Australia’s East Coast is where the country’s laid-back soul meets its most spectacular natural beauty. This sixteen-day journey lets you experience it all at an easy pace — from the harbour lights of Sydney to the tropical warmth of Cairns — with a small group and a touch of comfort at every stop. It’s a chance to see the coast’s biggest icons and hidden gems in one seamless trip.
Taste wines in the Hunter Valley, meet koalas in Port Macquarie, and wander Byron Bay’s sun-drenched shores before heading north to K’gari, the Whitsundays, and the Great Barrier Reef. Travel through rainforest canopies by gondola, walk among ancient trees in the Daintree, and watch where the reef meets the rainforest at Cape Tribulation. It’s the East Coast in full — relaxed, diverse, and unforgettable.
Days
- 16 days, 15 nights
Group size
- Max 16
Start / finish
- Sydney / Cairns
- Cairns, after breakfast on day 16
Return
- Cairns, after breakfast on day 16
Accommodation
- 15 nights in hotels, motels and resorts, twin share. Named on the page as the Holiday Inn Potts Point in Sydney, El Paso Motor Inn at Port Macquarie, Beachcomber Byron Bay, Rainbow Getaway Apartments, The Point Hotel Brisbane, Mission Beach Resort, Crystalbrook Flynn in Cairns and Paradise Links Resort at Port Douglas, or similar. Rooms have ensuite facilities.
Transport
- A coach with your tour leader for the driving days, and the Brisbane to Proserpine flight is included. Day tours use their own transport — a 4WD bus on K'gari, a speedboat in the Whitsundays, a catamaran to the reef, the Skyrail gondola to Kuranda and a boat on the Daintree River.
Meals
- 15 breakfasts, four lunches and one dinner. The dinner is a welcome dinner on day 1.
Route
Included experiences
- Hunter Valley — a wine, cheese and chocolate tasting
- Conservation wildlife park — koalas, kangaroos and emus up close
- Port Macquarie — the Koala Hospital and a foreshore walk
- Niigi Niigi (Sealy Lookout) — a Gumbaynggirr First Nations experience
- Cape Byron — the lighthouse at the most easterly point of Australia
- Byron Bay — a free day on the beach or on an optional surf or kayak trip
- Noosa National Park — koala spotting, then Hastings Street
- K'gari (Fraser Island) — a 4WD day with Lake McKenzie, the Maheno wreck and 75 Mile Beach
- Brisbane — an orientation walk or ferry ride along the river
- Whitsunday Islands — a full day speedboat cruise to Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet
- Mission Beach — a quiet afternoon, with a chance of wild cassowaries
- Atherton Tablelands — Lake Eacham, waterfalls and the Curtain Fig Tree
- Great Barrier Reef — a day cruise with snorkelling and a glass bottom boat
- Kuranda — the Skyrail gondola over the rainforest canopy and the markets
- Daintree and Cape Tribulation — a guided rainforest walk and a river wildlife cruise
Reviews
5.0
Based on 9 reviews
Verified from
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Where they come from. Our reviews are gathered from independent review sites and from guests who share feedback with us directly after their trip. They come from people who have actually travelled on the tour.
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“a blast!”
Travelling with this company was a blast! They just made everything so easy, fun, and worry-free! We learned so much about the different areas, animals, plants, etc and they always had us laughing along the way!
Our tour guides, Jason and Chris, were very organized, professional, and yet laid-back at the same time. What a fantastic mix!! They were good with both young and older passengers and were very keen on us all having a great time together, which we really appreciated. We packed in a lot of sights and adventures in 9 days. What a trip! (We also got see a cassowary!)
Both Jason and Chris had exemplary driving skills, too, so one could sit back and totally enjoy the ride!
The tour guides gave 110% of themselves to their job and it really showed!! We can’t thank them enough for our awesome memories!!
“The tour was fabulous”
The itinerary was really good with a nice mix of activities and down time. Eion, our tour guide, was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humour. We highly recommend this small group tour.
“fantastic”
Just finished the 16 day east coast tour and loved it. It was a smaller group which was nice. Accommodations were great. Loved the variety of spots picked for breakfast and lunches. A good mix of group stuff and free time. Our tour leader Cara, was fantastic. Great knowledge of Australia, great personality and sense of humor. She made our trip fun. Also kudos to Via travel for handling a weather related issue without impacting our trip. I'd highly recommend them.
“strongly recommend”
We just finished this tour! The amazing Cara was our tour guide throughout. She was passionate, knowledgeable, funny and personable. The tour was well paced, informative and beautiful. They also went out of their way to fly us north, past the flood ravaged regions, at no additional cost and with little impact on the itinerary. I would strongly recommend this trip when considering your many travel options.
“Thank you for everything!”
We were a small group of 8 people and visited the east coast of Australia. There was sooo much to see and experience. The starting point was Syndey, then on to Byron Bay, Brisbane and Cairns. I always felt comfortable and in good hands. Our guide Eoin was great and accompanied us well throughout the two weeks. A formative trip for life! Thank you for everything!
“exceeded our expectations”
My wife and I traveled the Sydney to Cairns Best of Australia _ 16 Day Boutique Comfort Tour in November 2024. Our agent Tara was so helpful with planning our tour and even suggested things to do in Sydney for 5 days before our tour started and 4 days in Brisbane after the tour ended. Our guides Jason (Sydney to Brisbane) and Eoin (Brisbane to Port Douglas) were so knowledgeable and took us to all the wonderful places that were included in the tour itinerary. Many of these places we would have never experienced on our own. Jason barbecued kangaroo for our dinner one evening which was a treat. Along with Eoin, both guides made our trip very enjoyable and exceeded our expectations.
Thank you Tara, Jason and Eoin for an amazing adventure.
“so much fun”
Jason, our tour guide, was a wealth of knowledge! He was so much fun, organised and really flexible! He is definitely highly experienced and knows Australia inside and out!
The tour group was small which meant moving from place to place was a lot easier and we could be flexible about our plans each day! We stayed in great accommodation, a lot of which was locally owned which I really enjoyed. It was nice to stay in smaller rooms of three people, I got to stay with my two friends for the whole trip which was epic!
We packed so much into the tour. Even on days where we were travelling more, Jason squeezed in little nuggets to break up the journeys. I felt we covered everything I wanted to see on the East Coast and would definitely recommend it for anyone looking to travel in a smaller group setting! The highlight of the trip was Magnetic Island, our accommodation was brilliant and even though we had a free day, Jason took us around the island to see all the best spots, wild koalas, wallabies and waterfalls!!
“fabulous trip full of surprises ”
I recently had the pleasure of joining a Via tour travelling up the East Coast of Australia from Sydney to Port Douglas. It was a fabulous trip full of surprises and a huge variety of activities. All were included which I appreciated as it becomes annoying when every option incurs an additional charge. The accommodation was fabulous; we were surprised to find that we often ended up in a small studio with our own laundry facilities. Breakfast was included every morning and we were often taken to wonderful local cafes. But beating all was our guide Eoin who ensure everything was fun and ran smoothly. On our particular trip the weather caused a few issues but he ensured back up plans were made. His sense of humour and sense of fun too the trip to another level. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
“nforgettable experience!”
A special shout-out to our guide, Justin, who was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. He made sure every part of our journey was enjoyable and went smoothly. Highly recommend booking your next adventure with them!
