Every Australian destination

97 destinations, read for February. The count is how many operators sit inside each destination’s working radius, not how many pages exist.

Readings apply a regional profile to a point inside it

  • Closed
  • Marginal
  • Shoulder
  • Good
  • Peak

Queensland

BrisbaneGoodQueensland’s capital, an hour from both the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.27Great Barrier ReefMarginalA 2,300 km reef system, not a single place; access differs completely between Cairns, Port Douglas and the Whitsundays.21Sunshine CoastGoodNorth of Brisbane — Noosa, the Glass House Mountains and the hinterland markets.15NoosaGoodA national park headland with the surf on one side and the Everglades on the other.11Airlie BeachMarginalThe mainland base for the Whitsundays — every sailing and island trip leaves from here.9WhitsundaysMarginal74 islands inside the reef, sailed from Airlie Beach; Whitehaven Beach is the one on the postcards.9Gold CoastGoodSurf beaches and theme parks on the coast, rainforest and waterfalls in the hinterland behind it.8CairnsMarginalThe main gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree, with reef boats leaving the city marina daily.7Surfers ParadiseNot profiledThe high-rise centre of the Gold Coast and where most coach tours pick up.7Tamborine MountainGoodGold Coast hinterland plateau — rainforest walks, wineries and glow worms, an hour from the beach.7Atherton TablelandsNot profiledCool volcanic highlands behind Cairns — crater lakes, waterfall circuits and dairy country.5Cairns BeachesMarginalThe northern beach strip — Trinity, Palm Cove, Clifton — 15 to 30 minutes from Cairns city.5KurandaMarginalA rainforest village above Cairns, usually reached one way by scenic railway and the other by cableway.5Port DouglasMarginalAn hour north of Cairns and closer to both the outer reef and the Daintree; quieter, more resort-led.5DaintreeMarginalThe oldest continuously surviving rainforest on earth, reached by ferry north of Port Douglas.3Fraser Island (K’gari)GoodThe largest sand island on earth. There are no sealed roads — everything runs on four-wheel drive.3Hervey BayGoodThe mainland base for Fraser Island and one of the most reliable whale-watching bays in the country.3Moreton IslandGoodSand island an hour by ferry from Brisbane, known for the Tangalooma wrecks and wild dolphins.3Cape TribulationMarginalWhere the Daintree rainforest meets the reef — the far end of the sealed road north.1Magnetic IslandMarginalA twenty-minute ferry from Townsville, with koalas, granite bays and national park over half its area.1Mission BeachMarginalHalfway between Cairns and Townsville; the jumping-off point for Dunk Island and cassowary country.1TownsvilleMarginalNorth Queensland’s largest city and the ferry port for Magnetic Island.1

New South Wales

SydneyGoodHarbour city and the country’s main international gateway; the Blue Mountains are 90 minutes west.28Hunter ValleyGoodAustralia’s oldest wine region, two hours north of Sydney and known above all for semillon.17NewcastleGoodHarbour and surf city at the mouth of the Hunter, two hours north of Sydney.8Byron BayGoodThe Australian mainland’s easternmost point, just over the Queensland border from the Gold Coast.5Blue MountainsGoodA sandstone plateau cut by valleys, 90 minutes from Sydney — the standard day trip out of the city.4Coffs HarbourGoodMid-north-coast town where the banana country meets the sea, halfway between Sydney and Brisbane.—Jervis BayGoodWhite-sand bay three hours south of Sydney, with resident dolphins and winter humpbacks.—Snowy River CountryNot profiledHigh country either side of the NSW–Victoria border; snow in winter, walking and rivers in summer.—

Victoria

Port Phillip BayNot profiledThe bay Melbourne sits on — dolphin swims, seal colonies and the Queenscliff–Sorrento crossing.23MelbourneGoodVictoria’s capital and the base for the Great Ocean Road, the Yarra Valley and Phillip Island.21Yarra RiverGoodThe river through central Melbourne, worked by cruise boats from Southbank to the bay.18Great Ocean RoadGoodA 240 km coastal drive, not a town. Torquay to the Twelve Apostles is a long day from Melbourne.8GeelongGoodVictoria’s second city, on the way from Melbourne to the Great Ocean Road.6Mornington PeninsulaGoodA hook of land an hour south of Melbourne: cellar doors, hot springs and two coastlines.4AngleseaGoodGreat Ocean Road town with heathland behind it and kangaroos on the golf course.3BlairgowieNot profiledA quiet back-beach village next to Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula.3Dandenong RangesGoodMountain ash forest an hour east of Melbourne, worked by the Puffing Billy steam railway.3LorneGoodHalfway along the Great Ocean Road, with the Otway waterfalls in the hills behind.3SorrentoGoodAt the peninsula’s tip, with the Queenscliff ferry and the bay’s dolphin and seal swims.3Apollo BayGoodFishing town where the Great Ocean Road turns inland through the Otway rainforest.2Barwon HeadsGoodRiver-mouth village on the Bellarine Peninsula, across the bay from Sorrento.2Bells BeachGoodThe reef break south of Torquay that has run the Easter surf classic since 1962.2TorquayGoodWhere the Great Ocean Road begins, and the home of Australian surf culture.2Twelve ApostlesGoodLimestone stacks at the far end of the Great Ocean Road, four hours from Melbourne one way.2Yarra ValleyGoodCool-climate wine country an hour east of Melbourne — pinot, chardonnay and sparkling.2Mount MacedonGoodCool-climate hills an hour north-west of Melbourne, next to Hanging Rock.1Phillip IslandGoodTwo hours from Melbourne, and where the little penguins come ashore at dusk every night of the year.1BallaratGoodGoldfields city ninety minutes from Melbourne, built on the 1850s rush.—BeechworthGoodPreserved goldfields town in the north-east, deep in Ned Kelly country.—BendigoGoodThe other great goldfields city — grand civic architecture and a deep Chinese heritage.—BrightGoodAlpine valley town famous for its autumn colour and as the base for Mount Hotham and Falls Creek.—GrampiansGoodSandstone ranges in western Victoria with rock art, waterfalls and the Pinnacle lookout.—Halls GapNot profiledThe village in the middle of the Grampians and the base for every walk in the park.—Lake EildonNot profiledA large storage lake north-east of Melbourne, worked by houseboats and water skiers.—MansfieldNot profiledGateway town to Mount Buller and the Victorian high country.—Mount Buffalo National ParkGoodA granite plateau above the Ovens Valley — cliffs, snow gums and one of Victoria’s oldest parks.—Mount BullerNot profiledThe closest major snowfield to Melbourne, three hours by road.—RutherglenNot profiledOld-vine muscat and topaque country on the Murray, near the NSW border.—Victorian High CountryGoodAlpine Victoria — snow from June, and horseback and hut country the rest of the year.—Wilsons PromontoryGoodThe southernmost tip of mainland Australia — granite headlands, wombats and long empty beaches.—WodongaGoodBorder twin town with Albury on the Murray, at the foot of the high country.—

Western Australia

PerthPeakThe most isolated major city in the world, on the Swan River with Rottnest offshore.34FremantlePeakPerth’s port, with intact colonial streets and the ferry to Rottnest Island.28Swan ValleyPeakWestern Australia’s oldest wine region, twenty-five minutes from central Perth.22Margaret RiverPeakThree hours south of Perth: cabernet, caves, tall forest and a serious surf coast.11Rottnest IslandPeakA car-free island half an hour off Fremantle, and the reason most people have heard of quokkas.4BroomeMarginalPearling town on the Kimberley coast, and the western end of the Gibb River Road run.3ExmouthMarginalOn the Ningaloo Reef, where a fringing reef sits metres offshore and whale sharks arrive in autumn.3AlbanyPeakWestern Australia’s first European settlement, on the Southern Ocean with winter whales.2Coral BayMarginalA single-street town on Ningaloo where you can snorkel the reef straight off the beach.1EsperancePeakRemote south-coast town known for white sand, turquoise water and the Cape Le Grand beaches.—Karijini National ParkMarginalDeep iron-red gorges in the Pilbara, with swimming holes at the bottom of most of them.—Monkey MiaMarginalShark Bay beach where wild bottlenose dolphins have come to shore each morning for decades.—

South Australia

AdelaidePeakA compact capital with three major wine regions and a wildlife island within a day’s reach.30Adelaide HillsPeakCool-climate country twenty minutes above the city — sparkling, chardonnay and German villages.19HahndorfNot profiledAustralia’s oldest surviving German settlement, in the Adelaide Hills.15Barossa ValleyPeakAn hour from Adelaide, with some of the oldest shiraz vines still in production anywhere.14McLaren ValePeakGrenache and shiraz between the Adelaide Hills and the sea, forty minutes from the city.12Kangaroo IslandPeakAustralia’s third-largest island, reached by ferry from Cape Jervis — sea lions, koalas and wild coast.6Victor HarborNot profiledFleurieu Peninsula town with the Granite Island horse tram and winter southern right whales.3MannumPeakMurray River town where the paddle steamer trade began, an hour east of Adelaide.2Coober PedyMarginalOpal town on the Stuart Highway where much of the population lives underground to escape the heat.1Clare ValleyPeakRiesling country two hours north of Adelaide, strung along the Riesling Trail.—

Tasmania

HobartPeakTasmania’s capital under kunanyi/Mount Wellington, and the base for MONA and Port Arthur.14LauncestonPeakNorthern Tasmania’s city, at the head of the Tamar Valley wine route.6Bruny IslandPeakA ferry ride south of Hobart, known for its produce trail and the sea-cliff boat tour.1StrahanPeakWest coast harbour town and the launching point for Gordon River cruises.1Cradle MountainPeakDolerite peaks and button grass in the World Heritage Area; the northern end of the Overland Track.—Port ArthurPeakThe convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, ninety minutes from Hobart.—

Northern Territory

DarwinMarginalThe Top End capital and the base for Kakadu, Litchfield and the Tiwi Islands.16Alice SpringsMarginalThe centre’s only real town, 450 km from Uluru — closer to the MacDonnell Ranges than to the rock.2Uluru / Ayers RockMarginalUluru and Kata Tjuta sit in one park, five hours by road from Alice Springs, with its own airport at Yulara.1Kings CanyonMarginalA 300 m sandstone gorge on the Red Centre Way, usually done as a rim walk between Alice and Uluru.—Litchfield National ParkMarginalWaterfalls and swimming holes ninety minutes from Darwin — the easier day-trip alternative to Kakadu.—

Australian Capital Territory

CanberraGoodThe national capital and its institutions, three hours inland from Sydney.3