Luxury
Wilderness lodges, private islands and long-distance trains
Australia's luxury is mostly about access rather than marble: a lodge with a view of Uluṟu, a private Great Barrier Reef island, a Kimberley expedition cruise, a helicopter into Purnululu, or the Ghan running Adelaide to Darwin over three days. Longitude 131°, Southern Ocean Lodge and Saffire Freycinet are the names to know.
Mirrors Tourism Australia's own theme Luxury.
The states and territories this theme is strongest in — tap through to the full state guide.
Queensland
The Great Barrier Reef, rainforest and endless beaches
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The Whitsundays 74 islands scattered inside the reef, sailed from Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island. -
Whitehaven Beach Seven kilometres of silica sand so pure it squeaks underfoot — reached only by boat or seaplane. - Port Douglas Four Mile Beach, reef boats out the front and the Daintree an hour north — tropical north Queensland's smartest base.
New South Wales
Sydney Harbour, surf coast, vineyards and the Blue Mountains
Victoria
Melbourne laneways, the Great Ocean Road and cool-climate wine
Western Australia
Ningaloo, the Kimberley and a third of a continent
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Margaret River World-class Cabernet, big surf breaks and limestone caves, three hours south of Perth. -
The Kimberley Three times the size of England with fewer than 40,000 people — gorges, waterfalls and ancient rock art. -
Cable Beach 22 km of sand facing due west — camel trains at sunset are the Broome image.
South Australia
Wine regions, wildlife islands and the Flinders Ranges
Tasmania
Wilderness, wild food and the cleanest air in the world
Northern Territory
Uluṟu, Kakadu and the world's oldest living culture
Best bases for this
Gateway hubs that put the most of this theme within reach.
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Whitsundays and surrounds Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island — the sailing capital of the reef, and the way to Whitehaven Beach. - Coming soon Broome and surrounds Pearling-town gateway to the Kimberley — Cable Beach camels, Gibb River Road and Purnululu.
- Coming soon Hobart and surrounds Mount Wellington above, Salamanca and MONA below, and Bruny Island a ferry ride away.
Other ways to travel
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Aboriginal Australia The world's oldest continuing culture, shared on Country - Beaches & Islands More than 10,000 beaches and 8,000 islands
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Nature & National Parks Reef, rainforest, gorge country and the Outback -
Wildlife Animals you will not see anywhere else -
Food & Drink 65 wine regions, world-class coffee and native ingredients - Road Trips & Drives The Great Ocean Road, the Gibb River Road and everything between
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Walks & Hikes Great Walks, coastal tracks and city-edge escapes - Adventure & Sports Dive, surf, sail, climb and sandboard
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Arts & Culture Galleries, laneways, festivals and convict history -
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:
- Whitehaven Beach — Hush Neo · CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Whitsundays — Isderion · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
- Hunter Valley — Sasmit68 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Lord Howe Island — Toby Hudson · CC BY-SA 2.5 au
- Yarra Valley — Bob Tan · CC BY 4.0
- Margaret River — BigMacka · CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Kimberley — W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Cable Beach — Josh Janssen · CC BY 3.0
- Barossa Valley — User:DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Freycinet & Wineglass Bay — Mikeybear · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa — Emily Cox · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Arnhem Land — Winston Storer · CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Whitsundays — Cherrie Hughes · CC BY-SA 4.0