Up the east coast to the Great Barrier Reef

The Opera House, the Circular Quay ferries and the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk in Sydney; the beaches of Surfers Paradise and Burleigh, the Springbrook waterfalls and the passing humpback whales on the Gold Coast; and, in Cairns, the catamaran to the outer reef, 1h30 to 2h30 from port, and the Kuranda range.

Day by day Open the itinerary in the app

Sydney → Gold Coast → Cairns · 9–11 days

The route on the map, in the itinerary’s order.

AustraliaSydney
Days
3–4
When
Mar–Apr · Oct–Nov
Per person/day
Average 280–450 A$Mid-range · per person/day
Cost scope
Per person per day: accommodation, meals, urban transport, visits and a small allowance for extras. Flights excluded; larger purchases vary. Editorial estimate, not a quote.
AustraliaGold Coast
Days
3
When
Jul–Oct
Per person/day
Average 181 AUDMid-range · per person/day
Cost scope
Per person per day: accommodation, meals, urban transport, visits and a small allowance for extras. Flights excluded; larger purchases vary. Editorial estimate, not a quote.
AustraliaCairns
Days
3–4
When
May–Sep
Per person/day
Average 150–260 A$Mid-range · per person/day
Cost scope
Per person per day: accommodation, meals, urban transport, visits and a small allowance for extras. Flights excluded; larger purchases vary. Editorial estimate, not a quote.

Who it is for

For a first trip to Australia that swaps the desert for the sea: the country’s biggest city, a surf coast and the reef.

Not for anyone wanting to see the whole country: Uluru, about 2,800 km from Sydney, and Melbourne are left out, and getting from Sydney to Cairns alone takes two domestic flights.

The strategy

Sydney gets three days: the harbour, with the Opera House and the ferry to Manly; the city from the convict barracks to the bridge, crossed on foot; and Bondi with the Inner West; a fourth day goes to the Blue Mountains by train. From Sydney, fly to the Gold Coast, whose airport is at Coolangatta, at the southern tip of the city, with the 777 express bus to Burleigh Heads and the G:link tram along the coast. It gets three days: the north, from The Spit to Surfers Paradise; the south coast to Point Danger, with the Currumbin lorikeets at 16:00; and Springbrook by car, with the glow-worms of Natural Bridge after dark. Every Translink train, bus and tram costs 50 cents a trip, and the same fare applies in Cairns. From there, a domestic flight takes you to Cairns, whose airport is 7 km from the centre: one day for the town and the tide, another for the reef, boarding at the Reef Fleet Terminal between 7:30 and 8:30, another for Kuranda, and a free day, because the wind sometimes cancels the boat. Cairns airport has an international terminal for the trip home. October suits all three: it is Sydney’s best season, still dry on the Gold Coast and Cairns’ middle ground, before the jellyfish season starts in November. From October to April, New South Wales, where Sydney is, runs daylight saving and is an hour ahead of Queensland, home to the Gold Coast and Cairns.

What you will see

Sydney Opera House, Sydney. Competition won by Jørn Utzon in 1957, opened on October 20, 1973; the shells are clad in more than a million Swedish ceramic tiles in two shades, which make it change color with the light.
Surfers Paradise Beach, Gold Coast. The beach that gave the suburb its name runs unbroken in front of the line of skyscrapers, with a wide strip of sand, open surf and lifeguard stations.
Green Island, Cairns. A coral cay 27 km offshore, 45 minutes by fast catamaran, with rainforest grown over coral sand and reef accessible right from the beach.

Day by day