September 10, 2026 — 4:21pmPlanning a long weekend or a few nights away mid-week? Get to our best regions for wilderness, walks or a workout.HOBART, TASMaria has uninterrupted views across Hobart’s port.Fiona VailGood for Couples, friends on an epicurean adventureStay Fly direct from most Australian capitals and head to the charming Georgian terrace on Tasma Street, North Hobart, that contains your Collected Places apartment.See + do + eat You’ll need to plan ahead for this trip, if only to get your restaurant bookings in order. Settle in at the smartly renovated apartment; maybe make yourself a G&T from the Sommers Bay gin and Fever Tree tonic you’ll find as part of your welcome pack. Next stop is restaurant Maria on the Brooke Street Pier, where the DJ spins vinyl on Friday and Saturday nights, alongside fine food and a wine list that runs deep (the Maria theme is Mediterranean).Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletterGet exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.Hobart’s Farm Gate Market.On Saturday, wander off for lunch at the Bird in Hand restaurant, deep in the Botanical Gardens, for share plates, light meals and more. Saturday night, for something with a softer impact on the credit card, pick up takeaway pizza from Amici, on the corner of Tasma and Elizabeth streets, to enjoy back in your apartment. Sunday morning, make for the Farm Gate market in Bathurst Street (a 15-minute walk) to experience the quality of food available in this state. And because you walked, treat yourself to a scroll from the Wombaked stall – best in Hobart and maybe the world. Then you’re off to the CBD and Fico. Not many of Hobart’s better restaurants do a Sunday lunch; at Fico your tasting adventure might include a mutton bird taco, mussel gnocchi, wild shot venison and more.Don’t miss A long wander through the beautifully landscaped botanic gardens before or after your lunch at Bird in Hand; and before that, you might have had breakfast in your Collected Places apartment – the provisions on arrival are extraordinary, including a sourdough loaf with Duck River butter, a jar of local honey, half a dozen eggs and some milk.Essentials Apartments from $350 a night in peak season or $280 a night off-peak. See collectedplaces.com.au; restaurantmaria.com.au; birdinhand.com.au; amici-restaurant.com.au; ficofico.net; discovertasmania.com.auFALLS CREEK, VICSki-in/ski-out access at Nelse Lodge, Falls Creek. Stuart WalmsleyGood for Families, skiers, hikers, mountain bikers, cyclists, triathletesStay It’s a four-and-half hour drive north-east from Melbourne or two hours south-east from Albury Airport to Falls Creek. Nelse Lodge has reopened after some major works with an emphasis on year-round business – in winter that means snow, in summer that means being active at altitude.See + do + eat Want to fine-tune your triathlon training, sort your cycling or maybe even get in some altitude work with the team for the next Olympic rowing campaign? This traditional ski lodge, with nine lodge rooms and four apartments, can be your base. Winter is still at the heart of Nelse, with its ski-in/ski-out location and lively bar and restaurant. But its new owners – who have some sports background, ex-AFL players among them – are also concentrating on “performance season” with training camps for weekend and elite athletes. Former professional road racer Richie Porte will lead a camp for cyclists, while world champion triathlete Craig Alexander will lead one for the swim-ride-run crowd. Nelse’s facilities include the biggest gym on the mountain, a sizeable sauna, hot and cold plunge pools and a terrace for outdoor yoga.Yoga on the terrace at Nelse.Don’t miss You don’t need to be an elite athlete to enjoy summer and the mountain air – there are trails to hike, mountain bike rides of all levels and fish to catch. You can even wander up to a ridge above the Falls Creek village and climb into its huge new sculpture – the Flower of the Alpine Sun by artist Gio Veronesi – and see how it shapes the views. Off the mountain, make your way along the Kiewa Valley and explore its wineries and breweries or stop for a picnic by the river.Essentials In winter, lodge rooms from $390 a night ($750 peak season); apartments from $960/$1600. Summer packages start from $190 a person, all meals and accommodation. See nelsefallscreek.com.auMID-NORTH COAST, NSW The Tiny Mile is big on solitude.Good for beach lovers, solitary travellersStay Idyllic riverfront escape The Tiny Mile sits on the banks of Berady Creek, just outside the coastal village of Old Bar. Soak beneath the stars in an outdoor bath crafted from a repurposed water trough, curl up by the wood fire and relax in a custom-built cedar sauna. The Tiny Mile brims with personality and vintage charm. It’s named after the mile-long drive up to its riverside setting. Once you arrive you won’t want to venture far, so BYO supplies.See + do + eat Take your pick of uncrowded, pristine surf and swimming spots from Old Bar’s easily accessible Main Beach to the more secluded Wallaby Point and Saltwater. Take a surf lesson with Saltwater Surf School or stroll through Saltwater National Park. In Old Bar, Buyi Espresso Bar is the pick for casual breakfasts and good coffee, for sundowners and live music try the Flow Bar, and Sai Thai Table and Tea is the pick for dinner.Catch live music at Flow Bar. Destination NSWDon’t miss Take a kayak for a paddle along the Tiny Mile’s private stretch of creek spotting abundant bird life including kingfishers, have a wine by the fire pit and stay in for a movie on the automatic projector screen.Essentials Fly direct from Melbourne to Newcastle Airport and Old Bar is a 1.5-hour drive or 3.5 hours north of Sydney. See whatsbeyondthemile.com.au; saltwatersurfschool.com.au; barringtoncoast.com.auLAKE ST CLAIR, TASThe Pumphouse, Lake St Clair Good for wildlife and nature lovers, outdoorsy types, heritage architecture devoteesStay What’s the point of Pumphouse Point? We’re more than content to provide the following points. This remote 18-room lodge, a three-hour drive north-west of Hobart, is a unique form of heritage-style accommodation in the dramatic setting of Lake St Clair. The centrepiece of Pumphouse Point is a restored and repurposed 1940s-era former Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Commission pumphouse reached by a 250-metre-long, windswept flume or jetty. The sights are spectacular, whether man-made or natural. The companion historic shorehouse has arresting views of the lake and the pumphouse. Two additional, relatively new and beautifully designed premium retreats have price tags to match.Pumphouse Point walk.See + do + eat Even if you’re staying for three nights you needn’t leave the lodge and its boundaries as there’s so much to do, and for that matter not to do, particularly when it comes to Lake St Clair’s flukey and at times wild weather. If you’re up for it after the long, winding yet scenic drive from Hobart, there’s a Tasmanian whisky tasting on arrival along with a premium Tasmanian chocolate tasting class later in your stay. There’s a constant flow of fine local wines to sample beside roaring fires. In the warmer months, there are kayak and electric bike tours and a host of lakeside walks. On those strolls, as well around the lodge itself, you’ll almost certainly encounter wombats, pademelons and all manner of birdlife. Dinner nightly in the lakefront shorehouse is a seasonal three-course set menu highlighting Tasmania’s renowned produce.Don’t miss A complimentary daily guided history tour reveals the stories and people behind Pumphouse Point’s fascinating industrial past and its visionary modern-day reimagining as a most unusual lodge.Essentials From $775 a night for a standard shorehouse room inclusive of breakfast, a “larder lunch” and a three-course set menu dinner. See pumphousepoint.com.au; discovertasmania.com.auPHILLIP ISLAND, VICWalking to The Pinncales, Phillip Island.Good for nature lovers and familiesStay Just outside of Cowes, Ramada Resort by Wyndham Phillip Island has a variety of stays on 26 hectares, with a cafe and bar and swimming, sauna and spa areas. Part of the Wyndham Vacation Club, it is near a wetland and home to plenty of birdlife, possums and rabbits. Onsite Flame Trees restaurant recently launched Trust the Chef, where your three-course menu is decided for you, with some guidance on likes and dislikes.See + do + eat Phillip Island has plenty of family-friendly fun from the Koala Conservation Reserve to Amaze N Things, and racing go karts on a replica Grand Prix circuit. For an epic handheld lunch get a scallop pie from Island Pies, with huge whole molluscs in a creamy sauce. Have a date night on the water at Saltwater with wood-fired pizza, tacos and share plates on the jetty near the San Remo Bridge. For a quiet Sunday beer, head to the Rhyll Tavern, a small island town that appears to have more boats than people; enter under the faux lighthouse for acoustic sessions and pub favourites.Philip Island Go Karts.Don’t miss The island’s poster bird is the Little Penguin, and groups arrive nightly at Summerland Bay’s Penguin Parade (Penguins Plus, costs $93 for a premium viewing platform). It’s freezing in winter, the crowds are intense but once those little blue cuties waddle past you forget any minor hassles.Essentials Phillip Island is a two-hour drive south-east of Melbourne. See wyndhamhotels.com; penguins.org.au; islandpies.com.au; saltwaterphillipisland.com.au; therhylltavern.com.auBENDIGO AND BEYOND, VICVintage Caravans, Big 4 Tasman Holiday Parks, Bendigo.Good for Country town explorers, vintage fossickers, adventurous foodiesStay This Central Victorian region is dotted with accommodation options. Stay in Bendigo proper to enable daily excursions to wineries and attractions while enjoying the home base highlights. The boutique Hotel Ernest Bendigo is right in the centre of the CBD, in an old bank building by Rosalind Park. For something more rustic, Big 4 Tasman Holiday Parks Bendigo lets road trippers keep the car close while enjoying resort-like facilities. Among its permanent accommodation options, it has just installed four fun vintage caravans painted in sunny yellow and white with Adirondack chairs, a stripey sun umbrella and private barbecue outside. Even better, they’re poolside. From $164 a night.Centrally located and stylish Hotel Ernest Bendigo.See + do + eat Explore Bridgewater-on-Loddon, stopping for an award-winning vanilla slice at Bridgewater Bakery, and lunch by the river at the splendid Art Deco Bridgewater Hotel. Fossick for all kinds of foodie delights at the Talbot Farmers’ Market. Even outside market times, the town is worth a visit for its attractive heritage precinct. Inglewood is a picker’s delight, with several great vintage and antique stores, including Fusspots at Inglewood and the Inglewood Emporium.Harcourt was affected by the 2026 fires but parts of its popular mountain bike trails are open, and the Harcourt General Store is the place for post-riding hunger.Don’t miss The Heathcote wine district is famous for shiraz. Boutique operators have cellar doors with more adventurous varieties for tasting.Essentials Bendigo is about 150 kilometres north-west of the Melbourne CBD; surrounding towns are within an hour’s drive. See book.tasmanholidayparks.com ; hotelbendigo.com.au ; bendigoregion.com.au Contributors: Paul Chai, Jim Darby, Anthony Dennis, Ben Groundwater, Chris Hook, Belinda Jackson, Julietta Jameson, Julie Miller, Sheriden Rhodes, Jane Richards, Katherine ScottMore:Weekend getawaysTravel tipsFor subscribersAustraliaFrom our partners