Australian Highlights

This 22-night escorted tour with Just You sets off from Sydney, where mornings could be spent on the Harbour Bridge or at the Opera House, while afternoons invite some leisurely wandering around Bondi Beach or Hyde Park. Leaving the city behind, the route follows the coast north through Port Stephens and Port Macquarie, then onwards to Brisbane and the laid-back surf culture of Byron Bay.

The itinerary includes time at Cairns, with a day spent on the Great Barrier Reef aboard a catamaran, watching fish glide by from an underwater observatory if snorkelling doesn’t appeal. Flights take the tour inland to Uluru and Alice Springs, where Aboriginal cave art and the Flying Doctor Base offer distinctive highlights. Back on the coast, the journey continues down to Adelaide, including a stop in the Barossa Valley for wine tasting, then along the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne with its wide streets, Grand Prix circuit, and Fitzroy Gardens.

A few days at leisure in key cities add breathing space to an otherwise full schedule. The coastal and outback contrasts are hard to miss, as are the long distances covered by road and air. It’s a considered look at Australia’s varied environments rather than a dash through headline sights.