The largest inhabited island in the Whitsundays, Hamilton Island has some of the best beach resorts in the Pacific, right on the cusp of the Great Barrier Reef. Famed for its luxury resorts and water sports, stunning views await at every turn—pristine white sands, lush rain forest, and an endless expanse of glittering ocean.
Thousands of yellow limestone rocks emerge from the desert, and dune viewpoints look out over the Indian Ocean in the Pinnacles Desert of Namburg National Park. One of Western Australia’s most popular attractions, this national park on the Coral Coast is a must for photographers, stargazers, and fans of unusual, otherworldly landscapes. Wildlife seekers should also keep their eyes peeled for more kangaroos.
See the planned city of Canberra from above from the top of Mt. Ainslie, which you can visit by hiking or driving. Reaching a height of 2,766 feet (843 meters), this small mountain in the northeast of Canberra hosts a popular tourist lookout with unparalleled views of the city and its deliberate, geometric layout.
Along the banks of the River Derwent, just south of downtown Hobart, Battery Point is one of the city’s oldest and most picturesque neighborhoods. Named after the battery of guns that once guarded its coastline; Battery Point still feels like a 19th-century fishing village, lined with weatherboard houses, cute cottages, and cozy cafés.
Adelaide Zoo is home to almost 2,500 animals, with around 250 different species from all around the world. Along with Aussie favorites like kangaroos, koalas, and Tasmanian devils, the zoo is famous for its pair of Giant Pandas, Wang Wang and Funi, the only animals of their kind in Australia.
At the southernmost tip of Darwin, fronting the Beagle Gulf, Darwin Waterfront Precinct is the first port-of-call for cruise ships and a buzzing hub of city life. Seafront parks, a swimming lagoon, and a man-made beach draw city-dwellers to the waterside, while the many bars and restaurants tempt visitors to stick around after sunset.
With its sandy beaches, windswept bluffs, and Pinnacles Lookout granite colonnade, Cape Woolamai is a must-see town on Australia’s Phillip Island. Jutting out from the island's southeastern corner, the rugged headland is a hotspot for surfing, bird-watching, and hiking its miles of coastal trails.
The craggy, volcanic cliffs of Indian Head (or Tukkee Wurroo in the Badtjala language) form a castle-like outcropping on the eastern side of K'gari (Fraser Island.) The headland is backed by smooth white sand and surrounded by clear turquoise waters, making for a dramatic contrast. As you look out to sea, you might spot whales, dolphins, or manta rays.
Known as the “River of Mirrors,” the Noosa Everglades is one of Queensland’s most stunning natural landscapes and one of only two everglades systems on Earth. This stretch of wetlands, mangrove forests, and lakes is part of Cooloola National Park and harbors a rich diversity of flora and birdlife.
Devils @ Cradle is a wildlife sanctuary dedicated to the preservation of Tasmanian devils (though they also have a large number of quolls and other local creatures). See Tasmanian devils up close and personal, and learn about these mysterious marsupials and the current threats to their survival with ranger-led talks and tours.
Phillip Island is famed for its free-roaming penguins and Australia’s largest colony of fur seals, but those are not the only types of wildlife you can see there. The Phillip Island Wildlife Park is home to more than 100 different species of native Australian animals. Visitors can see and interact with the wildlife living in the park.
Located in the Old Customs House, which dates back to the 19th century, the Immigration Museum reveals the multicultural customs that immigrants have contributed to life in Australia. In addition to learning about the lives of the first settlers in Australia, you can discover your family history by searching the museum’s archive of immigrant details.
A port town at the mouth of the Yarra River, Williamstown brims with colonial and maritime history. Its heritage landmarks have endured more than 150 years on the salty edge of Hobsons Bay and Port Phillip Bay; the bluestone Old Morgue was built by convicts in 1859, while the 19th-century Timeball Tower at Point Gellibrand continues to keep time today.
The National Gallery of Australia has a stunning permanent collection of art focusing on four areas: Australian art, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, Asian and Pacific art, and European and American Art. Highlights include works by Australian artists Sidney Nolan, Tom Roberts, and Arthur Streeton.
From rocky canyons to unspoiled beaches to limestone cliffs, Cape Range National Park on the northwest tip of Western Australia boasts a rugged and diverse environment right next to the Indian Ocean. The park is one of the natural highlights of this region, known as the Coral Coast.
Established in 1848, the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is Sydney's primary venue for cricket and Australian rules football. It also serves as the home stadium for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Australian Football League’s Sydney Swans. The SCG holds just over 47,000 spectators.
Get a lesson in history with a visit to Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG), established in 1843 by the Royal Society of Tasmania. The collection at Australia’s second-oldest museum includes archaeological and colonial relics, Aboriginal artifacts, old photographs, ephemera, and fine examples of colonial decorative arts.
Australia’s largest conference and exhibition space, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), spans more than 750,000 square feet (70,000 square meters). Perched beside the Yarra River, near the city’s Central Business District (CBD), it hosts conferences, meetings, exhibitions, concerts, and more.
Known to locals as “the Royal” or “the Nasho,” Australia’s Royal National Park has been a favorite nature escape for Sydney locals since 1879—and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its diverse landscapes range from eucalyptus forests and ancient sandstone cliffs to wildlife-rich wetlands and sandy beaches beckoning for a swim.
More than a dozen full-size aircraft are on display at the Darwin Aviation Museum (formerly the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre, including a rare Boeing B52 bomber and Japanese planes that crashed in Darwin during WWII. A must for anyone with a passion for planes, it’s one of the city’s most visited museums.
The Whispering Wall is a time-honored stop at the southern end of the world-famous Barossa Valley. A walk across the dam perches you 9-stories high, with the Barossa Reservoir water on one side and a long drop on the other. The unique acoustics of the concave concrete dam wall allows you to hear sounds from afar, including whispered utterances.
Jutting out into Sydney Harbour to the east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay, Garden Island is home to the Royal Australian Navy’s fleet of ships and its heritage center. Visit the area to see fortifications from the colonial period, the first grass tennis court in Australia, and a heritage rose garden.
Covering a significant portion of Melbourne’s Southbank, Crown Melbourne is an entertainment complex with three hotels, spas, a cinema, a casino, and a number of bars and restaurants that overlook the Yarra River. The fun never ends at the casino, which is open 24 hours and welcomes guests with a dazzling water jet and fire show.
Used by fishing boats and private yachts alike, Constitution Dock is best known as the finishing point for the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, which takes place in the week leading up to New Year’s. However, it's a vibrant spot to visit throughout the year, offering good photo opportunities and lots of great spots to grab seafood.
Among the most recognizable features of the Hobart skyline, the massive Tasman Bridge spans almost a mile (1.4 kilometers) from north of the Central Business District out into the suburbs. The bridge drew international news attention in 1975, when a bulk carrier collided into it and then sank, in what was dubbed the Tasman Bridge Disaster.
The Australian National Maritime Museum features rich exhibitions ranging from the time of the Eora First People to the First Fleet all the way to the present. Here you can learn about how convicts traveled in dark and damp accommodations and how passengers sailing to a new life survived long ocean journeys.
On the western tip of the Mornington Peninsula, travelers come to the beautiful Point Nepean National Park to bike or hike along the coastal landscape and to learn more about the park’s history at the 50 heritage-listed buildings. The ocean views along one of Victoria’s most treacherous coastlines are also impressive.
Part of Queensland’s Great Sandy National Park, Double Island Point is a beautiful forested headland topped with a lighthouse and adorned with a long white sand spit. There’s no road, so you can reach it by driving along the beach in a 4WD vehicle. You can also hike, mountain bike, or see it from the water on a fishing trip.
Shute Harbour is a center of transit for visitors to the Whitsunday Islands. Amazingly for such a low-population area, the harbor is actually Australia's second busiest commuter port. Although there’s a small village here, the vast majority of tourists simply pass through town on their way to catch a ferry or a cruise around the islands.
Just minutes from downtown, the Roma Street Parkland provides city-dwellers with a tranquil escape the buzz of city life. Set on the slopes of Spring Hill and designed by Colin Campbell—star of the popular Gardening Australia TV show—the 40-acre (16-hectare parklands provide sunny picnic patches, leafy walking trails, and subtropical gardens.
