Our Four Week Australia Itinerary

If you have been following along with us on social media, you have no doubt seen our month-long adventure through the land down under! With Chris having lived here for an extended period of time and making the journey down this way multiple times, it is always his advice to try and make the most of a trip here by spending as much time as you can and we certainly did that on this trip.

The reason for the timing of our trip was our friend Sarah’s wedding that we were attending in Canberra which did influence the timing of each stop on the itinerary and the direction of the stops we made. Where appropriate, we will mention how we would have done things differently had we not been in a time commitment.

Day 1 – 3: Travel

It’s no news that it takes a LONG time to get from the East Coast of the U.S. to Australia. There are more ways than ever to get down under with Delta having some great fares recently from Atlanta and JFK but since we were using points to pay for the majority of the flights, we flew from Boston to LA on JetBlue before hopping on a Hawaiian flight to Honolulu and then on to Sydney. From there, once we cleared customs, we hopped on a Jetstar flight to Melbourne to begin the trip. Including the time difference and layovers, it was a roughly 35-hour journey from start to finish.

Day 4 - 8: Melbourne

The several days after we arrived were spent getting over jetlag and exploring our first stop. Melbourne is a world-class city with an impressive (and delicious) food scene, along with a vibrant arts culture that is well worth a stop on any itinerary. One of the main reasons we decided to make it the first stop on our itinerary rather than Sydney was due to it being the best place to start a journey along the Great Ocean Road, which should be a highlight on any longer-term trip down to Oz.

Day 8 – 10: Great Ocean Road

If there is one quintessential road trip you should undertake while in Australia, it is the Great Ocean Road. Sandstone cliffs, miles of pristine beaches and quaint laid back surf towns make it a can’t miss on any itinerary. We tackled it in two days and it is more than possible to see the highlights in that time, but if you have an extra day or two to spare it will certainly make it that much easier to soak it all in and enjoy it.

After picking up our rental car from Melbourne we headed down towards Apollo Bay and spent the night there, continuing on to Warrnambool the next night and from there making the seven hour drive up to Adelaide the next day.

Day 10 - 14: Adelaide

After dropping off the rental car and meeting up with our friend Claudia, we set out to see what Adelaide had to offer. We had the chance to visit a winery in McLaren Vale and see the scenery at Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens. It was a great few days catching up but we would definitely recommend more than a few days time in Adelaide, as there was much more to do that we didn’t have time for. From Adelaide, we caught a flight up to Alice Springs to explore the Red Center.

Day 14 – 17: Alice Springs

Having bid farewell to our friend in Adelaide, we took the short flight up to Alice Springs to see what the red center had to offer and hopefully get an amazing sunset at Uluru. From Alice Springs, we picked up our rental vehicle and drove the roughly five hours out to the Ayers Rock campground to spend a few days exploring the park and taking in the grandeur of Uluru.

One suggestion we would have though is that if you can spare more time here, we would recommend that. There is a lot more to take in besides Uluru and we missed out on the opportunity to see King’s Canyon due to the longer-than-anticipated drive times between locations here. It also meant that we could not take advantage of a campervan as they have minimum hire periods, which resulted in an uncomfortable night in the front seat of our rental car.

Day 17 – 21: Canberra

After departing from Alice Springs, we caught a flight down to the capital territory, Canberra. As we mentioned earlier, the primary reason we stopped in Canberra was to attend a friend’s wedding and to be honest, it probably isn’t the biggest tourist destination on a trip to Australia. That said though it does have a lot of history to see, with the parliament houses and embassies to check out, as well as an improving foodie scene in the downtown area. If you are pressed for time though we would recommend going directly from Alice up to our next stop or to Cairns if you are planning on trying to see the Great Barrier Reef while you are in Australia.

Day 21 – 25: Brisbane

From our stop in the ACT we caught a flight up to Brisbane for some sun and surf. Brisbane is located in the north of Australia in Queensland and features heaps of great beaches and surf breaks to indulge your solar addiction while you are here. There is also Surfer’s Paradise a short drive south, and the Australia Zoo to the north but as both are difficult to reach by public transit, we would recommend renting a car as it saves a lot of hassle for reaching the further sights.

Another thing worth noting is that you cannot see the Great Barrier Reef from Brisbane. The closest area you can see the reef via boat is Lady Musgrave Island which departs from Bundaberg, which is roughly a 4.5-hour drive north from Brisbane. You can also access Lady Elliot Island via small aircraft from Hervey Bay, which is located right near Fraser Island, another not-to-miss experience located several hours’ drive from Brisbane. If you are short on time, there are also flights directly from Brisbane to Lady Elliot Island.

Day 25 – 32 : Sydney

Sydney is a city that Chris was very familiar with, having spent a year and a half attending university just north of the city center about a decade ago. Needless to say, quite a lot had changed in the ten years he had been gone and we spent the time catching up on the sights and seeing some new ones that Chris hadn’t gotten a chance to see the first time around. Sydney is probably the most common arrival and departure point for most people coming to Australia, and since we were departing back eastbound, thought that it would be the best place to conclude the trip to Australia.

There you have it! This itinerary should allow time to see all of the major highlights that Australia can offer and as we stated there is some room for altering the locations and time spent in each place to allow for more time in some locations. We hope you find it useful and happy travels!