Ways to travel
Food & Drink
65 wine regions, world-class coffee and native ingredients
Australia has more than 65 wine regions and most of them are an easy drive from a capital: the Barossa and McLaren Vale from Adelaide, the Yarra Valley and Mornington from Melbourne, the Hunter from Sydney, Margaret River from Perth, the Tamar from Launceston. Add Melbourne's coffee culture, Sydney's harbour dining, Eyre Peninsula oysters and a fast-growing native-ingredient scene led by Aboriginal producers.
Mirrors Tourism Australia's own theme Food and drink.
Where to find it
The states and territories this theme is strongest in — tap through to the full state guide.
© OpenFreeMap · OpenMapTiles · OSM · terrain Mapterhorn
Queensland
The Great Barrier Reef, rainforest and endless beaches
- Port Douglas Four Mile Beach, reef boats out the front and the Daintree an hour north — tropical north Queensland's smartest base.
-
Noosa A national park headland with surf breaks around it, and Hastings Street's restaurants behind. -
Sunshine Coast Surf beaches, the Glass House Mountains and the Eumundi markets, an hour north of Brisbane. -
The Scenic Rim Gondwana rainforest, farm-gate food and volcanic peaks an hour inland from the Gold Coast.
New South Wales
Sydney Harbour, surf coast, vineyards and the Blue Mountains
-
Sydney Harbour The Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and 240 km of shoreline you can swim, sail and walk. -
Byron Bay Mainland Australia's most easterly point — surf, wellness and a lighthouse walk at dawn. -
Hunter Valley Australia's oldest wine region, and the home of aged Semillon. -
Southern Highlands Cool-climate wine, gardens and country towns between Sydney and Canberra. - Sapphire Coast Oyster farms, whale migration and empty beaches on the far south coast.
-
Newcastle An ocean baths and street-art city two hours north of Sydney, at the mouth of the Hunter. -
Mudgee Big reds, honey and heritage streets in the NSW central west.
Victoria
Melbourne laneways, the Great Ocean Road and cool-climate wine
-
Yarra Valley Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and hot-air balloons an hour from Melbourne. -
Mornington Peninsula Bathing boxes, cellar doors and hot springs on Melbourne's bay-side doorstep. -
Gippsland Ninety Mile Beach, alpine country and dairy-farm food east of Melbourne. - Daylesford & the Macedon Ranges Australia's mineral-springs spa country, with cool-climate cellar doors alongside.
Western Australia
Ningaloo, the Kimberley and a third of a continent
-
Margaret River World-class Cabernet, big surf breaks and limestone caves, three hours south of Perth. -
Fremantle A heritage port city of craft breweries, markets and a convict World Heritage prison. -
Swan Valley Western Australia's oldest wine region, 25 minutes from central Perth. -
Albany & Denmark The Great Southern — tingle forests, a treetop walk and the Southern Ocean's whale coast.
South Australia
Wine regions, wildlife islands and the Flinders Ranges
-
Kangaroo Island A third of it national park — sea lions on the beach, koalas in the trees and Remarkable Rocks on the cliff. -
Barossa Valley Some of the oldest Shiraz vines on Earth, an hour from Adelaide. -
Eyre Peninsula Oysters straight off the rack, sea lions to swim with and great whites to cage-dive. -
McLaren Vale Grenache and Shiraz where the vines run down to the Gulf St Vincent beaches. -
Adelaide Hills Cool-climate cellar doors, Hahndorf's German heritage and Cleland's koalas, 20 minutes from the city. - Fleurieu Peninsula Victor Harbor whales, Granite Island and the ferry jump-off for Kangaroo Island.
-
Clare Valley Australia's Riesling heartland, best seen from the Riesling Trail on a bike.
Tasmania
Wilderness, wild food and the cleanest air in the world
Australian Capital Territory
The national capital — museums, galleries and cool-climate wine
Best bases for this
Gateway hubs that put the most of this theme within reach.
-
Coming soon Melbourne and surrounds Laneway coffee, street art and sport, with the Great Ocean Road and the Yarra Valley on the doorstep. -
Coming soon Adelaide and surrounds A festival city ringed by parkland, within an hour of the Barossa, McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills. - Coming soon Hobart and surrounds Mount Wellington above, Salamanca and MONA below, and Bruny Island a ferry ride away.
Other ways to travel
-
Aboriginal Australia The world's oldest continuing culture, shared on Country -
Beaches & Islands More than 10,000 beaches and 8,000 islands -
Nature & National Parks Reef, rainforest, gorge country and the Outback -
Wildlife Animals you will not see anywhere else -
Road Trips & Drives The Great Ocean Road, the Gibb River Road and everything between -
Walks & Hikes Great Walks, coastal tracks and city-edge escapes - Adventure & Sports Dive, surf, sail, climb and sandboard
-
Arts & Culture Galleries, laneways, festivals and convict history -
Luxury Wilderness lodges, private islands and long-distance trains - Health & Wellness Hot springs, retreats and slow coastal days
- Family Travel Wildlife parks, theme parks and safe swimming
-
Eco-friendly Travel Low-impact islands, eco-lodges and travel that gives back
Photography
Images on this page are sourced from Wikimedia Commons under free licences (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA) and are photographs of the places named. Author, licence and source for each:
- Sydney Harbour — Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Noosa — Chris Olszewski · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sunshine Coast — texaus1 · CC BY 2.0
- The Scenic Rim — John Robert McPherson · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Byron Bay — Amy Mackay amykatesc · CC0
- Hunter Valley — Sasmit68 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Southern Highlands — Bjenks · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Newcastle — Hugh Llewelyn from Keynsham, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Mudgee — AustralianMelodrama · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Yarra Valley — Bob Tan · CC BY 4.0
- Mornington Peninsula — Hijacinta · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Gippsland — Julie Constable · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Margaret River — BigMacka · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fremantle — Fred Oostryck (Wiki Takes Fremantle participant) · CC BY 3.0
- Swan Valley — Robert Young from Gdansk, Poland · CC BY 2.0
- Albany & Denmark — Gypsy Denise · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kangaroo Island — Dualiti Photos from Brisbane, Australia · CC BY 2.0
- Barossa Valley — User:DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Eyre Peninsula — Murray Foubister · CC BY-SA 2.0
- McLaren Vale — No Swan So Fine · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Adelaide Hills — RegionVisitor90 · CC0
- Clare Valley — Marionlad · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Bruny Island — Takver from Australia · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Launceston & the Tamar Valley — Nick-D · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Melbourne — Arnaud Mesureur tbzr · CC0
- Adelaide — Lasse B. from Deutschland · CC BY-SA 2.0