Eastern Australia Perfect Itinerary

If you are looking to see the highlights of Eastern Australia, I have the perfect itinerary for you! I did this exact itinerary over the year-end holiday in 2019. We focused our travel around visiting family, so this was our main reason for the chosen itinerary. I had only been to Melbourne back in 2007, so this multi-city east coast trip was the perfect itinerary for me!

I will share my experiences and excursions while visiting the areas of Brisbane, Melbourne, and Airlie Beach (near the Great Barrier Reef). We did our three-week trip in this particular sequence for various reasons, but you could start your itinerary at the northern or southern end of the Australian coast and work your way in only one direction.

Brisbane

Our first stop was Brisbane to visit my partner’s brother and family. We were there for nine days over Christmas. It was warm and sunny the entire time. I loved hearing the sounds of the tropical birds and seeing the blooming summer flowers.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

One of the first tourist attractions we saw was the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in the Fig Tree Pocket suburb of Brisbane. We literally walked there 30 minutes from the family’s house and spent a few hours in this unique type of zoo.

I call the sanctuary unique because some of the animals weren’t in cages. There were open areas where the visitors could walk freely and approach the wildlife. We saw many types of kangaroos and were able to get close to them.

I had seen kangaroos and koalas when I visited the Healesville Sanctuary near Melbourne during my first trip to Australia in 2007. I just adore seeing these creatures from down under. We also saw wombats, dingos, and lots of reptiles at the Lone Pine Sanctuary. They had different shows throughout the day you could pop in and watch. One of the interesting demonstrations was the Free Flight Raptor Show with large birds flying around the arena.

I have to say that my favorite Australian animal is the adorable koala bear. We could have waited to get a close-up photo holding a koala but decided not to do the long line. I took many pictures of these little guys chilling in the trees.

Mount Coot-Tha Summit Lookout

Another interesting place we went to on two different occasions (once by car and once by hiking) was Mount Coot-Tha. The park offers a fantastic view of downtown Brisbane off in the distance. There is a nice restaurant at the top and different walking paths to explore.

The park is a forest reserve located 7 kilometers from Brisbane. We stopped by the park both times only for a quick look, but I found it to be a great spot to get a good feel of the surrounding Brisbane area.

Downtown River Cruise and Story Bridge

We spent a whole day touring the downtown area of Brisbane. The best option to get into the city is by ferry boat! Taking a boat on the Brisbane River is a nice way to view the skyscrapers. You have the option to hop off at any stop to walk around and explore.

There are sections of the river with long paths to walk along and see parks, shopping areas, and restaurants. There is a big Ferris wheel and a waterpark right next to the river.

We returned to downtown Brisbane at the end of our Australian trip (as we were flying back home from Brisbane). We went to see the nighttime view with the lovely illuminated skyline. The Story Bridge was very scenic with its glowing lights. I can recommend a restaurant where we had great food and local beer, called Felon’s Brewery.

Kirra Beach, Queensland

From where we were staying in Brisbane, we drove south 1.5 hours to spend a few days in Kirra Beach on the Gold Coast. Kirra Beach is known for its world-class surfing waves and beautiful beach.

While staying in Kirra Beach, we took long beach walks, did a bit of surfing, tried some of the restaurants, and just relaxed. I didn’t find it crowded at all. The weather was perfect for the end of December. I had to laugh at the lifeguard stands on the beach decorated with Christmas ornaments.

There is a nice walking route that goes from Kirra Beach to the rocky surf break and further south to Coolangatta Beach. The views overlooking the turquoise blue waters are worth the walk.

Coolangatta seemed to be a more ‘hopping’ town than Kirra Beach, with its trendy shops and restaurants. I recommend a cool place called ‘4 Pines Brewing Company‘. We tried their local ‘4 Pines’ beer and sat outside to watch all the action.

I was amazed at the view of Surfers Paradise town from Kirra Beach. You can see the line of skyscrapers across the water. We drove north to the Surfers Paradise seaside resort one day. It reminded me of Miami, Florida, with all of the modern buildings surrounded by water.

Another walk we did in Kirra Beach was on the north end of town where we passed many lovely beach houses. There is a big rock on the beach called ‘Elephant Rock’ that you can walk up steps to get a higher view of the surrounding area.

Byron Bay

One last excursion we did from Kirra Beach was to visit Byron Bay in New South Wales. Byron Bay was very crowded compared to other seaside towns we had been to. We drove to the Cape Byron lighthouse and walked along the boardwalk at Cape Byron State Conservation Park.

I learned that this popular resort area is very expensive and caters to the wealthy. They say that Byron Bay has now exceeded Sydney as the nation’s most expensive housing market.

Tamborine National Park

On the way back to Kirra Beach from Byron Bay, we stopped at Tamborine National Park. We spent some time in the section called ‘Joalah’ and did an easy forest walk to see huge trees and wildlife. It was very pleasant and different from the beach scenery.

Melbourne

After spending 9 days in the Brisbane area, we took a 2.5-hour flight south to Melbourne where my partner’s mom and sister live. We stayed here for 5 days over New Year’s Eve. We did a bit of sightseeing in Melbourne and visited friends that live there.

Downtown Melbourne

We drove into downtown Melbourne one day to have lunch with a friend. I remembered the downtown area from my first trip to Melbourne in 2007. In the central district, you will find a nice aquarium, many restaurants along the Yarra River, and beautiful parks to enjoy the city vibes.

One part of downtown I appreciated was Federation Square. We didn’t have time to visit any of the museums, but I enjoyed walking around this bustling area.

I can highly recommend a restaurant in this area where we went for lunch. It’s called ‘Cookie‘.

The 2nd-floor restaurant had very cool decor and the best Thai food! Be sure to reserve a table on the small terrace of this is building.

Williamstown

While staying in Melbourne, we drove 11 kilometers to Williamstown for lunch. This coastal harbor town offered great views of the big city behind the harbor sailboats. Williamstown was originally Melbourne’s first sea port. It is now a vibrant maritime village worth visiting.

Yarra Valley Wineries

You can’t visit Melbourne without doing a tour of the vineyard region located 45 kilometers away. There are a total of 31 different wineries in Yarra Valley and we visited three (Chandon, Toolangi, and Tarra Warra).

I thought the nicest winery we saw this day was the Tarra Warra Estate. The grounds outside the winery were manicured to perfection.

You could have your ‘wine tasting’ while sitting on a terrace overlooking trees, ponds, and vineyards.

Airlie Beach

Our last destination in Eastern Australia was up north near the Great Barrier Reef. After spending 14 days with family, we wanted to spend our last 5 days of vacation in a romantic and tropical setting.

I had done some research about interesting places near the Great Barrier Reef to explore. I decided to stay in the small town of Airlie Beach.

We flew into a small airport called Proserpine which is 26 km from Airlie Beach. We stayed at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast within a 10 minute walk from the center of Airlie Beach. I highly recommend the Airlie Guest House. It was small, quaint, friendly, and offered a great view of the bay!

One of the reasons I chose to stay in Airlie Beach was the opportunity to do some local hikes. We did two separate hikes while we were there. Both of them offered beautiful views of the surrounding bays and islands.

The Honeyeater Lookout Trail started just above our guest house. We took a bus to get to the second hike, called Mt. Rooper Summit.

WhitSunday Islands and Whitehaven Beach

Airlie Beach is situated on the mainland next to the WhitSunday Islands.  There are 74 islands (mostly uninhabited) in the Whitsundays, located on the northeast coast of Queensland. Other than being part of the Great Barrier Reef, the islands are known for having dense rainforest, hiking trails, and white sand beaches.

I wanted to see the highlights of the WhitSunday islands and thought the best way would be doing a cruise. We booked a day trip from Airlie Beach on the purple catamaran called ‘Camira’. The trip was booked through Cruise WhitSundays.

I thought the cruise was fantastic! I liked that it was on a smaller boat and not too many people with us. I liked that it was more activity-oriented and fun than one of the bigger ferry-type boats. I liked that they included guided tours to see the highlights of the WhitSundays. I liked that we had a delicious BBQ lunch aboard and all drinks were included in the price (approx. 200 Australian dollars per adult).

The highlight of the outing was to visit Whitehaven Beach. We were taken off our boat and led up to a hilltop (called ‘Hill Inlet’) that offered amazing views of this 7 km long white beach. I had never seen anything so pretty with the different turquoise water colors and bright white sand.

We were free to walk around or swim for a while before returning back to our catamaran. We chose not to swim here but did walk out into the water as you see in the picture.

Another highlight of this day trip was gearing up in stinger suits (special wetsuit) to go snorkeling. I learned that you have to be very careful of the jellyfish in these waters. It was my first time wearing a stinger suit, but I wasn’t afraid at all.

All in all, it was a great day. I highly recommend doing a boat tour like this one.

Great Barrier Reef

Who hasn’t put on their bucket list to see the Great Barrier Reef? I had wanted to see this place for a long time and the best way was via an airplane!

I did my research on how we could see the reef in a short amount of time. I chose to book a 60-minute airplane ride through GSL Aviation. We found their local office on the main street of Airlie Beach. They were friendly and professional.

We were able to see an aerial view of Airlie Beach and the WhitSunday Islands (including Whitehaven Beach) that we had seen from the boat. It was nice to put it all in perspective from a birdseye view.

It took about 15 minutes from the start of the ride to get the first glimpses of the reef. I was in awe of the formations and colors! It is imperative to have good weather for this tour. It’s ok to have some clouds but it needs to be mostly sunny to appreciate the colors.

The ride included a fly-over of the famous ‘Heart Reef’, which is a small reef that resembles a heart.

We were lucky to have the back seat of the plane which offered views from both sides of the plane. I have to say that I was almost too busy taking videos and photos to stop and enjoy the experience. Don’t make this mistake!

What a great trip it was! We had to rationalize spending 250 Australian dollars per person for 60 minutes, but it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience! I included this activity in my blog post on the 18 Most Adventurous Things I’ve Done !

I was happy we chose to base ourselves in Airlie Beach to discover this area. It was not overcrowded with other tourists, and we didn’t have to spend an arm and a leg for a hotel. We enjoyed nice sunsets and felt very relaxed here.

Summary of Eastern Australia Perfect Itinerary

So, what did you think of this Eastern Australia Itinerary? Would it be something you’d like to do? If you only have two or three weeks, it is worth considering just one coast of this huge country. I would like to return to Australia one day to see all the other beautiful spots.

If you’ve already been to Australia, please leave a comment below as to which places you consider the best to see!

If you would like to see more of my pictures and videos of our Eastern Australia trip, check out my Facebook album!

If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!