The perfect two weeks in Australia

It may not look like it on a globe or map but Australia is almost the same size as the United States. So the idea that you could just go and see this “island” in a week or even two is unrealistic. As you can imagine, the landscape and cultures vary dramatically in Australia and if you are flying the 16-18 hours to get there, you best set aside the time to see as much as you can. But fair warning, you most likely will fall in love with the country and want to come back. I know I did!

So where are the must go locations for a first time traveler to Australia? Here’s what we did and feel that it really gave us a good beginner’s course on Australia. 

First start in Sydney. It’s iconic and a great place to get started. We had 4 days in Sydney and wanted to make the most of our time, particularly since one of our days was an all-day excursion just outside of Sydney to the Blue Mountains which I highly recommend. We spent a fair amount of time that first day getting our bearings on this city. It’s large and big swaths of it are walkable but not necessarily all of it. Coming soon will be city-specific blog posts on each location for a more in depth picture of what to do in each city. Sydney has great food (some of the best fish & chips I’ve ever had – read how we failed to find that in London in my other blog post). Expect to do a lot of walking but also know they have a nice ferry system that can take you to various ports in the harbor. It was also a great way to see some of the iconic sites from another view.

From Sydney, fly to Cairns. It’s a 2 hour flight up north and this is where the landscape changes from a sprawling city to a laid back beach town with rain forests and the Great Barrier Reef. We chose to stay in Port Douglas, just north of Cairns at the Peninsula Boutique Hotel. From our rooms we could see the Four Mile Beach. There are a lot of great excursions to do in the area and it was a nice relaxing way to take a break from our hectic travel schedule getting to Australia and the “go-go-go” trip in Sydney. We stayed for four nights in Port Douglas.

Depart Cairns and fly to Alice Springs. Here you will again change from the tropical beach feel to another world altogether. You come to Alice Springs for one reason…to check out the big red rock called Uluru or Ayers Rock. Uluru is the Aboriginal name and rises out of the desert. We’ll go more in depth in our blog specifically about this amazing rock but you need to book a sunrise and a sunset trip to see how the colors of the day and night impact the way you see the rock. Absolutely breathtaking. We recommend two nights so that you can do a sunrise and sunset. I promise there is a nap in between.

Final destination but certainly a highlight of the trip is Melbourne. When it was suggested that we finish our trip in Melbourne, I honestly wasn’t that excited. It looked like just another big city. Boy was I wrong. Unlike Sydney, it actually feels very European.  There are a lot of outside cafes and its very walkable. There is art everywhere. A lot of “graffiti” type of art on the buildings but also unique installations on every corner. Small narrow streets lined with shops and easy to get lost amongst the art. But the best part is that it allows you to also take a side trip along the Great Ocean Road and visit the Twelve Apostles. Truly magnificent and a site to be seen. Although we did have a hard time seeing that there are 12. Depending on how you count it, we got more than 12 or not enough. Need to look that one up some day or maybe just go back for another count!

Whew, that two weeks went by fast. And we didn’t even make it to the Western ⅓ of the country. We spent the majority of our time on the east coast and middle of the country but places like Perth and Darwin will have to be left for our next trip. Many people add New Zealand as their 2nd week. I’m glad we are leaving that for its own trip because I hear it’s equally magical.