Status: Away - Australia
Claire G., from the Air Canada Vacations team, recently visited Australia for 2 weeks, and she’ll be sharing her itinerary, as well as some insider tips for making the most out of your trip to the Land Down Under.
Quick Tips
- Take a surfing lesson at Bondi Beach
- Rent a car in Melbourne and explore the Great Ocean Road
- All the stories about Vegemite are true, but you should still try it
- Bring some long-sleeved shirts for sun protection
Staff picks
- Blu Bar on 36 offers incredible views of the Sydney Opera House, the Bay and the Bridge
- Bonditony’s Burger Joint is where all the surfers at Bondi Beach go
- Cafe Belt in Melbourne serves the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had
- Brisbane’s Yoko Dining has delicious sushi with waterfront views of Story Bridge
Australia
Australia’s been on my bucket list for years, so I was super excited to finally go. My friend and I visited Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for three days each from February to March 2025. You can technically drive between the cities, but it’s a long drive, so we flew.
I’m super arachnophobic, but even with all the spiders, the trip was a dream. I loved every minute in Australia and we’re planning on going back.
Sydney
Our first day, we saw a baby huntsman spider, because we were staying in the suburbs, and it was the size of my hand. But after, we visited the Sydney Opera House which I immediately fell in love with, as well as the Harbour Bridge, which we took a wonderful sunset cruise under.
I had the chance to take a surfing lesson at Bondi Beach which was amazing! Everyone there is so friendly, and the vibes are great. After, we took a ferry to Manly and took a very nice (spiderless) walk to Curl Curl Beach.
If you get the chance, you should also check out St. Mary’s Cathedral. It was on the way back to our hotel, so I have a ton of selfies with it in the background. It’s that beautiful.
Melbourne
We rented a car in Melbourne as we very quickly discovered the public transit system wasn’t as robust as Sydney’s. Our first stop was at Sovereign Hill, just outside Ballarat, because my mom recommended it after visiting 30 years ago. It’s a museum about the gold rush in Victoria with its own model town depicting how people lived during the era. We also saw someone melt gold into a bar, which I’d never seen before. From here, we embarked on our road trip.
On our way back, we visited the Old Melbourne Gaol (pronounced jail). It’s an old prison with guided tours, and they even treat you like a prisoner. It’s more fun than it sounds.
Melbourne is also where you can get the best coffee in all of Australia, so make sure you visit a cafe while you’re here. I’d also recommend visiting Flinders Street Station, which is Australia’s oldest train station, and the neighbourhood of St. Kilda, which is really trendy. It has its own Ferris wheel, where we saw the sunset.
The Great Ocean Road
Driving along this route was amazing! We stopped at every sightseeing spot along the road, which is why it took us 2 days, so you could probably do it faster than us.
After Sovereign Hill, we stopped at Apollo Bay for the night. We wanted to go swimming, but it ended up being too cold. This is also where we tried Vegemite for the first time. If you asked me, I’d say we didn’t like it, but if you asked me to be honest, I’d say it was terrible, but you should still try it because it’s so Australian.
After that, we went to Great Otway National Park for a hike, but we’re both super scared of spiders and snakes, so it didn’t end up being a very long hike. We still had a great time because we got to walk by the ocean, although there were some parts in the spider-filled forest.
From there, we drove to the Twelve Apostles, which are these limestone stacks just off the coast. It’s a beautiful sight, but there were a lot of tourists there, and we continued to Warrnambool for the night before returning to Melbourne.
During the drive, you can actually see koalas just hanging out in the trees. We were surprised that they’re so common in the wild.
Brisbane
We ended up only spending two days here because of the weather, so we’ll be coming back for sure. We did visit the Gold Coast, though we didn’t do much, but I’m glad we were able to visit Coombabah Lake Conservation Area. We got to see kangaroos in the wild and they’re a lot smaller than I thought they’d be!
Plan your Australia trip
Note: This interview was conducted on April 16, 2025. Information and details may have since changed.