Australia travel FAQ

Aim for 10 to 14 days. Anything shorter and you spend too much of the trip in airports. Pick one or two regions and base yourself there. Sydney plus the reef around Cairns works well over two weeks. Browse our city guides or pick a state to focus on.

Almost certainly. Most short-stay visitors need either an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) or an eVisitor, both applied for online before you fly. They're free or cheap and usually approved within minutes or a few days. Apply on the official Home Affairs site (immi.homeaffairs.gov.au). Don't pay one of the third-party services charging high fees. The visa is linked to your passport electronically, so there's nothing to print.

You can, but most people fly between regions. Driving Sydney to Cairns alone is over 24 hours on the road. Two states fits comfortably in two weeks. Three is a stretch. Queensland on its own gives you a lot: the reef, the rainforest, and three cities (Brisbane, Cairns, the Gold Coast). Melbourne paired with Tasmania is another popular combo.

Four to six months ahead is fine for most things. Push that out further if you're travelling December to February, during school holidays, or booking limited-capacity tours like reef cruises or the Tasmania ferry. The long-distance trains (the Indian Pacific and The Ghan) get booked out 6 to 12 months ahead for the better cabin classes, especially May to August.

Trying to fit too much in. The country looks small on a map but Sydney to Perth is a five-hour flight, further than London to Cairo. Pick one or two regions, give them proper time, and save the rest for next time. Read our history page before you arrive, and our slang guide so the locals don't lose you at hello.

It's not cheap. Daily costs run higher than most of Europe and a bit higher than the US. Eating out, alcohol, and hotels eat the most. Stay longer in each spot, cook the odd meal from supermarket food, and look at a campervan for any driving leg (fuel plus a powered site still beats hotels plus restaurants). Domestic flights are reasonable if you book early.

Not really. Hospitality wages are higher here than in the US, so tips aren't built into the price. A small tip (5 to 10%) for great restaurant service is welcome but never expected. With taxis and cafés, people just round up. Tour guides and shuttle drivers don't expect anything either, though after a multi-day tour you'll often see guests hand over a small note.

Pretty much. Australia is one of the most card-friendly countries you'll travel in. Tap-to-pay is everywhere in cities and most country towns, and anything under AUD 200 is contactless by default. Apple Pay and Google Pay work wherever cards do. Keep a bit of cash for outback fuel stops, the odd small market, and coin-only parking meters in some council areas.

Three carriers run the show: Telstra (best in regional and remote areas), Optus, and Vodafone. Grab a prepaid SIM at the airport, or pick one up later at a 7-Eleven, supermarket, or carrier shop. Roughly AUD 30 to 60 for 30 days with plenty of data. eSIMs are easy too. A lot of travellers set up Airalo or a carrier eSIM before they fly. If you're heading into the outback or remote WA, the small Telstra premium is worth it.

Not really. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide all have decent public transport, and Uber works fine. You'll want a car for day trips, wine regions, and the beaches further out. Cairns, Hobart, Darwin, and Canberra are smaller and easy to walk in the centre, but a car helps you reach surrounding national parks.

Yes. The distances are huge but the roads are good and the signs are clear. Campervan trips are hugely popular here. Hire one for the Queensland coast, the Great Ocean Road, or south-west WA, and you have the coast and national parks covered. Drive on the left, fuel up before any remote stretch, and give yourself more time than the map suggests.

Usually yes. A current full licence in English is accepted in every state for short visits (about three months). If your licence isn't in English, carry an International Driving Permit alongside it. We drive on the left here. Speeds are in km/h. Campervan rental companies usually want drivers to be at least 21, sometimes 25.

For two specific routes, absolutely. For everything else, no. The Indian Pacific (Sydney to Perth) and The Ghan (Adelaide to Darwin) are once-in-a-lifetime trips with cabin accommodation and meals included on premium fares. For getting between cities the rest of the time, flights are faster and usually cheaper. Regional trains in NSW, Victoria, and Queensland are solid value for shorter runs and connect well to bus networks.

No, the country is too big for one answer. You've got tropical, temperate, desert, and alpine climates all on one continent. Roughly: April to October is best up north (Cairns, the reef) and in the outback. October to April suits the cooler south (Tasmania, Victoria). Spring (September to November) and autumn (March to May) are the safest bets nationwide for mild weather and smaller crowds.

Yes, follow two rules. Swim between the red and yellow flags at patrolled beaches. That's the bit the lifesavers are watching. Up north (Cairns, Darwin) skip the open ocean from October to May because of stingers. Use the netted enclosures or a pool. The most common risk is rip currents, not sharks. If a rip pulls you out, swim parallel to the beach until you're free.

The stories are scarier than the reality. Snakes and spiders mostly avoid people, and deaths from either run at one or two a year across the whole country. The real seasonal hazard is tropical jellyfish, which arrive October to May anywhere north of Bundaberg. Use the stinger nets or wear a stinger suit on a reef trip. For sharks, stick to patrolled beaches and don't swim at dawn or dusk in remote spots. The wildlife you should actually worry about is kangaroos jumping into the road at night.

Get it. Australian healthcare is excellent but expensive for visitors without a reciprocal agreement. The UK and New Zealand have basic ones. Most other countries don't. Insurance also covers trip cancellation, lost bags, and the kinds of activities you'll probably do here: reef dives, scenic flights, 4WD tours. Check the policy actually covers driving, and check it covers a rental campervan if you're booking one.