Australia Travel Guide | Queensland
You’re planning a trip to Australia and you’ve found your way to this Queensland, Australia vacation guide! I’m so excited for you! Australia is beautiful, diverse and massive! It’s likely the last one has you feeling overwhelmed, but if you’re stuck on even where to start, check out my post on How to plan a trip to Australia. That post starts with questions to ask yourself and overall considerations.
You have decided on trip length, know your budget and have an idea of your first and second choices of what you want to see! From that starting point, these posts breaking down Australia can help you. For instance, if the Great Barrier Reef is number one, you can plan for that and once you see what other options are available in this region, you can add them if you wish!
This post focuses on Queensland, a territory with so much to offer!
Before you dive in, I want to be transparent: this article includes affiliate links. This simply means that if you click on the link and make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Rest assured, the article includes my genuine advice and it won’t cost you anything extra. Your support is greatly appreciated. Happy reading!
Australia Vacation Guide | The Great Barrier Reef
This Australia vacation guide will start with one of its most famous natural wonders, The Great Barrier Reef. Much like Australia, the reef is massive and spread out! The reef stretches from Bundaberg up to the tip of Cape York Peninsula. However, most first timers will head to Cairns for day trips to the reef.
Cairns or Port Douglas – Plan for 3 to 5 days
Most people coming to Cairns are here for ease of travel and ticking off the Great Barrier Reef from their bucket list. Three to five days are recommended for a day trip or two to the Great Barrier Reef and a day or two to surrounding sights like the Daintree Rainforest.
Port Douglas is smaller beach town with more luxury options and it sits just north of Cairns. The same type of day trips to the reef or rainforest can be booked from here. So choose your preferred base and enjoy your time exploring this region!
Day Trips from Cairns
Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling and Diving Cruise from Cairns
40-Minute Great Barrier Reef Scenic Flight from Cairns
Cape Tribulation, Mossman Gorge, and Daintree Rainforest Day Trip
Grand Kuranda including Skyrail and Kuranda Scenic Railway
Rainforest River Tubing from Cairns
Multi-Day Trips from Cairns
5-Day Best of Cairns with Daintree, Kuranda, and Great Barrier Reef
2 Day Great Barrier Reef, Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation
Port Douglas Tours
ABC Snorkel Charters Port Douglas Snorkeling max 12 passengers
Outer Reef Mackay Cay Sail & Snorkel Adventure from Port Douglas
Daintree Rainforest and Mossman Gorge: Full or Half Day Tour
SCUBA DIVING AND LIVEABOARDS
If you are SCUBA certified, then consider Liveaboards. I snorkeled a portion of the Great Barrier Reef on a day trip from Cairns. However, now that I’m open water certified, I’d consider a Liveaboard for an even more immersive experience of the Great Barrier Reef.
Even if you are not certified, snorkeling might be an option or you can get certified on the reef! What better place?!
I found this Liveaboard site which seems more budget and entry level friendly and mentions snorkeling equipment is included. Interestingly, it also states that Australia has the strictest safety requirements for SCUBA diving in the world and mentions the safety of not flying for a full 24 hours after your last dive. If you are already certified, you would know this, but in case you are considering getting certified, you will need to give yourself an extra day if you plan on flying out of Cairns. Additionally, you will need to avoid any scenic flights, skydiving, and the like that would reach a high altitude within 24 hours of your last dive.
For a full breakdown options and pricing, PADI offers great information and links for booking a Liveaboard in the Great Barrier Reef!
If I ever make it back to the Great Barrier Reef, I’d probably go for something like this Liveaboard to the Osprey Reef. It’s considered one of the best spots, but this four nights on a Liveabaord is not as budget friendly as some of the other options. However, if you are looking to just go big, and you fancy diving with sharks, then consider this one!
4-Day PADI Open Water Dive Course – Learn to Dive on the Great Barrier Reef
How to get to Cairns and Port Douglas
Quickest way is to fly and if you have a limited time in Australia it’s the best choice. You would fly into Cairns for Port Douglas as well. There are direct flights in and out of Cairns from every major airport in Australia, including Perth and Ayers Rock and some international destinations as well like Bali and New Zealand.
Whitsundays and Whitehaven Beach – 3 to 5 days
Easily one of my fondest memories is sailing the Whitsundays and playing soccer on Whitehaven beach. This experience was quite a long time ago at this point and I don’t even remember this being on our radar. We just were just driving the east coast either heading to Cairns or back from Cairns, and stopped in Airlie Beach. We booked a sailing trip and ended up with a Captain from Italy and a Skipper from New Zealand. The food was delicious! The views were beautiful! It was winter there and I remember the water being cold (for this warm weather girl), but not unbearable.
Unless you want to fill up more than half your trip with the Great Barrier Reef, then you will likely choose Cairns/Port Douglas or The Whitsundays and not both. So I’m suggesting three to five days as a minimum. If you are not up for roughing it on a sailboat, you can take day trips to Whitehaven Beach or to the Great Barrier Reef while staying in Airlie Beach or Hamilton Island. The Whitsundays are paradise and the reef is close. It’s worth a trip to this beautiful slice of paradise!
Day Trips from Airlie Beach
Great Barrier Reef Day Cruise to Reefworld
1-Hour Whitsunday Islands and Heart Reef Scenic Flight
Whitsunday Crocodile Safari from Airlie Beach including Lunch
Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet Lookout Snorkeling Cruise
Multi-day Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef
3 Day Whitsundays Sailing and Diving Adventure: Kiana
2-Night Whitsundays Sailing Cruise incl. Whitehaven Beach & Great Barrier Reef
3 Day & 2 Night Whitsunday Islands Maxi Sailing Adventure on Hammer
Australia Vacation Guide | Other Queensland Highlights
Cape Hillsborough – Sunrise on the beach with Kangaroos – 1 day +
What is an Australia vacation guide without mentioning how to see one of the most iconic Australian animals?! Cape Hillsborough is only an hour and half south from Airlie Beach. There looks to be some tour operators who leave early to catch the sunrise in Cape Hillsborough. Alternatively, you could rent a car for a day, or overnight in that area, but sunrise with kangaroos on the beach sounds magical. Add on a day to your Whitsundays holiday or add on a couple and stay in the area a night or two to really explore.
How to Get to the Whitsundays and Cape Hillsborough.
For the Whitsundays, you can fly to Proserpine (Airlie Beach’s nearest airport) or direct to Hamilton Island. The closest airport to Cape Hillsborough is Mackay. However, there appears to better deals to the Whitsundays two airport options and Proserine has the most nonstop flight options making it the easiest airport to fly from to your next destination. Consider one way plane ticket options into and out of these airports.
K’gari (Fraser Island) – 1 to 3 days
My east coast drive of Australia was a long time ago, but I have fond memories of seeing a Butterfly Lake and a shipwreck on a beach from a small plane. A little google search confirms they are sights from K’gari.
There are plenty of tours to choose from for your Australia vacation ranging from day trips to multi-day trips! If you prefer a day trip, you can stay in Hervey Bay or Rainbow Beach. Add whale watching to your itinerary if you’re in the area from July to October.
Day Trips for K’gari (Fraser Island)
K’gari (Fraser Island) Day Tour
Remote Fraser Island Experience
Multi-day Trips for K’gari (Fraser Island)
Dingos 3 Day K’Gari (Fraser Island) 4WD Tag-Along Tour
K’gari (Fraser Island) Explorer 2-Day Tour
3 Day PINK4WD Tagalong Tour – K’gari/Fraser Island
How to Get to Fraser Island
Fraser island is accessible most commonly by ferry, but flying over on a small plane is also an option.
To get to this area, you can fly into Hervey Bay. Alternatively, if you want to fly into Brisbane, the drive here will take about three and half hours. You can stop along the way at the Sunshine Coast, Australia Zoo, or Glass House Mountains to break up the drive.
Brisbane, Glass House Mountains, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast
Sydney and Melbourne are the big cities in Australia and Brisbane didn’t have much to see when I visited. However, I do think this area has had a boom since the pandemic so there might be more offerings in Brisbane. Regardless, there is plenty of coastline in the area. If you are flying into or out of Brisbane for your international flights, spending some time unwinding on the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast might be a perfect end to your trip. A day trip to the Glass House Mountains might also be nice and Byron Bay is about two hours south by car. If you are a Steve Irwin fan or simply want to visit a great zoo, be sure to check out Australia Zoo!
