Tasmania in winter: the island that turns up the lights

Tasmania is an island state of Australia, and its winter is its quiet season, which the state tourism body has turned to its advantage. The Off Season campaign, as Tourism Tasmania calls it, runs until the end of August and is built around festivals that make a virtue of the cold and the long nights.

The year's most famous winter event, Dark Mofo in Hobart, ended on 22 June. The Bay of Fires Winter Arts Festival in St Helens, with a sunrise swim and a sand-sculpture competition, was also in June. But July and August have plenty. Tasmania's official tourism site lists the Festival of Voices in Hobart from 3 to 12 July, with a free outdoor singalong in Salamanca; Devonport Jazz from 23 to 26 July; Tasmanian Whisky Week across more than 40 distilleries from 1 to 9 August; and Beaker Street, a science and arts festival with stargazing dinners, from 6 to 17 August in Hobart.

The sensible plan is to base yourself in Hobart, which has a compact waterfront and markets, and to build day trips around the weather. Cradle Mountain gets snow in winter and needs warm layers and a check of conditions before you set out; it is a long drive from Hobart and closer to Launceston, so check distances on a map. Dress for rain, wind and short days, and book a weekend ahead if you want a festival.

For readers from India, winter in July is an inversion of expectations: you will carry a coat, not an umbrella. For all readers, remember that the Australian winter is the cold, dark half of the year; festival programmes are designed around that.

How to go well: check festival dates on organisers' sites, choose locally owned stays, and respect the cultural and environmental rules in national parks. Visitors from many countries need an Australian visa or Electronic Travel Authority; check the official government site.