head.
Beauty Point — Seahorse World and Platypus House
A few minutes further on, Beauty Point is home to two of the north's best family attractions: Seahorse World, Australia's only seahorse farm open to the public, where you can see the full seahorse breeding process up close, and Platypus House, where you can see platypuses and echidnas up close in a setting designed specifically to make these notoriously shy animals visible to visitors.
Both are indoor, making them a solid option if the weather turns, and both work well combined with a Tamar Valley wine day if you're travelling with kids who need their own stop along the way — the wine tasting for the adults, the animal encounters for the kids, all within a few minutes' drive of each other.
Low Head — lighthouse, pilot station, and penguins
At the mouth of the Tamar River, Low Head is home to Australia's oldest continuously operating pilot station and a working lighthouse with sweeping coastal views across Bass Strait. It's also one of the more accessible spots in the north to see little penguins coming ashore in the evening, with guided penguin tours available on-site — a good option to fold into the end of a full day exploring the Tamar Valley loop, since the penguins come ashore after dark regardless of what time of year you visit.
George Town — Tasmania's third-oldest town
Just across from Low Head, George Town rounds out the Tamar Valley loop. It's one of the oldest European settlements in Tasmania, with a handful of colonial buildings and a pleasant waterfront to wander before heading back to Launceston. It's also a working port town, so there's a bit more everyday activity here than in some of the more purely historic stops on this list.
A practical note: Beaconsfield, Beauty Point, Low Head, and George Town all sit along a natural loop route north of Launceston, and can realistically be combined into a single, full day out — allow a full day rather than trying to add a fifth stop on top, especially if you want to catch the Low Head penguins in the evening before heading back.
Bridestowe Lavender Estate — Tasmania's purple fields
Bridestowe Lavender Estate, about 45 minutes from Launceston, is one of the most photographed farms in Australia during its flowering season, typically mid-December through late January, when the rolling lavender fields turn a striking, uniform purple. It's a working farm, with a cafe and gift shop selling lavender-based products alongside the photo opportunity itself.
Outside flowering season, it's a quieter, less dramatic stop — still a pleasant rural drive, but without the visual payoff that makes it Instagram-famous. This is one to specifically time your visit around if the lavender fields are the drawcard for you, rather than a spontaneous add-on to an unrelated day trip.
Longford — Woolmers Estate and Brickendon Estate
Longford, about 20 minutes from Launceston, is home to two of Australia's most significant convict-era properties: Woolmers Estate and Brickendon Estate, both UNESCO World Heritage-listed as part of the Australian Convict Sites listing. Both properties retain original homesteads, gardens, and convict-era outbuildings, offering a more intimate, rural counterpoint to the larger-scale convict history at Port Arthur — these were working farming properties rather than penal settlements, giving a different, arguably more personal window into how convict labour actually shaped colonial Tasmania.
Longford itself is also known for its private garden festival held over a couple of weekends each November, and its show grounds host a range of community events throughout the year, including agricultural and rural-community events that give a genuine sense of what small-town Tasmania looks like outside the tourist-focused villages.
Evandale — historic village, Sunday markets, and the miniature railway
Evandale, about 20 minutes from Launceston, is one of the best-preserved Georgian villages in the state, and a lovely half-day stop. The town holds a well-regarded Sunday market, a strip of colonial-era buildings along its main street, and — every February — the National Penny Farthing Championships, a unusual and popular event that draws competitors and visitors from well beyond Tasmania to race historic-style bicycles through the village streets. The championship has run for decades and has become one of the more distinctive small-town events in Tasmania's annual calendar, with the village's heritage streetscape making an unusually fitting backdrop for a sport most visitors have never seen contested in person.
The miniature railway is the detail most visitors don't know about. The Evandale Light Railway and Steam Society runs a genuine ride-on miniature railway at Morven Park, just off Barclay Street behind the football pavilion, every Sunday from 10am to 2pm (weather permitting). Rides cost around $3 per person, or $10 for a family of four — a small, charming, volunteer-run attraction built and operated by local model railway enthusiasts, and a genuine hit with young kids. It's a lovely, low-key way to spend half an hour if you're in town on a Sunday, and a good example of the kind of small-town, community-run attraction that doesn't show up in most standard Tasmania guides.
The society also runs a bigger annual Festival of Rail event, with steam locomotives, model railway displays, a traction engine, and unlimited train rides on the day — worth checking the dates if you want the fullest possible version of the experience rather than just the regular Sunday running day.
If you're planning your Evandale visit, try to make it a Sunday specifically — that's when both the markets and the miniature railway are running together, making for the fullest version of the Evandale experience without needing to plan two separate trips.
Liffey Falls — rainforest waterfalls
Liffey Falls sits around 45 minutes to an hour from Launceston, considerably closer than the roughly 2-hour drive from Hobart. The main walking track is a 40-minute return loop through cool temperate rainforest, taking in four separate cascades along the Liffey River, with the lower falls being the most photographed — a wide curtain of water dropping into a dark pool. We've covered it in more detail, alongside Tasmania's other best waterfalls, in our full waterfalls guide.
Mole Creek Karst National Park — Marakoopa and King Solomons Caves
About an hour from Launceston, Mole Creek Karst National Park is home to two show caves open for guided tours: Marakoopa Cave, known for its glow worm displays and underground streams, and King Solomons Cave, a smaller, more compact cave known for its dense concentration of crystal formations. Both offer an easy, guided, all-weather activity that works well as part of a broader day trip toward Cradle Mountain, since they sit roughly on the way and give you a genuine reason to stop rather than driving straight through.
Ben Lomond National Park
About an hour southeast of Launceston, Ben Lomond National Park is Tasmania's main ski field in winter and a dramatic alpine landscape year-round. The drive up Jacobs Ladder — a steep series of hairpin bends leading to the plateau — is an experience in itself, not for nervous drivers, but spectacular once you're up top. Outside ski season, the plateau offers walking tracks and sweeping views back across the Tasmanian midlands, and it's a much quieter alpine experience than Cradle Mountain, simply because far fewer visitors make the drive up.
Cradle Mountain — the big one, made easy from Launceston
This is where basing yourself in Launceston really pays off. Cradle Mountain is around 1.5 hours from Launceston, compared to 4 to 4.5 hours from Hobart — a different proposition for a day trip. The Dove Lake Circuit, Marions Lookout, and the national park's famous wombat and wallaby sightings are all realistically achievable in a single day from Launceston, without the exhausting round-trip driving that a Hobart-based day trip demands.
If Cradle Mountain is high on your list and you're deciding which city to base yourself in for part of your trip, this distance difference alone is worth factoring into that decision — a Launceston base effectively turns Cradle Mountain from "the big, tiring day trip" into "a comfortable full day out."
Grindelwald — a Swiss-style village
A short drive from Launceston in the Tamar Valley, Grindelwald is a purpose-built Swiss-style village, complete with chalet-style architecture and a small resort feel, including its own lake and walking paths. It's a niche, slightly unusual stop rather than an essential one, but worth knowing about if you want something a little different from the convict-history and wine-region theme that dominates most of this list, or if you're looking for a relaxed half-day with a cafe stop built in.
How to group these into actual day trips
Trying to see everything on this list in one day isn't realistic, and isn't the point. Here's a sensible way to group them:
- Tamar Valley loop day: Beaconsfield, Beauty Point, Low Head, George Town, with a wine stop worked in on the way out or back
- Colonial history day: Longford (Woolmers and Brickendon Estates) combined with Evandale, ideally on a Sunday to catch both the market and the miniature railway
- Cradle Mountain day: a full day on its own, given the drive time and the amount there is to see once you arrive
- Waterfalls and caves day: Liffey Falls combined with Mole Creek's caves, both sitting roughly on the way toward Cradle Mountain if you want to break up that longer drive
- In-town half day: Cataract Gorge, easily combined with exploring Launceston's own CBD and dining scene
A sample 3-day Launceston itinerary
If you've got three full days based in Launceston, here's one way to structure them without overlapping or backtracking unnecessarily:
Day 1: Start with Cataract Gorge in the morning, then spend the afternoon on the Tamar Valley wine route, working in a cellar door or two before the day winds down.
Day 2: A full day out to Cradle Mountain — leave early to make the most of the park, and don't plan anything else for the day given the drive time involved.
Day 3: Longford in the morning (Woolmers or Brickendon Estate), then Evandale in the afternoon — ideally a Sunday, so you can catch both the markets and the miniature railway before heading back into Launceston for the evening.
If you have a fourth day, the Tamar Valley loop (Beaconsfield, Beauty Point, Low Head, George Town) or a waterfalls-and-caves day (Liffey Falls and Mole Creek) are both strong additions.
Best time of year for these day trips
Bridestowe Lavender Estate is the one date-sensitive stop on this list — aim for mid-December through late January for the lavender fields in full bloom. Ben Lomond is best in winter (June–August) for skiing, or in warmer months for walking without snow underfoot. Everything else on this list works reasonably well year-round, though summer offers the longest daylight hours for fitting more into a single day, and the Evandale markets and miniature railway are weather-dependent, so a wet Sunday may affect both.
Deloraine — gateway to the Great Western Tiers
Deloraine, about 50 minutes from Launceston, sits at the foot of the Great Western Tiers and is one of the north's most attractive small towns in its own right, with a strong arts and crafts community and a well-regarded annual craft fair. It's also a practical stopping point if you're heading further toward Mole Creek or Cradle Mountain, with cafes and services that make it a sensible place to break up a longer drive rather than pushing straight through.
The town sits on the Meander River, and its heritage streetscape — a mix of Georgian and Victorian buildings — is worth a short wander even if you're only passing through on the way to somewhere else on this list.
What to pack for these day trips
Tasmania's changeable weather applies just as much in the north as anywhere else in the state, so layers are worth packing regardless of season. If Cradle Mountain or Ben Lomond are on your itinerary, add a proper waterproof jacket and sturdy walking shoes — both sit at higher elevation than the rest of this list and can turn cold and wet even when Launceston itself is mild and sunny.
For the Tamar Valley wine day, nothing special is needed beyond the obvious sun protection in summer, but if you're planning the Low Head penguin tour in the evening, bring a warm layer regardless of the season — coastal evenings cool down fast, even in summer.
A few things that catch first-time visitors out
A handful of practical details are worth knowing before you set off on any of these day trips. Many of the smaller towns and attractions on this list — particularly Evandale's markets and miniature railway — are weather-dependent and may not run in poor conditions, so it's worth having a backup plan if you're visiting in an unpredictable season. Opening hours at smaller regional attractions can also be more limited than city attractions, especially outside peak summer, so a quick check before you drive out is worth the two minutes it takes.
Fuel stations thin out the further you get from Launceston itself, particularly heading toward Cradle Mountain or Ben Lomond, so it's a sound habit to top up in Launceston or one of the larger towns along the way rather than assuming you'll find a servo exactly when you need one.
FAQ
What is the best day trip from Launceston?
Cradle Mountain is the standout, since it's just 1.5 hours from Launceston compared to 4 to 4.5 hours from Hobart. For something closer and more relaxed, the Tamar Valley wine route or a Longford-and-Evandale colonial history day are both excellent, easier options.
How far is Cradle Mountain from Launceston?
Around 1.5 hours, making it a comfortable day trip from Launceston — far more so than from Hobart.
What towns are between Hobart and Launceston?
Travelling the Midland Highway, you'll pass through Brighton, Pontville, Bagdad, Kempton, Melton Mowbray, Jericho, Oatlands, Tunbridge, Ross, Campbell Town, Epping Forest, and Perth. Oatlands and Ross are the two most worth stopping for.
Is there a miniature train in Evandale?
Yes — the Evandale Light Railway and Steam Society runs a ride-on miniature railway at Morven Park every Sunday from 10am to 2pm, weather permitting. Rides cost around $3 per person or $10 for a family of four.
What's the best day to visit Evandale?
Sunday, since that's when both the town's markets and the miniature railway are running. The town also hosts the National Penny Farthing Championships each February, a unique event worth planning around if the timing lines up.
Can you visit Woolmers Estate and Brickendon Estate in one day?
Yes, easily — both sit near Longford, about 20 minutes from Launceston, and are close enough together to visit both in a single half-day, with time left over to explore Longford itself.
Is the Tamar Valley wine region as good as the Coal River Valley near Hobart?
They're different rather than directly comparable — the Tamar Valley has its own distinct cellar doors and a river-valley setting. If you're visiting both regions, they're different enough experiences to be worth doing both rather than picking one over the other.
When is the best time to see the Bridestowe lavender fields?
Mid-December through late January, when the fields are in full bloom. Outside that window, the farm is a much quieter, less visually dramatic stop.
Do I need a car for these day trips?
Yes, for almost all of them. Public transport in regional Tasmania is limited, and most of these destinations — especially Cradle Mountain, the Tamar Valley loop, and Mole Creek — aren't realistically reachable without your own vehicle or a guided tour.
Is Deloraine worth visiting?
Yes, particularly if you're heading toward Mole Creek or Cradle Mountain anyway — it sits roughly on the way and makes a good stop to break up the drive, with a genuine arts and crafts community and an attractive Georgian and Victorian streetscape.
Can I see Cradle Mountain and the Tamar Valley in the same trip?
Yes, though not comfortably in the same day — they're both excellent Launceston-based day trips, but each deserves its own full day rather than trying to combine them.
How many days do I need based in Launceston to see everything on this list?
Realistically, 3 to 4 full days covers the highlights well, following a similar structure to the sample itinerary above — one day for Cradle Mountain, one for the Tamar Valley loop, one for Longford and Evandale, and a spare day for Cataract Gorge, Liffey Falls, Mole Creek, or Ben Lomond depending on your interests.
The honest verdict
If you're building a Tasmania itinerary that includes both Hobart and Launceston, weight more of your bucket-list destinations toward your Launceston days — Cradle Mountain alone is worth restructuring your trip around, given the drive-time difference. For a single, easier day, the Tamar Valley loop or a Longford-and-Evandale history day (timed for a Sunday) are the most relaxed, rewarding options, and the Midland Highway towns on the drive up from Hobart are worth treating as part of the trip, not just transit.
Planning the rest of your Tasmania itinerary? Take a look at https://touringtassie.com.au/tour/cradle-mountain-hobart-to-cradle-active-day-trip our Cradle Mountain day trip or browse our full range of Tasmania tours https://touringtassie.com.au/Tours to see what else fits your route.
