Posted on: November 2nd, 2018 by Lizandra Santillan
There’s no better way to recharge than on an island getaway.
But maybe your idea of recharging isn’t all beaches and sun. Maybe it’s discovering wildlife, hiking through lush rainforests or sampling local delicacies.
With over 8,222 islands in Australia, you’re guaranteed to find your own personal island paradise. Each island boasts its own unique qualities that are part of what makes Australia unlike anywhere else in the world.
We’ve gathered a list of the top 12 stunning islands in Australia that will have you dreaming of your next island getaway.
1. Kangaroo Island
Image: Alan & Flora Botting on flikr.com
See wildlife the way it was meant to be seen – out in the wild. No place does a zoo without fences better than Kangaroo Island, located off the coast near Adelaide.
Its separation from mainland Australia has allowed for the wildlife to thrive among untouched wilderness. So yes, you’ll see tons of wild kangaroos, but if you want to get close to them head to Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park.
Though the wildlife is the main star of this island, it’s hard not to be mesmerized by the dazzling landscapes. Long stretches of beaches, turquoise waters and spectacular rock formations – no zoo could even touch this.
Head to Seal Bay to walk among sea lions, swim with wild dolphins off the north coast of the island or spot koalas hanging out on eucalyptus trees at Flinders Chase National Park. Don’t miss the stunning Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island’s signature landmark, looking like something straight out of a Georgia O’Keeffe painting.
2. Phillip Island
Image: Tourism Australia
See the tiniest penguins in the world at Phillip Island, just about two hours away from Melbourne.
Phillip Island is famous for its tiny penguins, but its coastal scenery is just as spectacular in its own right. Gorgeous green landscapes crumble into rugged coasts and pink granite cliffs, stretching out into surf beaches with perfectly barreling waves.
Meet the local wildlife at the Phillip Island Wildlife Park or see koalas in the wild at the Koala Conservation Centre. Stop into one of the local restaurants for a classic fish and chips lunch and visit the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for a race on Australia’s largest four-lane GP slot car track.
As the sun sets, settle into Summerland Beach for a spot to catch the nightly Penguin Parade.
3. Fraser Island
Image: Jules Ingall
For an island holiday with a more adventurous vibe, head to Fraser Island, just off the coast of southern Queensland. This unique island is the only place in the world where the beach never ends. Its ancient, cool rainforest towers over white sand, interrupted only by freshwater creeks and the clearest lakes you’ve ever seen.
Pack your swimmers and head to Lake McKenzie, a pure crystal blue lake ringed by soft white sand and verdant rainforest. Honestly, this lake beats out any chemically-treated pool in clarity. And it’s all untouched, pure rainwater!
One of the best ways to explore the island is on a 4WD. Drive down 75 Mile Beach and discover the SS Maheno Shipwreck or find a spot along the beach to try your hand at saltwater fishing. You might spot wild dingoes along the way, but only admire from afar!
4. Rottnest Island
Image: Tourism Australia
One of Australia’s favorite holiday island destinations is Rottnest Island. Located off the coast from Perth in Western Australia, many locals like to reach the island by their own boat. Ferries are also available through three ferry operators along Perth.
Though Western Australia is not often on many traveler’s lists, Rottnest Island alone is enough to add it to your bucket list. Impossibly white sand beaches with crystal turquoise waters offer fantastic swimming and snorkeling. Biking is the best way to explore the island, allowing you to beach and bay-hop across its sublime coasts to find your perfect swimming spot. The best part – no roads!
You’ll also meet Rottnest Island’s famous locals – the quokka. This unique Australian animal is found only in Rottnest Island, and has become popular for its photogenic smile.
5. Bruny Island
Image: Tourism Tasmania
Foodies rejoice! Culinary delights are the star at Bruny Island, perfectly paired with otherworldly landscapes.
About two hours away from Hobart in Tasmania, Bruny Island is well beyond the typical tourist trail. But once you step foot on the island you’ll see why it’s a true hidden gem.
Our favorite Bruny Island tour takes you to local artisanal shops showcasing some of Australia’s finest cheesemaking, chocolatiering and whisky distilling. You’ll also try some freshly shucked oysters, locally grown berries and premium wine. Every course on the menu is a stop on your journey!
Make the small journey to The Neck Lookout and see the isthmus connecting the northern and southern parts of the island. The view from the top is absolutely unbeatable.
6. Moreton Island
Want to get up close with dolphins? Moreton Island is your best bet. Just across Moreton Bay from Brisbane, Moreton Island is a must for dolphin-feeding, kayaking, shipwreck snorkeling and sandboarding.
Yes, sandboarding – it’s exactly like snowboarding except with sand! Riding down the large slopes of sand is a lot more fun than you might realize. You might find yourself climbing the slopes again and again, then simply wash off the sand with a dip at the beach.
With no roads on the island, this unspoiled paradise is perfect for relaxing walks and simply taking in the beauty of untouched nature. Be sure to stay after sunset for the chance to hand-feed wild dolphins at Tangalooma Resort.
7. Magnetic Island
Image: Tourism Queensland
A popular stop along the east coast of Australia is Magnetic Island. Located just 20 minutes off the coast of Townsville in Queensland, Magnetic Island promises extremely laid-back island vibes.
Time seems to be at a standstill on Magnetic Island, or “Maggie,” as affectionately called by locals. It’s easy to lose track of time here and just let the world go by.
Go for a dip in one of many sublime beaches or zip around the island on a hired mini moke, a small convertible perfect for island exploration.
Take the Forts Walk through historic WWII landmarks ending with incredible views across the ocean. Be sure to keep an eye out for koalas hanging around the trees. As home to Australia’s largest population of wild koalas, you’re almost guaranteed to spot one of these furry creatures.
8. Frankland Islands
Image: Frankland Islands Reef Cruises
One of Australia’s truest hidden gems is the Frankland Islands. Located off the northern coast of Queensland near Cairns, these islands are an untouched slice of paradise.
Only one tour operator is licensed to go to Frankland Islands, and their close proximity to the Great Barrier Reef make for perfect small-group snorkeling excursions. The main island, Normanby Island, boasts white sand beaches and clear waters ideal for snorkeling.
The marine biologist on the Frankland Islands tour crew offers guided walks around the island, exploring rock pools rife with exotic marine life.
Complete with an included lunch as you cruise back to Cairns, the Frankland Islands are a fantastic way to experience the Great Barrier Reef without the crowds. Ask our About Australia Destination Specialists about this special tour!
9. Whitsunday Islands
Image: Tourism Australia
Looking for a tropical island paradise? The Whitsunday Islands offer your pick out of 74 impeccable islands.
These islands off the coast of Queensland sit within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and are just as stunning above the water as below the surface.
With only 8 inhabited islands, the rest are natural sanctuaries of secluded beaches and rainforest bushwalks, making for perfect campsites. The fringing reef protects the waters surrounding the islands, making for calm bays perfect for sailing across the islands. And you don’t even need a license to rent a private yacht for bareboat sailing!
One of our favorite Whitsunday Islands is the main, titular island, the largest of all 74. Here is where you’ll find the unparalleled Whitehaven Beach, often listed in the top 10 beaches in the world.
10. Hamilton Island
Hamilton Island is the definition of picture perfect paradise. There’s absolutely no bad angle – everywhere you turn is a postcard-ready scene, just waiting to be captured on camera.
As one of the 8 inhabited Whitsunday Islands, Hamilton Island is an Australian favorite for a luxury getaway. Take in incredible views of the ocean from high-end resort infinity pools, tropical cocktail in hand. Explore the roadless island by golf buggy and indulge in world-class dining at one of many renowned restaurants.
It doesn’t get more luxurious at Hamilton Island than in qualia, a 5-star resort embracing its magnificent surrounds in ultimate, couples-only seclusion. More budget friendly options on Hamilton Island include renting holiday homes. With a buggy included in your rental, you’re free to explore the beautiful palm-fringed, white sand beaches on this idyllic island.
11. Lizard Island
Imagine stepping onto a white sand beach right out your door and seeing one of the world’s greatest natural wonders at your feet.
The best way to experience the Great Barrier Reef is being surrounded by it. Situated right on the reef, no island does this better than Lizard Island.
This small island is home to Lizard Island Resort, an all-inclusive luxury getaway up there with some of the highest-end resorts in the world.
You can snorkel some of the reef’s most pristine and young corals right from the beach, or take a scuba diving trip out to spectacular dive sites such as Cod Hole.
See the reef right from your own private infinity pool, explore the local waters on a private dinghy or walk the lush bushland on nature walks and tracks.
Indulge in gourmet meals, taste local and international wines and enjoy a private beach picnic, all included in your stay.
Lizard Island Resort provides the ultimate luxury deserving of the Great Barrier Reef right at its steps, and will be a getaway you’ll never forget.
12. Lord Howe
Lord Howe Island is like stepping into a Planet Earth documentary. The only hues on this island seem to be endless gradients of blues and greens, hiding an abundance of wildlife.
Located over 300 miles off the eastern coast of Australia, the only way to get to Lord Howe Island is on a two hour flight from Sydney or Brisbane.
Its pristine beaches lend to some of the world’s cleanest and clearest waters perfect for snorkeling. It’s just like swimming in an aquarium!
The island is strewn with easy strolls through lush palms and forests, but for a one-of-a-kind adventure the Mt Gower climb is a must. Rated as one of the best day-treks in the world, this challenging journey takes you on a guided cliff-face mountain climb for a truly rewarding experience.
See Australia’s Breathtaking Islands
Dreaming of an island getaway on your trip to Australia? Whether you’re looking for a quiet retreat surrounded by stunning beaches or an adventure unlike anywhere else, Australia’s got an island to suit you perfectly.
Our Destination Specialists are experts in all things Australia. We’ll help you pick the best island for your Australia vacation.
Phone us Toll Free on
1-888-359-2877 (CT USA, M-F 8.30am – 5pm).
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Posted on: March 15th, 2017 by Melissa Maxwell
The Best Ways to Experience the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is a mind blowing natural wonder. It’s truly one of the best places to visit in Australia. It spans over 1,200 miles and harbors one of the richest ecosystems on the planet with over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands scattered along its expanse. If you’re traveling all the way to Australia, you’ll want to visit the Great Barrier Reef in all its glory. This amazing video produced by David Attenborough gives you an idea of what it’s like to explore the reef, but nothing can really do it justice. It’s one of those things you have to see for yourself.
There are a multitude of ways you can launch your reef adventure. Take the traditional route and dive or snorkel the reef, or stay dry on a glass bottom boat, scenic flight or adventurous sail. Maybe even find a more unique way to explore the reef on your own terms. Read more for your guide on exploring the Great Barrier Reef.
Snorkeling and diving
Don your mask and fins and get up close to the dazzling kaleidoscope of corals, sea turtles, rays, sharks and tropical fish of every color. Snorkeling is the cheapest and most popular way to have an aquatic adventure you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
A Day Trip on a Reef Cruise
One of the best ways to dive or snorkel the reef is to hop aboard a boat excursion. These are great because they take you out to 2 or 3 exclusive dive sites along the outer reef. All boats offer snorkeling, most offer diving for certified divers and a few even offer introductory dives for those who want to try out diving for the first time on the reef. Our favorite operators depart from Cairns and Port Douglas. If you want to make it out to famous dive sites like the Ribbon Reefs on a day-trip, you have to depart from Port Douglas. It’s a great town to stay in, but only a short transfer if you’re staying Cairns. These full day excursions tend to include lunch, snacks, snorkel gear, lycra suits and a guided snorkel tour with a dive master. Scuba diving and gear brings additional costs. Different boats offer different experiences. Some take you out to a single location with hundreds of other people, some offer a more exclusive experience and others go farther out into more remote locations to cater to the more experienced. Talk to an About Australia Destination Specialist to select the right one for you.
Liveaboard
The best diving sites are located further from the mainland. Famous dive sites like The Ribbon Reefs with Cod Hole are best encountered on a 3 day Liveaboard. If you want to dive both the Ribbon Reefs and the remote and amazing North Horn at Osprey Reef, you’ll need to take a Liveaboard for at least a week. For the ultimate Great Barrier Reef experience, embark on a 14-Day expedition. During these trips, you can swim with Minke whales (June-July), see Humpbacks (August – October), dive during a shark feed (totally safe, we swear!) and visit some of the most immaculate coral reefs in the world.
Liveaboards generally only offer diving to certified divers, but snorkelers are often welcomed at a discounted rate. Snorkelers on Liveabaords are normally accompanying their diving partners. We wouldn’t recommend it otherwise. There are usually only a few dive sites that will work well for a snorkeler on a 3-7 day liveaboard trip.
Island-based Diving
For astonishing diving or snorkeling, consider staying on a Great Barrier Reef island. Our favorites are Heron Island, Lizard Island, Elliot Island, Fraser Island, Hamilton Island, and Orpheus Island. Famous diver and documentarian, David Attenborough, has named
Heron Island and
Elliot Island as a few of
his favorite dive sites. So, you’ll be in good company! A stay at most of these islands offer the added bonus of enjoying an all-inclusive resort. Most offer free use of snorkeling gear and motorized dinghies. From these islands, a diver easily take a short boat ride with a small group to a number of amazing dive sites. Snorkelers can see the reef right off the beach or venture further on their own reef bound boat. Your
About Australia Destination Specialist can find you the best deal possible.
Luxury Snorkeling Experiences
If you really want to treat yourself, try out a day-cruise or luxury catamaran tour in the Whitsundays. These small group tours offer exclusivity and comfort all while sailing around some of the most beautiful islands in the world. The ship will drop anchor and you’ll jump into the turquoise water to snorkel among the big sea turtles, anemone and schools of colorful fish. Most excursions around the Whitsunday Islands include a visit to the famous Whitehaven Beach. This long white-sanded beach stretches over four miles along the coast of Whitsunday Island. Unlike most beaches, Whitehaven is made up of 98% pure silica which gives it a bright snow-like complexion. The sand is a fine grain with a soft velvety feel. It also doesn’t retain heat very well, so you won’t burn your bare feet on bright sunny days. It’s the most photographed beach in Australia. You can clearly see why.
See the Reef without Getting Wet
If swimming isn’t your thing, you can still see the Great Barrier Reef without submerging into the depths of the South Pacific.
Glass Bottom Boats
Glass bottom boat tours are a great way to admire the underwater beauty of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Most boats are designed to accommodate as many people as possible while still allowing everyone a clear view of the tropical life thriving below them. Some boats come with tour guides who provide detailed descriptions of the different type of coral and marine life. If you have the opportunity, take a night tour to see the coral really come to life after dark. There are great glass bottom boat tours operating out of Airlie Beach, Cairns and Port Douglas. Some also offer scuba diving and snorkeling excursions which makes them a perfect option for mixed company.
Reef HQ Aquarium
Reef HQ houses the largest living coral reef aquarium. The building itself is quite small when compared to other aquariums, but the live ecosystem sets it apart from other aquariums you’ve seen. It’s a great introduction to the reef as friendly guides explain about the reef in an educational and entertaining manner. Be sure to stop by the turtle hospital.
Fly Over the Reef
Behold the sheer magnitude of the Great Barrier Reef by taking to the sky and seeing the reef from above. You’ll find plenty of opportunities to fly over the reef while on your Australia vacation. From the Whitsunday Islands, you can take a flight out to Hardy Reef to snorkel, hang out in a semi-submersible, check out the underwater observatory or chill on the deck and get a massage. After, take the scenic view and fly over Heart Reef. Or skip Hardy Reef and soar over the heart of the Great Barrier Reef from any one of the Whitsunday Island resorts. Helicopter rides and scenic flights are also available from Cairns and Port Douglas. Stay at a resort like Lizard Island or Orpheus Island and a low-level flight over the reef is par for the course. You’ll be awed by the stunning beauty of the maze of reefs weaved together to form this natural wonder.
Reef Fishing
If you fancy yourself an angler, fishing on the reef is a must. Cairns and the Ribbon Reefs are probably best known for trophy black marlin fishing. About 30-50 miles off the coast lies a very special stretch of ocean called “Marlin Mecca” where more “granders” (100lbs or more) are taken than all the other combined fishing water in the world. Billfishing aficionados can try their hand at catching the big one every year late September through December. Lizard Island is the only land-based operation that offers access to “Marlin Mecca”.
There is also great light tackle fishing on select areas of the reef. Take a charter from Cairns or stay on a Great Barrier Reef Island for access to nearly every species of Pacific game inhabiting the ocean just adjacent to the reef and the continental shelf. It’s a great experience for fishing enthusiasts, offering some of the fastest game-fishing in the world.
Unique Reef Experiences
Looking for something a little more “out-of-the-box”? Maybe you aren’t a very good swimmer but you really want to explore the reef. Try one of these awesome tours.
Seawalking/ Helmet Diving
A helmet dive is a perfect way for non-swimmers to explore the reef like pro divers. It’s quick and easy too. You start with a quick briefing. Then, you’ll don a large space-suit type helmet and you’re ready to go. A guide will take down about 6 people at a time. Jump into the water and hold on to metal tubing as your guide takes you around the ocean floor. You’ll be completely surrounded by colorful fish and coral and you won’t even get your hair wet. Children as young as 12 can participate, so it’s great for families. You can embark on this unique diving experience from Cairns or Port Douglas.
Submarines
Another great option for people who don’t want to scuba dive the reef is a tiny 3-person submarine. Two people, guided by an experienced pilot can explore the underwater world of the beautiful coral and exotic marine creatures without traditional scuba gear or training. Tours depart from Fitzroy Island, just a 45 minute boat ride from Cairns. There is always a safety diver trailing the sub while your experienced diver and submarine pilot doubles as a tour guide, providing vivid descriptions of the surrounding sea life and corals. This is a really fun and super safe way to see the Great Barrier Reef!
Are you ready to start planning your visit to the Great Barrier Reef? Check out some of our Great Barrier Reef Deals below, request a custom vacation quote or phone us toll free on 1-888-359-2877 (CT USA, M-F 8.30am – 5pm).
You may also like: 16 Photos That Will Make You Want To Go To Australia Right Now | 11 Best Underwater Experiences in Australia | Great Barrier Reef, Best Australian Beaches & Dives | Vacation Deals
Posted on: October 29th, 2015 by Melissa Maxwell
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| Look at the tweet below and you’ll understand what it feels like to experience the beauty of Australia.Below are 16 amazing photos to trigger some of that awe inspiring delight right now!Our Destination Experts can help you plan the perfect trip to Australia. Customize your trip and start jumping for joy. |
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Whale Sharks in the Indian Ocean, Western Australia
Image by Migration Media – Underwater Imaging via Western Australia facebook
The Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia is the only place in Australia where you can swim with the majestic Whale Shark. The Whale Shark is the largest known fish and can grow up to 42 feet long. Unlike most sharks, they are filter feeders with huge toothless mouths.
The Famous Bondi Baths, Sydney, New South Whales
Image by: Andym5855 on flickr
These giant pools have been a landmark of Bondi Beach for over 100 years! There is a large pool for lap swimming and a smaller pool for the kiddos. Its a great way to experience one of Australia’s most beautiful beaches during the winter. The pool is open 6am to 6:30pm, Monday through Friday, 6:30am – 6:30pm on Saturday and Sunday, and is closed for cleaning on Thursdays. It’s only $6.50AUS for adults & $4.50AUS for children.
Sea Turtles on the Great Barrier Reef
When visiting the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, don’t forget to bring an underwater camera. Whether you’re diving or snorkeling, you’re sure to run into many members of the large diverse aquatic life population, like this Green Sea Turtle. Six of the world’s seven marine turtles can be found on the Great Barrier Reef.
Lizard Island, The Great Barrier Reef, Queensland
Sitting right on the Great Barrier Reef, Lizard Island has some amazing views and uniquely diverse diving conditions. Forbes.com recently published an article about the Luxury Resort of Lizard Island, saying it “may be one of the most beautiful place in the world.” The resort, complete with a recent 46-million dollar renovation, is absolutely stunning. With 24 sandy white beaches and 1,013 hectares of National Park, it’s really easy to get away from it all.
(Click here for 11 Day Luxury Lizard Island & Sydney Getaway from $3,995)
Sea Lions off the coast of Port Lincoln, South Australia
Image by: Adventure Bay Charters via australia.com facebook
These friendly “puppies of the sea” can be found in many waters off the coast of Australia. This photo was taken in the crystal clear water of Seal Cove. So adorable!
Byron Bay, New South Wales
Image by: Adrll Slonchak on flickr
Byron Bay is a popular vacation spot among the Aussie population. So you know it’s good! It’s a laid back, new-age utopia kind of town with miles of picture-perfect coastline. Great for families, friends, couples and shutterbugs.
The Penguin Parade on Phillip Island, Victoria
Every night a parade of little penguins marches across Summer Land Beach. Phillip Island in Victoria is home to an estimated 32,000 breeding pairs. As you can imagine, this is a very cute sight to see!
Swimming with Humpbacks off the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Image by: Migration Media Underwater Imaging, Australia.com Facebook
This amazing photo was taken off the coast of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast during this year’s Humpback migration season (July – October). It’s amazing to see calves swim along side their mums.
Wineglass Bay, Tasmania
Image by: aussiejeff on flickr
Wineglass bay, located on the Southern edge of Tasmania, is located in Freycinet National Park. These perfect contours, turquoise water and pure white beaches exist on any normal day while you’re on Wineglass Bay.
Baby Turtles on Diamond Beach, New South Wales
Image by: Judith Conning via australia.com on facebook
Every year thousands of baby turtles make their way to the ocean for the first time. Turtle nesting grounds can be found all over Australia’s coast.
The Twelve Apostles, Port Campbell National Park, Victoria
Image by: Visit Melbourne on facebook
Near the Great Ocean Road in Victoria in Port Campbell National Park, you’ll find a collection of limestone stacks just off the shore. There are only eight apostles now, after the ninth one dramatically collapsed in July of 2005. Interesting fact: There were never 12 stacks, as far as we know.
Augie the Killer Whale on the Coral Coast, Western Australia
Image by Indian Ocean Imagery via Western Australia facebook
Considered an Exmouth local and regular around Ningaloo Reef, Augie the Orca is known for putting on a show. He’s been spotted multiple times performing for crowds on cruises around the reef.
Fraser Island, Queensland
Image by: Greg Schechter
Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island, is a nature lover’s dream. Activities available include 4×4 next to the sandy cliffs, hike through the rainforest, meet native wildlife, whale-watch, comb the beaches, visit shipwrecks, and swim in freshwater lakes ringed with gold. The photo above is of the island’s most famous shipwreck, the SS Maheno. It was one of the first turbine-driven steamers.
Tangalooma Island Resort, near Brisbane
Tangalooma is the only place you’re practically guaranteed the opportunity to feed wild bottlenose dolphins during your stay. Each night at sunset up to 10 wild dolphins visit the shores of Tangalooma and everyone is invited to feed them a treat. The feeding program runs with strict guidelines to ensure the health and safety of the dolphins, but everyone still enjoys this magical experience.
Heart Shaped Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland
Image credit: Kieran Stone via australia.com facebook
You might recognize this scene from TV and movies. The Heart Shaped Reef, in Hardy Reef, is a great place for snorkeling and scuba diving. You can see this lovely sight from a helicopter or plane tour.
Bremer Island, Northern Territory
Image by: Australia’s Outback, Northern Territory on facebook
Bremer Island is at the topmost end of Australia in the Northern Territory. It’s the perfect place for a remote wilderness retreat, world class fishing, learning about the Yolngu culture, and getting away from it all.
There are so many amazing sights to see on and off the coasts of Australia. As they say, pictures just don’t do it justice.
You have to see it for yourself. Are you ready to start planning your tip to Australia?
Help Me Plan My Trip >>
Phone us Toll Free on 1-888-359-2877 (CT USA, M-F 8.30am – 5pm).
Posted on: September 21st, 2015 by Melissa Maxwell
Add these to your SCUBA Diving Bucket List
From the Great Barrier Reef in the east to the majestic whale sharks in the west, this list of the best underwater experiences in Australia will have you itching to get down under for an amazing dive adventure. Lucky for you, there’s never been a better time book a trip to Australia.
Dive the Great Barrier Reef
There’s no way around it. If you’re a diver, the Great Barrier Reef needs to be on your bucket list. It’s the biggest reef system in the world with over 2,900 reefs and 900 islands stretching 1,429 miles. That’s massive! It’s filled with nonstop underwater action and is perfect for divers of all levels. It’s overflowing with all manner of aquatic life; 380 species of coral, over 2,000 species of fish, 4,000 species of mollusks, 500 species of seaweed and 6 of the 7 kinds of sea turtles.
Stand Where the Reef Meets the Rainforest
Ok, so it’s not an underwater experience, but it’s worth a mention! Australia is home to the only place in the world where Two World Heritage Sites meet. The Great Barrier Reef meets up with the Wet Tropics of North Queensland, a group of rainforests with the highest concentration of primitive flowers plant families in the world, at Cape Tribulation and the Daintree rainforest. This majestic site offers a glance into what the world was like when dinosaurs roamed the earth. (Along with really great diving close by!)
Dive Ribbon Reefs
Just outside of Cairns, in the northern reaches of the Great Barrier Reef, you’ll find the Ribbon Reefs. The ten reefs, simply named Ribbon Reef 1 through Ribbon Reef 10, stretch for more than 50 miles along the edge of the continental self and offer legendary diving for all levels of experience. There’s even really great snorkeling!
As you explore the Ribbon Reefs you are also likely to find everything from large Maori wrasse to leopard morays, playing clownfish to large aggregations of batfish, bommie to whitetip reef sharks, and uncountable species of anemonefish.
Dive in June or July and you’re almost guaranteed to swim with a Minke whale.
Some great dive sites include: Challenger Bay, Steve’s Bommie, Acropolis, Cod Hole, Lighthouse Bommie and Snake Pit.
Come Face to Face with a Giant Potato Cod
Found in “Cod Hole” (Ribbon Reef #10) these giant grouper are extremely friendly and accustom to being hand fed. Find them off the coast of Cairns, Australia or Lizard Island on the North End of the Great Barrier Reef.
Start planning your Australian dive vacation.
Witness a Shark Feed
Take a Live-aboard out to North Horn, Osprey Reef for an amazing shark frenzy experience. The North Horn of Osprey reef is a unique diving landscape with the reef starting 16 feet below the surface, sloping to 131 feet and then making a vertical drop to around 1,312 feet. It feels like an oasis of life in the middle of a desolate sea and deep sea creatures are known to stop by for a visit. It’s a place where 2 ocean currents converge and a place famous for it’s shark dives.
Silvertips, grey reefs, grey whalers, white tips and even hammerheads come to the site for an easy meal. When the dive operators drop the bucket, the intensity of the free-for-all reaches a fiver pitch. The sharks are accustomed to this feed and ignore the divers as they tear into their meal. You’ll get a nice adrenaline rush, without much actual danger.
Selfie with a Maori Wrasse (Humphead Wrasse)
This large personable fish can be found on reef slopes and lagoon reefs on The Great Barrier Reef. They are one of the few fish that eat the reef’s toxic arch enemies. With their large lips, comical eyes and friendly personalities they make great selfie buddies!
Swim with Sea Turtles
Swimming with sea turtles is a dream come true for many divers. The Great Barrier Reef is home to 6 of the 7 species of turtles in the world. One of the best places to swim with sea turtles (Green and Loggerhead) is from Heron Island. The reef surrounding Heron Island is also home to around 60% of the 1,500 species of fish and 72% of the coral species found on the Great Barrier Reef.
Visit November – March for turtle breeding season.
Find Nemo
Dive the Great Barrier Reef and you are almost guaranteed to find him.
Swim with Whale Sharks, Ningaloo Reef
You don’t even have to be a diver for this one but an Australian aquatic wish list wouldn’t be complete without the majestic whale shark. Don’t worry, whale sharks don’t have teeth. For this amazing experience head to Ningaloo Reef on the Coral Coast in Western Australia between mid-March and the end of July. Not only will you swim with the whale sharks, but you’ll see an abundance of reef life such as manta rays, dolphins and turtles.
Spot a Dugong
The seawater cousin of the manatee, the Dugong or sea cow can be found on the Coral Coast of Australia. Shark Bay and Ningaloo marine parks supports about 10% of the world’s population.
Cage Dive with Great White Sharks
You won’t find Great Whites on the Great Barrier Reef so the adventurous types should head to Port Lincoln in South Australia to catch a charter and cage dive with the sharks. The pristine waters off Neptune Islands make it one of best places to see sharks in their natural habitat. The cages keep you from becoming dinner.
Scuba with a Leafy Sea Dragon
These interesting creatures can be found hiding in the kelp leaves and seaweed off the coast of southern and eastern Australia. Many divers travel to Australia only to find that the leafy sea creatures are tough to spot. Make sure to ask your destination specialist about the best places and times to see the elusive Leafy Sea Dragon.
Traveling to Australia for a dive trip is on nearly every diver’s Bucket List. Have you had the opportunity to experience it?
Luckily, there’s never been a better time to travel to Australia.
Start crushing your Bucket List!
Plan your Custom Trip
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Posted on: August 18th, 2015 by Lexie Cargile
Are you looking to soak up the sun on warm, salty beaches or go “under the sea” for some incredible scuba diving? Australia lends itself to some of the best scuba diving in the world. With over 27,000 beaches and being home to the World Heritage Listed Great Barrier Reef, it’s not surprising it’s a scuba divers and beach lover’s dream destination; the crystal clear waters are magnificently mysterious and provide out-of-this-world experiences. We have compiled a list of top Australia vacation spots, and the most popular and iconic beaches & dive locations; no matter your diving background, there are quintessential locations for everyone to explore.
Travel Tip: The seasons are reversed, making the weather in Australia different than the US.
The northeast region of Queensland yields the most diversity for travelers. Queensland is home to the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Heron Island, Lizard Island and Brisbane, making it an ideal region for those looking to combine the best beaches, scuba diving, and a touch of urban culture.
The Great Barrier Reef is the most iconic scuba diving and snorkeling location in the world. The reef is surrounded by 900 islands and spans across 1,400 miles, roughly the size of 70 million football fields. You will come face-to-face with the world’s most unique and vibrant aquatic life.
- Heron Island, one of the reef’s luxury resorts, allows you to fully experience the tranquility of the reef and all of its wonders. The leisurely island experience focuses on exploring the beauty of nature and leaving the hectic outside world behind.
- Lizard Island, an exclusive Great Barrier Reef resort, accessible only by plane, is located directly on the reef. It is perfectly secluded from the world with private beaches you can unwind on and escape the “touristy” areas of the reef, as well as indulge in private, luxury spa treatments and 5-Star cuisine
True or False? Great White Sharks can be found on the Great Barrier Reef. FALSE. The reef’s waters are too warm and shallow for Great Whites; the most common shark found on the reef is a reef shark. These smaller sharks are extremely docile due to the warmer waters and the large amount of fish in the area, leaving you with nothing to worry about.
Cairns, the closest mainland entrance to the reef, is a tourism powerhouse with pristine beaches and an array of activities. PADI also rates Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef as sites for the World’s Best Big Animal Dives. In addition to the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns also has the World Heritage Listed Daintree Rainforest, where you can embark on an award winning Skyrail Cableway tour across the rainforest and national parks for the “world’s most beautiful rainforest experience.” You can choose from over 600 tours a day, including: guided reef walks, scenic helicopter flights, glass-bottom boat & submarine tours, beach adventures, and fishing & sailing.
- If you’re looking for a really authentic scuba dive experience, Cairns has various liveaboard divetrip operators that venture across the reef’s greatest dive spots for 2-7 days, where you can dive or snorkel between breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday.
Port Douglas & Cape Tribulation are the perfect mixture of beach and scuba diving. You are still close enough to the Great Barrier Reef to scuba dive at your leisure, but far enough away from everything where you can lay out on white, sandy beaches and relax without the hustle and bustle of an urban city. Cape Tribulation is the only place in the world where two Natural Wonders of the World meet – the Great Barrier Reef and the rainforest.
Brisbane serves as a hub of Australian experiences for those with a short amount of time, and also provides easy access to the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast & Hinterland- breathtaking beaches, adventure theme parks, the Australia Zoo (home of the Crocodile Hunter) and incredible rainforests. While in Brisbane you can explore the South Bank Parklands – a great place to take the kiddos, lay out at Kodak Beach – Australia’s largest man-made inland beach/pool, ride a “River Cat” (ferry) across the rivers, and shop ‘til you drop at the Brisbane Mall.
Sydney, located in New South Wales, is Australia’s number one travel destination. It is worldly famous for the Sydney Harbor, the Sydney Opera House, and some of the highest rated beaches in the world; our two favorites include Manly Beach & Bondi Beach. The critically acclaimed beaches are the perfect sandy getaway with views that stretch as far as the eye can see, and offer world-class surfing, friendly locals, an incredible seafood.
Port Lincoln, also known as the “Sea Food Capitol of Australia,” sits along the shore of the Boston Bay in South Australia and is a thrill-seekers paradise. You will have the opportunity to swim with sea lions & tuna, go game fishing, or take the plunge, if you dare, and cage dive with Great White Sharks. Unwind after all of the excitement with some retail therapy at one of the countless boutiques, or dine in at one of the exquisite restaurants.
Kangaroo Island, another South Australian treasure, is home to the extremely unique leafy sea dragon which can ONLY be found in Australia; it is a scuba-divers dream to dive with something so rare and fascinating. In addition to Australia’s favorite land animals – kangaroos, sea lions, and koalas -all these remarkable creatures are what make Kangaroo Island special. You can marvel at these Aussie natives in their natural habitat and explore the wonderment that Kangaroo Island holds, above and below the water.
Ningaloo Reef is located along the coast of Western Australia, and is a World Heritage Listed site. You’re able to dive with whale sharks (seasonal), snorkel through incredible coral lagoons, and watch dolphins, manta rays and humpback whales migrate (seasonal). You can explore several different national parks as well as off-road through sand dunes – another great stop on an adventure travelers bucket-list.
Australia has over 27,000 beaches – that’s a new one to visit everyday for 27 years. We’ve made it easy on you and listed the top 5: White Haven Beach, Turqoise Bay, Cable Beach, Burleigh Heads Beach, and Manly Beach. For a full list of the best beaches in Australia click here.
Similarly, Australia has just as many fantastic dive and snorkel sites, the top 5 include: Cod Hole on the Great Barrier Reef, Flinders Reef, Fish Rock Cave, Lord Howe Island, and Ningaloo Reef.
Annual seasonal events among these locations include: turtle watching, whale watching, festivals & events, and birding which add a little bit of special Australian culture to your adventure. We can accommodate to include any of these seasonal events to personalize your trip even more.
or Phone us Toll Free on 1-888-3592877 (CT USA, M-F 8.30am – 5pm).
About Australia Reviews
Rating of Average of 4.86 on a total of 185 Ratings
Trip Down Under
We couldn't be happier with our trip to Australia that we booked through "About Australia" Travel Agency. Our agent Ana, helped us customize our trip & figure out 3 cities to visit & an excursion in each city to do. The accommodations were convenient & comfy. The excursions got us out & about the city so we could figure out more places we wanted to visit. Ana walked us through getting all o(...)
The koala hug was worth the trip!
I was particularly pleased with how smoothly all the transportation and tour arrangements went. We never had a problem or question about shuttles and everyone was expecting us when we arrived. The trip was fantastic and I wish it could have been longer.
This was a fun trip that ran very smoothly.
Traveling to 3 Australian cities, I was surprised how effortless the whole trip was. The hotels were very nice, the pickups and transfers from airports were efficient, the included tours were fun, and it was an all around enjoyable and worthwhile experience.
Fantastic Trip
Through the entire trip I kept saying to Betty that I could not believe how smoothly everything was going. It was an amazing, stress free (due to your efforts) trip. The hotels in Cairns and Sydney could not have been more accommodating. The whole trip from beginning to end was just really stress free. Taxi’s to/from airports, airport personnel, etc. were just wonderful. You did an amazing jo(...)
Fantastic Honeymoon! About Australia took care of everything, all we had to do was have fun!
We really enjoyed the tours that we were scheduled for. The guides on all the tours were excellent, they were all knowledgeable, a lot of fun, we enjoyed chatting with everybody.
highly recommend
It was a wonderful trip. well organized. Hotels and people I had to deal with were excellent. I would highly recommend
this outfit to anyone who wants to go to Australia.
It was everything you promised and more!!
Koda was great and kept in contact with us from the intial point and until our return and beyond. All of the events we booked were fantastic. Even though we were fresh off the cyclone the snorkeling of the Great Barrier Reef is a once in a lifetime experience. The tip about getting something for the flight crew paid off as all the flight crew treated us as though we were VIP's and other peopl(...)
Personal Best
This was the best trip of my life hands down. I was afraid that since I was saving so much money I would be getting a lesser quality trip, but I was pleasantly surprised!
Extraordinary
I’m extremely happy with the trip that we had About plan for us. I told them what cities we wanted to go, what attractions we wanted to visit and that we were nature lovers. They planned the best tours for us and nailed it! I was also very happy with the smoothness of all the connecting flights and the shuttles to and from the airports/ train stations.
Don’t ever let Koda go!!!!!
Koda was absolutely amazing. Truly the best trip of our lifetime. We cannot thank you all enough for this. We will always use Koda for future trips. 100% satisfied. About Australia will be referred by us to everyone.
Amazing Trip
So glad About Australia and Koda could make my dream come true. Such an incredible trip. Managed to accomplish so many things: Great Barrier Reef, Tjapuka dinner show, whitewater rafting, Wildlife Dome (picture holding koala bear), shopping, Blue Mountain tour (feeding and petting kangaroos), seeing 3 Sisters, using 2 day Harbour Pass to visit most stops, walking the Harbour Bridge and Ro(...)
Very Pleased and Satisfied
About Australia Travel Agency and Christopher R (agent), did a great job in organizing, communicating and providing me and my husband with top notch accommodations and exhilarating excursions. Even though we had a few glitches due to acts of God, everything else went as planned. I give them an 'A' for a job well done.
Thank you for excellent service
Just love Koalas
Our Aussie trip could not have been planned better. The accommodations were all located centrally within short walking distances to restaurants and shopping, not to mention each one was ever so clean and the staff so friendly. The tours scheduled were just what we wanted to see and the tour guides quite knowledgeable. We got to see all the Koalas, kangaroos and wombats that we could possibly(...)
For the most knowledgeable, practical and personalize trip
Hassle free if you would like to tackle all three: Northern New Zealand, Southern New Zealand and gold coast of New South Wales, Australia.
Hassle free comes when about Australia was able to arrange shuttles to and from the airport, rental car, airline tickets. Ours were nine flights!. You get the most for your money. Koda did it with such ease and efficiency. About Australia knows what hot(...)
Fantastic trip and awesome customer service
This is my second time booking with About Australia. It was a blessing and pleasure to work with Koda! She was patient, efficient, and did her utmost to meet all my travel requests. I had a customized itinerary with many changes in between. Koda, without any hesitation, helped to meet my requests. Koda delivered friendly and professional services without any trace of Being annoyed or bother(...)
Great Trip
We had a wonderful time. We enjoyed all of the excursions that were included with our package. We would, however, preferred better hotels. The first one, in Melbourne, was located about 2 blocks from the office where we were dropped off by the shuttle. We had to drag our luggage to the building. We found the apartment to be well appointed, but we had to report to the management that the (...)
Thoroughly enjoyed our vacation
Thoroughly enjoyed our vacation - Princess cruise New Zealand was great. Hotels in Sydney, Gold Coast were excellent, our hotel in Cairns the room itself was lovely, unfortunately the view from the room was a steel roof and brick wall - again the room itself and the staff were very nice.
Great!!!
About Australia (Joanne) did a great job working with us and customizing our trip. It was what we wanted. We certainly saw the bush and outback several times. We found animals in the wild besides at sanctuaries and Steve Irwins Zoo. We believe we saw the real Australia and not just cities. The train trips were what we expected and then some. When they stopped and let us off it was very (...)
Best trip ever
My daughter and I had an amazing time Down Under thanks to About Australia. Our hotels were wonderful and located perfectly in order to explore more of the cities we were visiting. All of the recommendations before we left were extremely helpful. It made a last minute trip into a relaxing vacation.
Too Much Continent and Too Little Time
The trip was incredible. People were unbelievably friendly. Enjoyed the peaceful serenity of Port Douglas. Am very glad we opted for Douglas instead of Cairns. Meridian Hotel was great. Four Mile beach is a must see (sunrise is fantastic) and be sure to climb Flagstaff Hill. Great Barrier Reef trip was ok, but opting not to go into the water was a mistake. Be sure you can tread water or(...)
Australia is Awesome!
Fantastic trip, and so affordable! Great flight, outstanding accommodations with wonderful views--39th floor in Melbourne!--Great Barrier Reef and Penguin Island were excellent experiences! Monique and Yasmine were such entertaining guides. This trip with my daughter was one of the very best in this traveler's memory!
Recent Australian trip was an excellent adventure!
The trip of a lifetime for us. All the arrangements worked out beautifully. The accommodations were excellent. All the transportation arrangements happened as expected and we were extremely pleased. Loved all the included tours and those that we chose to do on our own. One day at the Great Barrier Reef, the next at the Rainforest. We especially loved the city of Cairns. Truly one of the best(...)
Trip to Aussie Land
Our 10 day trip to Eastern Australia was extremely enjoyable, and a valuable learning experience. Surfers Paradise was reminiscent of our days on the Jersey shores, only better. The area was very clean, there were many good restaurants and plenty of sites to see. We did sign up for a 1/2 day tour of the waterfalls and rainforest. We could have avoided this since the waterfalls and rainforests(...)
Heading for the dive into the Great Barrier Reef
About Australia and Christopher set up the most amazing vacation for us. If there was a rating above 5 stars, we would place these travel experts into that category.
Traveling to New Zealand and Australia had been on our wish list for awhile and putting trust in Christopher with our travel plan destinations was the best decision we could have made.
Thank you for the memories.
Enjoying the majestic waterfalls of Doubtful Sound.
We enjoyed a great time in New Zealand. We particularly enjoyed the scenic South Island, and Hobbiton on the North Island.
Dream trip
Ana Musgray helped me plan my dream trip to Australia and New Zealand. Everything was so well organized all the transfers,or coach buses were right on time and ran seamless. This county is absolutely beautiful and the people on my tour were so much fun! I had the time of my life and will never forget my amazing holiday! I hope to return one day and will definitely contact Ana again.
Waiheke - just a short ferry ride from Auckland
Stellar services customized for us! Many thanks
Great travel services covering customized locations and activities. Transfers were seamless and
Accommodations were perfectly located with access to in apt.laundry needs at just the right intervals
for our three week trip. Couldn’t have asked for a better team in getting us flight changes mid-trip and
tracking our needs throughout. All for reasonable prices! Best of the best!
Amazing Aussie Experience, Mate!
We loved our time in Australia! The diversity between Melbourne, Cairns, and Sydney was great. We did several tours including the Phillip Island Penguins, the snorkeling/diving in Cairns (would like to do that one about 10 more times!), the Kuranda Rainforeststation, and the Hop on/Hop off tour in Sydney. We also did some extra exploring at those places and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We hi(...)
Wonderful trip from bingging to ending
We had a wonderful trip. Koda's help in planning all aspects of the trip was wonderful. Having never travelled abroad before, we relied heavily on her to help us with planning our travels while in Australia. All bookings were perfect for our likes. We only had one hiccup on a planned tour which was cancelled (no fault of Koda), but didn't bother our trip in the least
Great Experience
Our trip was absolutely amazing! I usually like planning my own trips, but this time around we were in the midst of planning our wedding as well. In addition, we felt like we did not know enough about the South Pacific to know where wanted to go. Our trip was put together beautifully, and honestly we wouldn’t change a thing. Every single flight and shuttle from the airport was on time, ever(...)
A trip of a lifetime!
What an amazing experience. The accommodations and extra excursions we did were wonderful. The only thing I would have changed was I wished we had a little more time in Sydney (it was more like a very long layover rather than a visit to the city). Ana was wonderful and helped us plan a trip I will always treasure!
VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE SERVICE. QANTAS WERE EXCELLENT IN SERVICE AND FOODS OFFERED.
THANKS GUYS FOR THE SERVICE. HAVE NO PHOTOS TO ATTACH UNFORTUNATELY
Australia was amazing!
Marissa really helped us plan the perfect vacation. She was always available by phone or email, even sometimes after hours. I had a lot of questions and made some changes, and she was very accommodating. We were visiting our son who is attending the University of Newcastle for a semester. We stayed in Sydney and Newcastle during our trip. Some of our favorite things were the sunset cruis(...)
Acela Guerra and Ricardo Guerra
Melbourne park
Thank you Ana ,you are the best and very professional.
Amazing trip to Australia !!!!!!
Very soon will be back with our son Richard.
Sincerely,
Acelavguerra
Services were great !!
I reviewed properties with the travel agency which had some issues, and these comments are said to be considered for future clients. I'm awaiting resolution of an airline baggage charge with which the agency is assisting.
I'll try to post photos after I'm back from catchup mode; having been away a month.
Thank you Ana, for your great service!
Ana & the About Australia/New Zealand team totally exceeded all our expectations!!
We had the best time and I highly recommend Ana & the "About Aus/NZ" team. I looked into a lot of different agencies prior to planning our honeymoon to Australia and New Zealand. Truth be told, I originally planned to complete all aspects of our trip myself. When finding the "About" team, I loved that they specialize in only a few different places. I also liked how they gave us the ability to(...)
Beyond Expectations!!!
Australia is a big country!! We are so glad we used "About Australia" tour and self-guided services!!!
Sydney was a beautiful city!! clean and lots of action at Darling Harbor ... Our accommodations were two blocks from Darling Harbor ... Easy walking distance to everything: Sydney Opera House, Harbors, Fish Market, and boat taxis to Manly...
The first half of the trip we used three(...)
Herman and Betty Pump With Leo and Regina Carbanara
Incredible trip great hotels
Can not describe how wonderful this trip was. Every flight perfect with pickups always on schedule. Each hotel was better than described. The excursions where a highlight of every city and where very fairly priced. We added some additional tours and Chris Reeh our agent from "About Australia" handled these additions with ease.
We enjoyed every day and night . Pickup for tours always on time(...)
Amazing trip!
We had an amazing trip. We would change a couple of things about our time in Sydney. We were right in Chinatown- maybe 5 Aussies in that area the whole time we were there. No Australian food or the English language anywhere. We did not pay all of this money to stay in Asia. We have Chinatown in the states. The hotel was nice. We took public transportation to see the other parts of Syd(...)
IT WAS AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE
My travel agent Darin, did a spectacular job with my tour itinerary, everything was beyond my expectation. all the hotels and their staff, were cordial, helpful and full of important information. the location of the hotels was fantastic, everywhere I wanted to see or visit was at walking distance, it was safe which was one of my main concerns, Darin assured me that everywhere I was staying wa(...)
BEST TRIP EVER!
Awesome,fantastic,wonderful not enough words to describe this experience. It was the best! Everything went smoothly not one glitch in the entire 3 weeks. All the tours, transfers were as described. Couldn’t have been a better experience.
Love it
Our first trip to australia is awesome . Quantas airlines staffs are attentive , helpful to meet my needs & assistance .hotels & apartments provided are awesome , clean , spacious & most of all matrtra on kent , very close proximity at darling harbour in sydney. Tours best is penguin , barrier reef .the only minor complaint i have is to remember to call transfers 24 hours prior . . Australia (...)
Magical
Our first trip to AUSTRALIA did not disappoint! Our Itinarary was perfect for us Alaskan adventurers! A well rounded trip from Sydney to Cairns and so much in between. We hiked in the Blue Mountains and swam at Lake Eacham walked amongst the kangaroo s and Cockatoo s and held the precious Koala bears. We romped in the rain forest and stayed at Rose Gums enjoyed the 3 bedroom treehouse with (...)
would do again with only a few minor changes
Australian people are incredibly hospitable and fun to talk with. One story: When we disembarked our train early in the morning in Cooroy, there was no station, just a platform on a country road and no taxi stand. But there was a group of guys meeting up to go kayaking. One offered to drive us free the 30 minutes to our destination ---- the attendant in a filling station was able to call (...)
About Australia really knows Australia and excellently shared their experience with us.
We had a fantastic and wonderful experience. All our connections went smoothly and the Mantra hotels were very clean and in great locations. The three excursions that were booked for us were exceptional. We would definitely recommend your company to our friends.
Enjoyed the trip!
We really enjoyed our Australia vacation, especially our visits to Sydney, Melbourne, and Port Douglas. Everything went smoothly - no problems with travel arrangements, and the accommodations were comfortable and spacious. Our snorkel/scuba trip to the Great Barrier Reef was wonderful. Thanks to About Australia for helping us plan the trip of a lifetime!
An excellent orchestration of 13 flights and 31 vouchers
3 countries, 13 flights, 31 vouchers, 0 problems.
This was a well orchestrated trip by Ana at AboutAustralia of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Experienced help made our trip smooth and memorable.
We managed to see many of the highlights of several locations in Australia without feeling too rushed. Also received good advice how to plan for the excessive heat, which was quite a change from the snow we left here, and some inside information on hot spots and recommended activities. I especially appreciated Ana's patience as we made some last minute changes in plans. Having the transport(...)
Wonderful Trip!
Had a fantastic time. Great flight arrangements, great cities (Melbourne, Cairns, Sydney), great tours, great food! Our accommodations were very nice, but the location of one was a bit inconvenient (better if had a couple of upgrade options in larger cities). For the most part, we had excellent weather; it rained on two touring days but we were still able to appreciate the sites with the exc(...)
Sunset Camel ride
Making dreams come true. My trip to Australia was amazing and worry free
knowing About Australia had made all the arrangements for an adventure of a lifetime
Thanks a million
Australia
The trip to Australia was amazing. The tours were well planned and interesting. A great value for the money.
Unforgettable Honeymoon
We used About Australia for our 2 week honeymoon. They were very easy to work with and helped us create the perfect itinerary. I loved how customizable everything was and it was very reassuring knowing everything was taken care of. We only had one issue the whole time and that was with our pickup from the airport when we first arrived in Sydney. It wasn’t the way we wanted to start our honey(...)
Excellent experience
Well designed and good value trip, would recommend to friends
Six weeks; No hassle; Greatest experience ever
My boyfriend and I (both 72 years of age) have just returned from a six-week, custom-tailored, independent trip to Australia and New Zealand.
We started talking about this trip over a year prior to our departure date. After my initial 2.5 hour telephone conversation with Christopher at About Australia, I knew we had found the perfect "partner" on whom we could depend to help us with all(...)
best bargan ever
I went with confidence in About Australia, and ended with confidence with About Australia. Our travel Agent Daren did everything possible to make this a unforgettable trip, and he succeeded. He even went out of his way to change our plans at almost the very last minute. this is very special from a very special person. I certainly have and will recommend them to anyone wanting a trip of a li(...)
Thanks to About Australia, our tour was a great success.
Daren and his colleagues did a wonderful job in getting us set up for our first tour of Australia. We will return to the Land Down Under again and will be certain to engage their assistance in putting the next visit as well.
Happy tralvers
All our vacation to Austria was planed by the agency and we were very happy to follow the schedule for each locations we visited. The schedules were easy to follow and it gave us a good opportunities to see all about Australia and histories.
Absolutely NO glitches! FABULOUS!!!!
We got such a great deal, it made me wonder “what’s the catch?” No catch, just a wonderful adventure!
Excellent
This was my first time using About Australia and I was extremely happy with their services. They did an excellent job. Everything was just perfect. The transportation, the hotels, the locations was all spot on. My sisters and I were very pleased. I highly recommend anyone visiting Australia and New Zealand to use About Australia. Thank you so much Marissa for everything you did to make our va(...)
Sydney opera house
Every thing was above our expectations. If we knew better, we would have spent more time in New Zealand. All hotels were great except our hotel in Sydney which did not have the best location for our needs. Thank you so much!
It was a wonderful trip and we highly recommend About Australia!
Koda did a great job proposing and organizing our itinerary. She kept us informed of any changes, gave us excellent advice, and reminded us of important things we need to do. We had a wonderful, memorable and very smooth trip. Hope to do business with you again in the future.
Such a well rounded first class adventure
Virgin Australia made the lengthy flight enjoyable.The hotel, Breakfree, was in the heart of town, spacious clean comfortable room and front desk staff bent over backwards to assist us with all kinds of requests. The tours were informative and fun. We had time to do a few things on our own, like having dinner at the top of Sydney tower our last night. On the Blue Mountain tour, we even had an(...)
Good Trip
Good enjoyable trip.
Melbourne:
Accommodation: clean, good location, easy transportation
City Food Walking Tour: OK
Philip Island Trip: Good
Ocean Drive: Good
Cairns:
Accommodation: clean, good location
Snorkeling: Good
Aboriginal: Duplicated day and trip events. Should have taken one, not both: the same thing, same casts.
Sydney:
Accommodation: OK, good location, easy transporttio(...)
fabulous job
I wasn't totally convinced that this would work out. But, it did. Darin Hendry did a fabulous job of making our trip perfect. I was worried- I didn't have to- he's a 5 star pro. We loved it all.
Amazing
Darin hit it out of the ballpark planning our trip to Australia for us. He made it very easy for us to get from one place to another. Everything went as planned!! He suggested Hamilton Island to us and It was one of our favorite places to go! Absolutely beautiful! Everyone was so friendly and they take such good care of their Island- very clean! We were able to see and do so much and all do(...)
Great Ocean Road
A most excellent vacation as a result of working with Marissa Stroud! Perfect accommodations, wonderful tours, and accommodating flights with Virgin Australia.
Amazing down under experiences
After the initial scare of missing our connection in Dallas, because our Denver to Dallas plane was running late, we were rebooked by American Airlines via Los Angeles. After that, every connection, shuttle, hotel, tour was perfectly coordinated. Our trip was a great taste of life in Australia without all the hassle of attempting to book all arrangements ourselves.
Amazing all-around experience!
The trip that Ana put together for us was nothing short of spectacular and exceeded our expectations which were high. As we traveled from Sydney to Hamilton Island to Byron Bay and back to Sydney we were able to enjoy all the sites and activities we planned and then some! We were privy to some “insider tips” which added so much to our trip. We highly recommend AboutAustralia and plan on using(...)
We loved the trip!
Melbourne: accommodations were clean and well-located, and the desk staff gave helpful recommendations - it's a walking and foodie city (excellent tour by Monique) - great tour to the animal farm and little blue penguins
Uluru: beautiful accommodations - good dining options - sunrise and sunset tours to Uluru and Kata Juta were amazing - again, informative guides
Cairns: (would have liked (...)
Amazing
About Australia was amazing to work with making this a vacation of a lifetime! I would highly recommend their services to anyone wanting to travel to Australia. The itinerary was great. The hotels we stayed in were not only wonderful, but were located in super convenient in relation to exploring the cities we were in. Any questions or concerns i had were immediately addressed. Customer servic(...)
Picture taken at Sydney Harbor
We had a very well planned trip by about Australia, the activities were fun. The rooms were fantastic. Only complaint it wasn’t long enough. I’d definitely use them again and recommend them to friends.
Amazing vacation! Bucket list trip!
Chris was great at helping me plan my trip to visit my daughter in Australia while she was studying abroad. We had 2 weeks and a tight budget! He was great at accommodating me. We decided on Cairns, Sydney and Melbourne. The only hiccup was the transfer from Melbourne airport to hotel. The company called con-x-ion (I think that’s how it’s spelled) had the smelliest van I have ever been in. Th(...)
Fantastic trip and awesome services......
This is my 2nd time booking with About Australia. It was a blessing to work with Koda this time around! She provided outstanding services all around from the time I phoned in to during the trip and the end of the trip!
Koda was very patient, efficient, and tried her utmost to meet all my travel requests.
I had a customized itinerary and Koda diligently and patiently worked with me on (...)
So nice to have it all done for us!
We did 24 days in Australia/Tasmania in March/April and loved it! About Australia made all the custom arrangements and things went so smoothly. We had two small issues which were quickly corrected...thank you! Accomodations were great, flights were easy, and the tours were very nice. Loved Kangaroo Island and Tasmania! Would do it all again :-) Thanks to all the agents who helped us!
Awesome
Great experience. Already planning our return. Would like to single out Monique on our foodie tour. Note. Some of our contact numbers at the beginning of the trip connected but hung up after being put on hold
This is the 1st Australia trip, we already thinking going back!
This is the 1st Australia trip, we already thinking going back!
Fantastic
We had a fantastic experience. Knowing it may be our one and only chance to see down under, we squeezed in as much as possible in 2 weeks. We went to Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland (Tasmania) and New Zealand. The flights, tours and all airport/hotel connections all went off without a hitch. We scheduled many tours but our favorites were the Feeding Frenzy at Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Tasman(...)
Cheers Mate!
Ana did such an amazing job! She was super kind and patient through out the process and helped answer any and every question I had. She did a wonderful job of getting a grasp on what I was interested in and everything I needed to support completing the entire trip. We had fantastic tours, hotels, and transportation the whole. It really took the stress out of the traveling and allowed us to ju(...)
This trip was AWESOME and exceeded my expectations!
Going to Australia and snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef has been #1 on my "Bucket List" since I can remember! All the stars fell in line this year, so we decided, "This is it...we're going!"
About Australia came highly recommended to us by some friends who LOVE Australia (and are going again with them next year for the 5th time!!), so we contacted them to check them out and get the bal(...)
So great
The accommodations were wonderful and the excursions were amazing and informative. Thank you for some amazing memories
Great advice and a great trip, perfectly put together
About Australia put together a perfect trip for us to Australia. Their suggestion that we fly Premium Coach on Virgin Australia worked out great, we slept well both ways and literally experienced no jet lag either direction. We were pleased with all of our accommodations and excursions, and when one of our flights inside Australia was cancelled, the owner was immediately on top of the situa(...)
Fantastic Trip
We had a great first time trip to Australia. Darin and About Australia were great to work with. The sites we visited were fantastic. The hotels were excellent. The day trips and operators were first tier. Everything about the trip went smooth and was above expectations. Well Done!
AWESOME TRIP! WISHED I WOULD HAVE ADD A TRIP OVER TO NEW ZEALAND OR FIIJI
Enjoyable experience
Overall we were very happy with About Australia and our coordinator Koda.
All the booking and execution of travel, transfers, hotels, etc went smoothly. The location of and quality of the accommodations in Melbourne and Caines were great, and we really enjoyed the tours we did in those cities.
We especially enjoyed the foodie tour we did in Melbourne. Monique, who ran the tour, wa(...)
Great, except....
The trip was worth the money. However, VERY disappointed with location of hotel in Sydney. Although BREAKFREE ON GEORGE was a very nice hotel/apartment I did not appreciate being in the middle of Chinatown.
Vacation of a Lifetime
This was the most hassle-free vacation I've ever been on. We didn't communicate with the About Australia group very much before the trip simply because we didn't have to. They had all of our travel documents completely organized and squared away. To be honest, I was a little nervous checking into our first hotel in Melbourne simply because I never confirmed that we had a reservation. We d(...)
Very well organized
My husband and I went to Australia September 2019. From the beginning of our planning process Melanie was great. Initially we planned to go on vacation in June but we had some conflicts so requested to move our vacation to September. Since Melanie was out of the office, Melissa helped us get everything organized. Melissa was so great and attentive as well. As our vacation got closer Melanie c(...)
my number one bucket list location to travel too.
About Australia was a great company to work with, did a fantastic job in all the planning. thank you
All we booked was easy to do on this fantastic trip!
We booked flights, hotels, shuttles, and activities with Ana at About Australia.
The range of geographical areas and activities was exceptional
I highly recommend About Australia to anyone planning to travel there.
Great trip
Thank you for making this amazing trip happen!
Once in a Lifetime Trip
They helped me plan a amazing anniversary trip that I will never forget. We had minor hicks up but it was taken care of. I just wanted to share how much I enjoy dealing with About Australia. You have great people working to make business travel as painless as possible. I have worked a lot with Chris Reech – he is brilliant.
He is customer focused, cheerful and always willing to help you f(...)
Trip of a lifetime
This was a terrifically planned trip. The detail of the planning by About Australia was amazing. Our trip was 7 weeks long and offered us a great opportunity to see & do as much as possible. When weather changed a planned route, our travel consultant, Ana, was quick to rearrange our travel. She was there to answer my many questions by quickly responding to my emails. I am totally impres(...)
Great time
It was am amazing trip that covered a lot of the country. Only regret was we were running out of time and would have liked to spent more time in each location. Do your study before you go, the instructions in the voucher help but the little things you can miss make it important to study and plan.
Amazing trip!
About Australia made it easy to plan our trip to Australia and included everything we needed, ensuring we did not miss any of the most popular attractions. We absolutely loved our trip and are already talking about going back.
Thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
Very impressive, and well organized.
The whole trip was very well organized . Starting with planning the trip consulting Darin Hendry, he made us feel very comfortable and assured us that we would be well taken care of. He told us what to expect at every cities we stopped. The instructions at each airports when we arrived were so detailed. We felt so at ease in unfamiliar places. The whole trip was very relaxed because we travel(...)
Wonderful trip!! Just two issues.
In cairns our pickup to airport for trip to sydney was not organized well. The driver picked us up too late and had 6 additional stops! Claudia and I ran to checkin and there was a long line. So she went to priority and I went to service desk. The service desk checked us in. We were lucky to make the flight due to our quick thinking. Also, we were not that pleased with the location of (...)
Awesome!
If people go and don't wanna stay they're crazy
It was an amazing trip. The tours were excellent.
AWESONE
THIS TRIP WAS AMAZING WAS ABLE TO SEE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS THROUHGOUT AUSTRALIA, EVERYTHING FROM THE FOOD TO THE PEOPLE WAS AWESOME. ALL OF OUR ACCOMODATIONS WERE FANTASTIC. ABOUT AUSTRALIA IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO IF TRAVELING ABROAD TO AUSTRALIA.
Great trip! Everything went according to plan, seamless!
Absolutely no complaints! Great accommodation! Everyone was on time to pick us up! Really enjoyed Australia!
Lawrence & Wendy McKee
We wish to thank Chris & all at Aboutaustralia.com who enabled our recent trip to Australia & New Zealand. We had 36 vouchers, and in each case had no problem when checking in. We had one minor issue at the hotel in Napier, and Chris responded right away despite time difference, and it was due to a new hotel clerk not finding our existing booking, and was quickly resolved. Also, Chris respo(...)
Awesome Vacation!
We have traveled all over the world. Never have we had a trip so well planned. By the third day, we were checking our itinerary and asking ourselves, “what’s the next adventure?” Everything went like clockwork. Hotels, flights, transfers, tours, all were on time and more than we expected. Our only disappointment was having to come home when it was over. Thank you, About Australia, for plannin(...)
Down Under was Amazing!
We really enjoyed our trip to Australia. The accommodations exceeded our expectations, especially the apartment in Melbourne. Our first trip to Australia was unforgettable!
It was amazing,
It was amazing, the experience was well worth the cost.
It was above my expectation
We only have one time in Cairns where the shuttle missed picking us up because the flight was delayed and we have to wait for one and a half hour for the next shuttle
Otherwise, everything else was great! I will recommend it to all my travel buddies.
Fabulous, fabulous, and fabulous!
My trip to Australia was amazing! The hotels were impeccable, outings to the Great Barrier Reef and Walkabout to see kangaroos and koalas will last a lifetime. No fusing with transport to and from the airport as it was arranged.Thank you Ana for putting together a fabulous adventure!
Excellent vacation, amazing service!
Thank you for putting together such a great vacation for us, very professional service. We had a blast in Australia!
This was a trip that gave us memories for a lifetime.
I was referred by a friend to About Australia to help put together my "bucket list" trip to Australia and New Zealand. Overall, it was a great success. I saw and did all the things I really wanted to do. High points were the Sydney Bridge Climb, diving the Great Barrier Reef, the Penguin Parade on Phillip Island, driving the Great Ocean Road, hiking in Freycinet National Park, and the feeding(...)
Loved it.
Great trip. Loved every moment of it. Just what I wanted and more.
Amazing trip
I have decided to use a travel agent to plan for my family’s trip to Australia, after trying to do it myself for months. I am glad I did. My agent was Ana. I requested her to plan a trip for us with the most affordable way to fly from San Francisco, to have city experience, to see the Great Barrier Reef, to be able to visit my good friend in Brisbane, and have wildlife experience. She came o(...)
Australia is a MUST Country to VISIT!!!
Great planning, awesome communication, and perfect itinerary setup by Kelsey!! Perfect hotel locations to access the wonders of each city within walking distance!!! Australia was amazing, adventurous, and relaxing!! Great job About Australia!!
This trip was amazing!!!
Tyler planned an amazing trip to Australia and New Zealand! Everything went smooth from the time we left Newark until we landed back home in Newark. The flights were great, the transfers went smooth, the accommodations were lovely and the excursions were awesome!! Any issues we had were out of everyone’s control and handled appropriately
I would recommend About Australia to anyone who (...)
A--MAZ--ING!
Wow, we booked this trip through About Australia knowing it would probably be our only time to go there. They chose the BEST highlights, arranged EVERYTHING, and it was fantastic! I don't think it could have been better. In Melbourne (Melbin) we did an excellent 3 hour foodie walking tour, rode the free tram everywhere, loved the Market, stayed a an apartment, visited an animal park AND ex(...)
Awesome!!
Awesome trip, can’t wait to do another!
We loved Australia!
Thank you so much Koda for all the recommendations and the itinerary tips! The stay in Melbourne was centered right in the middle - loved the people, lots to eat, lots to do and see. We loved our stay - our balcony was so beautiful - we loved our view so much! Cairns - loved our hotel and everything was in walk-able distance, we had an ocean view, sunrise was magical - wished we extended o(...)
Outstanding trip—and so affordable!
Great flights on Qantas, excellent room accommodations (awesome view from Short Stay apartment in Melbourne), loved being up-close with koalas, kangaroos, wallabies , and adorable fairy penguins. Our guides, Monique and Yasmin, were lovely, and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, was amazing! Australia should be on everyone’s bucket list!
It was amazing
Really wonderful trip. Everything was arranged ahead of time. All hotels were great. The tours were lovely, including the optional daintree dreaming tour. Well, well worth the money
Thank you Katie for being so easy to work with for our Australian adventure. Your communication and planning in a timely manner helped our travel anxiety as seniors.
The trip overall was AMAZING!
The only feedback I would like to offer pertains to the Penguin Parade excursion. We had no idea how the day would unfold. Turns out, no one was dressed appropriately seeing that Phillips Island is quite breezy and the temps drop as the sun goes down! If you could suggest that long pants, or even a jacket and blanket are brought, would have helped keep everyone more comfortable as we wai(...)
Great value for the price
The paper work including what to do pre trip was great, Australia is a long way so Ana extended my return an extra 10 days so I could have more time with son and visit Tasmania. For my return next year I plan on using their services .
Vacation
We had a wonderful time in Australia and loved the convenience and quality product offered by About Australia. The food tour in Melbourne was great and our apartment was modern and lovely. We were very satisfied overall and thank Koda for helping us with our arrangements.
Wonderful
Best Vacation EVER! I'm not one to write reviews - but our trip to Australia was perfect in every way. From the flights, to the transfers, accommodations, & excursions - everything went without any hitches. Accommodations were comfortable, and the people so very nice. We have NO complaints.
Ana, our rep with About Australia, put a trip of a life-time together for us. Thank you (...)
Australia is amazing!
I was very please with our trip to Australia. Although we had a bit of a rocky start, (lack of communication from About Australia), in the end, they delivered everything they said. I was very happy that we purchased the Tours and Transfers add on. It was well worth it. We did not have to worry about getting to and from the airport, finding hotel etc. The vouchers required you to call and (...)
Bucket List Trip #5 accomplished
I had a nice time in Australia. Had the opportunity to meet 4 other women on a similar adventure from various parts of the US. Their package very similar to mine so we spent time doing activities together and having meals together.
I would recommend that you ask more questions about the activities if you are going to book them through the travel agency. There was very limited information g(...)
Absolutely wonderful trip through New Zealand and Australia
Just wanted to share we had an amazing trip through New Zealand and Australia, thank you for coordinating the trip. The voucher process worked perfectly and we liked the location of the accommodations. Wish you did Asia, I would love to use your services again.
Great trip
Loved the locations we visited and the planned excursions. The Mantra hotels were ok but not great. About Australia needs to work on their response times since we didn’t always get answers without feeling like we were nagging. And the day of our departure was very stressful with a changed flight ( no fault of About Australia) and a shuttle driver who arrived 50 minutes late and was lost betw(...)
Amazing
Koda Boulton was the one who helped me and she's was amazing even with all my questions and my unfortunate criminal background. Still got in with no problems and had a great itinerary set up. Couldn't have seen Australia in a better way than that. Strongly recommend About Australia. Good price too! Flexible.
Best travel agency for Australia
Our trip to Australia would never have been as successful as it was without the help of Koda from About Australia. Using an area specialist made all the difference. She set us up with amazing excursions I doubt we would have found it n our own. She suggested the Phillips Island trip to see the tiny penguin parade when I didn’t even know there were penguins in Australia—and trip included (...)
Everything and more
About Australia and About New Zealand planned our honeymoon amazingly! From listening to the activities we desired to do while there, to ensuring those happened, and arranging all our flights and accommodations, About Australia was great to work with. Our visas were secured and all our travel documentation was provided, which made traveling a breeze! And we had a lot of traveling to do in the(...)
Took care of all the things that might make a trip to Australia difficult.
Airline schedule, visas, hotel accommodations, tours were all excellent. The hotels chosen in Sydney, Melbourne, and Port Douglas were excellent both in terms of the venue and the locations in each city. In Sydney, Potts Point was relaxing but close enough to everything to provide a great experience. Melbourne felt busy, but Melbourne Short Stay Apartments were outstanding. And in Port Dougla(...)
Wow!
Australia is beautiful. Our trip was well planned and very organized. Daily vouchers were easy to understand and all travel documents were very organized. Darin was extremely helpful and readily available for questions and concerns. I would definitely recommend About Australia for your travel needs.
Loved New Zealand and Australia
We loved our bucket list trip to New Zealand and Australia. However, we felt there should have been an encouragement from Koda to consider adding a day or two at each destination. We didn't realize that in almost all cases of 2 night stays, an entire day was spend traveling. This left us with little time to explore upon arrival. An example was Melbourne. We arrived in the early evening. The e(...)
Absolutely Fabulous! Highly Recommend!
The entire experience was amazing! From booking in the short time we had, to the surprise of such a great value and then when we were there, we could not believe how wonderful everything was...from the hotels, to the excursions to the flight and transfers. Absolutely flawless, best value and would highly recommend Marissa and About Australia again! Thank you so much for a wonderful experience!
Wow! An Unforgettable Trip
Koda and her company were a dream to work with. Everything was easy to understand and tailored to meet our needs. This was our first time using a tour type package and agent and I was glad we did. Our trip was planned out beautifully for us. Everything was streamlined, easy, fun and friendly with top notch impeccable services, tours and hotels. We had a great balance of scheduled tours and ti(...)
WE LOVED our trip
Our trip was so smooth and so affordable we could not believe it! Accommodations were wonderful - clean and right in the middle of the action in all 3 areas we travelled. Flights were wonderful and transfers reliable and on time. I cannot think of a way it could have been better!
The trip was very nice overall.
The trip was very nice overall. Very good communication process with About Australia in planning and setting up trip. Agents were pleasant, professional and helpful. The hotels, excursions and shuttles were very good except with a bad shuttle experience in Sydney with RedyToGo both to and from Airport and Hotel. The side excursions and tours booked were very good and well run, especially t(...)
Everything was great!
We had a great time and we were so grateful that About Australia had taken care of all the details. Eventhough we kept making changes to our plans (dates, cities, activities, etc) even during the trip, the staff was super patient and accommodating.
A couple of suggestions: the hotel in Queenstown was not the best (very dated) and it didn’t have air conditioning. We were also surprised whe(...)
All the details were handled for us
Thank you, Darin for planning our trip of a life time to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. The whole trip ran smoothly because you had everything set up for us. All the tours were top-notch and beyond enjoyable. The fact that we didn't have to go through the hassle of buying tickets for our tours was super, definitely made our trip so much easier! We seen and experienced so much that we never(...)
Down under was above expectations!
Thanks, Darin, for the wonderful trip you designed for us in Australia. We had a blast! The hotels were right in the middle of things, the tours were amazing and first class, and if I needed advice you were right there for me. I would not have been able to plan this trip without you because you had been to Australia and you knew just where to send me, and in the style I wanted.
Thanks a(...)
Excellent vacation!!
It was an amazing family vacation almost everything was pre-paid and booked we just had to show up and have fun!! Ana was very patient with me and she was able to accommodate all my requeats and answer all my questions.
Amazing Experiences
Ana did a great job of putting my itinerary together. She has great ideas for tours, the accommodations were fantastic, and it was nice to have transportation arranged to and from the airport.
Fiji
Had a fantastic time in Fiji thanks to About Australia. They were knowledgeable about the location and the resorts they chose for us were spectacular. Thanks for all of your help.
Amazing time in Australia
It was an amazing trip.
Koda was very helpful in assisting us in planning our first trip to Australia. The apartments in Melbourne and Sydney was Amazing. It is walking distance to major attractions and we felt very safe. We will definitely recommend about Australia to our friends. Thank you.
Fantastic trip
This was one of my bucket list vacations and Anna Musgray and About Australia did not disappoint. I cannot
believe everything went smoothly without a single hitch. I expected at least one thing to not go as planned,
but was most pleasantly surprised that each and every detail was spelled out for me and completely followed
through. I'm so glad I made this trip because it was wonderful in(...)
Gabriele Wahlbrink-Herrmann
Being "Down Under" was a top experience!
Ana did a great job! In less than 3 weeks we saw the top spots ob Australia's south, middle and north. Everything was well organized, just showing the voucher and we could pass.
Overall Wonderful!
Overall, our trip was wonderful. Unfortunately, they had to change agents in the middle of planning so we lost some continuity. Majority of accommodations were great. Tours selected wonderful. My only recommendation for those using About Australia, thoroughly check and read all final documents including seat assignments on airlines.
Very good.
All the planning and the vouchers worked out just fine. No glitches. Well done.
Great trip. Everything was perfect. Thanks Darin for all your help. You did a great job.
An amazing trip!
We truly enjoyed the trip you planned for us. Everything went smoothly, and the activities you chose for us were amazing.
Australian Trip
I first asked for a quote, only to find out (while on a short trip) that the trip had been booked. All I wanted to know what the "and up" cost would be for the advertised one. However, it was an excellent price, so I booked it. It seemed too short for the time spent in the airplanes, but we enjoyed the opportunity to see things out of the cities, we added a Dainforest Trip out of Caines, a(...)
Overall A Positive Experience
Booking through About Australia made the trip very easy. It was nice not to worry about finding accommodations and flights and they provided good recommendations for each location. I would use the service again. I did feel that we spent too much time in some places and not enough in others, but that likely kept flight costs down.
My only concerns were that two of the accommodations didn't (...)
Great job
About Australia did a fantastic job planning our trip. We enjoyed the flexibility of designing it based on our preferences. I highly recommend this service!
A Big and Diverse Trip to Australia Made Easy
We usually do our own vacation planning. Grab a Lonely Planet guide book, hop on the internet and get started. I quickly realized that Australia may be different. First, its very large, 95% of the size of continental USA. Second, there is so much to do and see. Third, an itinerary can get very complicated very quickly; multiple destinations, multiple flights, rental cars, and a myriad of(...)
Great Trip
Everything was as good or better than we expected. Sydney was great. Melbourne was very good. The events all worked out well and were better then expected.The return flight was terrible, since it was badly planned by you or Qantas, who ever planned the connection. There was no way for anyone to make the connection to Phoenix. But other then that, it was a great trip. Lou
Great Knowledge and Execution Made for a Great trip
My husband and I heartily recommend About Australia. Although I had done a great deal of research myself, it was wonderful to have these pros take over the details of day trips, accommodations, flights, transfers, and car rental. They put us in hotels that were wonderfully located but met our budget requirements. All three weeks of our Aussie adventure came off without a hitch.
Great way to see Australia
Everything was well planned out and taken care of before we flew to Sydney. Plans went smoothly. We had a few changes to make during the planning and Koda was very helpful.
Australia and New Zealand - Outstanding in every way!
We recently returned from an amazing 3 week holiday to Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns and Queenstown (NZ) organized by Ana with About Australia. We could not be more satisfied with our trip due to Ana's attention to detail and organization. We are experienced travelers (58 countries and 6 continents so far) and like to balance "do our own thing" with occasional organized activities. Ana guided (...)
Overall we had a great time.
We had a wonderful time, except for a glitch at the Melbourne airport enroute to Cairns. After spending a couple great days in Melbourne going too the Penguin Parade on Phillips Island and the Mooonlit wildlife Conservation park.We got to the airport, we had a voucher for a nonstop flight to Cairns, which after standing in a long line, we were told that that flight had been cancelled days ago(...)
My fastastic vacation in Australia met my dreams of meeting Australian animals
I asked for a trip to Australia focused on Australian animals and I enjoyed it immensely. I petted koalas at the Australia Zoo and at several wildlife refuges, and photographed them out in the wild. I fed and petted kangaroos and wallabies at the Australia Zoo and at several wildlife refuges, and photographed them out in the wild. While snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, I photographed mul(...)
Awesome trip with plenty of variety. Closing out our trip in Fiji is the best idea ever.
Darin Hendry nailed it!
The trip you helped me put together for my clients was absolutely perfect!
Thank you so much!!
Beautiful country and wonderful people
Jeanne and I highly recommend a trip to Australia and to use About Australia for your arrangements! Everything they recommended we tried to fit into our schedule and it was well worth it. We especially loved Cairns and snorkeling on the Barrier Reef and hope to go back again at some point to spend more time there. One day on the water was not enough!
All of our flight arrangements made by Ab(...)
Great value and nicely planned!
Everything went well from transfers to tours. We had a 4 hour hiccup with the first flight, but United and Qantas redirected us. We had an extra flight but missed only a few hours of our time on Gold Coast. Tours were a nice addition to the base tour. Wished we had more time in Sydney, but we plan to go back.
I saw the word "Aussie" in Koda's itinerary and thought it was somebody's else reservation. She told me the meaning. I think it was funny.
Koda was an excellent adviser and planner to my trip to Australia. She was always very professional, patient, informative and was careful to the minimum detail. I will recommend her with friends and family.
Everything went exactly as planned. There were 5 of us and every hotel room every activity and every shuttle was on time and perfect! Our trip could not have gone better!
I wrote as soon as we got back, but the email did not go through. You did a superb job of booking everything! The trip was perfectly smooth. Both Australia and New Zealand are beautiful and the people are kind. We snorkeled, zip lined, walked, went on planes, trains, gondolas, boats and ferries. We attempted to do every activity and site available and I think we succeeded! Thank you. (...)
Thanks!
My husband and his brother had a very nice time in Australia. Thank you for your help in coordinating this adventure.
We loved diving the Great Barrier Reef!
Koda, We just returned from our Australian adventure and wanted to thank you for the great job you did in planning and making all the arrangements. We had such a good time and no glitches of any consequence. That is really something when you are dealing with people our age. All of the vendors (i.e. bus drivers, tour operators, accommodation staff, etc) were great and we would readily reco(...)
WONDERFUL AND AMAZINGLY WELL COORDINATED BY ANA and ABOUT AU
TO BE FILED UNDER... WHO NEEDS A TRAVEL AGENT ... UNTIL YOU DO!
We traveled to NZ and AU in March and April this year. After a great deal of discussion with friends and colleagues about where to go and how much time to spend, we headed off.
NZ was first, not only was it one of the most spectacular Venues i have ever been lucky enough to visit, but the driving on the "Other side of the(...)
Celebrating a two decade anniversary in Australia
We engaged with About Australia (Darin Hendry) nine months ago for a recommendation on an itinerary for a first time visit and 20th anniversary trip to Australia.
From the beginning the guidance, interaction and ultimate proposal was spot on.
The 2-week journey offered an exceptional variety of terrain, climate and experiences. First stop the Tablelands, rainforest, then beach town, the(...)
Overall, everything was good
Accommadations were excellent except at the Short Stay Apartments where we were required to walk to another of ther properties— The Australis—which was quite difficult for us to get to with all our luggage. I think it was the one at Kangaroo Island that also wasn’t a good experience because of having to climb 2 flights of stairs to get to the room. The trip to the Great Barrier Reef on the Qu(...)
VIP Honeymoon of a lifetime
This is our first big trip out of the country and using a travel agent. I was extremely hesitant because I am so used to planning everything. As soon as I spoke on the phone with Koda i was so excited and all hesitation went away. We went to Australia for our honeymoon 2 weeks after we got married. We were extremely exhausted so it was nice knowing everything was handled. We felt like we got (...)
Best Vacation Ever
Everything was perfect for our trip. Everything I wanted to see and the package Chris put together was perfect. It was action packed but got to see everything we wanted to see. Working with About Australia was smooth and an easy process. Chris spend a lot of time putting the package together and we couldn't be more pleased. All the hotels were in great locations for us to visit the sites. C(...)
Ana Musgray hit the nail on the head!
Fabulous trip to Australia and New Zealand. We asked for photography opportunities-- landscape and wildlife and that's just what we got at a reasonable price. Ana was with us every step of the way to include during the trip, when a hotel owner thought we had unintentionally left things in a room. Amazing service-- friendly, efficient and spot on. Thank you to Ana and to the owner, Paul, too, (...)
An enjoyable well-planned trip
Everything went smoothly. The accommodations were conveniently located. The transfers were on time. The Short-Stay property in Melbourne was above average. Cairns was an interesting experience.
Awesome!
It was an awesome vacation except for the 24 hours of traveling(LOL).
The hotels were great but made you pay for WIFI, the US does not make you pay for it.
I would definitely recommend to everyone.
2 weeks in Australia
Our trip was amazing! Sydney, Fraser Island, and Airlie beach are places we cannot wait to go back to!!! So grateful for the recommendations and trip planning/organization.
A good trip
Our flight to LAX was delayed due to weather connections (our booking), and therefore missed our flight to Melbourne. However, Virgin Australia was wonderful & put us on a flight to Sydney just a few hours later with a connecting flight to Melbourne to arrive only 5 hours late [THANKS VIRGIN!]. All accommodations were great [Rose Gums the favorite despite heat]. Also John & Sue in Port Dougl(...)
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