Australia Itinerary #1 – 14 Days: West & East
Five Days in Perth, Western Australia
As a lot of you know, I’m completely biased towards Perth as it truly is my second home and somewhere I’ve loved for many years. It’s a very livable city, but most of the tourist attractions are outside of the city.
I’d recommend staying two or three nights in Perth (take a look at my
48 Hour Guide to Perth here) with one of those days being on
Rottnest Island, and then head down south to the Margaret River and
Busselton area for a night or two to experience the Karri forests and the amazing wine region.
Top Things To See/Do in Perth
– Stay at
COMO The Treasury
– Go to Cottesloe Beach and have a late lunch at
il Lido
– Enjoy dinner at Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle
– Go to Hamlin Bay to see the giant stingrays
– Watch the sunset from Sugarloaf Rock
Two Days in Sydney
From Perth fly across to
Sydney, it’s a 4 hour flight so I recommend flying with
Virgin Australia so you have a comfy flight. One or two days is enough to get a real flavour of Sydney as a city, like most Aussie cities there isn’t a huge amount to do in the city as most of the really beautiful sights are outside of the CBD area. I’m planning on doing a city guide to Sydney soon as despite living here for over a year I still haven’t done one!
Top Things To See/Do in Sydney
– Get the ferry from the city to Taronga
Zoo or
Manly
– Have a drink at
Opera Bar
– Go for drinks at The Beresford Hotel and Big Poppa’s if you’re in town on a Thurs, Fri, or Sat.
Three Days in Cairns
I went to Cairns back in September and absolutely loved my weekend there! It was a weekend of bliss and relaxing, and it showed me how easy it is to travel up and down the East Coast utilizing the cheap airfares that come up every so often.
I flew up from Sydney on the Saturday and then flew back Monday evening, and I managed to do an incredible
Great Barrier Reef day trip, a half-day trip to the magical
Fitzroy Island, and dined on epic seafood at Dundee’s restaurant. It’s absolutely doable in two or three days, depending on how much you want to see the Daintree Rainforest.
Top Things To See/Do in Cairns
– Stay at the Shangri-La in Cairns
– Head to
Fitzroy Island (where the first photo in this post was taken) for a half-day or day trip
– Have dinner at Dundee’s restaurant (also their brunch is amaze too)
– Dine at Ochre restaurant for crocodile and kangaroo dishes
– Do a day trip up to the Daintree Rainforest
Four Days in Melbourne & Great Ocean Road
I’ve been to
Melbourne twice this year and find it’s a really lovely city for shopping, and relaxing with amazing food and drink. They also have some absolutely epic
rooftop bars and clubs, and because they don’t have lockout laws like Sydney, you don’t have to worry about where you go and what time you go. The
Great Ocean Road is one of Australia’s most famous roadtrips, and is a breathtaking drive full of magical scenery and Koala’s in their natural habitat!
Top Things To See/Do in Melbourne
– Take the old number 35 tram that goes around the city (it’s free!)
– Grab a coffee from one of Melbourne’s famous cafes
– Walk past Flinders Street train station (currently being renovated so there’s lots of scaffolding up)
– Go shopping on Bourke Street and see the most beautiful H&M, EVER
– Dinner at Chin Chin
– Spend two days driving the Great Ocean Road
– Stop off at Bells Beach and keep an eye out for Kangaroos
– Visit Erskine Waterfalls
– Stop off and see the Twelve Apostles
– Keep an eye out for Koalas!
Australia Itinerary #2 – 14 Days: East & Red Centre
Two Days in Sydney
With this itinerary, you can fly into Sydney (a longer flight than Perth from the UK, and slightly more expensive too, but a better option for you Americans coming from the West Coast of the USA). See and do the same things I recommended above 😉
Six Days Roadtripping To Uluru
Fly from Sydney to
Alice Springs airport, and then hire an RV and roadtrip to Uluru! You can’t get to Uluru any other way (apart from by helicopter), so I’m afraid you’re gonna have to suck it up and drive. It’s a fair ole way so stop off at some epic natural wonders on the way. And remember, always carry PLENTY of food and water (aka, dozens of huge litre bottles) when you’re roadtripping in Australia, and always fill up with fuel whenever you see a fuel stop.
Things To See/Do in Northern Territory
– Stop off at Kings Canyon
– Stop off at Glen Helen Gorge
– Stop off at Stanley Chasm
– See Uluru! (and please be respectful and don’t climb it)
– See The Olgas (aka, Kata Tjuta)
Two Days in Cairns
From Alice Springs fly over to Cairns. Stick to the above ‘Things To See/Do’ list, but I’d recommend choosing either the Fitzroy Island day trip (pictured below) or the Daintree Rainforest day trip, depending on whether you prefer ocean and beautiful beaches, or rainforest and crocodiles.
Four Days in Melbourne & Great Ocean Road
Fly from Cairns down the Melbourne, and follow the ‘Things To See/Do’ list above 🙂
Important Things To Remember When Visiting Australia
Seasons in Australia
The seasons in Australia are opposite to the Northern Hemisphere. So when it’s summer in the UK and USA, it’s winter in Australia…and then of course during your winter it’s our summer.
However, in
Queensland it’s even more confusing, as they only have two seasons; wet and dry, because it’s a tropical region. The summer months in Queensland are when
the box jellyfish are in the ocean, but you can still swim safely – just wear a stinger suit that the boat company will offer you when you do your Great Barrier Reef day trip.
The Weather in Australia
The weather in Australia during the summer months can be incredibly hot. The East Coast is very humid, while the West Coast has a much dryer heat. In Melbourne you can easily get
four seasons in one day, so be prepared for rain as well as heat, and Sydney also typically have quite wet summers.
Perth is dry most of the year, and is VERY hot in summer (up into the high 30s and 40s). Winter across Australia is much colder than people think (we get
snow up in the mountains near Melbourne), so if you visit during winter bring a coat and boots and be prepared.
Wildlife in Australia
Australia is famous for its wildlife; both cuddly and deadly. If you see any wildlife at all, DO NOT approach it, and do not touch it. They are wild creatures, they’re not there for you to poke and take selfies with (althuough the Quokka’s on Rottnest love a selfie). This is especially important for any ocean-life such as
turtles, stingrays, and fish, and any snakes and spiders. Also, drop bears. They’re evil koalas that will jump on you and gash your throat open.
Currency & Money in Australia
In Australia we have the Australian Dollar (AUD). Australia is typically quite expensive, especially food and drink (but it’s all incredibly fresh and high quality). Always carry some cash on you just in case.
Australian shops and cafes etc accept most major credit cards, however a lot of them don’t accept AMEX. So always bring a Visa or Mastercard as well as an American Express card. Also ‘contactless’ is called ‘paypass’ in Australia.
Australian banks typically charge you a $2 fee to withdraw your own money (yes, even if you bank with that ATM’s bank), so just be careful of the high fees and try not to withdraw too much cash.
Public Transport in Australia
Public transport is different in every state and city. In Perth you’ll need a Smartrider card, in Melbourne you’ll need a Myki, and in Sydney you’ll need an Opal card. You need all of these cards to ride on the public transport in each city. In Cairns Ubers are so cheap and Cairns is so small that you may as well just get an uber everywhere (or walk)!
Read my other Australia travel guides:
*This post is a collaboration with Flight Centre, all views, Australia-love, and itineraries are my own
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This is such a great starting point – I've always wanted to go to Australia but have always put it off until I had a bit longer. With the new direct flights coming, I am very tempted by itinerary 1. Or maybe finding 3 weeks and doing both 🙂
What an epic two week trip that would be! I really want to visit again and see different areas – especially Cairns and Uluru, as I didn't get to visit last year!
Reena
http://www.lifestyleenthusiast.co.uk
Oh, I absolutely loved this! Australia's my dream place to visit, but because of work I'd probably only have around 2 weeks to play with at a time. I'd love to see Sydney, Cairns and Uluru at the very least, so these itineraries sound so doable. Bookmarking for when it's finally my time to go!