Sorell is well placed as a staging post for some of the best of southeastern Tasmania.
Richmond, 20 minutes northwest, is one of the country's most intact early-colonial townscapes — the 1823 Richmond Bridge is the oldest road bridge still in use in Australia, and the town centre has the country's oldest Roman Catholic church (St John the Evangelist, 1837) and a substantial colonial gaol. Easily combined with cellar-door tasting in the surrounding Coal River Valley wine region.
Port Arthur, an hour southeast on the Tasman Peninsula, is the most important convict heritage site in Australia and a full day in itself. The drive south takes you through Dunalley, Eaglehawk Neck (with its dramatic coastal rock formations: the Tessellated Pavement, the Devil's Kitchen, the Blowhole), and the Tasman National Park.
For something gentler, Seven Mile Beach is twenty minutes back toward Hobart, and the Tasman Bridge drive into Hobart's CBD is about half an hour. Mt Wellington / kunanyi rises directly behind the city and the summit road brings you to an exposed plateau with sweeping views over the whole south-east — one of the best half-day excursions in the region.
