Kangaroos, beaches and EPIC adventures - lets talk about travelling in AUSTRALIA!
Hey guys, welcome back to the channel, Chris from Stoked For Travel here!
Today we're going to talk about one of my favourite countries in the world to explore...
AUSTRALIA!
Now I've spent heaps of time living, working
and travelling around this amazing country and today we're going to talk through the
best way to spend your time between Sydney and Cairns - on the famous East Coast route.
We're going to talk about locations, durations and of course all the best trips and tours
to see along the way. Before we kick things off make sure you hit
the subscribe button, so you don't miss out on any other travel goodness...lets get started!
Now with over 2400km to cover along the coast we're going to start things in Sydney. Now
this amazing city is full of awesome things to see and do - obviously you've got the iconic
Opera House, Bondi Beach, epic coastal walks, the botanical gardens - there's plenty of
things to see and do. So for Sydney I recommend at least 3 nights, you're going to need at
least 1 to get over your jetlag from your flight in, but that gives you a good few,
solid day to explore the city and you can also head outside of the city itself and do
things like the Blue Mountains and Jervis Bay as well.
After recovering from your flight and spending a few days exploring Sydney, it's time to
head North up the East Coast of Australia. Now for the rest of the itinerary I've pieced
it together using the Greyhound Bus Pass - which is one of the most popular ways to travel
around Australia and also one of the most budget friendly too.
So to kick things off we're going to do an overnight bus from Sydney to a town called
Yamba, which is about 12 hours North. This sleepy little beachside town is beautiful
and still slightly off the beaten track - so you can find empty beaches and beautiful scenery.
Now I'd recommend staying with Shane and Justin at YHA Yamba, they're absolutely amazing,
make sure you say hi from me, and while you're there do Shanes famous tour - it's a must!
From Yamba we're going to take a 2 hour bus ride North to my favourite place on the whole
of the East Coast - Byron Bay. Now this barefoot, hippie, surfer town is
absolutely incredible and I know you're going to love it. There's plenty of things to see
and do here - from skydiving, dolphin kayaking to the lighthouse walk, day trips to Nimbin
and checking out all the buskers. With all these things to see and do I recommend at
least 3 nights to put into your itinerary, so you can make the most of it. But trust
me - you're gonna want more!
Now after getting your beach fix in Yamba
and Byron Bay it's time to head up the coast to the city vibes again - and 2 nights in
Brisbane. Now personally for me this is a bit of a tough one - I don't really like cities
and Brisbane isn't my favourite place, but I know that loads of people love it - so I
have included it. You might also want to split one or both of the nights to include Surfers
Paradise as well- aka the Gold Coast - to break up the journey between the two. So yeah,
if city vibes are your thing it's an awesome stop.
Now we're heading up into the Sunshine Coast and the beautiful ocean town of Noosa. Now
Noosa kind of a bit like Byron Bay - same same but different - again it's all about
the surfing and the beaches and the wildlife around here. Make sure you take a stroll up
to Noosa National Park, keep your eye out for wild koalas, go for a swim in the Fair
Pools and of course you can go canoeing around the Noosa Everglades as well. It's a beautiful
spot, so make sure you pencil in at least 2 nights there.
Next up we're heading just a little bit North of Noosa to a spot called Rainbow Beach. Now
I've pencilled in 2 nights in Rainbow Beach in this itinerary, mainly because it's the
gateway to one of the best tours along the East Coast - Fraser Island.
So you'll need one night before and one night post Fraser Island trip. Fraser Island itself
- I highly recommend doing the 2 night trip there. You can do a day trip or one night,
but the 3 day, 2 night option is where you're going to get the most out of Fraser Island.
Now Fraser Island itself - you get to cruise around in 4x4s, check out Lake Mackenzie,
the Maheno Shipwreck - you can even see the annual whale migration there. So it's definitely
one of the best spots to stop. So yeah, 2 nights Rainbow Beach, 2 nights
Fraser Island...done! After an awesome time on Fraser Island and
night at the end to recover at Rainbow Beach it's time to head North on your next overnight
bus journey. This ones a bit longer - it's 18 hours and takes you from Rainbow Beach
all the way up to Airlie Beach. Now you can break up this journey with a night in Agnes
Water/1770 if you want, but a lot of people just plough straight on through to get to
the next stop. Now Airlie Beach I've pencilled in 3 nights,
because this is an amazing little party town, but its also the gateway to the second of
your biggest East Coast tours - The Whitsunday Islands.
Now for the Whitsundays I'd recommend a 2 night sailing option - it'll take you round
all of the spectacular beaches, like Whitehaven Beach, Hill Inlet, heaps of snorkelling and
just all round good times whilst sailing around. Boat wise there are heaps of options out there
- I really like Tongarra, Powerplay and Wings. Check out the link in the description below
for the best Whitsundays trips so you can choose the bets one for you. So yeah in total
- 3 nights in Airlie Beach, 2 nights on the Whitsundays. Of course if you're trip is a
bit shorter you can cut out one of those nights in Airlie Beach as well.
Now from Airlie Beach we're going to head North to Townsville, where we're gonna get
the ferry across to Magnetic Island. Now Magnetic Island I reckon you need to spend at least
2 nights on - there's plenty of things to see and do. Beautiful beaches, loads of wild
koalas, you can feed the Rock Wallabies and of course cruise around in the famous Barbie
Cars as well. There's a full guide to Magnetic Island in the links in my description below,
so go check that out. But yeah, 2 nights across there.
Before we finish up your East Coast trip, we're gonna spend 2 nights in Mission Beach.
Now as well as the beautiful. palm tree fringed beaches here, it's also a great place to get
your adrenaline fix. You can skydive here as well as white water rafting. Now the skydive
spot here is famous as you actually get a beach landing and beautiful views across the
Great Barrier Reef. So yeah 2 nights in Mission Beach and then onwards.
After an epic adventure up the East Coast of Australia it's time to finish your travels
with 3 nights in Cairns. Now Cairns itself is either the start or finish of most peoples
travels - so there's plenty of partying going on. But alongside that it's also the gateway
to the Great Barrier Reef. So you'll either want to do a snorkel day trip, intro dive
or even your full PADI dive course while you're there. As well as that, there's also plenty
of other things to see and do including bungy jumping, waterfall tours or even a day trip
up to Cape Tribulation. So yeah, finish off your trip with 3 nights in Cairns.
So there you have it guys - that's how I'd spend a month travelling from Sydney to Cairns
along the East Coast of Australia. Now please keep in mind that that itinerary is not set
in stone and you can customise it for your own personal travel preferences. One of the
most popular things people will tend to do to this is add in Melbourne at either the
start or end their trip. Probably taking out a night in say Airlie Beach or even Brisbane
to fit that in. Between Melbourne and Sydney you can do the
overnight bus with Greyhound or you can even fly internally with Jetstar or Virgin Australia
pretty cheap as well. If you guys are heading up the East Coast
of Australia and need some help planning your trip go see the guys at RTW Backpackers - they've
got an awesome custom package planner so you can fill in the form and they'll put together
your ultimate itinerary. And of course guys check out all the links
in the description below for my full Australia Guide, my written blog post on my East Coast
Australia Itinerary, best ways to travel and more.
As always guys- like, comment, subscribe and I'll see you next week.
Yeeeewwwwww!