The Best of Australia

Day 1 London, In Flight
Titan’s VIP Home Departure Service® transports you from your front door to London Heathrow Airport in time for your scheduled overnight Qantas flight via Dubai or British Airways flight to Singapore.

Day 2 Singapore
Following an evening arrival in Singapore, we transfer to the Concorde Hotel, well located in the heart of Orchard Road.

Day 3 Singapore
This morning we wander Singapore’s renowned Botanical Gardens and National Orchid Garden. Laid out over 52 hectares, the gardens showcase Singapore’s rich diversity of flora, including many rare specimens. The afternoon is then at leisure to make your own discoveries of this remarkable city-state – enjoy superb shopping opportunities, from street markets to ultramodern malls; sample Singapore’s characteristic cuisine, including the signature chilli crab; take high tea at Raffles Hotel or try a Singapore Sling in the bar where it was created; or take a trip to beach-fringed Sentosa Island to learn about Singapore’s Second World War history and visit the Butterfly Park.

Day 4 Singapore – In Flight
After a further morning at leisure in Singapore, we transfer to the airport in time for our direct scheduled, overnight Qantas flight to Melbourne, crossing the Equator en route.

Day 5 Melbourne
We arrive early morning into Melbourne, with your hotel room at the Holiday Inn on Flinders prepared for you. Take some time to relax, with the remainder of the day at leisure.

Day 6 Melbourne, Dandenong Mountains
Our morning tour takes in the fine contrast of Victorian, Edwardian and 21st century buildings that line wide boulevards plied by the ubiquitous trams, and its Botanical Gardens, a substantial part of the delightful parkland that comprises more than one third of this ‘garden city’. In the afternoon, we make a journey into the Dandenong Mountains, whose forested slopes are home to vividly plumed birds including the rare lyrebird. We take a memorable ride on ‘Puffing Billy’, Australia’s oldest narrow gauge steam train, from Belgrave to Menzies creek.

Day 7 Melbourne, Phillip Island
The morning is yours to relax or see more of Melbourne independently, before an afternoon excursion to Phillip Island, habitat of the sleepy koala and sunset venue for one of nature’s most delightful rituals – the ‘parade’ of Little Penguins, emerging from the sea and waddling their way resolutely up Summerland Beach to their sand dune burrows. We return to Melbourne later in the evening.

Day 8 Great Ocean Road, Mount Gambier
Perhaps the most dramatic and photogenic stretch of Australian coastline is Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. From Torquay, we begin to follow the coast, opening up to a series of grand sweeping bays and exciting vistas at Lorne. The road climbs the Cliffside as we skirt Cape Otway National Park and pass into Port Campbell National Park, where we pause to admire the unique rock formations known as the Twelve Apostles. Built in 1932 as a works project during the depression, the Great Ocean Road still traverses country relatively untouched and unpopulated. Its wild grandeur encompasses rainforests, gorges, gullies, arches and blowholes and the section to Warrnambool, beyond the Bay of Isles and the Bay of Martyrs, is particularly special. The day’s destination is Mount Gambier and its premier hotel, the Quality Inn Presidential, where dinner is included this evening.

Day 9 Mount Gambier, Coonawarra, Murray River, Adelaide
Our journey continues to the wine-producing region of Coonawarra. Though it covers only around 15km², its unique soils produce some of world’s fi nest grape crops and award-winning vintages. A tasting at a local winery reveals its quality, before the panorama of vines gives way enchanting pastureland and running brooks, then great orchards beside the Murray River (the Mississippi of Australia’) as we descend towards the lovely city of Adelaide, where our hotel for three nights will be the Crowne Plaza.

Day 10 Adelaide
Surrounded by verdant parkland, picturesque hills and the Mount Lofty Range, Adelaide could scarcely present a more captivating aspect. Our morning sightseeing tour introduces the graceful streets, imaginative shopping complexes and fine Victorian buildings, and presents the chance to walk through the largest glasshouse in the hemisphere – a breathtaking year-round tropical rainforest. In the afternoon, we visit Cleland Conservation Park, on the slopes of Mount Lofty, a place of sanctuary for native species such as kangaroos and koalas – you can enjoy a close up encounter with the latter as they dine on eucalyptus leaves.

Day 11 Adelaide
At leisure to explore Adelaide independently. From our centrally located hotel, you are only minutes from attractions such as the colourful Central Market and the beautifully laid out gardens of Victoria Square. Nearby, the pedestrianised Rundle Mall will delight bargain-hunters.

Day 12 Adelaide, Alice Springs
We fly from Adelaide to Alice Springs, immortalised by Nevil Shute in his 1950 novel A Town Like Alice. ‘The Alice’, as it is usually known, was founded as a staging point for the overland telegraph line in the 1870s. A short tour takes us to the Telegraph Station and the Royal Flying Doctor Service, then you are free to wander this small town, just five streets wide. The Doubletree by Hilton, our hotel for the night, has a pleasant poolside area to enjoy a drink and reflect on the rich experiences of the tour so far.

Day 13 Alice Springs, Uluru
We depart Alice for Uluru and our hotel, the 5★ Voyages Sails in the Desert hotel, sympathetically built into the landscape yet lacking no modern comfort. Following check-in, we head out to experience a true icon of Australia – and indeed world travel – Uluru. Standing an already impressive 348m high, it is believed that two-thirds of the rock is buried beneath the sand, containing a whole network of caves and eroded gullies. A glass of wine in hand, we watch as the setting sun changes the colours of the rock surface, culminating in a series of deeper and darker reds. Even today, this sight is enjoyed by only a privileged few.

Day 14 Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)
A return to Uluru by day presents the opportunity to see it, literally, in a very different light. Of deep cultural significance to the Aborigines, who now officially own the park in which it stands, Uluru has inspired a number of paintings and carvings, many of which may be admired from walking trails around the foot of the rock. To the west are the Olgas, a collection of more rounded rocks known to Aborigines as Kata Tjuta (‘many heads’), one of which, Mount Olga, is, at 548m, taller than Uluru. We return to our hotel for a free afternoon.

Day 15 Uluru, Cairns, Palm Cove
We fly to Cairns, in North Queensland, and transfer to our resort. The Novotel Palm Cove Resort has several swimming pools and tennis courts, acres of landscaped gardens and a good restaurant, all just a short stroll from the tranquil beach that fringes Palm Cove Bay. We stay five nights in this peaceful paradise.

Day 16 Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest reef system and the largest structure built by living organisms. It is breathtaking in scale – covering an area of 344,000km² and is visible from space. As awe-inspiring as its size is the variety and colour of the tropical fish that inhabit its shallow waters, and today presents opportunities to see them your way. We begin with a transfer to Port Douglas and an exhilarating Quicksilver Wavepiercer boat journey across the blue Coral Sea to a pontoon at Agincourt Reef. Then we can view the underwater life through a glass-windowed underwater walkway, from a semi-submersible boat or snorkelling in the water with the equipment provided. We return to Port Douglas late afternoon and take the lovely coastal route back to Palm Cove.

Day 17 Palm Cove
Free for you to unwind in the idyllic tropical surroundings of Palm Cove.

Day 18 Kuranda, Tjapukai Park
Gold prospecting and tin mining inspired the amazing engineering feat of the scenic railway that winds its way through the rainforest and up the mountainside of Kuranda. Literally hewn from the rock, it twists and turns for 34km through 15 tunnels, across chasms and beyond cascades. We enjoy this wonderful journey, stopping for photos at the dramatic Barron Falls before we reach the picturesque Kuranda Railway Station, with its original wooden structures and connecting bridge decked out with tropical flowers and ferns. Then there is time at leisure to browse Kuranda’s shops and cafes or visit the butterfly sanctuary, after which we descend to Tjapukai Park by coach or the Skyrail cable car (extra cost) to visit the Aboriginal Dance Theatre and see their award-winning show. We return to Palm Cove late afternoon.

Day 19 Palm Cove
A further free day to relax.

Day 20 Cairns, Sydney
We transfer to Cairns Airport for a flight to Sydney. Upon arrival, we transfer to the Parkroyal Darling Harbour Hotel, our base for the next four nights. Darling Harbour is an attractively restored area of dockland, now a huge waterfront leisure park including a palm-fringed promenade, a Chinese garden and the magnificent Sydney Aquarium, which conveys the impression of being underwater.

Day 21 Sydney
A city tour introduces the highlights of Sydney, one of the world’s great cities. The harbour may be instantly recognisable, but it is no less impressive for that, dominated as it is by the great span of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, affectionately known as ‘the coat hanger’, and the distinctive Opera House, Danish architect Jorn Utzon’s white-sailed vision added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007 as ‘an outstanding example of 20th century architecture’. The 19th century Royal Botanical Gardens, the attractive repository for native plant-life, and Hyde Park, famed for its magnificent fig tree-lined avenues, also reward a visit. In the afternoon, we board a cruise vessel for an unforgettable perspective on Sydney, its sumptuous waterfront homes and its iconic harbour.

Days 22-23 Sydney
Two full free days at leisure. Why not explore Sydney on foot. A leisurely half hour stroll from our hotel will take you through the charming old dockland streets of the Rocks – the area where the first British convicts settled, which retains much of its Victorian character thanks to the efforts of conservationists in the 1960s and 1970s, and now hosts numerous fine shops, galleries and restaurants. Nearby Circular Quay has some wonderful dining venues of its own. On the other side of the Quay is the unmistakable shape of the Opera House, which invites countless photo opportunities. Stroll through the Botanical Gardens, admiring the flora, and along historic Macquarie Street, a parade of grand colonial-style buildings including the State Conservatory of Music, Parliament House and the Mint, all designed by Englishman Francis Greenway, who was transported to Australia for forgery. Shopping opportunities abound in Sydney, but many of the best can be found on Pitt Street, running south of Circular Quay, and George Street, which boasts one of the most sublime shopping centres in the world – the Queen Victoria Building, three floors of bow-fronted shops adorned with marble, gilt, rich panelling and stained glass.

Day 24 Sydney – In flight
This afternoon we transfer to the airport for a direct, scheduled, Qantas flight to Dubai or Singapore and onward flight to London.

Day 25 London
Upon arrival at London Heathrow, members of our airport team greet you and show you to your VIP Home Departure vehicle, waiting to take you home.

Important Information
Meal Option
Meal option – 20 breakfasts from £345 pp

Titan Travel have a reputation for innovative and enthralling escorted holiday itineraries, and through the guidance of their founding principles, “quality, service and value” which have remained unchanged since the 1970′s, their expertise and experience are second to none.

Titan Travel strive to ensure that aspect of their holidays whispers quality, before you fly, you get to appreciate a comfortable, chauffeur-driven transfer from your front door to the airport with our peerless VIP Home Departure Service, check-in assistance and complimentary porterage. All international flights are with world-renowned scheduled airlines and cruises with acclaimed operators. Touring holidays are expertly designed by the product team to present a comprehensive, imaginative introduction to the destination of choice yet still offer plenty of time for relaxation. The services of a tour manager or cruise manager are included throughout. When you return to the UK, you are met in the arrivals hall of the airport and shown to your VIP Home Departure Service vehicle, waiting to return you to your front door.

Our Opinion
“Titan Travel’s guiding principles of customer service, quality of product and value for money are undoubtedly a contributing factor to them being voted, on many occasions, the UK’s best tour operator.”