Australia Travel Ideas For First-Time Visitors
Visiting Oz for the first time? Micah Waters offers ideas that will make your trip unforgettable.
Written by Micah Waters
From the sandy beaches of the Gold Coast to the vibrant nightlife of Sydney, we’ve got the top Australia travel ideas that will make your trip to the Outback one you’ll never forget. Given the massive size of Australia, the best way to get around if you’re set on seeing all of the great sites is to take internal domestic flights between major cities.
A few of Australia’s most famous attractions to consider: Ayers Rock, the Great Barrier Reef, the Sydney Opera House and the Whitsunday Islands.
Ayers Rock and Alice Springs are considered part of the famous Outback, which encompasses more than 2.5 million square miles. Alice Springs is the unofficial capital and just a short distance away is the massive monolith known as Ayers Rock. Contrary to mpopular belief, the Outback isn’t all desert; visitors can enjoy beautiful waterfalls, deep gorges and scenic mountains as well.
Surfers Paradise © James Farmer
The Gold Coast (so aptly named) is famous for its gorgeous beaches. Aside from fun in the sun, visitors can enjoy a myriad of water sports, upscale shopping and theme parks such as Warner Bros, Movie World and Dreamworld. Surfer’s Paradise is a popular Gold Coast suburb which is known for its exciting nightlife and (as the name implies) surfing.
Animal lovers should consider visiting the famous Melbourne Aquarium or the Healesville Sanctuary (both located in Victoria) which boasts more than 200 native Australian species.
Let’s not forget road trips. Renting a car? Remember that Australians drive on the left side of the road.
Plus, Australia boasts a wide variety of beautiful, awe-inspiring national parks such as the Royal National Park, Christmas Island, Norfolk Island and Pulu Keeling National Park.
What are your favorite attractions in Australia?
Some how most people are visiting only East of Australia (Uluru is exception), but they should check West and North, which are not so populated and less tourists.
.-= Vi @ Travel Tips´s last blog ..Most dangerous species in New Zealand =-.
True. The east coast draws more crowds. I haven’t travelled in Australia myself yet, but I can imagine that many places on the west coast are well worth visiting as well – especially Perth and Broome. As a kid I used to watch The Flying Doctors http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088519/ – which was shot in Australia – and have wanted to visit ever since.
Of course it is personal preferences where to go and where to spend more time, but I usually skip cities. So for me would be enough one day for visiting Sydney for example, but in some guides it will be written you need week for a city such as Sydney.
P.S. Add Exmouth in WA to you list. In May/June you can swimm with shark whales.
.-= Vi @ Travel Tips´s last blog ..Most dangerous species in New Zealand =-.
Yes, the optimal time to spend in a city varies a lot from person to person. I’d go for at least a week in Sydney.
Thanks for the recommendation. Would love to swim with shark whales!
Great Photos. Even though the natural environment of Australia offers a massive amount I actually love the Australian State Capital Cities just as much. I just wish it wasn’t such a long flight away from Europe !
.-= Rob @ Australia Bargains´s last blog ..Win a free holiday to Melbourne =-.
Yes, the flight is long. But that’s just a ‘sacrifice’ you gotta make! And that’s why it’s probably best to stay for at least a few weeks at a time.
One of my favorite activity and tourist spots in Australia is the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse in the Margaret River region in Western Australia wherein I could watch Humpbacks and Southern Right whales from the lighthouse. It’s a great experience watching these huge creatures.
Hi Benji, That does sound great. Thanks for the recommendation. Have you written about this place on your site?
Hi Erica
Yes we have written about the Cape Leeuwin Light House. Fantastic spot. We are fortunate to have some outstanding places to visit in the Margaret River Region. Lots of traveler and plenty locals. In Augusta, where the light house is, I stopped to ask a local if he had had any luck with his fishing and whale watching, his reply was “Luck!! Its not luck mate, years of experience” and he realy did know where to go looking at what he had caught.
Benji – passionate about Margaret River´s last [type] ..Pemberton Autumn Festival 7th May 2011
Looks interesting! Have never been to a light house before.
That local fisher was so right. To some of them, fishing is somewhat of an art form – all the preparation they put in. You know, choosing the proper bait, picking out the best spot at the right time of the day…
Blue mountains are one of my favorite spots in Australia. Also the Whitsundays was one of my favorite things I’ve ever done and probably one of the most relaxed I had ever felt spending a few days out of on a sailboat there. I would highly recommend the great ocean road as well.