How to Visit Australia on a Two Week Vacation
So you want to know how to visit Australia on only two weeks vacation time?
First of all, lets talk about some facts about Australia to put into perspective how you need to go about planning your trip with just two weeks at your disposal.
Many travelers disregard the actual size of Australia and it’s landscape until they arrive, and end up regretting the choices they made in the planning stage.
I once had a British guy complain to me that he took a bus from Perth to Sydney and that it wasted several days of his trip and all he saw was desert. A little planning, and common knowledge, would tell you this!
Australia is Massive
In fact, it’s the sixth biggest country in the world and about the same size as mainland USA.
Australia’s coastline stretches almost 50,000 kilometres and is linked by over 10,000 beaches. If you were to drive through the centre from Sydney to Perth, a 4,000 kilometre trip and you drove for 8 hours per day, that’s a five day trip!
We have a cattle station in South Australia the size of Belgium, and the world’s longest continuous fence – the dingo fence – built to keep sheep safe that runs for 5,530 kilometres through central Queensland and South Australia.
So, considering Australia is so vast, the problem becomes how to visit Australia in a short amount of time, and where to visit?
A Once-In-A-Lifetime-Trip
Because Australia is fairly isolated from most of the world requiring a long flight, for many people it becomes a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
After spending four years living in the USA I had so many people say to me…“Australia would be my dream trip, but it’s so far away, and I only get two weeks vacation per year”.
So the scenario usually plays out like this: those type of people never come, OR, because it’s their “once-in-a-lifetime trip” they want to cram everything into that two weeks and “see it all”, but in reality they see a lot of airports and the back of the seat in front of them.
Spend More Time in Fewer Places
Whether we are visitng a continent or a country, our motto is always “spend more time in fewer places“.
We highly recommend instead of racing from one end of a country to another, focus on one region or type of vacation.
Having to pack and unpack, deal with many airports, bus terminals, or lots of long road trips can lead to burn out and waste precious time. And too much moving around can really eat into your budget.
So slow down and take more in. That way you’ll get a better feel for a place and get to know the best things to do. Understand that you will never have time to see EVERYTHING. And be okay with it.
Just like if we were to travel from Australia to the US with only a two week time period we would concentrate on say California, or do a region like Los Angeles-Las Vegas-Grand Canyon.
We wouldn’t go from west coast to east coast and back. That’s the mentality you have to have with Australia.
Where to Visit in Australia?
With only two weeks up your sleeve, and this being your trip of a lifetime, you want to make sure you prioritize the things you really want to see and the type of travel most suited to you.
When considering any trip, but particulary one such as this, there are some important questions you need to ask yourself:
- Do I want more cities or country areas?
- Coastal or the outback?
- Adventure travel or relaxation?
- Aboriginal Experiences or food and wine?
- Wildlife and Nature or you want to party?
The answers to these questions are important, because they will go a long way towards making sure you give yourself the best chance to have a richly rewarding travel experience
Sydney’s million dollar harbour
Types of Experiences
You can pretty much do and see it all in Australia.
We have vibrant cities, quaint country towns, world class wine regions, ancient rainforests, mountains to hike, amazing reefs to dive, stunning beaches for swimming, deserts to explore, and unique wildlife.
There really is something for everyone.
But, with only two weeks travel time, you really need to focus on one, maybe two types of experiences. Below are examples of the types of experiences you could choose individually, or combine two of them togethor…
Major Cities
If you are after a city style vacation Australia has modern, vibrant, and diverse cities unique from each other filled with culture and natural beauty.
- On the east coast we have the major cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane as well as the smaller cities of the Gold Coast and Cairns.
- Down south is Adelaide and Hobart.
- Over on the west coast is Perth and Broome.
- Up north is Darwin
- and in the red centre is Alice Springs.
Perth, Western Australia
Australia’s major cities showcase its outdoor lifestyle, multicultural precincts, shops, theatres, bars, cafe scene, and sporting culture.
Cruising on Sydney Harbour
Food and Wine Experiences
For a food and wine vacation you are well catered to downunder.
We have world class wine regions such as the Barossa Valley in South Australia, the Hunter Valley in NSW, and Margaret River in Western Australia.
Or, you can drop into a country pub where you’ll be welcomed by the locals and can try one of their boutique beers.
You can also try our amazing seafood, kangaroo steak, or experience many of our farmers markets with their organic fruit and vegetables, cheeses and chocolates.
Margaret River, Western Australia
sample craft beers – Eagle Bay Brewery, Margaret River
our famous seafood – Rottnest Island, Perth
Coastal Experiences
Australia is the island nation, so a coastal vacation is a popular option. With a stunning coastline of white sandy beaches and abundant water activites, Australia is the iconic beach destination.
You can swim, sail, surf, kayak, dive, snorkel, go boating, parasail, sandboard, and then end the day with a beach BBQ. Highlights could include:
- Taking in the sunset on camel back along Cable Beach at Broome, Western Australia
- Learning to surf on the Gold Coast or Byron Bay
- Scuba-dive shipwrecks
- Swim with dolphins
- Whale watch
- 4wd on Fraser island or the Gibb River Road
- Eating fish and chips at Bondi beach
With the majority of Australia’s population living near the seaboard, the coastal lifestyle is where it’s at.
Gold Coast, Queensland
Learn to surf all over Australia
The Outback
An outback vacation is a vacation to Australia’s red centre and heartland. It’s where you experience the real vastness and dramatic landscapes of Australia.
Experience life under the stars or on a cattle station, go horseriding, camping, and sing songs around the campfire. You can marvel at waterholes, rivers, gorges and creeks that make their way through our massive outback deserts.
A visit to the outback is something quite unique and I would encourage most travelers to put on their list.
Aboriginal Experiences
To have an aboriginal experience would mean spending time with the world’s most ancient living culture. Aboriginal Australians are said to have been on the Island for at least 50,000 years.
Experience first hand their culture through myths and storytelling, dance and music, art and traditions. You could:
- view ancient rock engravings and paintings
- Witness ceremonies, dance and song dating back thousands of years
- Visit important spiritual centres with local guides who will tell you stories about the Dreamtime
- Learn bush survival skills
- Taste the world’s oldest cuisine
- Support Indigenous tourism entrepreneurs and help create sustainable employment
indigenous tour of Kings Park, Perth
Wildlife and Nature
Australia is a great destination for a wildlife and Nature Experience. From tropical rainforests to red-stone deserts, the wildlife that inhabits these areas are unique and diverse.
Get up close and personal with Kangaroos, Koalas, whales, turtles, seals, and saltwater crocodiles. Take a trek through the mountains or walk on a canopy of trees in an ancient forest, or go four-wheel-driving on the world’s largest sand island, Fraser island.
Meet a Koala
Adventure
If you’d like a bit of an adventure on your vacation, then Australia is tough to beat.
There’s white water rafting trips, camel and surfing safaris, crocodile spotting, diving, bicycle tours, horseback adventures, kayaking expeditions, and week-long coastal walks.
There’s also camping and four-wheel-driving adventures such as the Gibb River Road in Western Australia, or for the ultimate Outback experience try a two or four-day journey by camel through the amazing Flinders Ranges.
week long Cape-to-Cape track, Western Australia
Suggested Itineries
The following suggestions are for a two – three week period, and they take in the types of vacations mentioned above, or a combintion of them. They are merely ideas to be used as a guide and further planning and research is encouraged.
Of course your mode of transport and the distance you travel within Austrlia will affect how much time you have available in each place or region.
You could visit:
- Melbourne and Tasmania
- Sydney, Melbourne, Alice Springs/Uluru
- Brisbane, Gold Coast, Byron Bay
- Brisbane, Fraser Island, Cairns
- Perth, Broome, Margaret River
- Sydney, Adelaide, Alice Springs/Uluru
- Darwin, Alice Springs/Uluru, Cairns
- Brisbane, Cairns, Alice Springs/Uluru
- Sydney, Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley
- Adelaide, Barossa Valley, Alice Springs
- Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road.
- Broome and the Gibb River Road
- Sydney and the Pacific Highway to Brisbane
Of course these aren’t the only combinations, and to be perfectly honest I could easily spend the whole two weeks in Sydney and Melbourne and still run out of time to do things there!
Where Are You Flying From?
Once again, because your vacation time is short, you want to be smart with your flights by choosing the closest destinations to your origin to save time.
If you are coming into Australia from North America it would make sense to concentrate on the east coast and red centre. If you are coming in from the UK or Asia you may be better off hitting the west coast.
You need to weigh up the pros and cons of how practical your destination choices are. There’s no point spending a good chunk of your vacation time in airports and on planes.
Don’t come to Australia just for the sake of being able to say you’ve been there. Because if you race around trying to see a million things you will end up leaving feeling like you need another vacation.
Give yourself time to absorb your experiences and create life long memories, not memories of planes and packing.
Have you visited Australia?
What tips could you add?
This post is brought to you by Aussie Experiences
Check out Aussie Experiences who are specialists in Australian travel and can help you organise and make your once-in-a-lifetime trip a reality.
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Craig
Craig Makepeace is the co-founder of yTravel Blog and has been traveling and living around the world since 2002, first with his wife Caz, and now with his two daughters Kalyra and Savannah. Don't miss his 9 best tips to help you travel more. Follow him on Google+
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81 comments on “How to Visit Australia on a Two Week Vacation”
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Hi! We’re Caz and Craig…
Our blog is about helping you to get inspired & informed to go travel, & travel more often Read On
Out standing article! Plenty of content that flows to keep the reader interested, including myself. Which means I also have a couple of questions.
Kangaroo Steak? I also assumed they were protected. This would be interesting chow!
Is there an historical museum? I do know a bit how Australia came about, but became more interested when I read that our 13 Colonies were also populated by a large number of British “Transport” ships. The article when into detail about your History, but I was left wanting more.
I totally agree about spending more time in fewer places. The culture sinks in, where as if you rush,it’s like your trying to set a goal. You will never enjoy the experience that way.
Thank you Kevin! Love your enthusiastic response.
Their meat is one of the best animal meats you can eat. It is high in iron and very low in fat. It has a strong flavour but is really delish. A marinade such as bush plum is outstanding on it.
Kangaroos aren’t protected. In fact we have too many numbers of them and they sometimes have to be culled
Sydney has many museums that will show our history. there is the Rocks Area, which is the place of the first white colony. There are free museums here and we highly recommend staying at the Sydney YHA at the Rocks- you can read more here
http://www.ytravelblog.com/sydney-harbour-yha-the-rocks/
Great post! I totally agree that you can’t think of Australia as just one destination. It’s a country with vast difference in each region. Thanks for the idea on itineraries. This is something we want to plan in the near future.
Awesome Amy! Glad you find it useful and are planning to come Down Under. Your family will love it. Caz recently had a week in Sydney, and even though we have grown up in the area, she did all this amazing things she hasn’t done before and just loved being in the city as a traveller. One of the world’s best.
Awesome post! I’ve only spent about a week in OZ – less than 2 days in Sydney, and about 5 days visiting my uncle who lives in Perth. Definitely not enough time, but I know for sure I’ll be back someday!
Wow a week is little, but as you have proven you can have a good time regardless. And it has motivated you to come back and see more.
Good article guys,
Is that the Feral craft brewery just south of Perth?
Thanks mate! It’s Eagle Bay Brewery near Margerat River
Yallingup WA, this is my idea of God’s Country…. the favourite place on this earth that I have yet to lay eyes on!
Great post
It was an amazing place. I only wish I had more time there. Stunning beach location
I sent this to my friend! Her dream destination is Australia but she’s worried about not getting enough time off work, being an accountant and all. I went for a month and I still didn’t think it was enough time. But this post makes some really good points.
Thank you for sharing the post with your friend Bula. Ideally at least a couple of months in OZ would be optimal but that is not going to be a reality for many people. That doesn’t mean they have to stop the dream. Hopefully this post will help your friend to know that she can still come over here for two weeks and have a great time.
I actually just came back from about 2 weeks holiday in Australia, and 1 week in New Zealand. Definitely not enough time but I know I’d be back so I didn’t want to go all over the place all at once. I concentrated on Sydney and Melbourne and loved every moment of it. At one point I was meeting all these people going up to the Whitsunday or the Great Barrier Reef, and I was so tempted to drop $500 just for those last minute trips but I’m glad I decided against it. Too much, too little time = too exhausting! The only thing I reaaalllyyy wished I did was the 3 day Great Ocean Road tour from Melbourne to Adelaide. But it’s okay, now I have more things to look forward to when I go back!
That’s the great thing, you can use your two weeks as an indicator as to what to do next time. The Great Ocean Road is something we have not yet done but would really love to. We have heard amazing things. You hit two awesome cities in your two weeks- very worth it
The Great Ocean Road is a great trip. Like any other travel you need to allow enough time to stop and visit the special places along the way. Think Bells Beach, Lorne, Apollo Bay, with some amazing beaches and cliff areas to visit along the way.
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Great article, loved my 4 months in Oz. Best parts for me were 4wd round Fraser, diving on the Great Barrier reef and trip to Uluru.
These are experiences we are yet to do but would so LOVE to do.
I did a road trip in Australia with my oldest daughter when she was 13. She still remembers it as one of the best holidays ever. We started in Brisbane and ended in Melbourne. Took about 3 weeks. Such an easy country to be in, Australia.
So glad your daughter has such great memories of our country. You can do that just by taking your time and enjoying a small slice of this huge land. Brisbane to Melbs is a good 3 week journey.
When I read your title, I thought, “Not possible!” So glad you didn’t advise people to stay one night in each place, racing around the entire country. This is a great post highlighting the best of Australia, so people can choose where to spend their time based on their interests.
An Amazing Race is not the best way to see any country! It’s all about smart choices.
Great guide, very thorough and in-depth. That photo of the seafood is all the motivation I need to book my next trip. Forget everything else, I’ll just eat! Seriously though, taking it slow is always good advice, and when people try to rush through everything, they end up seeing nothing. Good planning and preparation can make a huge difference when you only have a limited amount of time.
Hey Bryan,
That seafood platter was at Rottnest Island, Perth in Western Australia. I was there two weeks ago and it is amazing. Check it out.
Awesome post! Even though I knew that Australia was big before I arrived, the sheer scale of the place still boggled me. And after a year of solid travelling, and covering 60,000km, I still haven’t seen most of Queensland! Truly incredible country though, and one that is so worth spending time visiting, even if it’s just two weeks
G’day Laurence,
That is everyone’s dream road trip for sure, a whole lap around Oz. But like you said, a focused 2 weeks is still definitely worth the time and effort.
This is a comprehensive resource, well done!
I think many people assume that Australia is much smaller than it actually is (a similar misconception happens when people visit Canada for the first time). We drove a campervan down the east coast from Cairns to Sydney in 8 days, which felt very rushed. There’s a lot of ground to cover, so being selective is important
Hi Cam,
Wow, Cairns to Sydney in 8 days is really moving. Way too fast for me. I bet you’d love to have that time over again and either do Cairns to Brisbane, or Brisbane to Sydney?
Great tips! If I had 2 weeks I would do a couple days in Melbourne, a couple days in the Outback, and a couple days in the GBR.
Hey Andi,
Sounds like a good plan to me
Great observation Craig, this will really help to those travelers who have no idea to visit Australia in there business visit. Really you provide a quick travel view of Australia.
G’day Alok,
Your welcome!
This is excellent! It’s such a shame when people come and try to cram too much in–they spend so much time in airports and in transit that they miss out on the real beauty of the country. Would much rather spend two weeks in Melbourne/Tasmania (obviously my favorite recommendation!) or that time in Sydney/New South Wales area. No use spending all that money and that long plane flight and not really enjoy the best things Australia has to offer! p.s. totally guilty of not understanding just how big Australia was until I got there! My mom was always asking me why I wasn’t just “popping over to Perth for a weekend.” Took a long time until she understood that would be like just hopping to NYC or Florida for two days from California–totally not worth it!
Hey Christine,
Yeah SLOW travel is the way to go. I understand most Americans only get 2 weeks vacation, so why spend that in airports or on a bus?
Great guide to Australia! I was fortunate to spend 2 months in Australia during my RTW trip, and I still wish I’d had more time! There is so much to see… I agree it’s best to pick one region/theme for a two week stay, otherwise you will feel way too rushed.
Thanks Leslie,
2 months is an awesome time period, but yeah, I could spend 2 months in Queensland or Western Australia and not get bored
I recently spent 2 weeks in Australia(and I was flying there from NY). Visited Melbourne, Alice Springs, Uluru, Cairns, and Sydney. Although it was a lot of traveling in a small amount of time it was a great experience. Toured Melbourne and visited Phillip Island. In Alice Springs we saw the School of the air and the royal flying doctor service. Visited Uluru and hiked in Kata Tjuta. In Cairns we snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef and enjoyed a hot air balloon ride. Toured Sydney, saw the beaches, an opera at the opera house and even enjoyed some fun at Luna Park. Australia can definitely be done in 2 weeks. I do recommend anyone flying from the east coast of the US to enjoy a day in LA before flying to Oz because it’s a really long flight.
Hi Sue,
Great tip about breaking up your flights in LA if coming from East coast America. We know, we have done that flight to North Carolina many times
And your trip to Oz sounded great!
Not going to lie, kind of wish you wrote this a month ago.
Haha. We stuck to the typical route, started in Melbourne and headed up the E. coast, ending in Port Douglas (Cairns) and gave ourselves one month. Boy did we underestimated the size of Australia. So many 12 hour overnight bus rides, so much time lost. But even though we had an ambitious itinerary, we loved every part of it!
Hey Kieu,
It’s always after the fact isn’t. Oh well, live and learn. Maybe it will help with your future travel plans elsewhere. Too bad we never got to see you in Sydney. Next time!
Thanks for this great post! We are considering a 2 week trip to Australia next summer. I have looked into renting a camper van to travel part of the Gibb River Road and then perhaps going to Queensland to see the reef and sites around there. We are coming from North America, so I think we would fly into Sydney and then take a flight to the west side of Australia (with such little time, I don’t want to waste time on a bus.)
Hey Shanna,
Don’t want to burst your bubble, but to be honest doing the Gibb River Rd and the Barrier Reef is VERY ambitious in 2 weeks. So your plans are flying from Sydney to Western Australia. Just a heads up. From Sydney to Perth is 5 hours and quite expensive, and then from Perth to Broome (near Gibb River Rd) is a couple more hours and also expensive. Oz internal flights much more expensive than in USA. Not sure if you can fly from Cairns to Broome or from Brisbane to Broome or you need to go via Darwin? We have only done Sydney to Perth.
Consider this: If you want to do Gibb River Road and a Reef experience, consider doing the Ningaloo Reef in WA. People say it is just as good if not better than the Barrier Reef as there is less people , easier to access, and more untouched. Website: http://www.westernaustralia.com/en/Destinations/Australias_Coral_Coast/Ningaloo/Pages/Ningaloo.aspx
However, coming from USA with just 2 weeks I think your better hitting east coast Oz and maybe red centre (Uluru) otherwise you might spend your whole time flying or driving! So possibly Cairns (Great Barrier Reef) and Alice Springs (Uluru). OR, just stay in Queensland for whole 2 weeks.
What you are essentially planning by doing Barrier Reef and Gibb River Road would be like doing a road trip on the Oregon Coast, plus a fishing trip in Maine. Just not practical over 2 weeks sorry
Hi Craig. Very helpful article, thank you.
Question: My husband and I will be in Australia for 2 weeks in December. Is it feasible for us to arrive in Sydney and stay for 2 days, take a plane to the red center for a 3-day camping tour, fly back to Sydney, then rent a car to drive up to our timeshare in Port Macquarie where we’ll spend the second week?
Thanks for your time!
Hi Kimberly,
I think that’s quite reasonable. Of course, 2 days in Sydney is never enough. Have you visited Sydney before?
And your 3 day camping tour in the red centre seems like a nice amount of time. And from Sydney to Port Macquarie would be about a 5 hr drive so whilst you could spend more time in both places it’s not that crazy of an itinerary. Enjoy
Phew! That’s great news. Yes, I agree that 2 days in Sydney is not enough but we’re not willing to give up the red centre, either! Thanks for your help, Craig.
I agree with this. Rushing from one end of australia is pointless. A popular trip is the cairns to sydney coastal trip. A good one if youve only got a short amount of time.
I am planning to go with my daughter, 12, to Australia this July. Since it will be Winter, after spending some days in Sydney, where we will be arriving from Buenos Aires,I was thinking to go north looking for the warm weather. We will have three weeks in total. What would be your recommendation in terms of itinerary taking into account her age? Thanks!
When planning a holiday in Australia I would recommend a month at least, if you want to to drive around Australia I would recommend at least 6 months.
Two weeks is a challenge, most likely you will arrive in Australia at Sydney or Melbourne, I think it would be best to stay on the east coast unless you really want to fly to a special destination for a few days like Central Australia (as someone mentioned in an above comment).
In winter go north up the east coast, in the warmer months you can visit Melbourne and the southern coast and drive the ‘Great Ocean Road’ for an extra special scenic drive.
Thanks for the in depth article/guide to vacationing in Australia. It is one of the places I want to visit, but had not really thought about the amount of time needed because of the size. And then all the different areas mentioned that are so diverse…
I am in the U.S.. With the price of airfare, to me, a 2 or 3 month stay sounds best if I could swing it.
It depends. Personally I wouldn’t stay in Sydney more then one day. It is nice place, but it is just another city. I can’t understand what people can do for a week there especially when they are coming to Australia only for couple weeks.
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HELP! Ok, I know I just commented on your google+ page, but then I came to your site and found this. My brother and I are going to Australia but we have SERIOUSLY limited time. We arrive Monday morning in Sydney and leave Friday morning! It’s crazy, I know, but better than nothing. Is there any advice you can give us on what to make sure to do or see? We’ll be going in July, so I heard it’s a bit chillier there at that time…
Great article! I’m thinking about a trip in December for 2-3 weeks, coming from the United States. My husband has been a few times but this will be the first trip for myself and our 4 year old daughter. He has relatives in Sydney so I think most of our time will be spent there but we may want to venture out elsewhere. We love the beach and would love to see a koala. Any suggestions?
Only about an hour south from Sydney is the Royal National Park which has beautiful beaches and you might be lucky to see a koala. It is pretty rare to see a koala in the wild especially around Sydney area. There is of course Taronga Zoo which will guarantee you’ll see one.
I saw a lot of koalas in the wild recently at The River REd Gum National Park but that is a few hours drive south of Sydney http://www.ytravelblog.com/the-river-red-gum-national-park-and-the-riverina-experience/
Before that I’d never seen one.
The Northern beache of Sydney are beautiful and also the Central Coast, which is the area we live in has beautiful beaches and bushland, where koalas are but are rarely seen.
There is a koala hospital in Port Macquarie about 6 hours north of Sydney with beautiful beaches- a great area http://www.ytravelblog.com/why-travel-port-macquarie-nsw-north-coast/
Here are all our posts on Sydney as well if you need help. We’ll have heaps more coming out soon so look out for them
http://www.ytravelblog.com/category/destinations/oceania/australia-places/nsw-australia-places/sydney/
I hope that helps. You’ll have a great time and your daughter will love it
I have always wanted to go to Australia, Two weeks is a good streach of time to get used to an aria or even a reagon. I would be doing it on a budget. Is there work there and can foreners get a job? I am a writer and I want time to decrib my view of this part of the world. Thanks George
Hi George,
Whether you can work or not depends on your personal circumstances, where you are from and what you intend to do in Oz. I can’t really say whether you could or not. It’s best to talk to the embassy in your country and see what you can arrange. Here are two links to help
http://www.ytravelblog.com/working-abroad-2/how-to-work-and-travel-australia/
http://www.ytravelblog.com/working-abroad-2/how-to-work-and-travel-australia/
That’s a great round up on Australia. I once flew here, from the UK, for just 5 days, I think I spent more time travelling than I did on the ground! I’d already spent 3 months here, backpacking and camping my way around, so I didn’t need to see Ularu, The GBR and Darwin in just 5 days. I did manage to conceive a baby in those 5 days, at Cronulla Caravan Park, so romantic! He’s 8 now. Love the new site, it looks fantastic.
Go Aussie baby making power!! He’s a Shire boy!! Wow that was a lot you saw in 5 days. wE have an American friend coming out here for 2 weeks and wants to do the same places. Should be possible then
Nice comprehensive Aus article… I love Australia… your photos make me want to return to Aus and explore the West Coast.
Great tips, would love to go back to Australia and visit western Australia, it seems awesome.
I’m lucky I live here so I plan to see bits and pieces now and then. I agree people with only two weeks should stick to a few key places, and if they need to save time (and can spare the extra money) they could use Jetstar flights to fly within the country cheaply.
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What a detailed resource. Thanks for putting this together. I plan on travelling to Australia some day so I’ve definitely bookmarked this!
These are really helpful tips. I was recently in New Zealand (just the South Island) for two weeks and that was super hard to fit in everything my husband and I wanted to see so I can just imagine how hard it would be to figure out Australia in two weeks! Hopefully I’ll be able to give it a try one day soon.
Couldn’t agree more! The itinerary will make more sense if you look up on the map for the various location one wants to visit and plan wisely.
I went on a 2 weeks vacation to eastern Australia during end December 2011.
I went to 5 different places. Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.
I felt that my itinerary was not too bad, flew from Brisbane to Sydney and took an overnight coach from Canberra to Melbourne. It definitely help me save the time and $ on a night of accommodation. I manage to go Blue Mountain and Great Ocean Road. They took almost a full day trip.
I wish I could spend more time in Sydney and Canberra.
Would love to go back to Sydney… to Hunter Valley and visit the famous opera house and hopefully to countdown to a new year with the magnificent fireworks on the harbour bridge!
I will be back!
I agree that 2 destinations might be a better plan. Sydney is a fabulous city–we have been there 3 times. Don’t forget to consider the travel time between locations–you will lose the better part of one day to get from Sydney to Cairns. You will find there is much to do,enjoy your stay in Australia,you will be back.
Hey guys
Nice post, and digging the new look! We just moved to the Gold Coast, thought we’d see the sun, but it’s been raining since we got here in mid Jan!!
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Hey guys, I’m completely in awe about how you have lived your lives. This whole blog site is my inspiration
Lets hope soon I can have my own experiences, like the ones you’ve had together.
Thanks.
After reading this blog, I am planning to my next vacation in Australia with my family.
I dig the philosophy of “[spending] more time in fewer places”. Of all the mistakes first-time or novice travellers make, overplanning has to be the biggest (and I’m sure we’ve all done it at least once before). Your excellent advice applies, not only to the colossal continent of Australia, but anywhere really. One can’t see all of Europe, South America or Southeast Asia in a month either; why would anyone even try? I’m sure you’ll agree with me, Caz & Craig: If you want to actually experience a place, slow travel is really the only way!
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Great post guys!
Its good to see more people advertising australia and suggesting Adelaide!
Everyone seems to go to the Eastern coast, leaving out what some of make Australia great!
It would be nice if we made things more affordable for travellers/backpackers! I’m sure it would bring in more tourism!
Great post again guys, this has a great lot of info (very helpful info!)
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great post guys, how much budget u need to prepare for 7 days vacation
Nice post. I will put this on my lists.
As a fellow Aussie would have to agree with everything you wrote. I don’t think it should matter how far you go, always always take it slow once you get there! Take some time to get to know small details, speak to people, really understand a place. I still remember my first Europe trip at age 20 which was just a blur and so stressful because I wanted to see everything!!
So true. It is tempting to see as much as you can just to say you have been there, but it’s the quality and the memories you should be aiming to achieve. Thanks for sharing Matthew!
I didn’t really consider Australia as somewhere I’d like to go before, but realising just how vast it is by this post has made me change my mind.
A bit scared about the snakes etc, but I think I may well go on a cruise instead to reduce that chance of death
If I do, I’ll go in 2014 on the Ocean Princess just for a day or two and see what it’s like.
I’m sure it’d be amazing but I’m scared I’d want to emigrate.
Australia is among the top rated beach travel destination since the fast two decades. Never been though but would love too. The pictures are really awesome.
Like the others, I’m impressed with your site. I’m from the States, but living in Melbourne since 2001, and — while my reading didn’t hit on every suggestion or question, I didn’t see anything about camping (which happens to be my fav way to travel). When advising my mates from the U.S. that’s what I recommend. While I have my own camper van now, before I hired. Been from Kangaroo Is. to Darwin and Perth to Port Douglas and through the middle. What I might recommend for anyone, say, visiting for 2-3 months, is buy an older van. What I don’t know (but have seen some) where those leaving Australia — after their travels — offer to sell, such as Byron Bay, Cairns, Darwin … and where else and how to do it?
Greetings,
My life long dream was to visit Australia. I got as far as Japan via Military service. Great info on Australia so I thank you. Is it possible to visit Sydney, The Great barrier Reef, and Melbourne in a two week period.
Yes Juan. I think this is really possible. You’ll have a bit of flying so allow for the extra cost for that, but otherwise this is a reasonable trip.
Thank you for responding. Ill let you know how it turns out in the fall.
Great article. I just planning to have a graduation trip to Aussie this October. I plan to fly to Perth then travel on the road using caravan/trains to Melbourne – Tasmania then going back from Sydney in 2 weeks. Is it possible? Or it just like wasting my time there? Thanks!
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To fit all of this in in 2 weeks could be a little pushed. the distances in Australia are quite large. IT depends on how much you want to see at each place and how you can handle the constant movement. I guess if you only want a few days in each it will be okay.