Tasmania’s Unique Natural Beauty and Stunning Biodiversity

Tasmania is located 150 miles south of mainland Australia, across the Bass Strait. While the biggest island is called Tasmania, this Australian island state is composed of over 330 islands.

The population of Tasmania, which is about the size of West Virginia, is a little over 500,000 people. Despite its small size and population, Tasmania is a home to 19 national parks that encompass 40 percent of its territory. The islands’ numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites are a testament to their historic significance and unique natural beauty.

Few places in the world are as geographically diverse as Tasmania. The scenery is stunning: There are densely forested mountains, magnificent beaches, spectacular bays and ancient rainforests. The island is also home to many plant and animal species that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.

Add an excellent infrastructure for tourism and world-class food, wines and beers to Tasmania’s stunning natural resources, and it comes as no surprise that Travel and Leisure magazine recently named Tasmania one of the World’s Best Islands.

Flying to an exotic destination such as Tasmania on an award ticket doesn’t sound like an easy task, but it can be, if you have miles with the right airlines. The oneworld alliance and SkyTeam members fly there, though there are no Star Alliance members offering flights to Tasmania.

AAdvantage Miles and the Oneworld Alliance

If you have AAdvantage miles, getting an award ticket to Tasmania won’t be a problem. Even during the busy summer season in Tasmania, from December to February, award availability is generally good.

Qantas, American Airlines’ oneworld partner, flies to all three of Tasmania’s airports: Hobart International Airport, Launceston Airport and Devonport Airport. Qantas’ flights to all of the airports connect through Melbourne, but flights into Hobart can also connect through Sydney and Brisbane.

Round-trip tickets from the U.S. to Tasmania purchased with AAdvantage miles cost:

• 75,000 miles in economy
• 125,000 in business
• 145,000 in first
  

SkyMiles and the SkyTeam

Delta SkyTeam partner Virgin Australia flies to Hobart and Launceston Airports via Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Flights between Brisbane and Hobart are seasonal and are only offered between December 26 and January 30.

Round-trip tickets from the U.S. to Tasmania purchased with SkyMiles cost:

• 100,000 miles in economy
• 160,000 in business

First class tickets can’t be purchased with SkyMiles.

AAdvantage miles offer the cheapest rates for economy and premium class award seats to Tasmania. However, it can be difficult to find a premium class award to Tasmania at the lowest rate.

If you want to fly in business or first, and you can’t find a seat on a direct flight, you could try booking two separate flights. The first leg would be to mainland Australia using AAdvantage miles, and the second would be to Tasmania using British Airways Avios. The short flight from Melbourne to Hobart costs only 4,500 Avios in economy, and 9,000 Avios in business.

If you only have United miles, you could use them to fly to Australia, which is the most expensive part of the trip. Then book a cheap round-trip flight to Tasmania on one of the local budget airlines, such as Jetstar.