Australia Travel Tips

You have probably worked out that Australia is a very big country.

Our passion is helping you to have a great holiday. These Australia travel tips are provided with you in mind – making sure you avoid mistakes which could spoil your holiday.

1. Don’t try to see it all

Australia is a big country – a very big country. You won’t be able to see it in 14 days, or 28 days for that matter. Be realistic about how far you can or should drive in one go and how much of Australia you can feasibly see and still enjoy yourself.

The best thing to do is plan your journey, using one of our recommended itineraries. Work out your starting point, your end point, and the things you want to see along the way. Then work out which towns you will stop at. Make sure you focus on the quality of your holiday, don’t try to take in too much. You can always come back next year!

2. Visit places outside the obvious tourist attractions

Sometimes, the best things to see and do are not the obvious tourist attractions and or the best publicised ones.

In Australia, it is not unusual to pull up by the side of the road (safely) and climb over a sand dune to find the most magnificent white sand beach and sapphire blue waters and not a single person on the beach.

Similarly, you could be hiking through a rainforest and stumble upon a waterfall with wildlife drinking from the lake beneath it, and you could think you are the first person to stumble upon it.

3. Don’t spend all day driving

We’re not the fun police but we recommend that you try to limit your driving to 200-250 kilometres driving per day.

There are a couple of good reasons for limiting your driving and the most important of these is your safety. Driving can be tiring, especially when you are spending the day exploring all the great things you will see as you stop along your journey.

Of course, if you spend too much time driving, you may miss experiencing some wonderful things. Sometimes it’s good just to stop and smell the roses.

Consequently, we recommend that you do not drive your motorhome or campervan at night outside of town centres or major cities and take extra care at dawn and dusk.

4. Protect yourself from the sun

The Australian sun is very hot. Maybe there is a hole in the ozone layer above Australia or maybe we are just a bit closer to Heaven, but either way the sun is hotter here. The quickest way to spoil your holiday is to get sunburned. One dose of sunburn can take days to heal and can impact your ability to spend time out in the sun until it heals.

One of our essential Australia travel tips is to wear a hat and sunscreen and avoid prolonged exposure to direct sun, especially if your skin is not used to it. Always keep a bottle of water with you if you are out and about.

Our climate can vary greatly and at different times of the year and different parts of the country, we experience a very vast range of minimum and maximum temperatures. Our seasons are generally the reverse of the northern hemisphere.

• Summer: December, January, February
• Autumn: March, April, May
• Winter: June, July, August
• Spring: September, October, November

While they may be reversed, that doesn’t mean summer is the best time to visit. Queensland in summer is very hot and humid and in the far north it is wet season but is very mild in autumn and winter. Look at the average temperatures to gauge what will suit you best.

Visit the Bureau of Meteorology website and have a look at what the weather is going to be like when you travel and where. Save it in your browser or phone so you can monitor weather conditions along your journey.

5. Purchase an adapter for your electrical appliances

Australia runs on 240V power so if you are visiting from outside Australia, you will need an adaptor. If you are bringing your own hairdryer, electric shaver or anything else which requires mains power.