Where to Stay As a Tourist in Australia

Traveling through Australia will expose you to sights that will live in your memory forever. Possible accommodation includes hostels, guest houses, bed and breakfasts, hotels, self-catering apartments, properties for rent and campsites.

Some areas are heavily tourist-centric, such as Queensland’s Hamilton Island, the Sunshine Coast and the wine country of South Australia. This has the benefit of the certainty of specific activities, such as skiing, fitness activities, scuba diving or sipping cocktails by the pool. Accommodation can be pet friendly or even nudist (though some only during certain seasons).

Accommodation can be designed for people with disabilities, which is also enjoyed by older people. www.australiaforall.com is an international website dedicated wholly to accommodation and leisure venues for disabled people. Photographs are always provided so people can decide if a facility meets their needs, for instance should they require grab rails.

If your stay is long enough and perhaps if your party is large enough, you may wish to rent a house through an organisation such as homesales.com.au.

Hotels can have anything from two to five stars, with prices varying accordingly. There are small, family-run guest houses all around, encompassing historic houses, miners’ cottages, country homesteads and inner city townhouses. Prices are low and the proprietors are often a rich source of information. The largest number of hotels – 1,434, which is slightly more than a third – are in New South Wales while the smallest number – 56 – is in the Australian Capital Territory.

It is possible to stay on a farm and be woken by the crowing of a cock. Accommodation ranges from basic to luxurious. This will allow you to stay in a wide, open space with plentiful opportunity for bush-walking, swimming and horse riding. Activities on offer include driving a four-wheel drive vehicle, mustering cattle from horseback, mending fences and you would experience rusty, and stunning red sunsets. Some accommodation bills itself as ecologically-friendly.

Self-catering apartments are cost-effective for families or large groups who wish to spend more than a couple of days in a particular place. The need to save money could be evident given the cost of a flight ticket to Australia. Hotel guests pay for service to a great extent, and without this service, costs are lower. With food, cooking for yourself is cheaper and can be a refreshing change from finding a restaurant that suits all members of your party. And it is better to obtain groceries during one trip to a supermarket rather than multiple journeys to a corner shop.

As for camping amidst the scenic countryside of Australia, you can pitch your tent in a national park or in one of the multitudes of well-equipped camping parks. Electricity, hot showers, laundry facilities and barbecue areas will be to hand. For those who do not wish camping to be glamping, there are facilities of five-star standard.

Impartial information can be obtained from Tourist Accommodation Australia, a division of the Australian Hotels Association.