Australia is a long way between good days.

The reef, the harbour, the rock, the wine valleys, the animals and the coast road. Most trips are built around a handful of these, and the operator you pick changes the day more than the destination does.

More travellers take these than anything else on the continent, and each one earns the day for a different reason.

1

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 8,312 reviews

Opera House Guided Tour with Entrance Ticket

Guided walking tour of the Sydney Opera House with an entrance ticket, off-limits photo spots, and a world-class guide in about 1 hour.

From · $33

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2 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 7,832 reviews All Inclusive Blue Mountain,Scenic World,Lunch,Koalas,ferry from $204 3 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 6,607 reviews Great Ocean Road Small-Group Eco Tour from Melbourne from $106 4 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 6,020 reviews Great Ocean Road, 12 Apostles, Wildlife Tour from $94 5 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 4,777 reviews Ocean Rafting: Whitehaven Beach, Snorkelling & Hill Inlet Lookout from $149 6 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 4,552 reviews Laid back, Yarra Valley Wine Tour: Wine, Cider, Gin, Beer + Choc from $93 7 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 4,471 reviews Blue Mountains Full-Day Trip from $148 8 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 4,186 reviews Great Ocean Road Reverse Itinerary Boutique Tour – Max 11 Guests from $106

★★★★★★★★★★4.5· 3,714 travellers on the busiest reef boat

The reef is 2,300 km long, so the question is never whether to go — it is which stretch, from which town, on what size vessel. Big catamarans run to moored pontoons with everything laid on. Small boats go further out to the ribbon reefs with fewer people in the water.

• 1Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling and Diving Cruise from Cairnsfrom $190
• 2Great Barrier Reef Cruise by Premium Catamaranfrom $190
• 3Outer Edges of The Great Barrier Reef Scenic Flightfrom $169

The full day

Outer reef pontoons from Cairns

Full day· from Cairns· gear included

A fast catamaran out to a moored platform on the outer reef, with snorkel gear, a glass-bottom boat and a buffet included. The easiest first reef day, and the one that suits non-swimmers.

The quieter one

Agincourt ribbons from Port Douglas

Full day· smaller boats· dive add-ons

Port Douglas sits closer to the ribbon reefs, so the same money buys clearer water and fewer people on the mooring. Introductory dives are usually bookable on board.

The white sand

Whitehaven and Hill Inlet by boat

Half or full day· from Airlie Beach· sailing or rafting

Silica sand so fine it squeaks, and the swirl at Hill Inlet that every photo of Australia seems to use. Sailing catamarans take it slowly; rigid-hull rafts get you three stops in a day.

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The whole catalogue by price, because the gap between a good cheap day out and an expensive one is smaller here than the brochures suggest.

Under $60

479 tours

City walks, harbour ferries, winery afternoons, zoo and park entry — the everyday half-days.

• 1Opera House Guided Tour with Entrance Ticketfrom $33
• 2Sydney Opera House Official Guided Walking Tourfrom $34
• 3Big Bus Hop-On Hop-Off Tour with Optional Cruisefrom $51

$60–150

1,006 tours

The standard full day: coast road runs, wine tours with lunch, wildlife parks, most whale seasons.

• 1Great Ocean Road Small-Group Eco Tour from Melbournefrom $106
• 2Great Ocean Road, 12 Apostles, Wildlife Tourfrom $94
• 3Ocean Rafting: Whitehaven Beach, Snorkelling & Hill Inlet Lookoutfrom $149

$150 and up

613 tours

Outer reef boats, scenic flights, multi-day sailing and the private guides worth their price.

• 1All Inclusive Blue Mountain,Scenic World,Lunch,Koalas,ferryfrom $204
• 2Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling and Diving Cruise from Cairnsfrom $190
• 3Blue Mountains Small-Group Tour from Sydney with Scenic World,Sydney Zoo & Ferryfrom $161

Beaches and wine you can find on any continent. An island of quokkas, a beach of penguins at dusk and the largest sand island on earth belong to this one.

Half an hour off Fremantle

The Quokka Island

Rottnest allows almost no private cars, so the island runs on bikes, a shuttle bus and your own legs. The quokkas are the reason most people come: small, unbothered marsupials that thrive here and almost nowhere else. They will walk right up to you, and the law is clear that you look and never touch or feed them.

1. 1Rottnest Island Full-Day Bike and Ferry Trip★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 2,548 reviews
2. 2From Perth or Fremantle: Rottnest Island Ferry and Bus Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 1,246 reviews
3. 3Rottnest Island Ferry and Bike Day Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 805 reviews

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Every night at dusk

The Penguin Parade

At sunset on Summerland Beach the world’s smallest penguins come ashore in rafts and cross the sand to their burrows. It happens every night of the year, on nature’s clock rather than the timetable, so winter means an early finish and summer a late one. Cameras are banned on the beach and the ban is enforced.

1. 1Penguin Parade, & Wildlife Encounters Eco Tour from Melbourne★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,774 reviews
2. 2Penguin Parade, Koalas & Kangaroos★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,932 reviews
3. 3Phillip Island Penguin Parade & Koalas Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 1,408 reviews

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No sealed roads

K’gari, the Sand Island

K’gari, long written as Fraser Island, is the largest sand island on earth and there is not a paved road on it. Everything runs on 4WD: the perched freshwater of Lake McKenzie, the Champagne Pools, the rusting Maheno on Seventy-Five Mile Beach — a stretch that serves as both the highway and the airstrip. The dingoes here are wild, and the rules about them are not decoration.

1. 1K’gari (Fraser Island) All Inclusive Day Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,477 reviews
2. 2K’gari, Fraser Island Full-Day Coach Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 2,328 reviews
3. 3Remote K’gari Tour by Boat with Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 1,229 reviews

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