Caravan Hire in Tasmania

[Strawb Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Strawb]

To All the Tassie Members
I'm after some info about caravan hire in Tassie, is there such a business down there? My Wife and I have been invited to a friends wedding in January next year in Freycinet Bay, we are exploring all options as we can see it as a great opportunity for the 3 kids and us to have a holiday and look around Tassie. My Wife and I have visited previously well before kids and loved it, so we think the kids might appreciate some of what it has to offer.

We are looking at travelling over on the Spirit of Tasmania, touring for 10 days then attending the wedding, returning to Devonport the back to the mainland and taking a couple of days to head back up to Newcastle.

Any advice on how best to approach the accommodation side of things, there will be 6 of us in the party so it makes it a little bit interesting getting reasonably priced accommodation so hiring a van looks like it may be a feasible alternative!
Cheers
John

[VKPrado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close VKPrado]

Re: Caravan Hire in Tasmania

Having lived here in Tasmania all my life I have never had to hire a caravan but a quick google search did find the following- http://www.caravanseraicaravans.com/

Not sure if it is what you are after but could be a good starting point.

[tassie tiger Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close tassie tiger]

Re: Caravan Hire in Tasmania

Hi John

There have been a few places that hire vans/camper trailers but most have closed down. There are lots of britz/hertz campers etc however they are not real cheap and dont discount much in the off season which explains why they are all stacked up at the airports most of the year.

The majority of the caravan parks are also well below the standards of many of the parks on the mainland, particular those on the east coast of nsw/qld.

By the time you hire the van/camper and pay for a site its not a cheap option at all. We own a camper trailer however tend to use cabins when we holiday down here. And even those can be hit or miss. There are some good ones at cradle mt (a must of course) and at swansea on the East Coast. There are others of course so maybe work out your itinerary first and then have a look whats available nearby. For example being a northerner you would be used to doing a few ks to get somewhere so you could split the trip into three parts - east coast, west coast and the nth and base yourself out of one quality place for 3 days or so.

Another tip is to ask if they have a big timber boat for the kids to play on. If they say yes then hang up quick - if they have a great big wooden boat as a playground then they are stuck in the 70's and you will be sadly disappointed. (I kid you not).

Re the boat. We find it cheaper to fly and hire a hire car (package deal) or for the family to fly and the driver (dad normally) to travel on the boat and use a shared cabin. They are normally only $18 to $30 more than a std 'seat' fare so you save a bundle. And though the boat may sound exciting, it really is as boring as hell for most kids, after the first 30min.

Off to work, if I think of more I will update tonight.

cheers

[johnv Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnv]

Re: Caravan Hire in Tasmania

John,

I have to agree with TassieTiger.By the time you pay for van hire, extra fuel to tow it, caravan park fees, I'm sure it will get close to covering the cost of staying in cabins. Remember that you could get a cabin in one spot for a few days and do day trips before moving on. Most cabins I've stayed in are generally 6 berth.Double bed with 2 bunkbeds.(We're a family of 5). There's a crowd in Tassie called Cosy Cabins. Number of sites around Tassie. Be warned though. Pre book if you can. January is silly season. Especially in Coles Bay(Freycinet)

Even if it did cost a little more, I'm sure you'd enjoy it better. Tassie has a lot of windy,hilly roads and I'm sure you'd be more relaxed and less stressful without having to tow a van.

johnv

[Strawb Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Strawb]

Re: Caravan Hire in Tasmania

Thanks Guys! Appreciate the input and we have started looking at holiday lettings. Many of these are actually cheaper than some of the cabins and as suggested basing ourselves in one place for a couple of days at a time will work out much more convenient than travelling.
We think we will still do the Spirit trip overnight with a cabin and try to get some sleep and head on to our first night of accommodation after some food shopping etc.
Cheers guys I may flick a PM later in the year if I have some questions!
John