Doc Holiday: How can we see Tassie in high style?

What is the best all-inclusive tour to experience Tasmania in five-star luxury?

Escape's Doc Holiday, Dilvin Yasa, answers your travel-related questions.

My wife and I would like to do a five-star, all-inclusive Tasmania tour, but not self-drive. Which company can you recommend?

I had hoped to find a tour to tick every box on your Tasmanian holiday wishlist, but you may have to compromise. Although there are plenty of fantastic tours (particularly in the summer months, considered the best time to visit), finding one that is truly all-inclusive, but also high-end, is an impossible task.

Look into the Ultimate Tasmania land journey by Scenic ($8225 a person). At 13 days, the luxury tour is a little longer than you’re looking for and doesn’t include all meals, but it has additional benefits, such as Scenic Freechoice activities to personalise your tour and Scenic Special Stays including accommodation at Freycinet Lodge.

APT’s seven-day Tasmania Wilderness tour (from $5295 a person) could also be the ticket. The tour includes hand-picked accommodation, plus signature experiences such as a fire feast and blend your own gin experience. Although only 14 meals are included (not exactly all-inclusive), you have the option of having APT also organise your flights to and from Hobart, which saves some of the hassle.

You may also wish to look at the range of tours offered through tasmania.com, one of which is a seven-day Luxury Getaway (from $14,279 a person). The accommodation options are high-end (two nights are spent at Saffire Freycinet, for example), and activities include helicopter flights and gourmet beach picnics. Although many activities and entrance fees are included, some dinners are not. That said, they do have a concierge service where you can tailor a tour to fit your needs.

There are a few other options. Although the hotels are moderate rather than premium, Bunnik Tours’ Tasmania in Depth trip is a comprehensive tour of the state in 14 days, while Discover Australia offers a 10-Day Hobart and Launceston tour that includes all flights, boat tours and city tours. As with Bunnik, the accommodation isn’t premium but superior and the tour only includes some meals.

Europe at Christmas won’t present a problem. Apart from the UK, the countries you’re visiting are within the Schengen Area.

Will I need a visa for Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France or the UK for my Christmas travels? It’s my first time visiting Europe and I’m also unsure about the best way to take spending money.

A white Christmas in Sweden, plus all of those fantastic add-ons? I’m so excited for you!

Europe at Christmas won’t present a problem. Apart from the UK, the countries you’re visiting are within the Schengen Area. Australianscan travel visa-free in the 29 European countries in the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in a 180-day period. Those wishing to visit Europe in 2025 will need to apply for an ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System), a visa-waiver similar to the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) in the US. Once the start date has been announced and the site is live, applications (around $11.55 per person) can be filled out online at etias.com.

Australians travelling to the UK from January 8, 2025 onwards will need to apply for the all-new ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) which permits multiple visits to the UK for up to six months at a time over two years, or until the holder’s passport expires (whichever is sooner). The ETA costs just under $20 and applications can be made from November 27, 2024 on the UK ETA app or at homeoffice.gov.uk.

The choice of debit card or a travel money card depends on whether you’ve got the kind of card that attracts eye-watering international transaction and ATM fees. If so, I’d consider taking a look at a travel money card such as the Wise Money Card or the Revolut Standard, both of which are repeat winners of the Canstar travel money card category. I’ve always been a debit card gal (don’t forget to alert your bank before you travel if you go down this road), but while there are downsides to travel money cards (fees, lengthy load times and acceptance issues with some merchants), there are plenty of positives. Most users love the fact you can lock in an exchange rate when you deposit the funds, plus load multiple currencies.

Whether you want to fill out a digital form or the old-school paper variety, the choice will remain yours.

Please rescue us from the incoming Digital Passenger Declaration system, designed for hi-tech nerds, not seniors.

Many of us at Escape feel the same way about the new SmartGate photos; no matter how happy and rested I feel, I always look as though I’ve just got out of bed.

If there’s good news, it’s this: I’ve had a chat with the Australian Border Force team and although they’re encouraging the use of the digital option, they did confirm that the paper Incoming Passenger Card will continue to be available to use beyond the pilot stage of the digital program currently being rolled out.

In other words, whether you want to fill out a digital form or the old-school paper variety, the choice will remain yours.

Originally published as Doc Holiday: How can we see Tassie in high style?