Plan a Trip to Australia

Planning a trip to Australia can feel daunting and overwhelming either diminishing the excitement of going or causing decision paralysis. I get it. It’s far. From most places, it’s VERY far! I’ve been blessed enough to travel there four times and I’m dreaming of making my next trip before my Australian nephew enters his teen years.

With Australia fresh on mind and being one of the best destinations I’ve been to, I thought I would help anyone looking to plan a trip! This guide will focus on trips that are weeks, not months long as that can feel more overwhelming from a planning point of view. I’ve done both. Traveled the whole east coast of Australia, ventured to Tasmania as well over their winter months, and I’ve had ten day trips focusing on Sydney and the Blue Mountains. Whatever your goals, let’s plan a trip to Australia!

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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!

1 ~ Plan a Trip | Get to Australia

The travel time to Australia is long and coming from the East coast of the United States, it’s VERY long. However, in some ways, the flight is easier than crossing the Atlantic. Yes, it’s about five hours longer, but by the time you take off from the West coast of the U.S. you are TIRED. This can make it easier to sleep, or at least it helped me.  You pass the international date line, causing a whole day to vanish and making the return, the longest day of your life.

Is the flight long? Yes! Is it doable? Also, yes!

Is it worth it? Absolutely, yes!

My free ebook goes into some of my best tips for flights including my favorite websites to search. For Australia from the U.S., direct flights will be out of Los Angeles most often, but could also be offered from other major West coast cities. Booking tickets separately can save money, so don’t be afraid to try different searches to see if that can work for you! Just ensure you are booking TO and FROM the same connecting airport and that you give yourself enough time to make your connecting flight.

For Fiji, I gave myself four hours layover time, but on the return my flight from Fiji to Los Angeles it was considerably late in taking off. I made my connecting flight, but I was stressed! Since I booked them separately, the airlines wouldn’t be the wiser that my flight had been delayed. Worst case, I’d have to purchase a one way ticket home, so it’s not the end of world and I’ve traveled enough to feel comfortable for this method. I just wanted to point that out, in case the amount of money you would be saving is minimal and you deem it worth it to spend the extra money for the airlines to decide your flight schedule.

2 ~ Plan a Trip | Length of Time in Australia

A lot of what I’m seeing on YouTube for Australia is people spending months traveling and exploring. However, most people are not that type of traveler. From my experience, I don’t recommend going for less than ten days if you are coming from anywhere other than a major West Coast city that offers a direct flight to Australia. Going to Australia you lose a day and you spend a day traveling. So if you take off on the 1st of the month, you arrive in Australia on the 3rd. Already your ten day trip is eight and you haven’t even started.

Two to three weeks is a good time for a solid trip! The challenge from here will be deciding what destinations in Australia to visit within that time.

3 ~ Plan a Trip | Where to go in Australia

Australia is massive! It is the same size of the continental United States. So if someone asked you if you they could visit the Grand Canyon, New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Yosemite, Miami and Disney World or Disneyland in two or three weeks, you’d immediately tell them it’s impossible! Then you’d also tell them to narrow it down so they can enjoy each place they visit. The same is true for Australia!

I’ve created the below image of recommended places to see for Australia. Some of these I’ve visited and some I’ve added to my list for future trips.

What are my top two places to see?

What type of weather do I want to experience based on the time of year?

What is my budget?

What are my top two places to see?

Once you have an idea from the above questions, you can start to narrow down the trip. For instance, let’s say your top two choices are The Great Barrier Reef and Uluru. You can plan your extra flights to these two destinations and since you’re flying into and out of Sydney, you can plan for Sydney and possibly the Blue Mountains as well! That is three destinations and doable for two weeks in Australia. Maybe you want to add the Whitsundays, which may limit the time you spend in Sydney to one day. Perhaps you want to do Sydney and Melbourne. Each city has plenty to explore and you can add the Great Ocean Road to your Melbourne itinerary and the Blue Mountains to your Sydney portion. That’s a fun and relaxed couple weeks. Add Tasmania and cut down on days in one or both of those cities.

The hardest part in planning a trip is deciding what to do that is reasonable and allows time to enjoy your trip! Narrowing down the options can be tough, but it’s imperative!

What type of weather do I want to experience based on the time of year?

The Southern Hemisphere is opposite to North America and Europe in the Northern Hemisphere. So their Winter is during our Summer and for warmer temps head North while the South is cold. If you are heading to Australia in their Winter, the Great Barrier Reef will be pleasant while Melbourne and Tasmania will be cold! If you want to avoid the cold, focus on Queensland, the Outback or Western Australia as temps are mild during winter months and might actually be more pleasant than the Summer temperatures.

What is my budget?

The least favorite aspect of planning a trip, but a requirement in most cases. Unlike some other destinations, not many people will wing it if making the trek to Australia. It’s more likely you’ve already researched and saved according to the budget you’ve set forth. Flights easily take up the bulk of your budget, but you can find ways to save in other areas if need be. Australia has a range of accommodation options with some areas having more options than others. If you can’t afford one area, then just switch gears and research another. You might find getting to Uluru pricey, but Melbourne is easier and includes more hotel options. The trip will still be wonderful and the budget can be used as a tool to narrow down your choices, rather than a requirement that suffocates the fun.

4 ~ Plan a Trip | Destinations in Australia

You’ve made it the point of deciding where to go! This is both the fun part and hard part! You can check out my blog posts on Destinations in Australia and I’ve linked a Youtube video I’ve watched that I think could help inspire you they way it inspired me!

Australia Vacation Guide | Queensland

Travel for Every Budget Channel

5 ~ Plan a Trip | Visas and Declarations

You will need to apply for a visa to visit Australia. See the official instructions on how to apply for a visitor visa to Australia.

When you do travel to Australia, don’t take any nuts, seeds, dried fruit or dairy. So basically make sure you eat any trail mix snacks you brought on the plane. I didn’t know this one of trips and I got a stern talking to from the customs agent. They are very serious, so if in doubt, declare it and be up front. Here is a website on what is and is not allowed if you want to research prior to your trip.