My Australia East Coast Itinerary
Here’s how I spent 6 weeks traveling from Sydney to Cairns along the East Coast. I travelled during January and February which is Australia’s summer so very busy with tourists. It’s recommended to book all of your activities in advance during this time so I opted to book my East Coast Itinerary with Welcome To Travel.
Sydney – 8 Days – Nomads
I started my trip in Sydney, spending 8 days staying at Nomads which is located between town hall and Darling Harbour. I think this was a good area to stay in as it was a central location and Town Hall has a large transport link.
Activities
– General Exploring:
Hyde Park, Botanical Gardens, Darling Harbour, Harbour Bridge, Balmain
– NYE
I arrived just before New Year’s so I could experience the fireworks over the opera house and harbour bridge. You can view the display for free from the botanical gardens however, most of the areas have restricted views and people queue from very early in the morning. I arrived around 8:30am to a massive queue with all the good spots taken once I got in a few hours later. Below you can see the view I had of the display which I still think was pretty good for being free and they had toilets and food stands in the gardens so it was a nice place to spend all day. However, I wish I had booked an event for NYE as it is a once in a lifetime type of thing for me and I’m sure for many of you reading this.
– Manly
Manly is a fun place to visit in Sydney as you can catch one of the ferries to get there. You can catch a ferry from Circle Quay which is right between the opera house and harbour bridge and has great views of both from the boat. Once you get to Manly you will be greeted with a completely different vibe to central Sydney. Manly has a very beachside town feel to it with lots of ice cream and yogurt shops. You can enjoy the beaches here or take a walk around the cliffs for amazing views.
– Bondi to Coogee
The Bondi to Coogee walk is a must do in Sydney. The walk takes approximately 2 hours but there are plenty of beaches to take breaks at along the way. The views and beaches are amazing and it makes for a great day out.
I think a week is a good amount of time to explore Sydney, however, I would have stayed longer if I had more time. I would have liked to of spent a few nights at Bondi Beach as this is a large area I feel I didn’t get to explore. Another activity to add if you have time is to visit the Blue Mountains.
Byron Bay – 7 Days – Aquarius
After a 12 hour bus journey, my next stop on my East Coast Itinerary is Byron Bay. I spent a total of 7 days here but 4 of these I took part in surf lessons.
Activities
– Light House Walk
– Dolphin Kayak
– 4 Day Surf Camp
– I wanted to try surfing for the first time in Australia so booked a surf camp with Mojo Surf in Byron Bay. For my first experience surfing, I really enjoyed this group. The instructors were fun and it was a good experience. However, it is a big group so you don’t get very much individual help if you are serious about trying to learn.
Byron Bay is a very small town so I think 3-4 days is plenty of time to see it if you aren’t planning to surf. A lot of people really love spending time here though and you can definitely enjoy plenty of beach days here if you enjoy that.
Surfers Paradise – 2 Day – bunk
Next up on my East Coast Itinerary is Surfers Paradise which I have mixed feelings about. I think it is most well known for it’s nightlife which if you’re travelling in a big group or just love a night out then you could definitely spend a couple of nights here. This wasn’t the vibe for me so I could have definitely missed it out but I did still enjoy my day here having a walk around and doing some shopping.
Brisbane – 3 Days – Fortitude Valley Bunk
Activities
– General Exploring:
-Story Bridge, Kangaroo Point, South Bank
– Australia Zoo
I absolutely loved visiting Australia Zoo and I think it really speaks for itself as a bucket list item. The only point I will mention here is I found it a lot harder to get to than expected. I was able to take the train but only a few run a day and the zoo shuttle bus from the train station stopped running around 3 o’clock. Which myself and many other quests didn’t realize, so I then had to navigate the local buses back to the station. This is obviously something I should have looked into in advance but being such a large tourist attraction I expected it to be easy. So make sure you plan your travel in advance. This can be either from Brisbane or Noosa as the zoo is between the two.
– Morton Island Get Wrecked Tour
One of my favourite activities on my East Coast itinerary was the Morton Island Get Wrecked Tour run by Sunset Safaris. This tour included sandboarding, Snorkelling and transparent Kayaking. Of course, trips like this are weather dependent and on my day the weather was amazing so the fun activities and sunny day made for a great tour.
I felt that one day was enough for me to explore the key parts of Brisbane, so 3 days in total to include the activities above worked well.
Noosa – 3 Days – Bounce
Activities
– National Park – Fairy Pools
This was a beautiful walk but the fairy pools are slightly disappointing. I think they are overhyped on social media, but exploring the national park is definitely worth doing regardless. There are amazing beaches and views all along the walk.
– Everglades eco tour, boat and canoe
– surf day
On my final day in Noosa, I rented a surfboard and spent the day at the beach. This was really easy to do, I got my board from Bernie’s Surfboard Hire.
For most people 2-3 days is the perfect amount of time to spend in Noosa however, I really liked it here and would have liked to spend a couple more days enjoying the beaches.
K’gari – 3 Days – Pippies
K’gari is a sand island off of the Queensland coast. It is very popular amongst tourists to do camping tours on the island. I heard about many great trips to the island but I chose to book with Pippies for a 2 night trip. This tour is with approximately 20 other people and 1 guide for your trip. You get to travel across the island in 4×4’s and spend the nights camping. During the days we visited many places on the island including Lake McKenzie, Eagles Creek and the Champagne Pools. Personally I am not a great fan of camping but I think the K’gari trip is an unmissable experience on the East Coast to spend some time off grid with like-minded people. The places on the island are beautiful and driving the 4×4 is great fun too.
Rainbow Beach – 1 Day – Pippies Beachhouse Backpackers
Rainbow Beach is a very small town with a ferry to K’gari (Fraser Island.) I spent the night before and the night after my K’gari trip here. A lot of people choose not to stop here and travel to K’gari straight from Noosa. I liked the chill and quiet atmosphere here to relax before and after my Pippies tour.
Airlie – 3 Days – Nomads
The next stop on my east coast trip was Airlie Beach. Airlie beach is the gateway to the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef.
Activities
– Lagoon
– Scenic Flight
Whitsundays – 3 Days – Apollo
If I had to pick a favourite activity from my East Coast itinerary it would be my time sailing the Whitsundays. I went on a 2 night trip on the Apollo boat and it was absolutely amazing. The Apollo is a sailboat that holds about 22 people. It is quite a small boat so the sleeping arrangements weren’t very comfortable but the experiences during the days made it completely worth it. The views were beautiful and we visited a few beaches including the famous Whitehaven beach. We also got to snorkel at 5 different spots and saw so many turtles! of course, trips like this are weather dependent again, but I got so lucky on mine and had the best time.
Magnetic Island – 2 Days – Nomads
Magnetic Island is another popular place to visit, you can get a ferry over to the island from Townsville. The most common thing to do on the island is to hire 4×4 (or Barbie cars) and explore the island for the day. I was able to do this with some friends I met on my Whitsunday trip and had a really fun day. The island is small and there aren’t many shops or restaurants but there is still plenty to do such as;
– Go to Horseshoe Bay or Picnic Bay and swim in the sea (They have jellyfish nets here)
– See the rock wallabies (we found the most at the ferry port at sunset)
– Feed Lorikeets at Selina
– See Koalas at Forts Walk
If you aren’t able to hire a car here there is a bus you can catch around the island but it doesn’t run very frequently. Both hostels on the island seem really nice but I would definitely stay at Selina if I wasn’t renting a car as there are more of the activities near this hostel.
Cairns – 7 Days – Global Packers
The final stop on my backpacking trip was Cairns. I didn’t like cairns as much as my other stops on the trip but there are some really fun activities to do here that make it worth the visit.
Activities
– Esplanade Lagoon
– Cairns Aquarium
– Divers Den Scuba Dive
This was an amazing experience with Diver’s Den. You head out to the great barrier reef and they have people doing scuba diving of different experience levels and snorkelling. I had booked for an intro dive with an instructor but loved it so much I joined in on a second dive too!
– Uncle Brian’s Daintree Rainforest
– Mission Beach Sky Dive
Some people choose to stay at Mission beach, which is about 2 hours from cairns, for their sky dive but I chose to book with Skydive Australia who offer a bus transfer from cairns. It does take a long time on the bus but I was able to meet and chat with the other people on the bus and getting to land on the beach for my sky dive was really cool!
– Cairns Botanical Garden
East Coast Itinerary Conclusion
Welcome To Travel
As mentioned above I booked my whole trip ( Hostels, Bus Transport and 90% of activities) with Welcome To Travel. I booked approximately 3 months in advance of my trip which was during Australia’s summer, the busiest travel period. I liked using a company to book everything with as it made it so easy. They were happy to help with everything I wanted and worked out all the logistics so I didn’t have to.
Extra
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my full Australia East Coast Itinerary feel free to get in touch with any questions. I really had an amazing time on this trip and the only thing I’d possibly change is skipping Surfers Paradise as this wasn’t really my vibe. If I had longer though there are plenty of places I would love to have added. Some places I heard were really great to visit are; Newcastle, Port Douglas and Agnes Water.
If you want to see some of these activities and places in more details you can check out my YouTube where I have vlogged some of my trip. Here’s the first video linked below.
