Australia Travel Guide
Looking for places to visit in Australia and how to make it the dream trip of a lifetime?
Australia IS everything you've dreamed of and more. It's a land of colors and contrasts: from the red, dusty outback to the lush, tropical rainforests, with moutains, vineyards, and the most beautiful beaches in the world in between.
We're Aussies who have travelled the country extensively for 3 years. We road tripped around Australia for 18 months in a caravan/ travel trailer with our two daughters Kalyra and Savannah.
You can hear more about that in this podcast episode.
We're from the Central Coast in NSW, and have also lived in Broome, WA, Mooolaba on the Sunshine Coast, QLD and Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
We've also taken many short trips to explore our beautiful country even further.
We have a huge amount of useful travel tips and destination highlights on Australia to help you plan your trip.
We've grouped them into the categories below so click to the one that suits you most. You'll find a complete list of all the posts below the categories so keep scrolling.
You'll find our best travel tips and general Australia content under the Best of Australia!
We hope you enjoy traveling either to, or around, Australia as much as we do. She truly is one of the most exotic and beautiful countries in the world.
UNIQUELY AUSTRALIA - TRAVEL IDEAS AND HIGHLIGHTS
No matter your interests, you can find experiences to match in Australia. Click the image below to find experiences and attractions that suit what you're looking for! It will take you to a wide variety of articles designed to inspire and help you plan. Almost all of our content and tips are based upon personal experience!
I must say that your travel blog of Australia is the best I have ever seen. You have really shown how incredible Australia is. You have encouraged not only Australians, but travelers from overseas to visit different regions of Australia. Your beautiful photography makes you want to travel around Australia. Often tourists only get to see the East Coast of Australia, and mainly the commercial parts and don't get to see the raw beauty of Australia. I do believe a lot of tourists will come to Australia because of your travel blog. They will see places that are unheard of. Keep up the great work and can't wait for you to do a travel blog on South Australia.
Louisa Kilmentos
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW
LANGUAGE
British English is the main language spoken in Australia. But, be warned - Australian's have their own lingo. It's full of rhyming slang and shortened words. Don't be surprised if you have no idea what an Aussie is saying.
CURRENCY
Australia's national currency is the Australian Dollar, which comes in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 notes. Coins come in 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent and one and two dollar denominations.
SAFETY
Australia is generally a very safe and welcoming place to visit. It consistently ranks as one of the safest countries in the world ... despite its dangerous animals ;)
ACCESSING MONEY
Credit Cards are widely accepted. However, many smaller, local business will only accept cash, so always have some on hand, especially when traveling in the Outback. Amex will almost always incur a fee.
POWER
In Australia the standard voltage is 230 V and the frequency is 50 Hz. Plug Type is I, which is the plug that has three flat pins in a triangular pattern.
WI-FI & INTERNET
Free Wi-Fi is not readily available and it's expensive. Australia's internet can be slow and non-existent outside of urban areas. The two main mobile networks are Optus and Telstra. Telstra is the best.
BEST OF AUSTRALIA TRAVEL TIPS
Looking for some Australian highlights, don't miss experiences, and important things to know about traveling in Australia? We share some of ours and our reader's favorites!
BEST TIME TO VISIT AUSTRALIA
SPRING | AUTUMN
Mild temperatures in the South and still great for swimming. It's cool enough to tour Uluru and the Red Centre, and the humidity and rains won't be around up north in the tropics.
SUMMER IN THE SOUTH
Summer in the Southern regions of Australia is a popular time to visit. You'll find fun festivals. a festive spirit, and beautiful beaches. Some areas will be hot, but the ocean breeze will offer relief.
WET SEASON IN THE NORTH
The worst time to visit the entire Top End of Australia. It's EXTREMELY humid, with PLENTY of rain, potential cyclones & road closures. It's stinger season, so terrible for ocean swimming (like die from a box jellyfish sting kind of terrible)
WINTER IN THE SOUTH
Temperatures in the South will vary for levels of coldness. Aussies will find anything under 19°C cold. You may find winters pleasant. Probably too cold for beach swimming. Bryon Bay to Fraser Island will have the mildest winter temps.
DRY SEASON NORTH
Absolute BEST time to visit the Top End. You won't see one cloud. Warm, dry, fantastic for swimming, and daily adventures. The beginning of the dry will be most lush and green.
BEST AUSTRALIA BEACHES
After traveling in-depth for three years around Australia, and spending 22 years traveling through over 50 countries (many in-depth) we are quite confident in saying Australia has the best beaches in the world.
You cannot beat them for pristine beauty, endless space, and a laid back lifestyle to match.
AUSTRALIAN ICONS
These are the places you think of when you hear the word Australia. I'm sure many of them are on your Australian bucket list.
We visited almost all of them. Browse around for our best tips on things to see and do for each one. Our 3-week itinerary below will help you visit several!
PLANNING AN AUSTRALIAN TRIP
Are you ready to plan your Australian trip? Here are some useful articles on costs, saving money, finding accommodation, and getting around.
CITY GUIDES
They may be few and far between, but the cities in Australia offer culture, beauty, diversity and laid back charm.
OUR AUSTRALIAN FAVORITES
Hover over each card to reveal our Australian favorites, which was SOOO hard to pick!! You can use the search bar below to find out information on each one.
FAVORITE TOWNS
- Broome, WA
- Bright, VIC
- Burleigh, QLD
- Margaret River, WA
- Port Douglas, QLD
FAVORITE FOOD REGIONS
FAVE CITIES
- Sydney (beauty)
- Melbourne (culture)
- Adelaide (food and wine)
- Darwin (chilled uniqueness)
FAVE NATURAL BEAUTY
- Uluru, NT
- Kakadu, NT
- Kimberley Region, WA
- Daintree Rainforest, Qld
- Freycinet, TAS
FAVORITE WINE REGIONS
- Margaret River, WA
- Barossa Valley, SA
- Hunter Valley, NSW
FAVORITE ADVENTURES
- Snorkeling Great Barrier Reef
- Horizontal Falls, WA
- Working on a pearl farm, Kimberley Region, WA
- Swimming with manta - Ningaloo, WA
- Swimming with seal lions, SA
FAVORITE ROAD TRIPS
- Gibb River Road
- Port Douglas - Daintree
- Red Centre Way
- Sydney to Gold Coast
HIDDEN SECRETS
- Wilsons Prom, Vic
- Mudgee, NSW
- Noosa Everglads, Qld
- Karijini NP, WA
- Flinders Ranges, SA
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FOLLOW OUR CURRENT ADVENTURES
Travel has been the focus of our life since 1997 - intentionally.
We don't plan on stopping that. We now have a base in Raleigh, NC - after being granted a Green Card for our extraordinary ability in the art of travel blogging.
We will continue to explore more of the US but also intend on traveling further abroad - Europe, South East Asia and Central and South America.
We can't wait to share more of our favorites as we experience them.
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And connect with us on social for live udpates!
ALL AUSTRALIAN ARTICLES
Browse through to see all our articles on travel in Australia!
Holiday Inn Sydney Airport – accommodation for stress free travel
You may have been following along on social media, but just before Christmas Caz and the kids flew from Sydney to the Gold Coast for a week long getaway to catch up with friends. I […]
4 Places to Visit in Australia
There is nothing more I love than a good road trip, especially when traveling with our kids. Road trips make family travel more practical and cost effective. As a family holiday, we love the freedom […]
Highlights of 4 Day Kangaroo Island Road Trip
Kangaroo Island is full of adventure, stunning scenery and wild Australian animals. We’re sharing our highlights of a 4 day Kangaroo Island road trip.
A visit to Flinders Ranges National Park (ancient Ikara)
We’re on our way out. A kangaroo just bounced across the road in a fitting farewell. They’ve been outnumbered this time by the emus. It’s the most I’ve seen in Australia. The Pappas roam camouflaged […]
Things to do in Eyre Peninsula, South Australia (road trip itinerary)
Swimming with sea lions, the best oysters in Australia, and stunning coastline – why wouldn’t you want to visit the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia?
16 Best Things to do in Port Douglas with Kids
Tropical North Queensland is one of the most enchanting regions in Australia, and Port Douglas is one of our favourite coastal towns in Australia. We just love it up Far North Queensland. It’s tropical living […]
Sleeping in the Daintree Rainforest at Cape Trib Beach House
Fancy sleeping within the Daintree Rainforest, the oldest rainforest in the world? That’s exactly what we did recently at Cape Tribulation, our favourite part of the Daintree National Park. After having visited the 110 million-year-old […]
Things to do in Freycinet National Park, Tasmania
I love Freycinet National Park. If you asked me what are my top places to visit in Tasmania, Freycinet would be at the top of the list and I would rank it in the top […]
The Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast – I compete for Gold!
I don’t think there’s a better place in Australia to hold the Commonwealth Games than the Gold Coast. Of course, I think the Gold Coast is the best place in Australia to live. It’s not […]
2 day getaway to the Daintree Rainforest from Port Douglas
We love the Daintree Rainforest. Our first visit was almost three years ago during our 18-month road trip around Australia with our kids. That experience left us longing for more. After our recent two-day getaway […]