DESTINATIONS
Australia
I grew up here. I know this country the way most advisors never will. Let me show you what that means for your trip.
WHY AUSTRALIA
Australia is the country that made me, and the one I keep coming back to.
I grew up in Brisbane, spent nearly twenty years living in Sydney, and have traveled every corner of this continent more times than I can count. I’ve driven the Great Ocean Road end to end. I’ve snorkeled the outer reef and hiked the Daintree in the heat of the day. I’ve sat under the stars at Hayman Island and watched the sun go down behind the Blue Mountains from a house in the hills.
Most Americans arrive with Sydney on the list and a vague sense that everything else is very far away. Both of those things are true, and neither of them is a reason to stop there.
Australia is five distinct travel experiences within one country. A world-class harbor city that rewards the curious. A cultural capital with laneways, galleries and one of the great coastal drives on earth just beyond its doorstep. A state so vast and so extraordinary that most international visitors never see it at all. A stretch of subtropical coast where I spent my childhood and which has transformed into one of the most exciting regions in the country. And two World Heritage sites within an hour of each other that change the way you understand the natural world.
I know all of it personally. That is what you get when you travel to Australia with me.
WHERE TO GO
Australia is large enough that where you go matters as much as the decision to go.
Each of the regions I specialize in has its own character, its own best season, and its own reasons to go. Here is what you need to know about each one.
Southeast Queensland
I grew up here. Brisbane was my city, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast were my weekends, and the islands off the coast were where I learned what freedom felt like on my grandfather’s boat.
Brisbane has transformed into a genuinely cosmopolitan city with world-class food, extraordinary cultural infrastructure and the energy of a place preparing to host the 2032 Olympic Games. Noosa remains one of the most beautiful coastal towns in Australia. K’gari, the great sand island my grandfather navigated by instinct, is one of the natural wonders of the country.
This is the Queensland most Americans haven’t considered yet. That is exactly the right time to go.
Best time to visit: June through November.
Tropical North Queensland
Two World Heritage sites within an hour of each other. The Great Barrier Reef below the water. The ancient Daintree Rainforest above it.
I came here as a young man and it changed how I understand the natural world. The reef is more vivid, more alive and more accessible than any photograph suggests. The Daintree is one hundred and thirty five million years old. The Whitsundays are seventy-four islands scattered across the Coral Sea, most of them uninhabited. And Hayman Island remains one of the most extraordinary private island experiences in Australia.
This is the part of Australia that rewrites people. I have never met anyone who came here and left unchanged.
Best time to visit: May through October.
Sydney
I lived in Sydney for nearly twenty years, in the neighborhoods that give the city its character — Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Potts Point.
I know it the way you can only know a city after two decades of living in it, eating in it, walking it at every hour and in every season.
The Sydney most visitors see in a few days is the surface. The harbor, the Opera House, Bondi. All of it worth seeing, none of it the whole story.
The version I know takes longer to find and is worth every extra day you give it.
Best time to visit: March through May, September through November.
Melbourne
Melbourne and Sydney have argued for decades about which city is better. The honest answer is that they are simply different, and both deserve your time.
Sydney dazzles on arrival. Melbourne rewards the curious. It is a city of laneways, galleries, rooftop bars and a food culture so serious it has become part of the city’s identity. Beyond the city, the Great Ocean Road is one of the finest coastal drives on earth, Mount Buller offers some of the best skiing in the Southern Hemisphere, and the Victorian High Country is wine and food country that most international visitors never reach.
Best time to visit: March through May for the city.
June through September for skiing.
Western Australia
Western Australia is the country’s best-kept secret and the destination I am most confident will surprise you.
It is a state the size of Western Europe with world-class wine country in the south, ancient limestone formations rising from desert sand in the middle, and a fringing reef in the north where you can snorkel whale sharks straight from the beach. Perth is a harbor city with a quality of life that consistently surprises first-time visitors. The southern coastline between Albany and Esperance is one of the most dramatic and least-visited stretches of coast in Australia.
Most international visitors never get here. That is their loss and your opportunity.
Best time to visit: February through June depending on the region.
AUSTRALIA BY CRUISE
Some of the best views of this coastline are from the water.
Australia features on itineraries from several of the cruise lines I work with, including Celebrity Cruises, Silversea, Princess and Oceania.
A cruise that calls at Sydney, Melbourne and other Australian ports can be an excellent way to experience the country’s scale without the complexity of managing multiple internal flights and transfers. It is also one of the best ways to see the remote Kimberley coast in Western Australia, accessible by expedition ship and unlike anything else in the country.
If a cruise that includes Australia is on your radar, I can help you find the right ship, the right itinerary and the right time of year.
BEST TIME TO VISIT
Australia’s seasons are the reverse of the Northern Hemisphere, and the country’s size means different regions peak at different times.
Summer runs December through February. Hot across most of the country, with long days and the beaches at their best. Peak season in Sydney and Melbourne, and the most popular time for international visitors. Book well ahead if this window is non-negotiable.
Autumn, March through May, is the shoulder season I recommend most often. The heat softens, the crowds thin, and the food and culture seasons in both Sydney and Melbourne are in full swing. April in particular is excellent across the southeast.
Winter runs June through August. Mild in Sydney and Melbourne by most standards, genuinely cold only in the alpine regions. The dry season in Queensland and the best window for the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsundays. The ideal time to visit Tropical North Queensland and Western Australia’s Coral Coast.
Spring, September through November, brings the jacarandas to Sydney and the wildflowers to Western Australia. Both are worth seeing. This is also when humpback whales move through Moreton Bay off Brisbane, one of the most underrated wildlife experiences in the country.
A note on combining regions: Australia’s distances are real. Sydney to Cairns is a three hour flight. Perth is five hours from Sydney. I plan itineraries that respect the distances rather than rushing them, which usually means choosing two or three regions per trip rather than trying to see everything at once.
GOOD TO KNOW
The essentials before you start planning.
American passport holders require an Electronic Travel Authority to enter Australia. It is linked directly to your passport and I take care of it as part of the planning process.
Qantas flies nonstop from Los Angeles to Sydney in approximately fifteen hours, and to Melbourne and Brisbane with similar flying times. United and Delta also operate services.
Australia runs on the Australian dollar, which typically sits below the US dollar. Your money goes further than the quality of the country would lead you to expect.
Tipping is not expected. Australians do not tip the way Americans do, and no one will think less of you for not doing so.
Driving is on the left. Roads are excellent. A hire car is essential for any itinerary that moves beyond the major cities, which most of mine do.
Time zones vary by state. Sydney and Melbourne run approximately fifteen hours ahead of Los Angeles in US summer. Queensland does not observe daylight saving, which creates a one-hour difference with New South Wales during that period. Western Australia runs two hours behind Sydney. I factor all of this into transfer and connection planning.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Australia is worth doing properly.
Let me make sure you do.
Whether you have a destination in mind or just know you want to go, this is where we start.