Australia itinerary, day by day

From Sydney Harbour to the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru and the Great Ocean Road out of Melbourne: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 7, 10 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: March to May and September to November

Sydney · Photo Khoi Pham / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Australia in 7 days

2 stops · 11 things to do · flights

1Sydney

Days 1-4

An opera house finished in 1973 and a steel arch bridge from 1932, on one of the great natural harbours. The city grew around water rather than around a square.

🎟️ Worth booking

Sydney Opera House, guided tour2h · from €35
Inside the shells, with the story of a design that took sixteen years to build and ran fourteen times over budget.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Harbour Bridge climbHalf day · from €180
Up the steel arch to 134 metres above the water, harnessed to the structure the whole way.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Bondi Beach and the coastal walk · The Opera House and Circular Quay · The Rocks · Royal Botanic Garden

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Wake Up! Sydney (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Ovolo Woolloomooloo (€220 a night) · Luxury: Park Hyatt Sydney (€650 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

NOUR ↗ ★ 4.8 · 3330 reviews · €€€
Jane Surry Hills ↗ ★ 4.8 · 884 reviews
Oborozuki ↗ ★ 4.8 · 451 reviews
BISTECCA ↗ ★ 4.7 · 2137 reviews · €€€
Bouillon L'Entrecôte ↗ ★ 4.7 · 2024 reviews

Photo Khoi Pham / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 3h · to Cairns

2The Great Barrier Reef, from Cairns

Days 5-7

Around 2,300 kilometres of coral, the largest reef system on earth and the only living structure visible from orbit. Cairns is the usual door to it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Diving or snorkelling on the reefFull day · from €120
A day boat out to the outer reef, where the coral is in better condition than anything close to shore.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Seaplane flight over the reef1h · from €250
An hour above the coral, and the only way to take in Heart Reef and the shape of the whole system.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Cairns Esplanade · Daintree rainforest · Tropical beaches

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Gilligan's Cairns (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Pacific Hotel Cairns (€110 a night) · Luxury: Hilton Cairns (€170 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Rufus ↗ ★ 4.9 · 110 reviews
Yaya’s Hellenic Kitchen and Bar ↗ ★ 4.8 · 3090 reviews · €€
KOI Bar & Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 480 reviews
FINN FINN ↗ ★ 4.8 · 242 reviews
Hecho En Mexico Cairns ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1916 reviews · €€

Photo Anna-Lena Niesen / Pexels

Australia in 10 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · flights

1Sydney

Days 1-3

An opera house finished in 1973 and a steel arch bridge from 1932, on one of the great natural harbours. The city grew around water rather than around a square.

🎟️ Worth booking

Sydney Opera House, guided tour2h · from €35
Inside the shells, with the story of a design that took sixteen years to build and ran fourteen times over budget.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Harbour Bridge climbHalf day · from €180
Up the steel arch to 134 metres above the water, harnessed to the structure the whole way.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Bondi Beach and the coastal walk · The Opera House and Circular Quay · The Rocks · Royal Botanic Garden

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Wake Up! Sydney (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Ovolo Woolloomooloo (€220 a night) · Luxury: Park Hyatt Sydney (€650 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Khoi Pham / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 3h · to Cairns

2The Great Barrier Reef, from Cairns

Days 4-5

Around 2,300 kilometres of coral, the largest reef system on earth and the only living structure visible from orbit. Cairns is the usual door to it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Diving or snorkelling on the reefFull day · from €120
A day boat out to the outer reef, where the coral is in better condition than anything close to shore.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Seaplane flight over the reef1h · from €250
An hour above the coral, and the only way to take in Heart Reef and the shape of the whole system.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Cairns Esplanade · Daintree rainforest · Tropical beaches

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Gilligan's Cairns (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Pacific Hotel Cairns (€110 a night) · Luxury: Hilton Cairns (€170 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Anna-Lena Niesen / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 2h45 · Red Centre

3Uluru and the red desert

Days 6-7

A sandstone monolith standing 348 metres above the plain, sacred to the Anangu who have lived around it for tens of thousands of years. Climbing it has been banned since October 2019.

🎟️ Worth booking

Uluru at sunrise, with Anangu cultureHalf day · from €60
The rock as the first light hits it, then the stories and the rock art read by people who grew up with them.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Field of Light dinnerEvening · from €190
Dinner in the open desert beside 50,000 solar stems, installed as a temporary work in 2016 and kept ever since.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Uluru at sunset · Kata Tjuta · The desert night sky · The cultural centre

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Desert Gardens Hotel (€230 a night) · Luxury: Sails in the Desert (€280 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Arnguli Grill & Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.5 · 207 reviews
Kulata Academy Cafe ↗ ★ 4.3 · 456 reviews
Ilkari Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.3 · 322 reviews
Bough House Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.1 · 113 reviews
Mangata Bistro & Bar ↗ ★ 4 · 372 reviews

Photo Jonas Schallenberg / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 2h30 · heading south

4Melbourne & Great Ocean Road

Days 8-10

Laneways, coffee and repainted murals, and the start of the Great Ocean Road, built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932.

🎟️ Worth booking

Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles, guidedFull day · from €90
Two hundred kilometres of coast road to the limestone stacks. Eight of the twelve are still standing.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Laneways and coffee walkHalf day · from €30
The alleys behind the main streets, their walls repainted every few weeks, and the cafés that built the city reputation.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Laneway street art · Queen Victoria Market · St Kilda Beach · The Twelve Apostles

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Space Hotel Melbourne (€40 a night) · Mid-range: The Hotel Windsor (€200 a night) · Luxury: Crown Towers Melbourne (€420 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

The George on Collins ↗ ★ 4.7 · 4682 reviews · €€
La Cucina Melbourne ↗ ★ 4.7 · 3937 reviews
Cha Ching ↗ ★ 4.7 · 2481 reviews
Vue de monde ↗ ★ 4.7 · 2348 reviews · €€€€
Philippe ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1916 reviews · €€€

Photo Derek Hem / Pexels

Australia in 14 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · flights

1Sydney

Days 1-4

An opera house finished in 1973 and a steel arch bridge from 1932, on one of the great natural harbours. The city grew around water rather than around a square.

🎟️ Worth booking

Sydney Opera House, guided tour2h · from €35
Inside the shells, with the story of a design that took sixteen years to build and ran fourteen times over budget.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Harbour Bridge climbHalf day · from €180
Up the steel arch to 134 metres above the water, harnessed to the structure the whole way.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Bondi Beach and the coastal walk · The Opera House and Circular Quay · The Rocks · Royal Botanic Garden

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Wake Up! Sydney (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Ovolo Woolloomooloo (€220 a night) · Luxury: Park Hyatt Sydney (€650 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Khoi Pham / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 3h · to Cairns

2The Great Barrier Reef, from Cairns

Days 5-7

Around 2,300 kilometres of coral, the largest reef system on earth and the only living structure visible from orbit. Cairns is the usual door to it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Diving or snorkelling on the reefFull day · from €120
A day boat out to the outer reef, where the coral is in better condition than anything close to shore.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Seaplane flight over the reef1h · from €250
An hour above the coral, and the only way to take in Heart Reef and the shape of the whole system.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Cairns Esplanade · Daintree rainforest · Tropical beaches

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Gilligan's Cairns (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Pacific Hotel Cairns (€110 a night) · Luxury: Hilton Cairns (€170 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Anna-Lena Niesen / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 2h45 · Red Centre

3Uluru and the red desert

Days 8-9

A sandstone monolith standing 348 metres above the plain, sacred to the Anangu who have lived around it for tens of thousands of years. Climbing it has been banned since October 2019.

🎟️ Worth booking

Uluru at sunrise, with Anangu cultureHalf day · from €60
The rock as the first light hits it, then the stories and the rock art read by people who grew up with them.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Field of Light dinnerEvening · from €190
Dinner in the open desert beside 50,000 solar stems, installed as a temporary work in 2016 and kept ever since.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Uluru at sunset · Kata Tjuta · The desert night sky · The cultural centre

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Desert Gardens Hotel (€230 a night) · Luxury: Sails in the Desert (€280 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jonas Schallenberg / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 2h30 · heading south

4Melbourne & Great Ocean Road

Days 10-14

Laneways, coffee and repainted murals, and the start of the Great Ocean Road, built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932.

🎟️ Worth booking

Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles, guidedFull day · from €90
Two hundred kilometres of coast road to the limestone stacks. Eight of the twelve are still standing.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Laneways and coffee walkHalf day · from €30
The alleys behind the main streets, their walls repainted every few weeks, and the cafés that built the city reputation.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Laneway street art · Queen Victoria Market · St Kilda Beach · The Twelve Apostles

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Space Hotel Melbourne (€40 a night) · Mid-range: The Hotel Windsor (€200 a night) · Luxury: Crown Towers Melbourne (€420 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Derek Hem / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Barbecue and seafood: prawns, barramundi and oysters.
Meat pie: the national snack, eaten standing up.
Vegemite: a salt yeast paste on toast, spread thin if you want to finish it.
Lamingtons and pavlova, the two desserts this country argues over.
Flat white: the coffee this corner of the world gave everyone else.

⚠️ What to avoid

The sun is harsh: sunscreen, a hat and shade, even under cloud.
Swim between the flags, and take the current and jellyfish warnings literally.
Distances are enormous: plan fuel, water and how tired you will be.
Do not feed the wildlife, and keep your distance from it.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Australia guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Australia, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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