Australia Itineraries

Four groups run Australia’s domestic network. Qantas is the full-service carrier, with QantasLink on regional routes; Virgin Australia covers the main cities and holiday airports with a similar product and cheaper “Lite” fares without bags; Jetstar, Qantas’s low-cost arm, has the lowest fares and charges for bags, seats and food. Rex (Regional Express) went into administration in July 2024, dropped its jet flights between capital cities and now flies only regional turboprop routes; it was sold to the US company Air T in December 2025. Bonza, the other budget start-up, stopped flying in 2024.

Typical flying times: Sydney-Melbourne 1 hour 30 minutes, Sydney-Cairns 3 hours, Sydney-Ayers Rock (Uluru) about 3 hours 20 minutes, Melbourne-Hobart 1 hour 15 minutes, Sydney-Perth 5 hours. Direct flights to Ayers Rock run from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, with fewer options from Cairns, so build the outback leg around the flight days. Book three to eight weeks ahead and compare one-way fares on each airline; return fares rarely save money.

Long-distance trains are scenic journeys, not transport: the Indian Pacific takes four days and three nights from Sydney to Perth and The Ghan three days from Adelaide to Darwin, both with all-inclusive cabin fares in the thousands. NSW TrainLink’s XPT between Sydney and Melbourne takes about 11 hours.

Campervans suit the Great Ocean Road, Tasmania, the east coast and Western Australia. The big hire firms (Britz, Maui, Apollo, Jucy, Travellers Autobarn) have depots in all the gateway cities; daily rates roughly double between the June to August low season and the Christmas to January peak, and one-way hires add a relocation fee. Relocation deals, where you move a van between depots for a nominal daily rate, are worth checking if your dates are flexible. Powered sites at caravan parks cost about AUD 40-70 a night, national-park campgrounds less, and free camping is only legal where signed; the WikiCamps app lists the options. Rental agreements usually ban unsealed roads and night driving in the outback.

The classic first week: four nights in Sydney including the Blue Mountains, a short flight, and three nights in Melbourne with a day on the coast. Sleep in Sydney around The Rocks, Circular Quay or the CBD near Wynyard, where the ferries and trains meet; in Melbourne, stay in the CBD inside the Free Tram Zone or in Southbank.

The Blue Mountains day is better as an overnight if you can spare it: the light on the Jamison Valley at sunset and sunrise is the reason to go, and a night in Katoomba or Leura costs less than in central Sydney. The Great Ocean Road as a day trip is honestly a long day on a coach, about 550 km round trip; it works, but the 10-day plan’s two-day version is much better. If you would rather not fly, swap Melbourne for a second Sydney-area day in the Royal National Park and a day trip to the Hunter Valley wineries.

Cost: about AUD 1,800-2,800 per person for the week at a mid-range level sharing a room, including the flight to Melbourne, a coach tour and AUD 250-350 hotel rooms; under AUD 1,000 with hostels, supermarket meals and public transport.

Ten days covers the two big cities, the Great Ocean Road at a proper pace and two nights in the Red Centre. The key is flying Melbourne to Ayers Rock and Ayers Rock back to Sydney (or the reverse), so there is no backtracking.

The Great Ocean Road proper runs 243 km from Torquay to Allansford near Warrnambool; Melbourne to the Twelve Apostles is about 275 km along the coast (4 hours without stops) or 230 km and 3 hours back on the inland highway via Colac. Stopping overnight at Apollo Bay or Port Campbell lets you see the Apostles at sunset or early morning, before the tour coaches arrive around 11am.

At Uluru, everything sits inside Ayers Rock Resort at Yulara, 20 km from the rock: Sails in the Desert and Desert Gardens at the top end, the Outback Pioneer Hotel and Lodge for budget rooms and dorms, and a campground. Book months ahead for the winter season. You need a park pass (AUD 38 for three days for adults, bought online at uluru.gov.au) and either a hire car from the airport or the resort shuttle and tours. Climbing Uluru has been banned since October 2019. Note that the Northern Territory does not use daylight saving: from October to April Uluru is 1.5 hours behind Sydney and Melbourne.

The Cairns version: replace days 9 and 10 with Cairns. Fly Melbourne to Cairns (3 hours 15 minutes), spend one full day on an outer reef boat or at Green Island, and a second on the Kuranda Scenic Railway up to Kuranda and the Skyrail cableway back down.

Cost: about AUD 3,500-5,000 per person mid-range, including three flights, three days of car hire with fuel, the park pass and two nights at Yulara (where AUD 400 a night for a standard double is normal). Uluru is the most expensive stop in this guide; the Cairns version saves AUD 300-500.

Two weeks gives each region space, and the triangle of Sydney, the Red Centre and tropical Queensland shows the three Australias most visitors come for. Add Melbourne only if you will drop the Daintree; four regions in 14 days is too many.

The Kings Canyon loop turns the Red Centre into a road trip: a one-way car hire from Ayers Rock to Alice Springs costs extra, but it saves backtracking, and the 6 km Rim Walk is the best walk in the region. Start it at dawn; in hot weather it closes early in the morning. If you do not want to drive, fly Ayers Rock to Cairns directly on a day when the route operates and spend the extra night at Uluru or in Port Douglas.

For the reef, the outer reef sites from Cairns and Port Douglas (Agincourt, Flynn, Norman and the Ribbon Reefs) are clearly better than the closer inner reefs and sand cays; full-day trips cost about AUD 250-350 including lunch and snorkel gear, more with dives. In the November to May stinger season, wear the stinger suit the boat provides and swim inside the nets on the mainland.

Cost: about AUD 5,500-7,500 per person mid-range, including four flights, four days of car hire, two reef trips and the Uluru nights; around AUD 3,500 at a backpacker level with hostels, the Outback Pioneer Lodge and budget reef boats.

The road from Sydney to Cairns is about 2,700 km along the coast, which is too far to drive comfortably in two weeks. The practical version flies over the dull stretches and drives the best ones.

Campervan travellers can drive the whole stretch from Brisbane to Cairns (about 1,700 km) in a one-way hire, but give it at least ten days for that leg alone. The backpacker coaches (Greyhound, Premier) cover the same route with hop-on, hop-off passes.

Tasmania is the best road-trip state for a short trip: distances are small, roads are quiet, and the island packs mountains, beaches, food and convict history into a loop of about 900 km. Fly into Hobart and out of Launceston (or the reverse) to avoid backtracking; the Spirit of Tasmania car ferry from Geelong, an hour from Melbourne, to Devonport takes around 10 hours and is worth it only if you bring your own car or campervan.

Add a day for Bruny Island (ferry from Kettering, 40 minutes south of Hobart) for oysters, cheese and the Neck lookout. Cradle Mountain’s road to Dove Lake is closed to private cars for most of the day in busy periods, with a shuttle bus from the visitor centre; Parks and Wildlife Service passes are required for all national parks, and the holiday pass covers eight weeks.

Cost: about AUD 2,200-3,000 per person mid-range for eight days with car hire, fuel, the parks pass, MONA and Port Arthur entry; book Freycinet and Cradle Mountain lodges early for December to March.

First-timers: keep Sydney on any route; it is the country’s main international gateway and the easiest place to recover from a long-haul flight. Do not try to fit in Perth on a first two-week trip, as it is a five-hour flight from Sydney and works better as its own trip.

Families: slow every plan down by a third. Add the Taronga Zoo ferry in Sydney, the Phillip Island penguin parade from Melbourne (2 hours’ drive), and the Cairns Esplanade lagoon. Reef boats to Green Island or a pontoon on the outer reef suit children who cannot yet snorkel in open water.

Slow travel: with three weeks or more, add Western Australia: Perth, Rottnest Island for the quokkas, the Pinnacles and Margaret River (270 km south of Perth, 3 hours), or the long coastal drive north to Ningaloo and Cape Range National Park, 1,250 km from Perth. The Top End around Darwin, Kakadu and Litchfield is a separate week in the dry season. If you are planning a longer stay, see the Australia digital nomad guide.

Wet season (November to April): in the tropical north, keep flexible reef days, expect closed roads in Kakadu and the Daintree, and stay in Cairns or Port Douglas rather than on remote islands. Summer heat at Uluru: walk before 9am and spend the afternoon indoors. Winter (June to August): it is the best season for the north and Uluru and the worst for Tasmania’s hiking and Victoria’s beaches, so weight the trip northwards.