Burnie

Burnie is the fourth largest city in Tasmania, with a population of around 20,000. It is on the northwestern coast of Tasmania.

Once renowned as a single-industry town with scant concern for the environment, Burnie has undergone a significant transformation into an attractive coastal city with a diverse economy. Burnie retains an industrial deep-water port, but also enjoys the luxury of several attractive north-facing beaches upon which pleasant and functional public spaces have been and are being developed. Burnie is a popular tourist location as it is close to many great attractions, like the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, the Stanley Nut, the Mole Creek Karst National Park, and the Rocky Cape National Park.

Visitor information

 * burnie.net (council website)

By plane


Regional Express and Qantas fly to Burnie Airport from Melbourne. Burnie Airport is in the nearby town of Wynyard. Rental cars are available at the airport, as are taxis and a shuttle bus to Burnie.

By car
Burnie is on the Bass Highway, which is part of Highway 1. It will take around 40 minutes to drive from Devonport to Burnie, around 2 hours to drive from Launceston and around 4 hours to drive from Hobart. The Bass Highway between East Devonport and Burnie is a freeway, but the drive east of Devonport is a two-lane undivided highway.

From Queenstown, the Murchison Highway begins at Zeehan and ends at Somerset. Another alternative is the Ridgely Highway which joins the Murchison Highway at Fingerpost. Either way, it's more than 170km and between two and three hours.

Travellers arriving from Victoria or mainland Australia, arriving on the ferry Spirit of Tasmania, berthing in Devonport, can drive west 46 km (28 miles) to Burnie - Approx 30 min.

By bus

 * From Hobart it's roughly 330km and 4h away. Redline Coaches operate to/from Burnie once or twice a day ($80). Buses via Launceston take longer.
 * From Devonport you can catch a Mersey Link bus to Ulverstone and then catch a Metro Tasmania bus to Burnie and hence to Somerset. Redline also run coaches to Burnie once a day for about $13. Either way the distance is about 55 km and will take at least an hour.
 * From Wynyard, Metro Tasmania buses operate regularly.
 * From Launceston, Redline operates coaches to Burnie once or twice a day at a fare of around $40.
 * From Smithton, Redline operates daily to and from Burnie which is about 80 km away and costs around $20 taking approximately one hour.

Get around
Metro Tasmania operates scheduled bus services in the Burnie area, and services to Wynyard, Somerset, Penguin and Ulverstone. Timetables are available from Metrotas website Fares are around $8 for a single one-way trip, per person.

See

 * Visitor Information Hub - Operating during cruise ship season in the cultural precinct Plaza, Burnie.
 * Fernglade - just a few minutes drive east of the city, a ferny environment with picnic facilities, great for a BBQ and a walk along the banks of the Emu River. You may see be fortunate and see a wild platypus at Fern Glade. The second entrance is the start of a 3 km walk in the Emu Valley, through to Rutherford Rd in Stowport. This track is also excellent for mountain bikes
 * Guide Falls - An easy and picturesque 20-minute drive south of Burnie, Guide Falls Reserve is a popular picnic attraction with tables and bbq amenities. Best water flow in Winter and Spring.
 * ANZAC Park
 * Somerset Beach, which stretches along the full length of the Somerset coastline from the River Cam to the far western outskirts.
 * The Cam River
 * ANZAC Park
 * Somerset Beach, which stretches along the full length of the Somerset coastline from the River Cam to the far western outskirts.
 * The Cam River
 * The Cam River

Do

 * Heritage town walk - Walking tours

Drink

 * Hellyers Road Distillery - Makes whisky and also has a cafe and restaurant.

Go next

 * West
 * Stanley
 * East
 * Penguin
 * Devonport
 * South
 * West Coast
 * Cradle Mountain – one of Tasmania's biggest icons.
 * Walls of Jerusalem National Park – a beautiful less visited national park. You'll need to make careful preparations for a true bush experience since there's no direct road access and no visitor facilities. Landscapes are as lyrically beautiful as are some of their Biblical names: The Damascus Gate, Herods Gate, King Davids Peak, Solomons Throne, The Pool of Bethesda, and Lake Salome.