23 unmissable things to do in Australia
An ancient land of diverse ecosystems frozen in time, from emerald rainforests and fragrant eucalyptus mountains to rugged woodland caves with Aboriginal art and golden ribbons of coastline, Australia is a nature lover’s wonderland.
Even staying in the laid-back cities, rainbow lorikeets squeal at sunset, and the crashing crystal waves of a beach are forever beckoning you outdoors, if just to sip Aussie wine and scoff prawns. Here are the best things to do in Australia.
Admire the Sydney Opera House from your own angle
Inspired by yacht sails and surrounded by water, the glorious Sydney Opera House is a symbol of Australia itself. The majestic curves dominate Sydney Harbour and look impressive from every angle. Stroll right around its base, something that many don’t know you can do. Then climb up Sydney Harbour Bridge with a guide and get a white-knuckle view of the Opera House as the wind whips up.
For a quiet perspective, kayak at dawn as the sun kisses the surrounding waters, or picnic under Moreton Bay fig trees in the crowd-free Tarpeian Lawn. Badu Gili is a light show of Aboriginal art projected onto the Opera House. It has been such a hit that in recent years it has turned into a daily event at sunset.
Eat bush food under the stars in the Red Centre
Didgeridoo plays while the sun shimmers on the horizon and the earth’s rusty red intensifies. Then the Southern Cross and stars spill across the sky. This backdrop is what makes a menu of native bush ingredients so special about a tasting menu in the Red Centre (the Northern Territory).
Easy coral reef swimming at Ningaloo Reef
The Great Barrier Reef has a lesser-known but equally dazzling sibling. The jeweled necklace of coral reef fringes the coast, especially near Exmouth, making Ningaloo Reef more accessible for snorkeling. Nearby, blowholes force ocean water to shoot through sea caves and up to 20 meters into the air. Ningaloo Reef is a magical place for swimming alongside whale sharks, the world’s largest (and harmless) fish, and migrating humpback whales. For children and those who don’t want to swim, glass bottom-boats are a comfortable option to see manta rays and turtles glide across the coral below.
Learn to surf or laugh trying
You might not ride a tube on your first lesson, but paddling and standing on a surfboard for one glorious moment before being dumped in a fizzle of white foam is a glorious feeling. Besides, getting water-confident will help you enjoy some of Australia’s nearly 12,000 beaches. When the water’s choppy, try sandboarding on dunes across the country, often in places with rich Aboriginal history, like Henty Dunes in Tasmania.
Get cozy with sharks and spiders
It’s true, Australia has some top-of-the-food-chain creatures. You have to go out of your way to bump into them though. Wildlife parks are a (safe) way for kids, and adults, to get their thrills being splashed by a jumping crocodile, wincing at a funnel-web spider or black snake being milked of venom, and spotting the deadly spurs on a platypus or “drop bear”. An even mightier heart-thumper is cage-diving at eye- and teeth-level with a great white shark.
Know your kangaroos from your wallabies on Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is a montage of Australian nature on show. In one day you can glimpse koalas snoozing in eucalyptus trees, echidnas waddling, and kangaroos and wallabies sunbathing. In between, walk under the towering stone fossils of Remarkable Rocks and dip your toes in the clear blue waters of a parade of beaches all to yourself (except those guarded by sea lions).
Bump into locals on the Bondi to Coogee walk
Hugging 6km of coast between two beaches, the clifftop walk from Bondi beach is saturated with blue skies and scrolling ocean. No matter how many times you walk it, each turn is a delight: outdoor baths that glitter with crashing ocean waves; Gordon’s Bay decorated with wooden boats; Waverley Cemetery with the most exclusive resting place in Australia; McIver’s Ladies Seawater Baths hewn from the rock; and lounging locals at Tamarama, Bronte and Clovelly beaches, each with their own personality.
Stop at the Clovelly Bowling Green for a beer and a barefoot game of lawn bowls overlooking the ocean – you just need to sign in as a guest. The walk gets steep after this so it may be tempting to just stay and linger.
Feel ancient Australia in Kakadu National Park
Kakadu is the perfect kind of middle of nowhere. It’s the wild Australia that you might have already daydreamed about. Waterfalls bloom from rock, prehistoric crocodiles thrash the wetlands, lorikeets sing, and Aboriginal guides bring to life the ancient rock art. As you trek between gorges and woodlands or hike for views over endless treetops, your worries seem far away somewhere else.
Celebrate at the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade
It might have started off as a protest, but today, over forty years later, Australia’s largest LGBTQ pride march parties all night. What makes Mardi Gras stand apart are the 200 flamboyant floats. The vehicles are decorated for 12 months, and bespangled dancers practice weekly to sashay for that one night. Grab a stool or milk crate to watch from the sidelines and prepare to shout “Happy Mardi Gras!” to strangers. During the rest of the year, check out Sydney’s nightlife, which excels at cozy, queer-friendly pubs like the Bearded Tit.
Understand Uluru with an Aboriginal guide
Uluru has been a sacred ceremonial site to the Anangu, the area’s Aboriginal people, for 10,000 years. It’s definitely worth engaging an Anangu guide for the Kuniya Walk to the Mutitjulu Waterhole at the base of Uluru to hear ancient stories, decipher rock art, and appreciate the significance of Uluru’s towering slopes.
Come at dawn to beat the heat; after rainfall to catch a waterfall, or at night to see the desert illuminated by 50 thousand lights in the Field of Light show.
Eat authentic world cuisine and new Australian fusions
Nearly half of all Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas. That’s why eating at restaurants in a Little Korea, Thai Town, or Greek Precinct means you get the real deal. As always, it pays to window-shop for somewhere that has mostly local diners.
Modern Australian food highlights these world flavors through European cooking techniques. Australia’s varied climate and nutrient-rich land produce top fresh ingredients. Chefs are exploring indigenous flavors such as desert lime, and bush banana (which resembles snow peas) with seafood, Australia’s specialty. This kind of dining is always the most exquisite with a beach, river, or harbor view in Australia.
Cheer on Aussie sports
Sport is everywhere in Australia, from international matches to the local Dunny Derby (yes, it’s a toilet race). Even if you aren’t a sports nut, seeing a big match taps you into the Australian psyche at its most excitable. Plan ahead for tickets to see the Australian Open tennis in Melbourne or the World Surfing Championships on the Gold Coast.
Women’s sport is finally getting the attention it deserves in Australia too. There’s a good turn-out for women’s cricket and Australian Football League (AFL) games these days. Sydney will host the 2027 Netball World Cup, and netball might make it into the Brisbane 2032 Olympics line-up.
Go nude at a beach
Aussies aren’t that fussed about nudity and what adults do in their own time. Feel the sunbathe every inch of your body at one of Australia’s community-minded nudist beaches. Don’t forget sunscreen; the rays are mighty here and burnt bits aren’t fun.
Cycle around Victoria’s High Country
Thank lockdowns for the cycling rebirth in Australia. The Victorian High Country has rewarding views at every turn. Ribbons of roads and disused railway lines (now reinvented as cycling rail trails) roll out alongside olive groves, tree ferns, and wineries between alpine valleys and lake swim. There are long stretches of flats for families and casual riders and mountain trails right into the bush for the adrenaline-chasing cyclist.
The High Country boomed with gold in the 1850s and there are traces of this wealth and the Chinese miners who sought it in the towns along the way. Eldorado has a gold museum, while Yackandandah has both quaint tinned-roofed buildings and a historic cemetery dedicated to Chinese gold miners.
Go gaga for baby penguins
The sun isn’t even up yet and you weren’t sure if this was your thing, but when you witness the little (fairy) penguins waddle across the sand, your heart might melt. Phillip Island is the most famous penguin site but there are other islands and even secret city spots like Manly in Sydney and St Kilda in Melbourne.
Admire indigenous art
Art has been essential to cultural life through 65-thousand-years of Aboriginal Australian history. Seeing indigenous art is a captivating launchpad to conversations about Australia today for its First Nations people. Learn more about the significance of rock art from the Northern Territory’s Arnhem Land to the Quinkan rock galleries in Queensland; the emergence of dot paintings on canvas in the 1970s in the Northern Territory; or the storytelling of contemporary works displayed at city museums, such as the Yolngu women’s bark paintings.
Spot a koala
Just look at their high-on-eucalyptus faces. Who doesn’t love a cuddly koala? Unfortunately, cuddling is no longer encouraged, even in controlled environments like wildlife parks. Instead, you’ll get a closer view at least, but you’re also likely to spot a koala high up in the street trees of rural towns around Australia’s southeast coast. As well as admiring the wildlife, lookout for opportunities to learn about Australian bush conservation and how people can help wildlife recover after bushfires.
Drink wine in each region
Australia is blessed with clean water and rich soil to produce some top wines. Winery hopping lets you feel the sun and country air that fed the grapes while you taste test. Try Old Vine shiraz in the Barossa Valley (South Australia), or a cabernet sauvignon from the Margaret River region (Western Australia), chased down with chardonnay in the Hunter Valley (New South Wales) and finishing with a Pinot noir in the Yarra Valley (Victoria) or a sweet Riesling in Tasmania. You’ll need a few weeks to do it all, and every one of these wine regions is worth visiting for more than just its grapes.
Include a gourmet farm-to-table lunch right in the vineyards, with produce freshly plucked from the garden. If you’re going booze (alcohol) free, non-alcoholic wine is becoming a common sight in Australia.
Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park
On first seeing Cradle Mountain, even Aussies might exclaim, “I didn’t know Australia could even look like this!” It’s true that the glacier-hewed crags and alpine heaths here have a touch of the Scandinavian. Cradle Mountain is all Australian though, with pristine ancient rainforests, mirrored lakes, and unique fauna isolated from the rest of the world. It’s down under. Hiking newbies: head to Ronny Creek for a glimpse of wombats drinking from a creek in a buttongrass moorland. The terrain is flat and most visitors head for Dove Lake so you’ll have the marsupials (and shuttle-bus stop) to yourself.
Enjoy the Great Barrier Reef sustainably
The Great Barrier Reef is a masterpiece of thousands of smaller reefs, coral, and islands. It’s a world must-see, not just for Australia. There’s no way to recommend a free-for-all visit; climate change and pollution have caused mass coral bleaching and tourism can be damaging. Yet there are still some straightforward ways to visit in a sustainable way.
There is so much to see. Turquoise waters are resplendent with millennia-old sea turtles floating above you, and kaleidoscopic coral beneath you. Manta rays, dugongs, and a treasure trove of fish are so diverse that there are species yet to be discovered. It’s enough to turn you into an advocate for marine conservation.
Try Aussie snacks
Australian food is world food, but there are some must-try Aussie staples that locals still adore. You might wince, but at least sample some yeasty, salty Vegemite spread thinly on toast. A smoother brunch is smashed avocado toast, an Australian invention; or a Thai curry pie, a spin on a classic Australian meat pie; and a sausage sizzle, the Aussie barbecue version of a hot dog.
You’re most likely to bring home Tim Tams, the chocolate-covered biscuits that Aussies sob longingly for when overseas. Australia’s greatest export to the coffee world is the flat white, which is most famously fine-tuned in Melbourne.
Stay up all-night in Melbourne
In central Melbourne, the street-art decorated laneways hide a society of wonderfully grungy cocktail bars and clubs. The famously moody weather of the city makes Melbourne an excellent place to go out while being entertained indoors. For interesting drinking, live music, historic theatres, and the Melbourne International Comedy and Film Festivals, the city dominates the country’s nightlife calendar.
Learn about Australia’s migration story
Australia is a vibrant nation of migrants. The Immigration Museum in Melbourne and the Migration Museum in Adelaide bring out the colorful threads of this timeline through memorabilia, voices, artifacts, and photos. They celebrate the positive in this story and are worth a visit for a deeper understanding of multicultural Australia.
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