Australia
A continent with the population of Texas, where the seasons run backwards and nothing is as close together as the map suggests.
Coastal cities and an enormous, empty middle
Australia is almost exactly the size of the continental United States and holds about twenty-seven million people, nearly all of them within an hour of the coast. That shape explains the country: a handful of dense, cosmopolitan, food-obsessed coastal cities, and an interior that is genuinely remote. Sydney to Perth is a five-hour flight — further than New York to Los Angeles.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been here for at least sixty-five thousand years, the longest continuous culture on earth, and engaging with it properly is one of the best reasons to make the trip. In the Red Centre that means an Anangu-guided walk at the base of Uluru rather than a photograph from the car park. Modern Australia is also one of the most successfully multicultural societies anywhere — roughly half the population has a parent born overseas, which is why Melbourne's Vietnamese and Greek food and Sydney's Chinese and Lebanese food are as good as they are.
Seasons are inverted. December through February is high summer — hot, and when Australians take their own holidays. Our northern spring and autumn, September to November and March to May, are the sweet spots for the southern cities. But the tropical north runs on wet and dry instead: the Great Barrier Reef and Kakadu are best from May to October, and the December-to-March wet brings heat, rain and stingers. Given twenty-plus hours of flying each way, we rarely plan Australia for less than two weeks, and often pair it with New Zealand or a stop in the Pacific.
Australia, four ways
What we'd actually send you to do
Not an exhaustive list — the handful of things our travelers come home talking about.
Things to do
- Climb the Sydney Harbour BridgeThree and a half hours, harnessed, up the arch. The best view in the country and worth the cost.
- Snorkel or dive the outer reefFrom Cairns or Port Douglas, out to the ribbon reefs rather than the inshore ones. A full day on the water.
- Drive the Great Ocean RoadMelbourne to the Twelve Apostles over two days, not one. Stop at Lorne and Apollo Bay.
- Walk the base of Uluru with an Anangu guideSix miles around, in the early morning, with the stories that belong to each section of the rock.
- Get lost in Melbourne's lanewaysCoffee, street art and small bars behind unmarked doors. The city's whole personality is in them.
Places to go
- SydneyThe harbour, the Opera House, Bondi and the coastal walk to Coogee. Three nights minimum.
- MelbourneFood, coffee, sport and arts. The city Australians argue is the better one.
- Cairns & Port DouglasThe reef and the Daintree rainforest meeting the sea in the same afternoon.
- The Red CentreUluru and Kata Tjuta. Two nights, flown into Ayers Rock airport, not driven.
- TasmaniaWilderness, MONA and the food scene in Hobart. The best-value week in the country.
Things to see
- The Sydney Opera HouseTake the interior tour. Utzon's building is far stranger and better inside than the postcard suggests.
- Uluru at sunset and sunriseThe colour shift is not exaggerated. Do both; they are different rocks.
- The Twelve ApostlesLimestone stacks in the Southern Ocean. Seven remain standing; nobody renamed it.
- The DaintreeThe oldest continuously surviving rainforest on earth, at around a hundred and eighty million years.
- MONA, HobartA private museum in a sandstone cliff, reached by ferry, and unlike any institution you have visited.
On the table in Australia
Dishes to order
- Modern Australian seafoodSydney rock oysters, Moreton Bay bugs, barramundi. The produce is the point; the cooking gets out of the way.
- A proper meat pieFrom a bakery, not a service station. With tomato sauce, standing up.
- Melbourne brunchThe city effectively invented the global version of it. Go before ten.
- Lamingtons and pavlovaSponge in chocolate and coconut, and a meringue Australia and New Zealand still argue over.
Where locals eat
- Sydney Fish MarketEarly, at the counters, with a plastic tray and a view of the boats.
- Melbourne's Vietnamese in RichmondVictoria Street, a dozen options, all excellent, none expensive.
- Wineries within an hour of the citiesThe Hunter from Sydney, the Yarra and Mornington from Melbourne. Lunch, not just tasting.
What to drink
- Flat whiteAustralian in origin and taken seriously. A bad one is a genuine local scandal.
- Shiraz from the BarossaAnd cool-climate pinot from the Yarra and Tasmania, which surprises people.
- Craft beer, everywhereEvery city has a dozen breweries with taprooms and kitchens.
Let's put dates on Australia
Australia is a two-week trip at minimum, and the long-haul fares reward booking early. Tell us roughly when you'd like to travel and we'll come back with real options and current pricing.
