The 10 Best Holiday Destinations in Australia

Planning a trip down under? These are the 10 Best Holiday Destinations in Australia.

There are so many things to see and do in Australia so it’s hard to come up with  only 10 best holiday destinations in Australia. What appeals to some will not appeal to others and the fact that some places are great to visit. The Great Ocean Road in Victoria is a good example. It is highly recommended to visitors to take a drive, however, it is more a ‘site to see or experience’ category than destination.

With that in mind, here is a list of 10 actual destinations.

1. Adelaide (South Australia)

Adelaide is the capital of what is often considered to be the driest state in the driest country on earth. It may be dry in places, but South Australia has plenty to offer visitors and Adelaide is the perfect launching pad. From Adelaide, you can venture out to the vineyards and sample some of the word’s best wines – the must be good when they can be sold to the Italians, French and to the US.

From Adelaide you can also visit areas such as Mt Gambier, one of the deepest lakes in the world; Kangaroo Island; Wilpena Pound; and Port Lincoln, famous for its sharks and fishing industries. Adelaide itself has plenty to see and do and is often considered to be the cultural centre of Australia.

2. Alice Springs (Northern Territory)

You could be tempted to include Ayers Rock and Kings Canyon as popular holiday destinations and while the former does provide accommodation, Alice Springs is possibly a more appropriate destination. From Alice Springs you can visit these places and more. Alice Springs has plenty to offer visitors including the famous Camel Races each year.

3. Brisbane (Queensland)

Like most other destinations in this list, the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast could be included as holiday destinations, which they are. However, you can only fit so many into a top ten list and those two destinations are easily accessible from Brisbane.

Brisbane is the capital of Queensland, the ‘sunshine state’. From Brisbane you can head west to Toowoomba; north to the Sunshine and Cooloola Coasts, Hervey Bay and Fraser Island; east to the beaches and Stradbroke Island; and south to the Gold Coast and the New South Wales border. Brisbane is a great launch pad for the rest of the south east corner of the state.

4. Canberra (Australian Capital Territory)

Canberra is the nations capital and while it is a good base for visiting other areas, it has a lot to offer on its own. The Floriade festival in September/October each year is amazing with thousands of tulips and flower plants on public display, always themed. Canberra is also home to the National Art Gallery, the National Museum and the National War Memorial to name a few. A stay in Canberra should never be boring.

5. Central North Coast (Queensland)

This region comprises any town or island between Rockhampton and Cairns. Each location has its own characteristics and things to see and do. What makes them more appealing is that most offer access to one of Australia’s greatest tourist attractions, the Great Barrier Reef – often called the largest living organism on earth. Visit any one of the towns in this area and you’re sure to find a reef charter boat of some description.

6. Darwin (Northern Territory)

Australia’s northern most, and perhaps most remote, capital city, Darwin is a city that had to be rebuild following a devastating cyclone. While Darwin has plenty to offer visitors, it is also a great launch pad for some of the remote national parks, the most famous being Kakadu National Park – and park that would rival most others around the world when it comes to diversity and sheer beauty – oh, and the crocodiles. This is why it makes it to the 10 best holiday destinations in Australia list.

7. Melbourne (Victoria)

The Great Ocean Road can be accessed from Melbourne – in fact it’s a nice one day drive there and back. However, Melbourne does have much to offer. It is considered to be Australia’s shopping, dining and sporting capital – and rightly so. Melbourne sporting events draw the largest crowd across the country – in most cases two to three times the crowds in other states. When it comes to shopping, Melbourne comes first, second and third – don’t believe me, just ask them, they’ll tell you.

Melbourne is a great destination. You can travel west along the Great Ocean Road and then on to the South Australian border. You can travel north to the New South Wales border; and east through either the beaches and ocean front towns, or further inland through the ranges. Victoria has the best ski fields in Australia and these are all accessed through Melbourne. You can also hop aboard the overnight ferry to Tasmania.

Related – 5 Must See Budget Destinations On A Trip To Europe

8. Perth (Western Australia)

Perth is the capital of Australia’s largest state, Western Australia. The state has millions of miles of uninhabited, and often uninhabitable, land. Populations are generally confined to coastal towns. Freemantle to the south is a well cared for historical town while Kalgoorlie to the east a famous golf mining town.

9. Sydney (New South Wales)

A top ten list of the best Australian holiday destinations wouldn’t be complete without the nations birthplace, Sydney, on it. Sydney is the major first port of call for many visitors and is the launch pad to the rest of the country. That doesn’t mean you have to enter Australia through Sydney, but being the most well known city world wide (often mistaken as Australia’s capital city), it’s only natural for tourists to head there first.

From Sydney, you can travel north through the Central Coast to Newcastle, now famous for its wines. To the south you have the popular tourist areas of Batemans Bay, while inland you have Bathurst, famous for both its car race and the gold mining days.

10. Tasmania

Tasmania is the only island state and, being quite small, is included here as a holiday destination rather than naming one town or city. Truth is, you can drive around all of Tasmania inside ten days. Of course, some places are worth staying for several days. Cradle Mountain is popular as is Queenstown in the west, St Helens in the east, Devonport, Burnie and Launceston in the north; and Hobart, the states capital to the south. Hobart is well known as the finish of the Sydney-Hobart yacht race but what many don’t know is that it is also the launch pad for those traveling to Antarctica.

In a large nutshell, those are the 10 best Holiday destinations in Australia. Whenever you do plan a trip, keep these places in mind so you can have an enjoyable and picturesque vacation.

Photos – Pixabay