40 minutes from the hotel
Things to do in Strahan
Strahan is the harbour village everyone comes to the West Coast for, and it is 40 minutes from our front door. That distance is the whole point of this page: you can do all of it, then sleep somewhere quieter and considerably cheaper.
- From the hotel40 minutes
- Best forA full day
Strahan sits on the shore of Macquarie Harbour, which is roughly 6 times the size of Sydney Harbour, and it is the gateway to the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. It has a convict past that is genuinely grim, a working fishing fleet, and the departure point for the Gordon River cruises.
The mistake most people make is trying to see Strahan in a morning. Between the harbour, the beach and the walks there is comfortably a full day here, and the cruises alone take most of one.
The other mistake is assuming you have to sleep in Strahan to enjoy it. In summer the village fills and prices climb hard. Zeehan is 40 minutes away on a sealed road, and the drive itself is worth doing in daylight at least once.
Breakfast opens at 5am, every day
The Gordon River cruise leaves Strahan in the morning, so you need to be on the road early. Breakfast here opens at 5am, which most places cannot do.
Practical
How to spend the day
- The Gordon River cruise, which departs from the harbour and takes most of the day.
- Ocean Beach, the longest beach in Tasmania, and the place to be at sunset.
- Hogarth Falls, a gentle rainforest walk that starts close to the town centre.
- The harbour itself, which is worth an hour on foot before you do anything else.
- Henty Dunes on the way in or out, if you have a sandboard or a 4WD.
Stay the night at the Heemskirk
Base yourself 40 minutes away, eat before you leave, and skip the summer rates in the village.