• Adventure holidays

Remarkable landscape includes one of the best beaches no-one knows about

A hike in southern Tasmania takes in spectacular capes and a beach that should be in Australia’s top 10.

• Jim Darby

• Ireland

This stunning castle is the birthplace of an unlikely Irish rebel

Ireland’s Dromoland Castle - now a five-star heritage hotel - boasts a fascinating history and an intriguing connection to Tasmania’s Port Arthur.

• Billy Cantwell

• Weekend getaways

Stewarts Bay Lodge, Tasmania review: Weekend away

Port Arthur on one side, Tasman National Park on the other; Stewarts Bay Lodge has culture and nature in equal doses, writes Louise Southerden.

• Louise Southerden

• Inspiration

Guide at a glance: Port Arthur

The infamous convict ruins tell dark and ghostly tales, writes Lee Atkinson.

• Sydney

Truth and conviction

Lee Atkinson discovers horror and beauty as she explores the country's World Heritage-listed convict sites.

• Hobart

Australia's scariest places

With phantom companions never far away, Julie Miller searches the nation for its most haunted locations.

• Ocean cruises

Daredevil's playground

Rob McFarland puts his life in the hands of a stranger and explores an untamed Tasmanian coastline.

• Inspiration

Port Arthur

Port Arthur Superbly preserved collection of penal colony buildings If there is one place in Tasmania which should be visited by every Australian it is Port Arthur. This magnificently preserved penal colony is a powerful reminder of Australia's early history. For just a moment forget the beautiful English trees, the neat paths and the manicured lawns and try to imagine what it must have been like to have lived in the teeming slums of London's East End, to have stolen a bolt of cotton, or some foodstuffs or been involved in some petty crime and, having been sentenced to seven years transportation, to have found yourself at the other end of the world in this god-forsaken institution. The scale of the punishment seems so out of proportion to the crimes which were committed. It is extraordinary to contemplate that 12 500 convicts served their time at Port Arthur between 1830 and 1877.

• Inspiration

Port Arthur - Fast Facts

Port Arthur Superbly preserved collection of penal colony buildings If there is one place in Tasmania which should be visited by every Australian it is Port Arthur. This magnificently preserved penal colony is a powerful reminder of Australia's early history. For just a moment forget the beautiful English trees, the neat paths and the manicured lawns and try to imagine what it must have been like to have lived in the teeming slums of London's East End, to have stolen a bolt of cotton, or some foodstuffs or been involved in some petty crime and, having been sentenced to seven years transportation, to have found yourself at the other end of the world in this god-forsaken institution. The scale of the punishment seems so out of proportion to the crimes which were committed. It is extraordinary to contemplate that 12 500 convicts served their time at Port Arthur between 1830 and 1877.

• Inspiration

Port Arthur - Culture and History

Port Arthur Superbly preserved collection of penal colony buildings If there is one place in Tasmania which should be visited by every Australian it is Port Arthur. This magnificently preserved penal colony is a powerful reminder of Australia's early history. For just a moment forget the beautiful English trees, the neat paths and the manicured lawns and try to imagine what it must have been like to have lived in the teeming slums of London's East End, to have stolen a bolt of cotton, or some foodstuffs or been involved in some petty crime and, having been sentenced to seven years transportation, to have found yourself at the other end of the world in this god-forsaken institution. The scale of the punishment seems so out of proportion to the crimes which were committed. It is extraordinary to contemplate that 12 500 convicts served their time at Port Arthur between 1830 and 1877.