Flourishing Australia Tour: Coastal Reverie, Thriving Cities, and Amazing Wildlife

Sailing on Sydney Harbour, NSW, Australia.  Photo © Tourism Australia

What to expect on this itinerary

Australia comes to life during this 15-day tour of Sydney, the Mary River Floodplains, the Daintree Rainforest, and the scenic city of Melbourne. Largely dominated by immaculate coastlines and the legendary bush, your visit will blend both the thrills of city life and the mystical charm of the world's oldest rainforest. Fall in love with each destination and the unique experiences available. By the time your journey concludes, it will be no surprise why Australia is a top tourist destination of the world.

Countries Visited

Australia

Places Visited

Sydney, Mary River Floodplains, Port Douglas, Daintree Rainforest, Melbourne

Suggested Duration

15 Days

Customizable Itinerary

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Day 1

Sydney – In the Thriving Metropolis

The friendly embrace of Sydney will be yours to enjoy on the inaugural afternoon of this 15-day adventure through Australia. As the capital of New South Wales, Sydney occupies two worlds: one where a sleek transit system and municipal facilities speak to the city's modernity and another where bandicoots and bats invade the city from the neighboring bush. After you get settled in to your comfortable accommodation, you will be able to celebrate your first day on a 40-foot yacht voyage around the harbor. During this adventure, your skipper will regale you with tales of this previous penal colony.

What's Included:

Accommodation
Transfer
Day 2

Sydney – Walking Tour of the City

Day 3

Sydney – Eat Your Way Across the City

Day 4

Sydney – Bird's Eye View of the City

Day 5

Bamurru Plains – The Mary River Floodplains

Day 6

Mary River Floodplains – An Animal Paradise

Day 7

Mary River Floodplains – A Swampy Setting

Day 8

Port Douglas – Coastal Reverie

Day 9

Port Douglas – Catamaran Cruise

Day 10

Daintree Rainforest – A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Day 11

Daintree Rainforest – Ziplining Adventure

Day 12

Melbourne – Australia's Second-Largest City

Day 13

Melbourne – The Capital of Victoria

Day 14

Melbourne – Snacking through the City

Day 15

Melbourne – Departure

Trip Highlights

  • Dive into the lurid details of Sydney's early origins as a British colony on an exciting tour of the New South Wales capital
  • Cruise the harbor on a comfortable yacht and allow a skipper to charm you with nautical tales of the city
  • Skim over the swampy surface of the Mary River floodplain
  • Fall asleep to the distant sounds of dingos and enjoy a romantic evening in the famed Australian bush
  • Enjoy a daily game drive with an expert, who will help you observe Australia's abundant and diverse flora and fauna
  • Survey the Great Barrier Reef by boat and take to the waves on a comfortable catamaran that is capable of accommodating multiple snorkeling expeditions
  • Fly through the jungle like Tarzan on a thrilling ziplining adventure through the canopy of the Daintree National Rainforest
  • Allow yourself to be enchanted by Australia's second-largest city of Melbourne, where the food is just as satisfying as the friendly locals
  • Amble through history on a guided walking tour of Melbourne, where the past will come to life through the enthusiastic descriptions of your guide

Starting Price

$15,900 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

  • Accommodations
  • In-country transportation
  • Some or all activities and tours
  • Expert trip planning
  • 24x7 support during your trip

Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.

4.7

Verified Traveler Reviews

Based on 197 reviews

Australia, New Zealand Luxury Travel Review: Melbourne, Port Douglas, Sydney, Queenstown, Auckland

Zicasso's travel partner organized an outstanding 17-day tour of Melbourne, Port Douglas, Sydney, Queenstown, and Auckland for our family of five to enjoy diving, snorkeling, kayaking, rafting, and hiking.

Even when there were last-minute issues in Port Douglas due to the cyclone, they responded quickly and reorganized our itinerary to work around the Daintree Rainforest closure. I highly recommend her as a knowledgeable, responsive, and detail-oriented travel agent.

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Travel Review: Luxury Australia Tour, Sydney, Melbourne, Phiilps Island, Kangaroo Island, Port Douglas, Daintree Rainforest

Our agent did a terrific job of suggesting places to go and things to see. With her planning, we were able to forget about the logistic hassles and were met at each airport by our limo (usually a Mercedes and one Rolls Royce!)..

Our accommodations were top notch (except for Kangaroo Island where there weren't as many choices). I especially liked reclining on our bed in Sydney and looking out at the harbor traffic under the bridge. Also, the apartment in Port Douglas was timed just right so we could have a free afternoon to relax and do laundry. And the service at our Hobart hotel was outstanding.

The small tour groups - from just us in the Daintree & Melbourne to just four and a guide in Kangaroo Island - were terrific. Larger groups weren't bad, though our van driver in Sydney kept stalling the vehicle.

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South Pacific Vacation Review: Australia & New Zealand, Aukland, Sydney, Wellington, Rotorua, Hobbiton, Doubtful Sound

~~I retired and my wife and I decided it was time to take the trip to New Zealand and Australia that we had been talking about for quite some time.  I discovered Zicasso while doing my initial research for the trip and decided to give it a try, in addition to the many standard tours we were looking into.  I had many different firms provide proposals and after doing my due diligence I settled on this firm.

Our agent listened and consistently provided options and insights that resulted in a month long itinerary that promised to deliver the experiences we were looking for.  She was a pleasure to deal with.

We spent two weeks in New Zealand beginning in Auckland, moving south through Hobbiton and Rotorua where we gained a deep appreciation for the Maori people and their culture.  Then on to Wellington the capital.  The ferry to Picton and the train to Christchurch were inspiring.  Then we drove from Christchurch to Mt. Cook and then on to Queenstown.  The night we spent on Doubtful Sound was the all-around highlight of the trip.  All throughout the tour guides, drivers and accommodations exceeded expectations.  Then we were on to Australia where our first stop was Sydney.  Alongside the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge a highlight was a half day guided tour of the city in a 1964 Holden.  Then we were on to Cairns and Port Douglas where the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest awaited.  Our day on the Reef was extraordinary.  Snorkeling off the beach at Low Isle was an experience to remember.  Our day on the Daintree River and in the rainforest was unforgettable.  While driving we stopped as a male cassowary and four chicks crossed the road and disappeared into to the bush.  Now we were on to Ayers Rock where the magic of Uluru awaited.  The Sounds of Silence dinner in the desert as the sun set with Uluru in the distance and didgeridoo in the background was magical.  As our time was growing short we were off to Melbourne where we joined a tour on the Great Ocean Road.  Wow, the Twelve Apostles and the coast exceeded our expectations.  What a great place.  Only matched, maybe outdone by the hosts of the B&B’s we stayed at.  We’re not big B&B folks, but the Lock Ard and Little River B&Bs were perfect and we will try more in the future. 

Our agent had truly delivered a trip of a lifetime.

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Australia Tour Review: Sydney, Phillip Island, Penguin Experience, Melbourne, Local Cuisine, History, Great Barrier Reef

I really thought the Zicasso travel partner was fabulous and so thorough and easy to use. I would rate it the best travel app. It had my itinerary down to the minute detail, info on how to contact various people if there were any questions, and was so easy to navigate.  I would rate my trip to Australia my favorite so far. I recently went to Japan through a different travel agent and was able to compare the difference. Our travel team was so much better! 

My husband and I went to Australia to drop off my daughter, who was doing an exchange study in Sydney. We started in Melbourne and had a full-day tour to Phillip Island, with a moonlit animal sanctuary and penguins. I would recommend the penguins. I saw thousands of penguins. What an experience! I did not like the sanctuary part. Tickets were sold out for the koala petting and there were not very many animals to see. I have heard there are other sanctuaries/zoos in other parts of Australia that are much better.  

The Melbourne food tour was fantastic! Our tour guide did a wonderful job of explaining Melbourne's history with the food. We flew to Cairns, to Port Douglas, and had two excursions: a boat ride with snorkeling in the Great Reef Barrier and a Daintree safari.  The full-day cruise with snorkeling was wonderful, with so much food! The Daintree tour was a bit long and could have been condensed into half the time. I probably would not recommend that tour. 

Finally, we went to Sydney to drop off my daughter. We did the bridge walk, which was fantastic. Each person was so well protected and the safety checks were top-notch! 

Our trip went without any problems and our drivers were well-coordinated and on schedule. I would use this company for future trips to Australia. I plan to visit New Zealand and would use them again.

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Travel Review: Australia Vacation, Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Kangaroo Island, Phillips Island, Daintree Rainforest, Ayers Rock

I'm not sure it matters how much time you spend in Australia, it won't be enough. Certainly our 14 days weren't.  We decided to try to 'do it all'. Sydney with the Blue Mountain, Kangaroo Island, Melbourne with the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island, Ayers Rock (Uluru), Cairns (Port Douglas) with the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. This meant 5 separate flights in-country with 5 travel days in addition to our arrival and departure. After gently warning us that this was a lot, our travel agency did everything they could to make our trip as memorable as they possibly could. This involved multiple email exchanges, discussions of possible tour sites, several changes of itinerary and all done with good humor and efficiency. Their hotel recommendations were uniformly excellent - or as good as the area allowed. The tours they arranged were equally excellent. While not providing dining recommendations they did suggest contacting hotel concierges, well before our departure, which allowed us to make several restaurant reservations at the begining of the trip, making our lives much easier. They arranged transport to and from airports which was uniformly good other than one episode of being forgotten. The taxi cost was subsequently covered.  They had a harder time getting the transport company to spell our name correctly. Fortunately they were only one letter off so easily recognizable. We were provided thorough lists of contacts with phone numbers which did occasionally come in handy. Our travel agency made all of our in country flight reservations. We were suprised at our first flight that seats had not been chosen. While we understood the reasoning, some prefer an aisle versus a window it was an unnecessary worry.  We were pleased that this was rectified for the remainig flights after we contacted them. Overall, we felt that our agency did an excellent job for us. If we were to return to Australia or New Zealand we would certainly contact this company again.

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Travel Review: Australia Family Tour, Sydney, Kangaroo Island, Uluru, Great Barrier Reef, Blue Mountains, Camel Ride, Snorkeling
A family trip was planned for 5 adults and 3 children. The travel company put together an excellent custom tour of Australia for us. I provided what i wanted to do: Sydney, Kangaroo Island, Uluru, and the Great Barrier Reef. My travel consultant then made suggestions as to the custom tours we could take.  She took into account that children were involved.  And after numerous back and forth we arrived at the perfect itinerary (I think). Because we wanted to see and do everything possible, we did not have much down time.  But it worked out well with easy tours in-between more strenuous activities.  In Sydney we toured the city, toured the Harbor, climbed the Sydney Bridge, and visited the Blue Mountains.  Then it was off to Kangaroo Island for 2 days of exploration.  We stayed at a wonderful Bed & Breakfast, which spoiled us thoroughly.  Uluru was next with a Sunset Camel ride, Sunrise at Uluru, Maruku Dot Painting, Sunrise at Kata Tjuta and a hike to Walpa Gorge.  At Port Douglas we did the Day Tour and snorkeled off of Coral Cay.  This was perfect as the waters were rough due to a storm but calm within the Cay.  We also did a private Cape Tribulation & Daintree rainforest tour.  It was a packed itinerary, but thoroughly enjoyed by all.  The suggested tours were excellent.  

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist.

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