Australia’s East Coast

Days 1 – 2: UK/Sydney
You will depart on your scheduled flight to Sydney today, arriving on the morning of day 3.

Day 3: Sydney
On arrival in Sydney, you will meet your Tour Manager and transfer to your hotel, which is located in the heart of this fabulous city. We have arranged a four-night stay for you here, so enjoy the rest of today at leisure settling into your hotel and adjusting to your new time zone.

Day 4: Sydney
The cosmopolitan city of Sydney is full of iconic sights and today we will introduce you to many of them on our included morning sightseeing tour. Highlights include the impressive Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. You’ll also get the opportunity to visit the world-famous Bondi Beach.

You can spend this afternoon at leisure – Sydney is a compact city easily explored on foot, or maybe you’ll choose to take a relaxing cruise around the harbour. You’ll certainly be spoiled for choice when it comes to dining as Sydney is home to a fantastic choice of restaurants serving cuisine from all over the world.

Days 5 – 6: Sydney
Enjoy the rest of your time in Sydney at leisure. You’ll also have the chance to join an optional excursion to explore the beautiful Blue Mountains and the wildlife park, where you can get up close to one of Australia’s most famous creatures, the kangaroo.

Day 7: Gold Coast
Leaving Sydney behind, today you’ll take a short flight to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. On arrival we have arranged a sightseeing tour before an afternoon transfer to the beautiful beach city of Gold Coast, where you’ll stay for four nights.

Day 8: Gold Coast
Join your Tour Manager on today’s included excursion. Heading east you’ll cross back into New South Wales to the popular beach resort of Byron Bay, the eastern most point of mainland Australia.

Days 9 – 10: Gold Coast
You may choose to spend the next two days relaxing on the golden beaches and soaking up the sunshine or exploring at your own pace.

Alternatively, join your Tour Manager on an optional excursion to Lamington National Park. After a scenic drive via Tamborine Mountain’s quaint shopping precinct and the chance to sample local wines in the township of Canungra, you’ll journey 1,000 metres through subtropical rainforest. The park offers wonderful views of the McPherson Ranges and is home to O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, where you can take a thrilling ‘treetop walk’. During your journey you’ll also visit an alpaca farm, and keep a lookout for wallabies and koalas along the route.

Day 11: Cairns
Today you will transfer back to Brisbane, where you’ll take a flight to Cairns, a large town surrounded by rainforest-clad mountains. It is also home to the remarkable natural wonder the Great Barrier Reef, which contains an abundance of colourful marine life and comprises hundreds of picturesque tropical islands boasting some of the world’s most beautiful golden beaches.

Day 12: Cairns
We include a fabulous excursion today, when you will join your Tour Manager for a journey by catamaran to the outer Great Barrier Reef. Your journey will take around two hours, after which time you will arrive at a pontoon. From here you can take to the waters and snorkel among the coral and mesmerising sea life, a truly unforgettable experience. If you prefer to keep dry, you’ll also have the chance to board a glass-bottom boat to view the amazing underwater scenery, or you can laze on the sundeck soaking up the sun. A sumptuous lunch is included on today’s tour.

Day 13: Cairns
Your final full day in Cairns is yours to do as you wish. You might choose to explore the area further or simply relax in the sun. You’ll also have the opportunity to join an optional excursion to Kuranda by train.

The Kuranda Scenic Railway was constructed between 1882 and 1891, and even today its 15 hand-built tunnels and 37 bridges are considered a tremendous feat of engineering. During this spectacular journey, you’ll get to take in stunning views of dense rainforest, steep ravines and picturesque waterfalls as you travel to Kuranda. This village is famous for its colourful markets, and it is surrounded by World Heritage listed rainforest, which is home to an astounding variety of exotic flora and fauna.

Day 14: Cairns/UK
It’s time to bid Australia farewell today as your journey home begins.

Day 15: UK
You’ll arrive back in the UK today.

Please note:

This holiday includes walking in areas of rough ground, gradients and steps.

Accommodation throughout is in hotels of a comfortable standard, typical of the hotels you will stay in are:

3.5-star Travelodge Wynyard in Sydney
4-star Outrigger Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast
4-star Mercure Harbourside in Cairns
All hotels are centrally located and feature facilities including a restaurant and bar. Comfortable guest rooms have en suite facilities, air-conditioning and TV.

All hotels will be confirmed in your final documentation.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Included excursions and visits

Sydney sightseeing tour (half day)
Brisbane tour
Byron Bay (full day)
Catamaran trip to the outer Great Barrier Reef

Optional excursions

Blue Mountains National Wildlife Park
Kuranda Scenic Railway
Lamington National Park

Your holiday includes

Scheduled flights and internal flights
Transfers and other transportation
11 nights’ accommodation on a room-only basis, plus 1 lunch
The services of a Travelsphere Tour Manager
Hotel porterage (one bag per person)
All airport taxes and security charges
All state and local taxes

With 50 years’ experience in arranging escorted tours to exciting destinations across the globe, Travelsphere have built an excellent reputation founded on quality and value.

By choosing a Travelsphere escorted holiday you can travel with confidence, knowing that every aspect of your holiday has been carefully planned and arranged from start to finish. Further to this they are ATOL bonded and members of ABTA.

Travelsphere’s thorough planning of travel arrangements, itineraries and accommodation combined with the unique insight of their knowledgeable Tour Managers and Local Guides will enable you to experience the culture, traditions and hidden away places less accessible to other travellers.

Our Opinion
“Travelsphere are one of the biggest names in the Escorted Tour market. Finely tuned over the last 50 years their tours have been tried, tested and refined by thousands of customers.”