Getting around Huonville and the Huon Valley

Welcome to our simple English blog about the Huon Valley. We write this blog for backpackers on a working holiday and for other travellers like you.

6 Ways to Get Around

When you come to the Huon Valley in Tasmania as a backpacker or a working-holiday maker, you will need a way to travel around down here. You’ve come to the right blog.

Today, I’ll share six ways to get around Huonville and the Huon Valley. I will share about two good ways, two maybe-good ways, and two not-so-good ways to travel.

2 Not-so-Good Ways

I’ll start with the not-so-good ways. I am not saying these are “bad” ways to travel. They may be the right way for you. But for most people, these aren’t going to be very good options for travelling in the Huon Valley.

If I were you, I would not plan to use a taxi or an uber to get around the Valley. You may have more luck than other people, but it can often be expensive to travel by taxi or uber from Hobart to the Valley. And it can be hard to find a taxi or an uber. The Huon Valley is a farming area, not a big city.

I also wouldn’t travel the Valley on foot. I mean, you could travel on foot and make an adventure of it. But the adventure would be epic. And you should blog about it! Outside of the cities, Australia is very much a car country – with everything very spaced out, and it’s hard to get to places on foot. So don’t plan to get around the Valley on foot. Unless you really love walking for a long time.

2 Maybe-Good Ways

What about the maybe-good ways? What even is a “maybe-good” way?

Good question. A maybe-good way is one that may work for you, or may not. It will depend on where you stay and what you’re trying to do when you come here.

For one, it may be good for you to use your hostel shuttle. Some hostels charge money for you to use their shuttle. Your hostel could charge $5 to get to a strawberry farm in the morning, and another $5 to come home every night. At the end of the week, you will be paying $50 or $60 or even $70 extra to take the shuttle, depending on how many days you work in the week. That adds up over time. And if you’re travelling with two or three friends, that can add up to a LOT of money.

If you stay at our hostel, Pilgrim Hill, we run a free shuttle to places within 15 minutes of the hostel. For example, it’s free to pick you up from the bus stop at Grove or Huonville. And it’s free to take you to work at nearby farms within 15 minutes of Pilgrim Hill. This includes big farms like Lucaston Park Orchards, some of Hansen Orchards, and some of Reid’s Orchards. It also includes many little farms. If you’d like to stay at our hostel, you can book here.

Another option that may be good for you is to travel by bicycle. If you’re fit and enjoy bicycling, there are lots of beautiful places to bike down here, and even mountain bike trails if you like that! You can buy a used bicycle on Gumtree or Huon Area Buy Swap & Sell when you come. But don’t plan to bicycle if you’re not fit. Remember, Australia is car country, and things are spaced out.

2 Good Ways

The two good ways to travel the Huon Valley are by bus or personal car.

Bus travel is easy. You can take a Tassielink Bus from Hobart to Grove, Huonville, Cygnet, Castle Forbes Bay, Dover and many other places in the Valley. The bus runs 20+ times a day on workdays, and 5+ times a day on weekends and holidays. You’ll find the bus schedule and the cost here.

Sadly, the bus is not cheap. I am writing this post February 2021. A bus ride today cost me $10.40 to go from Huonville to Hobart. It would cost me the same $10.40 again to go back to Huonville. And if you want to go to Dover, it costs $21 each way!

But I have good news. If you need to take the bus a lot, you should get a Greencard. A Greencard will give you 20% off the cost of each bus ride. It also has other benefits. You can get a Greencard here.

Even easier than bus travel is car travel. Remember that Australia is car country. There are some great places in the Huon Valley that you can only get to easily by car.

So if you have a car, great! If you have a friend with a car, also great! And if you need to buy car, I’ve already written a guide for you. Here’s how to buy a car near Huonville when you come.

One thing to know: the Huon Valley has the most number of dirt roads in Tasmania. You should be prepared to drive slowly on narrow gravel and dirt roads with lots of corners. I’ll write more about Tasmanian road safety later.

Hope this blog post helps you get around the Huon Valley. If you have any other ideas to share, feel free to add them in the comments.

Till next time, safe travels!