Australia is a bucket list travel destination for millions of people around the world. It has spectacular, ancient landscapes, pristine natural environments and vibrant cities, and offers a lifetime of adventures for visitors and citizens alike. In this Australia Travel Guide, I’ve curated an overview of travelling to Australia, with recommendations on the best places to visit in Australia, the best things to do, when to go, and itineraries based on how long your trip is. From seeing the Sydney Opera House to snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, to Melbourne’s laneways to South Australia’s world-class wine regions, to the endless beaches of the Gold Coast, there is everything you need to plan your first, or next trip to Australia.

It is a very special place, and I’m also lucky enough to call Australia home!

The flight to Australia might be long, but the flight isn’t forever. The flight is for a day and the jetlag is for a few, but the memories will last a lifetime!

How much time do you need to visit Australia?

Australia is an enormous country, so you could spend three months travelling from coast to coast and still won’t see it “all”. Instead of rushing around trying to tick everything off the list, take as much time as you can and then go as slow as you can. I’d recommend picking no more than a few states to cover in one trip.

If you’re visiting from the northern hemisphere, given the time it will take to get here you may as well try and stay for at least two weeks. 3-4 weeks would be an amazing first trip, but two weeks are better than none!

Two Weeks in Australia

In two weeks in Australia, you could experience the highlights of the east coast of Australia, plus either a trip to the Barossa Valley Wine region or Uluru, if you have a couple of extra days. You could start in Cairns to visit the Great Barrier Reef, and then work your way south through Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne.

Read More: Two Weeks in Australia for First Time Visitors

Four Weeks in Australia

In four weeks, or a month in Australia, you can afford an extra day or so in major cities and still see extra destinations. In a month, you can visit Brisbane, Cairns OR the Whitsundays, the Gold Coast, Sydney, Adelaide & the Barossa Valley, Melbourne, Tasmania and the Great Ocean Road. An epic adventure!

Read more: Itinerary for One Month in Australia (East Coast)

The Best Places to Visit in Australia

Australia’s vibrant cities

Australia’s major cities manage to offer a blend of culture and entertainment with natural beauty and laidback living.

Sydney and Melbourne are Australia’s largest and most exciting cities, and I’d recommend at visiting at least one on your first trip to Australia. Visit both if you can – they’re very different! Sydney is known for its sunshine & beach lifestyle, and Melbourne is known as the food & cultural capital of Australia.

Brisbane and Perth were once regarded as large country towns, but in the last decade they’ve blossomed into thriving, dynamic cities well worth a visit. Brisbane is the capital of Queensland, and a great place to spend a couple of days before exploring the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast. Perth is on the opposite side of Australia, and has beautiful beaches, as well as access to Rottnest Island and charming Fremantle.

Hobart and Adelaide are some of Australia’s smallest but most charming capital cities, and are both cultural hotspots. Visit Adelaide for the Adelaide Fringe Festival, or as a base before exploring world-class wine regions like the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. Hobart is the capital of Australia’s island state, Tasmania, which is one of the most beautiful parts of the country.

Explore More: The 8 Coolest Cities to Visit in Australia

Queensland’s Tropics: Cairns & Great Barrier Reef

Discover some of Australia’s most famous natural wonders in the tropical Cairns & Great Barrier Reef region. Visit UNESCO World Heritage sites, the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest, and stay in Cairns, Port Douglas or Palm Cove.

Australia’s Best Islands

The Whitsundays is the number one island destination in Australia. This is a group of 74 islands off the coast of Queensland, and home to dazzling Whitehaven Beach. The best islands to stay on in the Whitsundays are Hamilton Island, Hayman Island and Daydream Island.

Rottnest Island is a stunning island, just off the coast from Perth in Western Australia. Rottnest Island is the only place in Australia to spot quokkas in the wild, and is car-free island. Visit on a day trip from Perth via the ferry, or stay overnight at the luxurious Samphire Rottnest Island.

Laidback Australian Beach Towns

Australia is famous for its laidback beach towns, which dot the coastline all over the country.

The Gold Coast is Australia’s #1 beach town, and has grown from a sleepy string of beach suburbs into a thriving major city. The Gold Coast is home to some of the best beaches in Australia, like Burleigh Beach and Main Beach, as well as national parks like Burleigh Heads National Park and Springbrook National Park.

Read More: The Ultimate Gold Coast Travel Guide

Noosa and Byron Bay are Australia’s most popular beach towns, even if they can get a little crowded during peak season. Noosa is the most popular holiday spot on the Sunshine Coast, which is north of Brisbane and surrounded by other smaller beach towns like Caloundra and Mooloolaba. Byron Bay was once a hippie enclave, but today swells with holidaymakers and sea-changers, and is within driving distance of Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

The Great Ocean Road is dotted with lovely beach towns like Lorne, Torquay and Port Campbell, which make perfect stops during a Great Ocean Road road trip, departing from Melbourne.

Read More: Great Ocean Road Travel Guide

Charming Country Towns

Travel inland in Australia and you’ll find dozens of charming country towns. Particularly in New South Wales and Victoria, there are lots of historic towns with beautiful streets, lovely gardens and museums and delicious farm-to-table restaurants and wine bars that showcase the nearest wine regions.

Daylesford and Beechworth are some of the most charming country towns in Victoria, and make a lovely weekend getaway from Melbourne.

Hahndorf is a quaint, 19th century village in the Adelaide Hills, and is perfect as part of a day trip from Adelaide.

Read more: The Most Charming Country Towns in Australia

The Best Things to Do in Australia

Visit the Great Barrier Reef & Daintree Rainforest

There is literally nowhere else in the world where you can see two UNESCO World Heritage Sites at the same time. Don’t miss Queensland‘s tropics for some of the most spectacular natural scenery on earth.

Ancient ecological treasures, the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest are some of the most important living ecosystems on earth, not to mention also some of the most beautiful.

Visit Uluru

Uluru is a sacred site for Australia’s First Nations peoples and a national icon. It is extremely remote, so visiting it requires a lot of forward planning & it won’t come cheap, but it’s unlike anywhere else on earth. The only inclusion on this list I haven’t visited personally yet, but it would be totally remiss not to include it – it is at the top of my Australian Bucket List! Make sure to stay at accommodation close to Uluru, like Ayers Rock Resort or the ultra-luxurious Longitude 131. Don’t stay in Alice Springs, it is a five-hour drive away from Uluru.

Drive the Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road is the #1 scenic drive in Australia, and starts a couple of hours outside of Melbourne. It’s most famous for the Twelve Apostles (pictured), but there is lots more to see, from famous surf spot Bells Beach, to waterfalls in Great Otways National Park, to Loch Ard Gorge and spotting koalas in Kennett River.

There are day tours available from Melbourne but I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re able to hire a car instead, and take the trip over a few days – you’ll be rewarded with enough time to enjoy the walks, many scenic sights and beach towns if you do.

Read More: Great Ocean Road Travel Guide

Learn from Australia’s First Nations Peoples

Australia is often mislabelled as a young country, when in fact it is just a young Federation. It is an ancient country and has been home to Aboriginal peoples for 65,000 years. There are hundreds of Aboriginal Peoples, with distinct culture, history, language and customs. When you visit Australia, take the opportunity to learn from people who are part of the oldest civilisation in the world through an Aboriginal Australian owned or led tour or excursion.

Visit the best beaches in the world

Australia has more than 10,000 beaches, more than any other country in the world! There are jaw-dropping beaches to visit in every state of Australia, so no matter where you visit, you’ll be able to squeeze in a visit to at least a few. My favourite Australian beaches are Cottesloe Beach in Perth, Burleigh on the Gold Coast and Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays.

Read More: The Best Beaches in Australia

Experience Australia’s World-Class Wine Regions

With 65 distinct wine regions, Australia is one of the best countries for wine tourism in the world. Australia’s best wine regions are in the southern half of the country – South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia. I’ve visited dozens of Australian wine regions, and they have always been spectacularly beautiful, laidback and welcoming.

The Barossa Valley is Australia’s top wine region, and is easily reached by car from Adelaide. It’s well worth spending a couple of days in beautiful Barossa wine country!

Read More: The Best Wineries in the Barossa Valley

The Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula are two of Victoria’s best wine regions, and both are accessible on a day trip from Melbourne. In the Yarra Valley, you’ve got beautiful countryside and the hills of the Dandenong Ranges, and on the Mornington Peninsula you’ve got beautiful beaches and natural hot springs to complement your trip.

Read More: The Best Wineries in the Yarra Valley & The Best Wineries on the Mornington Peninsula

Eating & Drinking in Australia

Best Australian Restaurants

Australia is blessed with spectacular product, and has a thriving restaurant scene which spans from the big cities to stand-out regional culinary destinations.

For a five-star dining experience, secure a table at Attica in Melbourne, which is the highest ranking restaurant in Australia on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, our make a reservation at one of the best restaurants in Melbourne like Gimlet or Grossi Florentino.

In Sydney, some of the best restaurants include Quay, Bennelong and Saint Peter, although the famous Bondi Icebergs is hard to pass up.

In Brisbane, book a table at Agnes or SK Steak Oyster, or check out my complete list of the best restaurants in Brisbane.

Classic Australian Dishes

The debate about what is Australian cuisine continues, but there are a few classic dishes which are widely agreed on.

Fish & chips might have hailed from England, but every Aussie beach town will have a take away fish and chip shop, perfect for bringing a picnic dinner to the beach.

The chicken parma is an Australian pub classic, and can be found at every pub in Australia. A chicken parma is a chicken schnitzel, layered with cheese, ham and napoli, and served with chips and salad.

Salt & pepper calamari is a favourite Australian starter, especially at pubs and casual bars. You’ll see why!

Lamingtons are an Australian bakery classic, and you’ll find them at any “old school” bakery. They’re a national treasure!

The best time of year to visit Australia

Most of Australia can be visited year-round. The only exception is the Queensland’s tropics, including Cairns & the Great Barrier Reef region and the Northern Territory, which have a wet season and a dry season. You’ll definitely want to visit in Dry Season!

Because we’re in the southern hemisphere, the northern part of the country is hot and tropical, and the southern part of the country is the coldest, more or less.

Summer: December-February

Summer in Australia is the perfect time of year for beach hopping! This is a great time of year to travel in Australia’s southeast and southern destinations, including Brisbane, Gold Coast & Sunshine Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania and Perth.

Most of Australia will be hot, especially Queensland and WA.  Melbourne’s summer can be hit and miss, but can reach 40 C with a dry heat during summer heatwaves.

Summer is bushfire season, so it’s worth assessing the risk of bushfires & planning accordingly if you’re travelling to regional locations, especially to national or state parks.

Tasmania has cooler summers, but it’s still peak season as it is as warm as it is going to get.

The Australian Open is also held every January in Melbourne, and is a must-visit event for tennis fans – I’ve been three times!

Autumn: March-May

Autumn is a beautiful time to visit Australia, with milder weather. If you’re looking for autumnal foliage, head south to explore Melbourne & regional Victoria or Tasmania.

Queensland doesn’t have clearly defined seasons, so it might not look like your idea of autumn, but you’ll have beautiful, clear days and comfortably warm days in the southeast.

This is still a great time to visit most parts of Australia. Wet season in the northern tropics ends in April, so aim for May if you’re heading north.

Victoria is at its most beautiful in Autumn, and Melbourne comes alive with it’s busiest period of festivals and events including the International Melbourne Comedy Festival and the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.

Winter: June-August

If you’re looking to escape winter in the northern hemisphere, you’re in luck! This is a beautiful time of year to explore Australia’s warmest & sunniest states; Queensland, Northern Territory & WA.

Plan to visit Australian icons like the Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree Rainforest, Uluru, Kakadu and Broome in Australia’s winter, if you can.

If you’re looking for a summer holiday, head to the Whitsunday Islands or beach hop on the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast or cross the border into Byron Bay & northern New South Wales. Evenings will be cool, but a tropical winter’s day is beautiful.

It’s also whale watching season in Australia! You can go whale watching all over the east coast from May-November. Whale watching is the most amazing wildlife experience I’ve ever had, it’s a magical day out. Brisbane, Hervey Bay and Sydney all have day trip cruises available.

You can find snow in Australia in winter – head to the Australian Alps and ski fields in regional Victoria and New South Wales for destinations like Mt Hotham, Perisher, Thredbo and more.

Victoria & Tasmania are cold in winter, but you won’t get snow in Melbourne or Hobart.

Spring: September-November

Spring in Australia is gorgeous, with warm weather around most of the country. Melbourne and Tasmania can have a slow, cool start to spring. Southeast Queensland & New South Wales are blanketed in purple blossoms during jacaranda season, which is one of my favourite times of year in Brisbane.

Spring is generally mild, so while you’ll need a jacket in the southern half of the country, this is a great time to go just about anywhere. Keep in mind that wet season start in November, so try to get to the tropics in early-mid spring if you’re heading north

Language & Currency

English is the national language of Australia, and we use the Australian Dollar (AUD). The great news for most international travellers, especially those with USD, Euro or GBP, is that the Australian dollar is a weak currency. Your money will go far!

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