Aerial view of turquoise sea on both sides of an isthmus covered in green foliage, seen at dusk on a Tasmania cruise.
Tasmania cruise traveler stands on orange-lichen-covered rocks beside blue sea & white-sand beach backed by green hills.
Furry brown & gray wombat with beady eyes & rounded cheeks scratches at the grass, seen on Tasmania cruises.
Kangaroo with baby joey in its pouch stands still among golden grasses overlooking turquoise sea in Tasmania.
Aerial view of wooden boardwalk among green grasses & shrub trees with overlook onto white-sand beach & turquoise sea.
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Asia / Pacific Australia Cruise

Coastal Tasmania: Untamed Wilderness

On this Discovery Expedition, revel in the opportunity to tread some of Tasmania’s greatest coastal tracks while you circumnavigate this island state by sea. Land on remote pristine beaches; trek through coastal heath, buttongrass moorlands, lush temperate rainforests and tall eucalypt woodlands; and drink in the stunning vistas from towering dolerite peaks. Discovery Expeditions are jam-packed with guided, choose-your-own-adventure excursions that highlight local nature, culture and history.

Discover far-flung archipelagos and explore islands whose only permanent inhabitants include Bennett’s wallabies, wombats, potoroos, possums and pademelons. Cruise the wild, storm-swept coastlines and sheltered, shimmering bays. Experience a variety of trekking treasures on Bruny, Flinders and Maria Islands. Delight in the raucousness of fur seal colonies and the majesty of soaring shy albatross or gannets in the skies. Create and collate a treasured suite of memories–on foot or by sea–with extraordinary adventures on offer each day. 

The highlights are many on this Tasmania cruise. Get off the ship daily for a range of adventures and explorations, such as hiking, wildlife watching and Zodiac cruises. Access some of the best (and least-known) walks in Tasmania, including those on Bruny, Flinders and Maria Island. At the remote Maatsuyker Islands, spy the most southerly lighthouse in Australia, and the scores of seabirds that call them home. 

On Maria Island–nicknamed Tasmania’s “Noah’s Ark”–enjoy an abundance of native wildlife, keeping an eye out for all but one of Tassie’s 12 endemic bird species. Learn about Tasmania’s long human history, fascinating geology and unique biota from onboard experts. Learn how the waters of Tasmania fit into the vast and unique ecosystem known as the ‘Great Southern Reef’–part of a “Hope Spot” designated by Sylvia Earle’s Mission Blue team.

Cruise aboard an adventure-ready expedition ship: 154-guest Douglas Mawson or 132-guest Greg Mortimer. These ships feature state-of-the-art design and technology, plus excursion-minded preparation rooms and multiple boarding platforms for efficient embarkation and disembarkation. Douglas Mawson additionally features a selection of dedicated single cabins.

Read on for details about this Tasmania cruise, or learn more about AdventureSmith’s Small ship cruises in Australia or trips to Australia.



Itinerary

Coastal Tasmania: Untamed Wilderness (Discovery Expedition) Itinerary

The Coastal Tasmania Discovery Expedition operates round-trip from Hobart, Australia, with visits along the eastern shoreline, for both regional highlights and lesser-known gems.

Route map of Coastal Tasmania cruise, round-trip from Hobart with visits along the eastern coastline.
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Day 1
Arrive Hobart, Australia

Having made your way to Hobart, you will be met by a ship representative and transferred to the group hotel. Upon arrival at your included hotel, please visit the hospitality desk to collect your luggage cabin tags and to speak with the ground operations team, who may have information to share with you about pre-embarkation or to provide you with information about where to dine, withdraw cash or purchase last-minute items from a local pharmacy or supermarket.  The remainder of your time is at leisure. All meals today are at your own expense.

Accommodations

Hotel TBA

Meals

n/a

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Day 2
Embark Hobart

This morning, your luggage will be collected from the hotel and transferred directly to the port for sanitization and clearance, and delivered to your cabin ahead of your arrival on board. Please ensure that your luggage is fitted with cabin tags clearly labelled with your name and cabin number. Any valuables or personal items should be kept on you throughout the day. After breakfast, check-out and bring your luggage to the foyer. Please place any items required today in your hand luggage as your main bag will be placed in the bays of the coach. Enjoy an afternoon tour before your drive returns you to Hobart to board the ship in the late afternoon.

Settle into your cabin before attending important safety briefings and enjoy the thrill of departure as the crew members throw the lines and set sail. This evening, get to know your fellow expeditioners and your friendly expedition team and crew at the welcome dinner to celebrate the start of a thrilling adventure.

Accommodations

Douglas Mawson, Greg Mortimer

Meals

breakfast, dinner

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Day 3
Bruny Island & Recherche Bay

From the comfort of your floating base camp, make your first forays to the picturesque bays at South Bruny Island. Hope to enjoy picturesque coastal walks through flowering heathlands and eucalypt forests, a more leisurely stroll on long stretches of pristine sand, or a more active tramp up the headland for sweeping views of Cloudy Bay and beyond to the Southern Ranges. Later, as you sail southwards, keep an eye out on for views of Cape Bruny’s historic lighthouse.

At the extreme south-eastern corner of Tasmania, the idyll of Recherche Bay offered French explorer Bruni D’Entrecasteaux refuge, replenishment and scientific discovery. Learn more about his exploits, including the well-documented, amicable encounters and mutual observation between the expedition members and the indigenous Lylequonny people. Hope to enjoy a hike towards the extreme southern tip of Tasmania or towards Fishers Point past the impressive bronze whale sculpture that commemorates the area’s early whaling history. Having rounded South East Cape, experience untamed wilderness of the south coast.

Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Accommodations

Douglas Mawson, Greg Mortimer

Meals

breakfast, lunch, dinner

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Day 4
At Sea: Maatsuyker Island Group

From the comfort of your ship, enjoy a ship cruise at the Maatsuyker Island Group. Spy Australia’s most southerly lighthouse at Maatsuyker Island, and delight in the majesty of soaring shy albatross in the skies above Mewstone Island before setting sail up Tassie’s wild west coast.

Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Accommodations

Douglas Mawson, Greg Mortimer

Meals

breakfast, lunch, dinner

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Day 5
Hunter Island Group

Often described as a coastal wonderland, the impressive sea-cliffs, pristine beaches and sand dunes, sheltered lagoons and tidal inlets of the remote Hunter Island group provide an exciting backdrop to your adventures. The islands were named after John Hunter (Governor of the Colony of New South Wales) by Flinders on the first recorded circumnavigation of Tasmania in 1798; although the islands show evidence of over 23,000 years of continuous occupation by local Aboriginal people. The islands are a major breeding ground for a range of birds, including a number of threatened species, including the orange-bellied and swift parrots, white-bellied sea eagle, shy albatross, Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle and fairy prion.

Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Accommodations

Douglas Mawson, Greg Mortimer

Meals

breakfast, lunch, dinner

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Day 6
Kent Island Group

Marvel at the mystique of the far-flung Kent Islands–often missed on conventional maps–and experience its rich natural and human history. This cluster of three main islands and four smaller islets comprise Tassie’s northernmost national park. Discover the bountiful, nutrient-rich waters created by the convergence of three major ocean currents, which help feed Australia’s largest fur seal colony. Scan the shorelines and skies for sooty oystercatchers, short-tailed shearwaters, petrels and prions; contemplate the looming granite lighthouse; and discover stories of sealers, sailors and shipwrecks in the original lightkeeper’s cottage (the oldest in Australia, and now museum) run by the islands’ only two inhabitants.

Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Accommodations

Douglas Mawson, Greg Mortimer

Meals

breakfast, lunch, dinner

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Day 7
Flinders Island

Flinders Island–called Great Island until it was renamed in the early 1800s after explorer Matthew Flinders–is the largest of Tasmania’s islands and home to Strzelecki National Park. The island offers sapphire waters, untouched beaches, a rich variety of flora and fauna, rocky ridges and towering peaks as a backdrop to your hiking or kayaking. Energetic hikers may like to scale the granitic beauties of the Strzelecki Peaks to experience spectacular vistas, while strollers might enjoy a shorter meander through shaded casuarina woodlands and coastal heath to secluded bays.

Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Accommodations

Douglas Mawson, Greg Mortimer

Meals

breakfast, lunch, dinner

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Day 8
Freycinet Peninsula

The striking scenery of Freycinet Peninsula tempts you for another day of discovery, whether you hike its towering pink granite peaks for a spectacular view, paddle its iridescent-blue waters, or walk a pristine white beach peppered with orange lichen-covered boulders. The surrounding wilderness is also alive with flora and fauna. On your adventures, keep an eye out for white-breasted sea eagles soaring in the skies above, Bennett’s wallabies lazing under a she-oak, the local pod of bottle-nose dolphins, or perhaps one of the short-beaked echidnas that are sometimes seen foraging for ants in daylight hours. Weather permitting, you may also visit the nearby Schouten Island group, where gangs of fur seals can be seen vying for their favorite rocky resting place.

Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Accommodations

Douglas Mawson, Greg Mortimer

Meals

breakfast, lunch, dinner

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Day 9
Maria Island

Known as Tasmania’s ‘Noah’s Ark,’ Maria Island is home to an abundance of native wildlife including Bennett’s wallabies, common wombats and rufous-bellied pademelons; as well as conservation sanctuary to a number of introduced species including the Tasmanian devil. The island is also considered one of the best places for bird watching, with a variety that includes all but one of Tassie’s endemic bird species. In addition to its natural history, the island has a rich human history stretching back over 40,000 years. The Puthikwilayti people of the Oyster Bay tribe were original custodians of the land and surrounding waters, which was later visited by European explorers, and exploited by sealers and whalers. Convict settlements, failed commercial ventures and an eventual National Park designation are also part of the island’s antiquities.

Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Accommodations

Douglas Mawson, Greg Mortimer

Meals

breakfast, lunch, dinner

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Day 10
Port Arthur

Nestled amid English oaks and gardens, Port Arthur stands in stark contrast to the beauty of the Tasman Peninsula. Once a site of punishment, opportunity and leisure, it now preserves Australia’s colonial history in stone and brick. Explore the ruins and restored buildings of the Port Arthur Historic Site. Back on board and as you set sail for Hobart, toast your adventures and celebrate with friends–both new and old–at the captain’s farewell dinner.

Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Accommodations

Douglas Mawson, Greg Mortimer

Meals

breakfast, lunch, dinner

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Day 11
Disembark Hobart, Australia

In Hobart, say farewell to the crew, expedition team and fellow travelers before your transfer to the airport.

Accommodations

n/a

Meals

breakfast

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Details
Inclusions, Terms & Notes

Included

Arrival transfer from airport to hotel on Day 1 (for guests arriving on preferred flights, which includes any flight arriving on Day 1); one night’s hotel accommodation in Hobart on Day 1 (with breakfast on Day 2); luggage transfer from your hotel in Hobart to ship on Day 2; afternoon tour to Hobart’s sites prior to embarkation, on Day 2; transfer from pier to Hobart airport on final day; onboard accommodation during voyage including daily cabin service; all meals, snacks, tea and coffee during voyage; beer, house wine and soft drinks with dinner; captain’s welcome and farewell reception including four-course dinner, house cocktails, house beer and wine, non-alcoholic beverages; all shore excursions and Zodiac cruises; educational lectures and guiding services from expedition team; complimentary access to onboard expedition doctor and medical clinic (initial consult); a 3-in-1 waterproof polar expedition jacket; complimentary use of muck boots during the voyage; comprehensive pre-departure information; port surcharges, permits and landing fees; WiFi (where connection is possible); crew gratuities (suite guests only).

Exclusions

International or domestic flights to or within Australia, unless specified; transfers not mentioned in the itinerary; airport arrival or departure taxes; passport, visa, reciprocity and vaccination charges; travel insurance, emergency evacuation charges or personal insurance (required); hotels and meals not included in itinerary; optional excursions not included in the itinerary; optional activity surcharges; all items of a personal nature including but not limited to: alcoholic beverages and soft drinks (outside of dinner service), laundry services, personal clothing, medical expenses or phone charges; automatic crew gratuities of $15 per person, per day (non-suite guests) which may be removed or amended at the end of the cruise.

Payment & Cancellation

In order to confirm this trip, a nonrefundable deposit of $2,500 is required per person at time of booking (additional nonrefundable $250 deposit is required for optional activities). The balance of the trip price is due 90 days before the departure date. Special holiday payment and cancellation terms may apply. Guests who must cancel their trip for any reason must do so in writing. Standard cancellations are subject to the following per-person penalties, based on number of days prior to departure:
91 days or more – 100% of deposit
90 to 0 days – 100% of total trip cost

Terms & Conditions

This trip is subject to AdventureSmith Explorations Terms and Conditions. Please read this information carefully and call us if you have any questions. A Traveler Information Form, which includes a release of liability, must be completed and signed by all travelers. Your Adventure Specialist will send you a unique link to complete this form along with a packing list and extensive pre-departure and travel insurance information upon booking confirmation.

Arrival & Departure

The Coastal Tasmania cruise begins and ends in Hobart, Australia (HBA). We highly recommend arriving one day prior to your trip start date in case of any flight delay, cancellation or lost luggage issues. Plan flights to arrive to Hobart at any time on Day 1. An arrival transfer from the Hobart airport to the group hotel is included (for guests arriving on preferred flights, which includes any flight arriving on Day 1). Plan flights to depart Hobart no earlier than 12:00pm noon on disembarkation day. A direct transfer from the pier to the airport midday is included following disembarkation. If you would like assistance with international flights, please visit our Booking Flights resource page.

Activities

The Your Choice shore excursions listed in the itinerary are included, but your preferences must be selected at least 60 days prior to embarkation and cannot be amended after this time. If your selections are not received by this time, you will be allocated excursions by an automated system.

There are no added-cost, optional activities available on your Coastal Tasmania cruise. Plan to hike, take shore walks and Zodiac cruises, and enjoy photography tips—all are included on every departure.

Room Configuration

Single travelers wishing to book a double-occupancy cabin may do so at a 50% supplement of the per-person listed rate in select cabins upon availability. Solo travelers willing to share may be matched with a person of the same gender, and if the other cabin berth goes unsold, will only pay the standard double-occupancy rate.

Families & Children

Kids 8 years and older are welcomed aboard all departure dates. Children between 8-17 years of age must pay the adult price of the expedition.

Travel Insurance

A medical form for all travelers, signed by their doctor, is required for every departure. Comprehensive travel insurance is mandatory for this trip, with a minimum required coverage of $250,000 USD per person, covering medical, accident and repatriation/emergency evacuation, as well as baggage loss and cancellation or curtailment of holiday. In addition, we highly recommend our travelers protect their investment with travel insurance that includes trip cancellation and other benefits. Our partners at Travelex Insurance offer a variety of plans and policies to fit every trip and budget. Coverage for a pre-existing medical condition is also available if you purchase the Travel Select plan within 15 days of the initial trip payment; refer to plan details. Learn more about travel insurance or get a free quote.

Itinerary Notes

Use the itinerary as a guide only. Itineraries may be altered due to weather, wildlife, national park regulation or at the captain’s discretion. The ability to be flexible makes this type of small ship cruising unique.

Rates & Dates

Cruise Rates & Dates

Dec 01 - Dec 11, 2025
Douglas Mawson • 11 days
From $10195USD
Per Person
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Dec 02 - Dec 12, 2026
Greg Mortimer • 11 days
From $11895USD
Per Person
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Accommodations

Learn About The Small Ships on Your Itinerary

Expedition Ship
Douglas Mawson

Book onto this brand new expedition ship—launching in 2025—to enjoy adventure-ready, sustainable, comfortable and cutting-edge design. Expect skilled and knowledgeable guides who share the same passion for exploration as the ship's namesake.

Expedition Ship
Greg Mortimer

The Greg Mortimer is a new, icebreaker polar expedition ship. Carrying an average of 132 guests, this small ship features a unique bow designed for efficiency. It features active programming with adventure gear for backcountry skiing, polar diving, snowshoeing, climbing and kayaking.

Deals

Current Deals on This Trip

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Offer expires December 31st, 2024
No Single Supplement On Select 2026 Coastal Tasmania: Untamed Wilderness Cruises

Solo travelers! Pay no single supplement when you book your select 2026 Coastal Tasmania: Untamed Wilderness cruise.

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Offer expires December 31st, 2024
Save Up To 25% On Select 2025-26 Australia & New Zealand Cruises

Save up to 25% per person when you book your select 2025-26 Australia or New Zealand cruise.

Expert Review

Ship Reviews From Our Experts so You Know What to Expect

Todd Smith • January 19th, 2021
Expert Aboard: Sylvia Earle & Greg Mortimer Ship Review

Read a detailed ship review about the identical polar sister ships Greg Mortimer & Sylvia Earle and what they offer travelers. Our expert has been aboard and writes this from his firsthand experience.

Book with the confidence that comes from experience.

100+ combined years of experience, 7 continents explored, decades of expedition cruising around the world & here to help you find & book your dream trip.

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Special Offer
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Coastal Tasmania: Untamed Wilderness