r/AustraliaTravel

I just got my USA passport today and booked my flight to Auckland and then Melbourne. The website mentioned to make sure I have all the correct documents to which I assumed was only my passport but NZ and Australia both required an ETA so I applied for both.

That got me wondering, outside of my passport, drivers license and now my ETA is there anything else I need with me to travel to Australia and New Zealand?

Hey everyone!

My partner and I are getting married next year and we're pretty much sold on Australia's East Coast for the honeymoon. Neither of us has ever been Down Under, so we've been deep in research mode, and now we'd love a reality check from people who actually know this coastline.

We're not the 'lie on a beach for a week' type. We want adventure, nature, good food, and city buzz mixed with wilderness. The big one: I want to skipper a bareboat catamaran myself for 3 nights in the Whitsundays, just the two of us, no flotilla or hired skipper. Got my RYA Day Skipper license and enough hours on the water to feel ready, but it's still nerve-wracking in the best way.

Quick note on timing: we're flexible on total length. The draft below is 24 days, but anywhere from a bit under 3 weeks to a bit over works for us, so don't hold back on suggestions just because they'd add or cut a day or two.

Would appreciate any feedback on our current itinerary!

Currently we’re thinking to go on the 21st or the 28th of august.

Here's the full plan, Cairns to Sydney.

Day 1 (Cairns, 3 nights): Arrive in Cairns

Day 2 (Cairns, 3 nights): Great Barrier Reef outer reef day trip (snorkelling/diving)

Day 3 (Cairns, 3 nights): Free day

Day 4 (Port Douglas, 2 nights): Get rental car, drive to Port Douglas

Day 5 (Port Douglas, 2 nights): Visit Daintree, Cape Tribulation

Day 6 (Townsville, 2 nights): Long drive Port Douglas to Townsville via Cairns (~490km/6.5-7h), lunch stop in Mission Beach

Day 7 (Townsville, 2 nights): Full day visit of Magnetic Island

Day 8 (Airlie Beach, pre-charter, 1 night): Drive to Airlie Beach via Bowen (~280km/3.5h), provisioning and charter briefing

Day 9 (Whitsundays, bareboat charter, 3 nights): Depart on charter, sail to Whitehaven Beach

Day 10 (Whitsundays, bareboat charter, 3 nights): Hill Inlet lookout, reef snorkelling

Day 11 (Whitsundays, bareboat charter, 3 nights): Final sailing day, return to marina in the afternoon

Day 12 (Airlie Beach, post-charter, 1 night): Rest day, no driving

Day 13 (Mackay / Cape Hillsborough, 1 night): Drive to Mackay (~150km/2h), relax evening

Day 14 (Agnes Water & Town of 1770, 1 night): Dawn kangaroo/wallaby sighting at Cape Hillsborough, then long drive via Rockhampton and Gladstone (~550km/6.5h)

Day 15 (Noosa, 3 nights): Drive to Noosa (~430km/5h)

Day 16 (Noosa, 3 nights): Noosa National Park coastal walk, Hastings Street

Day 17 (Noosa, 3 nights): Noosa Everglades canoe/kayak morning

Day 18 (Byron Bay, 2 nights): Drive to Byron Bay (~310km/3.5h)

Day 19 (Byron Bay, 2 nights): Cape Byron lighthouse sunrise walk, Wategos Beach

Day 20 (Sydney, 4 nights): Drop rental car near Byron/Ballina, fly to Sydney (~1h20)

Day 21 (Sydney, 4 nights): Sydney Harbour, Circular Quay

Day 22 (Sydney, 4 nights): Bondi to Coogee coastal walk

Day 23 (Sydney, 4 nights): Optional Blue Mountains day trip

Day 24 (Sydney, 4 nights): Depart / fly home

Hello

Never done backpacking before but got the opportunity to have a month off paid over Christmas (16th December to 17th January) so thinking Australia east coast.

I got a few friends in Brisbane that I can go see but I really want to backpack along the east coast exploring , and not spend too long in the city’s

How would you plan it if you was me? Keeping in mind visiting them friends too

Where would you first fly to from uk and which direction and places are worth a visit?

I’ve read online that time of year I should really book hostels months before I come? ….I’d love to not have to book anything and just go with the flow but sounds risky I might not get anywhere to stay 😂

Looks I’m probs gonna be backpacking alone, but hope to find others along the way for some of it

Cheers

Jordan

Brasileiro & Exp-Pro Surfer Paulistana‎ - Cabarita Beach, Australia - Part 2

First time traveler to Australia in October for a convention. I am moderating a session that ends at 1630 at the Cairns Convention Center and the last flight out of Cairns back to Sydney that day is 1810. Conference planner is suggesting I leave the following day (less preferable) due to airline (Jetstar is only evening option) being very strict about 1 hour before check in. Seems the airport is close by (7 km). Was thinking 40 min is enough. Can someone speak to whether I can make it? Thanks in advance.

Hello guys,

We are spending our honeymoon in Queensland, one month from September 17th to October 16th.

We nearly finished our itinerary but we haven't been able to decide how to split our Gold Coast and Brisbane days.

So the itinerary is as follows:

9-Oct	Sunshine Coast / Gold Coast	leave Sunshine Coast -> Glass House Mountains Trip on the road -> arrive in Gold Coast
10-Oct	Gold Coast	Springbrook National Park Day Trip -> Currumbin Rock Pools -> Currumbin Alley
11-Oct	Gold Coast	Coombabah Lakelands Conservation Area -> Surfers Paradise Beach -> Broadbeach
12-Oct	Gold Coast	Tallebudgera Beach + Burleigh Headland (Hill + Beach)
13-Oct	Gold Coast	Coolangatta: Beach, Snapper Rocks, Rainbow Bay Beach
14-Oct	Gold Coast / Brisbane	Leave Gold Coast -> arrive in Brisbane. Visit Brisbane
15-Oct	Brisbane	North Stadbroke Island Day Trip (with no car)
16-Oct	Plane home	Day of our departure. End of honeymoon.

One aspect to specify: We have a rental until 14-Oct (at least according to my current itinerary).

My questions and maybe concerns would be:

1. Should I allocate more days for visiting Brisbane ?
2. Should I instead be cutting the one day from Brisbane ? Meaning I shall visit Tambourine Mountain and then head to Brisbane, and thus cut part of the Brisbane day. Only an evening remains to visit some things in Brisbane.
3. Could 13-Oct and 14-Oct be squeezed into the same day with the 14-Oct becoming the Tambourine Mountain Trip on the road I talked about above ?

Please feel free to point out if a day's schedule seems too overloaded.

Thanks :)

You read it…. What are your top things to do! Our first time in Tasmania, we are visiting friends in Hobart so aware we should spend more time if we could exploring but, we don’t have the time. We like nature, hikes, wildlife, great coffee, food and drinks! Pubs/wine bars and culture (MONA is on the list for sure) otherwise I’m all ears to suggestions

Hi there,

I am attending a conference in Sydney the first week of September and will be extending my stay for an extra week after that. As of now, I have only booked my hotel for the first week in Sydney and am looking for any and all advice on things to do as a solo PhD student in and around Sydney.

I was thinking about booking a hostel in Katoomba for 1-2 nights to do some hiking in the Blue Mountains. Would it be better to do that or just book a guided tour from Sydney? Are there any other areas outside Sydney that are accessible by bus or train and worth staying for a few nights?

I pretty much am just looking to fill up my week #2, so any recommendations are appreciated. Sydney recs also appreciated! I kind of know nothing right now, just scrolling through travel sites.

Thank you!!

We will be in Uluru from October 4-7, part of a month-long trip from the U.S. I want to see Uluru and Kata Tjuta, preferably both with guides. I've have several tours/experiences booked, but I'm worried that I'm overdoing it and I don't want them to be duplicative. I definitely want a guided Uluru tour - either a full base walk or a shorter tour. Should we also do a guided tour of Kata Tjuta (Walpa Gorge) or is that fine to do on our own? We'll have a rental car and are staying at the Desert Gardens.

Here's our tentative itinerary:

October 4:

• Flight arrives 12:40
• Afternoon?
  • Visit the Cultural Center?
  • Kata Tjuta on our own?
• Tali Wiru dinner (booked)

October 5:

• Morning (all start at 5:15 am): Highlights of Uluru Including Sunrise and Breakfast booked, but I will likely cancel in favor of one of other two options: or Segway tour of base or Kata Tjuta tour
• Afternoon: Uluru Small Group Tour including Sunset (booked) - I think this would be duplicative of the Highlights or base tours. I will cancel this if I keep any of the other Uluru tours.
• Evening or Night: Wintjiri Wiru (is this worth it? it looks sort of gimmicky). Tickets for just the show (with wine and snacks) are $210/person, for $315/person we could do the Wintjiri Wiru dinner.

October 6:

• Morning: (both start at 5:15) Uluru Morning Guided Base Walk (booked) or Segway tour of base
• Daytime: helicopter tour?
• Afternoon: SEIT Patji - Aboriginal Experience - this sounds interesting
• Night: Fields of Light, later tickets (booked)

October 7:

• Flight at 11:10

I'm also skeptical about riding a Segway around a sacred site - am I being too sensitive?

I'd love any feedback.

Planning a trip to Melbourne and Sydney in end August 2026, would appreciate any advice!

1. Any must-visit spots or good flea markets/markets? Fish & chip places
2. Is it possible to rent a car without a credit card?
3. Has anyone brought food from home through immigration (e.g ready-to-eat meals)? Mom usually packs some homecooked food. Any issues at customs?
4. Saw on the news that locals shop for near-expiry groceries at supermarkets — is grocery shopping getting expensive there?

Thanks in advance!

I've heard circling Australia without a 4WD means you will miss out on heaps of cool places, particularly in WA.

I'm wondering if a Hiace 4WD would unlock lots of these places... or if its really a land cruiser / patrol type of 4wd needed?

Hi there first time traveler with 4 adults In relatively good shape wanting feedback to see if this is feasible or any areas I'm missing or should consider. We are fine with more rest days too if it seems like too much. Will be traveling in September. We have some friends that live in Hervey Bay hence the detour over there since I know not a normal stop. We will be flying from city to city and will not be renting a car so will be reliant on public transportation

Day 1 arrive early morning. Laneways (walk around Hosier Lane and AC/DC Lane) and Queen Victoria Market

Day 2 Royal Botanic Gardens and National Gallery of Victoria and Yarra Bend Park

Day 3 Day trip to : Dandenong Ranges

Either night of day 2 or 3: St Kilda Penguins tour

Day 4 travel to Brisbane leave late morning

Brisbane Activities

Day 4 Howard Smith Wharves and Ride CityCat Ferry (areas to walk around South Bank Parklands / Kangaroo Points Cliffs)

Day 5 Day Trip: North Stradbroke Island (point lookout, amity point, and cylinder beach)

Day 5 Day Trip: D’Aguilar National Park (Enoggera Reservoir and Walkabout Creek) or consider rest day

Day 6: Travel to Hervey Bay early afternoon

Hervey Bay Activities

Day 6: Esplande Walk + Urgangan Pier

Day 7 Whale Watching

Day 8 Travel mid afternoon

Cairns Activities

Day 8 travel day arrive in late evening

Day 9 Great Barrier Reef snorkeling through quicksilver tour

Day 10 Barron Gorge National Park: Skyrail Rainforest Cableway (to take up) and Kuranda Scenic railway ( on the way back down )

Day 11 travel early AM

Sydney Activities

Day 11 arrive late morning. Circular Quay Tour using commuter f1 ferry and Lady Macquaire’s chair 

Day 12: Day Trip to blue mountain range with trail to three sisters and giant staircase

Day 13: Sydney opera house Tour at 0900 then Bondi to Coogee Coast Walk..

Day 14 travel back

I’m looking for any advice. I am located in Michigan taking a trip to Melbourne AUS next month for 3weeks. I’m in constant chronic pain, I only use marijuana for this. On the AUS GOV website it states allowance of 2 cannabis vape pens with proper documentation under the travelers exemption. Everyone I know is strongly advising me not to bring anything with me. I do have my medical card but from what I understand AUS does not recognize out of country patients with a medical card. It’s my only form of medication. I don’t want to get into any trouble or risk my trip. Hoping to reach someone that has already went through the motions and has previously traveled from USA to AUS with a cannabis vape and knows the proper way to go about this. Michigan law, the doctors are not allowed to suggest or prescribe any specific THC product. Extremely confusing, any help is highly appreciated.

So I’ve got 2 pieces or coral I really want to take of Aus with me and I fly out tomorrow. I saw some other reddit posts of someone asking how to go about this and they got completely destroyed for it.
I just want someone to just answer my questions pls, I know illegal harvesting is bad but I took this from a beach where it was allowed in NSW.

Will they likely just let it slide or do they always flag it and take it? Will they fine me? Do I ruin my chances by declaring it? Should I ship it to myself with auspost instead?

If you wanna be stingy go ahead but I’m sure you’ve been on flights, eat seafood, buy a new phone every couple years and so on..

Hi there,

Me and my wife are coming to Australia for the first time. We arrive to Sydney on October 20 and fly back home on November 1.

We will stay mostly in Sydney and want to go to Melbourne for 2 or 3 days.

I have few questions and would really appreciate advice from locals or people who visited Australia before.

First question is about Sydney. Do we need to rent a car at all? How easy is to get around Sydney with public transport? Trains metro buses ferries etc. Is it easy to use for tourists? We are thinking maybe better to stay in one area and just use public transport instead of renting a car.

Also where would you recommend to stay in Sydney? We dont need fancy hotel, just want good location and easy transportation. We are also interested to see some normal residential areas because we are thinking about Australia as a possible place to move in the future.

Second question is Sydney to Melbourne.

We want to spend 2 or 3 days in Melbourne. Flights are quite expensive for our dates. Driving seems like 9 or 10 hours and we dont really want to spend a whole day driving. Bus and train are also quite long and not much cheaper than flying from what I see.

What would you recommend? Is flying really the best option or is there some other way we are missing?