Underrated southern spots you won’t queue for

Tasmania's not really for tourists; it’s for travellers looking for something deeper. Start in the south, where the best things don't come with a queue.

If you’re spending a little too much time standing in queues, staring vacantly at your phone or the pavement, you might be craving a cure for what we call ‘queue-itis’. This de-tourist trail in Tasmania uncovers less-travelled routes through Hobart and southern Tasmania. Find lookouts with views uninterrupted by a sea of selfie sticks. Swim in calming waterholes and visit roadside stalls where the only thing standing between you and fresh produce is how much you’re able to carry back to your car.

Huon Valley and the Channel run thick with growers, makers and off-the-beaten-track stops. Down here, the only queue your produce joins is the one on the back seat. Spend your day working from orchard to winery to waterhole. 

Wake up and smell the sourdough 

Start at Summer Kitchen in Ranelagh for woodfired sourdough, a morning baked pastry and a cuppa. Settle into a timber bench or table under the plane trees, or hunker down in the cosy interior if the morning mist hasn't lifted yet. 

Go for a stroll in nature

Use your morning pastry and produce as fuel for the next side quest. Which of these two nature patches suits your vibe?

• Longley Waterhole is for you if you’re after a bracing dip. Look for the turn just past the Longley International Hotel pub and a signposted car park beside Longley Recreation Reserve. From there, it's a few minutes' walk (and rock-hop) to where the North West Bay River slows and deepens into a rock-lined pool. Tread carefully and be prepared for refreshingly cool water. 
• Snug Falls is an easy walk (about 2.1km, 45mins return) descending through a fern-lined gully and eucalypt forest to a 25m waterfall. BYO leashed dog if you’d like some company on the track other than the friendly locals and occasional wedge-tailed eagle soaring high overhead. Stick to the track and take it slow on the slippery rocks near the base.

Lunchtime: skip the queue for a quiet table

Craving a light lunch, or a hearty feed?

A platter of hyper-local meats, cheeses and bread leaves more room for wine at Mewstone Winery in the sleepy suburb of Flowerpot. Work through some drops of Hughes & Hughes while Freya, the winemaker's dog, does the rounds. Bookings recommended.

If you’re willing to book well ahead and you’re up for the Huon Valley’s best foraged and hunted produce, you’ll want to reserve your spot at Lumachelle by famed chef Analiese Gregory. Her 10-seat farm restaurant serves multi-course lunch on Fridays and Saturdays. Expect to be well looked after.

Or head into artsy town Cygnet to the Conservatory Cafe at Cygnet Old Bank, dishing up colourful meals, pasta and 'Cygneture' crepes in the light-filled atrium, garden courtyard and orchard.

Speaking of florals, choose from these afternoon activities 

Earthenry Flower Farm in Lower Snug grows more than 100 varieties from October to April, with dahlias doing most of the heavy lifting. Cut your own bunch or time a visit with a workshop from perfume-making to wreath and garland arranging. Every second Friday, the Twilight session (5–9pm) brings a food truck, music and a pop-up bar pouring floral-leaning drinks.

Huon Valley Lavender Farm tucked away in Mountain River is the other option for your floral-filled afternoon. Take farm tours by appointment only, intentionally offered in a small group so the fields stay quiet. Get properly acquainted with the family behind the business, the frolicking lambs and, importantly, the lavender. Lavender season (roughly December–February) is peak purple, but there's always something happening and someone happy to talk you through it. Book ahead and pick up a bottle of locally distilled, award-winning essential oil, or a tin of bath soak on the way out. You'll sleep well tonight.

Dinner, two ways 

For a taphouse night with a bit of punch, head to Lost Captain in Huonville, a heritage riverside building turned beer garden and dining room. Expect 10 rotating local beers and ciders on tap, cocktails by the jug and a locally sourced menu.

For something quieter, Hopfields Margate keeps it simple: pub grub, good beer and fairy lights under old timber beams – handy if you've worked up an appetite from all that forest roaming and flower picking.

Accommodation: spend the night somewhere nature does the talking

Book Orchards Nest for a bath on the deck with cracking forest and farm views. You’ll feel like the only one in the valley, sipping wine under the warm glow of string lights.

Hunter Huon Valley feels like the middle of nowhere in the best way. Three architect-designed cabins are scattered across 36 acres of bush in Glen Huon. Enjoy the wood fire, wine, locally sourced food and a bed positioned for stargazing until you fall asleep.

You don’t need to queue up for these city spots and nearby nature activities. Many of Hobart’s best bits – the nature, food and boutiques – can be sampled without a lengthy line to get there.

Brekkie on a Hobart street corner

Two nice old buildings on two city street corners. Which breakfast will you choose: Erda or Novellino? Min and Mick offer a Japanese-inspired menu at Erda, while Salvatore and Melissa bring Italian flair at Novellino. Either way, expect good coffee and a calm atmosphere.

Your morning in Hobart, far from the crowds

Sweat to your heart’s content at Harnon Sauna on Hobart's Sandy Bay waterfront; a woodfired, handcrafted affair with a cold dip in the ocean just steps away. Owners Colin and Amanda can even bring the mobile sauna to your accommodation. Afterwards, wander to Cartwright Reserve: the ‘Big Bend’ where Sandy Bay meets leafy suburb Taroona. Pick whichever food van happens to be parked that day: solar-powered Helios Coffee Van, an Italian Market deli roll or Medici Pizza straight off the trailer.

Lounge around and be looked after

Head to Alabama Hotel lounge bar for a drink. If it’s food you’re after instead, the Crescent Hotel is where to go for a locally sourced feed, a drink and a game of pool. Both spots have outdoor balcony or roof options if you prefer your beer with fresh air and views.

Skipping the queue: leisurely bookshops, record stores and cinemas

Suffragette Records brings female musicians to the fore. Sift through vinyls to find classic and modern listens while the friendly Carter family feeds you recommendations along the way.

Five Leaves Left is a relatively new wine and bookstore pouring natural drops between the shelves. Ask what's on tonight; author talks and life-drawing classes pop up often.

State Cinema is where to catch a fine film with a glass of pinot. In summer, keep an eye out for rooftop sunset screenings.

Dinner: intimate and luxurious, no queue required

Which will you choose? Book ahead and expect great things at one of these Hobart institutions:

• Scarpetta is your pick for Italian cooking in a family home, elevated to degustation (book well ahead).
• Institut Polaire has a unique Antarctica-inspired menu, offering fresh seafood and cool-climate wines in a city that neighbours the Southern Ocean.
• Templo is a 25-seat neighbourhood restaurant in an unassuming brick setting, serving serious flavour.

Where to stay

Lay your head at 2026 Michelin Key-crowned Henry Jones Art Hotel on the city’s waterfront (dinner here works too), Moss Hotel in Salamanca with its moody heritage feel, boutique luxury apartments at the Rox Hobart in Hobart’s Midtown or quiet North Hobart escape Lumiere Lodge.

The pace drops another notch when you drive upriver to reach the Derwent Valley.

Expect berry farms, tall trees, antiques and a town built for browsing, further still from any semblance of a queue.

Brekkie in Hobart before you head upriver

Grab your morning breakfast at Hamlet Cafe (closed weekends), a social enterprise employing people with disability, neurodivergence and mental health conditions. Their buttered leek and parmesan-laden omelette will wake up your tastebuds.

Then wander the Hobart Linear Park Rivulet Track. Ideal for journalling, spotting wildlife beneath willow trees or reading a good book to the soothing soundtrack of the cascades.

Follow the river: a day in the Derwent Valley

Drive upriver to the Derwent Valley, where you’ll visit Westerway Berry Farm for Valhalla raspberry ice cream made from fruit grown on site. You can also pick berries or buy jams and fruit gins to take home.

Derwent Valley dining

Then it’s Derwent Estate Vineyard to taste wines in a quaint 1820s cottage and eat lunch in the more modern shed (book ahead).

Or try Two Metre Tall Farmhouse for ales and cider on a bench under the gums, rough and ready in the best way, open Friday to Sunday.

Many Worlds Rum is a satisfying stop, if rum's your scene, for spiced spirits crafted on site.

Or journey to the Bush Inn, Australia's longest continually operating pub established in 1815, for a proper counter meal and views to match.

Where to stay

A forest hideaway, or a riverfront mansion?

Myrtle Creek Farm is a luxury eco-retreat with its own sauna within a reimagined 1914 homestead, while the Woodbridge Tasmania is a convict-built Georgian mansion with room to spread out, standing regally beside the River Derwent.

Moseying back past Hobart, head to the village of Richmond, where you’ll find streets lined with sandstone buildings and Australia’s oldest (still in use) bridge. Most things are within walking distance, and the only queues you'll join are at the cheese counter.

Exploring the village

Start at Ashmore on Bridge Street (closed Tuesdays) for coffee and homemade cake, a solid eggs benny or a daytrip sandwich to stash for later.

From there, walk to Richmond Gaol for a self-guided lap of the country's oldest intact colonial gaol. No bookings needed. The Pooseum down the road is a quirky stop entirely dedicated to the science of animal droppings (open Wednesday to Sunday).

Dinner and a nightcap

The Richmond Arms Hotel does pub-style food and drinks smack bang in the middle of town.

For a quieter evening, Buscombe's Restaurant at Prospect Country House sits just outside the village in a restored 1830s manor. The convict-built cellar holds more than 100 wines. Book ahead for this one.

Somewhere cosy to sleep

Stay on after dinner at Prospect Country House for an on-site snooze, or try Daisy Bank, a spread of cottages just outside Richmond with bush and farm vistas.

On the peninsula, you can leave the line ups to the surfers. Go for a look and you’ll find quiet beaches, clifftop food vans, roadside produce and peaceful accommodation set into bushland.

Where to pull in on your way south

Some stops to sprinkle into your journey along the peninsula:

• The Bream Creek Community Market Garden has a much-loved roadside stall selling seasonal produce (find it at 247 Burnt Hill Rd, Bream Creek).
• At Marion Bay you’ll find a wide, quiet beach with a lookout and, if the tide cooperates, the hull of the shipwrecked Zephyr poking through the sand.
• Head to Waterfall Bay for big coastal cliffs without the big hike. Access via the Tasman Arch and Devils Kitchen carpark.

Stop and smell the… lavender?

If you’re up for a long lunch on the drive down, Oirthir sits in a paddock above Bream Creek with wild east coast views. Chefs Bob and Jillian bring Michelin-trained French technique and Scottish roots to a set menu starring local oysters, line-caught mackerel and haggis. Lunch Friday to Monday, bookings essential.

Further down the peninsula, Port Arthur Lavender Farm grows its own and serves a lavender-infused menu worth a longer stop. Nearby, watch chocolate being made at the Tasmanian Chocolate Foundry and pick up a snack for the road. Or grab fish and chips from Doo-lishus, a family-owned food van near the blowhole. If you’re too full for lunch, they’ve got ice cream too.

Dinner and a snooze

Stewarts Bay Lodge has got you sorted for dinner and accommodation surrounded by bush and beach. After settling into your private cabin, toddle on down to the on-site restaurant for local seafood and Tasmanian wines.

One city, a few scenic valleys and barely a queue in sight. That’s why Tasmania's not really for tourists; it’s a place for travellers looking for something deeper.