Travelling on the east coast of Australia: What you need to know
The east coast is home to some of Australia’s biggest highlights. The world’s largest coral reef, the world’s largest sand island, the world’s largest covered stadium outside North Korea and the world’s largest (plastic) banana. The road trip from Cairns in tropical North Queensland via glittering Sydney to the hipster stronghold of Melbourne is Australia’s most travelled backpacker trail with more than 3,000 km of sun-drenched coastline – a convoy of motorhomes on the hunt for beautiful beaches, adrenaline-fuelled adventures, idyllic islands and non-stop nightlife. From Fraser Island and the Great Barrier Reef to Bondi, Brunswick and Byron Bay, here’s everything you need to know about travelling Australia’s east coast.
Sydney Harbour, 📸:Getty Images
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The best way to travel the east coast
Travelling Australia’s east coast means venturing into difficult terrain. Travelling from Cairns via Brisbane and Sydney to Melbourne is a 3600 km marathon, like driving from Glasgow via Munich and Belgrade to Istanbul. One of the best travel options that most backpackers still opt for is a road trip – most car and van hire companies such as Maui, Britz and Jucy offer one-way hire for exactly this route on Australia’s east coast.
Hiring a campervan seems like a good idea to save money, but you can’t just camp anywhere – you can expect a knock on the window if you just pull up on any beach, rather than paying for a site at a caravan park or designated campsite, which aren’t exactly cheap and are sometimes fully booked. That’s why the comfort of a hostel is always a good investment.
Travelling by car is much more flexible and usually cheaper than public transport, especially if it allows you to see places like national parks that you would otherwise have to pay for a tour of. Petrol costs around $1.50 per litre and a hire car is available from around $30 per day. Sharing a car with a few mates can be worthwhile even for a longer trip.
But there are also ways to get around without a car. Greyhound and Premier buses run up and down the east coast several times a day, while daily trains connect Sydney with Melbourne and Brisbane (the Spirit of Queensland to Cairns is a posh service that doesn’t fit into many backpackers’ budgets). Budget airlines such as Tiger and Jetstar also offer cheap domestic flights – you can often fly from Sydney to Melbourne for as little as $40, although the price is usually around $100, which is about the same price as the much, much slower bus or train.
Flinders Street Station Melbourne, 📸:@jamesdominko
How much does it cost to travel on the East Coast?
How much does it cost to travel to the east coast of Australia? A bed in a youth hostel costs around 20 to 40 dollars, a cheap meal 10 to 15 dollars, beer or wine at least 5 to 8 dollars, and organised tours – such as a cruise to the Whitsundays or the Great Barrier Reef – cost 100 dollars or more per day. Then there are the transport costs (car, bus, train or flight). Plan on about 60-70 dollars per day, plus travel and tour costs.
How long does a trip to the east coast take?
How long it takes you to travel the East Coast depends on how long you stay. To tick off all the places on the list below, six weeks would feel like a sprint, and even two months would fly by. These laid-back beach towns are all about lazing on the beach, and who can put a time limit on that? If you’re on a tighter schedule, fly rather than drive and pick the highlights: Cairns for the reef, Byron for the beach and then Australia’s two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne. If you have to, you can do it in a fortnight.
Best time to visit the east coast
In the south, it’s too cold for the beach in the cooler months of the year – at least by Australian standards – and winter is particularly harsh in Melbourne. In the north, however, many beaches are closed in summer because of stingers (jellyfish that are as painful as they sound), and in the tropics it rains like a monsoon at this time of year.
So if you want to enjoy the whole east coast, head north in autumn or trek south in spring. Catch the last rays of sun in Melbourne in February or March, for example, before heading to the tropics in June, or soak up the sun in north Queensland mid-year, while Sydney and Melbourne warm up in October or November. The shoulder season is suitable for shorter stays, as it’s relatively sunny and prickly everywhere from April to October. Around the Christmas holidays, the crowds and costs get higher, so stay at home with your mum – she’ll appreciate it.
Accommodation on the east coast
There is a wide variety of hostels in Australia, so you can tailor your hostel choice to the type of traveller you are. In Queensland, there are many hostels with pools and outdoor seating areas, so you can soak up the Australian sun and take a dip when it gets really hot. Gilligan’s Backpacker Hotel & Resort Cairns is a must for all pool party lovers.
In Sydney and Melbourne, you’ll find modern hostels in central locations, with great social facilities like on-site bars. Wake Up! Sydney Central is close to Central Station and offers a range of activities including fitness and yoga classes, city tours and trivia nights. Rowdy backpackers can also join one of the legendary parties at the Side Bar!
Many hostels in Australia are surrounded by exotic flora and fauna. For a real Australian experience, stay at the Bungalow Bay Koala Village hostel and meet some furry friends! The Blue Mountains Backpacker Hostel offers you easy access to one of the country’s most beautiful nature parks!
Wake UpSydney Central, Sydney
The best places to visit on the East Coast
1. Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef, 📸:Getty Images
The Great Barrier Reef stretches over 2300 kilometres along Queensland’s sun-drenched coastline, and the city of Cairns is the ideal starting point. Take a tour to dive, snorkel or swim in this underwater oasis. Make sure you book an eco-certified and licensed operator to see the colourful things further out, as coral bleaching has destroyed much of the reef near the city.
The town itself has no beach, but the lagoon and waterfront are great for swimming. Better nature experiences are offered by day trips to tropical paradises such as the Green and Fitzroy Islands or the town of Kuranda, which lies in the rainforest high above the city. Cairns is also an adventure capital for bungee jumping, skydiving, white water rafting and anything else that gets the adrenaline pumping.
A night at the infamous party hostel Gilligan’s Backpacker Hotel & Resort Cairns is perhaps the most hair-raising experience of all, as the in-house pub and nightclub serves the cheapest drinks in town. Start your trip to Australia’s east coast with about four nights in Cairns… more if Gilligan’s hangover gives you a few days off.
There are a number of other possible stopovers around Cairns. The winding one-hour drive to Port Douglas – anupmarket resort town with the winding Four Mile Beach – takes you right to the gates of the Daintree Rainforest, an ancient ecosystem teeming with crocodiles and swimming holes (if you’re lucky, not at the same time). The road north ends at Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest meets the reef. The Daintree Crocodylus Village is ideal for those looking for a secluded stay surrounded by nature, where you can also spot some native wildlife.
Inland, backpackers head to the Atherton Tablelands for waterfall hunting (and fruit-picking jobs). And two hours’ drive further south is Mission Beach, one of the few places in the world where you can spot the rare and elusive cassowary bird, as well as a hotspot for skydivers and the launch site for Dunk Island.
How many days: 4
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Gilligan’s Backpacker Hotel & Resort Cairns
2. Townsville and Magnetic Island
Townsville, 📸:Getty Images
A three-hour drive through sugar cane fields and banana plantations brings you to Townsville, the de facto capital of North Queensland – and, more importantly, the starting point for the tropical paradise that is Magnetic Island.
Maggie, as the locals call the island, is only a 20-minute ferry ride from Townsville, but it feels like another planet. As well as the stunning tropical scenery – the place is covered in more palm trees than a Bounty wrapper – Maggie’s big draw is the chance to get up close and personal with Australian wildlife such as kangaroos, koalas and wallabies.
Bungalow Bay Koala Village is the only hostel in Australia that has its own animal enclosure, where you can have breakfast with the koalas and have the opportunity to take a selfie with one of the furry fellas. Spend a few nights in one of the A-frame cabins around the tranquil pool in the centre of the gardens.
How many days: 2-3
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3. Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands
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Airlie Beach is another bustling hangout for backpackers who either can’t wait to travel to the Whitsunday Islands or are bragging to their friends back home about the white sand wonderland they’ve just experienced. The Whitsundays are a dazzling highlight for anyone travelling Australia’s east coast, and Airlie is the gateway. The 74 islands may be covered in Australia’s glitziest resorts, but backpackers needn’t miss out on the fun either, with plenty of budget island-hopping cruises departing from Airlie Beach that include a bed on the boat and meals.
Bush Village Budget Cabins is one of the many chic hostels in town and exudes a relaxed vibe from the moment you arrive at reception – the front desk overlooks the pool area, where your new friends are sunbathing in the poolside hammocks. Bliss.
How many days: 4
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Bush Village Budget Cabins, Airlie Beach
4. Central Queensland
Bundaberg, 📸:Getty Images
Mackay, Rockhampton and Bundaberg – as well as places like Innisfail and Bowen further north – are the go-to spots for backpackers on Working Holiday visas doing farm work to extend their stay. But there are definitely some reasons to spend the night in Central Queensland that have nothing to do with picking fruit.
Mackay forms the end of the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef. The Capricorn Caves are carved into a limestone ridge near Rockhampton. Agnes Water is the first breakwater south of the reef. Bundaberg is home to Australia’s favourite rum distillery and Mon Repos beach, where incredibly cute baby turtles take their first tentative steps onto the shore in the first three months of the year.
It’s a 10-hour drive from Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay, so a place like Rocky is a great place to stop for the night halfway.
How many days: optional, 2-3
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5. Hervey Bay and Fraser Island
Scarness Pier Hervey Bay, 📸:Getty Images
The whale-watching hotspot of Hervey Bay is the gateway to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. At more than 120 kilometres long and 20 kilometres wide, Fraser Island is dotted with glistening freshwater lakes like tranquil Lake Mackenzie, rusting shipwrecks on pristine beaches and a wild breed of dingo unique to the island.
Join a three-day day tour where the guides lead a convoy of four-wheel-drive vehicles travelling across the sand – sorry, but your old campervan won’t cut it here. Back on the mainland, the family-run Aussie Woolshed is a truly unique place to stay – a piece of bush in the middle of Hervey Bay with rough timber, corrugated iron and stirrups and saddles dangling from every beam. Rainbow Beach, south of Fraser Island, is another stunning stop on the way south.
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How many days: 4
Aussie Woolshed, Hervey Bay
6. Sunshine Coast
Noosa National Park 📸:@samanthalreid
Noosa attracts many upmarket Australian visitors escaping the winter in the southern states. This explains all the chic cafés, expensive boutiques and glamorous holiday villas. But backpackers can also afford the natural beauty of the Sunshine Coast – a dip in the turquoise waters, coastal walks through Noosa National Park, a kayak tour through the Noosa Everglades and then a refreshing dip at Noosa’s many watering holes.
The Sunshine Coast is also home to Australia Zoo – the sanctuary founded by the late Steve Irwin, whose family continues his legacy – about 20 minutes inland from Caloundra or 45 minutes from Noosa. Halfway between Fraser Island and Brisbane (two hours there and back), the Sunshine Coast is a great place to spend a few days with your feet in the sand before heading to the big city.
How many days: 1-2
7. Brisbane
📸:Getty Images
Queensland’s capital is rudely labelled a big country city by residents of rival cities, which is a little unfair. Brisbane may not have the same allure as beachy Sydney or artsy Melbourne, but it’s definitely worth a day or two on your journey through Australia’s east coast. Parks line the Brisbane River that meanders through the city centre, West End cafes and balmy night markets cater to foodies, XXXX Brewery produces the Sunshine State’s magical elixir, and Upper Roma Street near Suncorp Stadium – the closest thing to a holy site in this sports-mad city – is home to a lively row of Brisbane hostels.
Brisbane is also a good base for day trips, particularly to laid-back North Stradbroke Island and unspoilt Moreton Island, where you can snorkel or dive to the historic shipwrecks of Tangalooma. If you’re short on time, you can also take day trips from Bris Vegas to the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast.
How many days: 2-3
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8. Gold Coast
Surfers Paradise Gold Coast, 📸:Getty Images
The postcard image of the Gold Coast consists of skyscrapers rising above golden sand. And of course, there’s this version of the Gold Coast in Surfers Paradise – a glitter strip of nightclubs, casinos and skyscrapers hogged by party-hungry backpackers. BUNK Surfers Paradise is the newest hostel on the Gold Coast, with bright and brand new rooms just 100 metres from the beach, a sun-drenched pool lounge and stylish communal areas you’d expect to find in a generator in Europe.
But the Gold Coast stretches much further – 52 kilometres to be exact. South of Surfers, the beaches of Burleigh Heads and Coolangatta are blessed with more than 300 days of sunshine a year. Inland, the Gold Coast’s jungle-like hinterland is protected by the Tamborine, Springbrook and Lamington National Parks. The Gold Coast is also home to Australia’s leading theme parks – Dreamworld, Wet ‘n’ Wild, Warner Bros Movie World and the like. Surfers Paradise may get boring after a few nights, but you could spend much longer relaxing in a quieter corner of the coast.
How many days: 2-3
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9. Byron Bay
Just an hour from the Queensland/NSW border, Byron is the epitome of Australia’s east coast. Kilometres of beaches. Lush national parks. Pubs and cafés galore. No wonder there are so many backpackers here. Plan plenty of time for Byron Bay – it‘s one of those places that sucks you in like sand by the sea, where the receptionist who checks you into the hostel arrived in a campervan two years ago and never left. The brand new Byron Bay Youth Hostel captures the atmosphere this town is famous for, with leafy gardens and kaleidoscopic murals surrounding a stylish pool area.
Cape Byron’s lighthouse marks the easternmost point of mainland Australia, casting a shadow over the bongo drummers, sunbakers, yoga instructors and surf students who congregate on the sand below. The graffiti-adorned streets are home to speciality cafes, craft breweries, artisan bakers, cocktail bars, quirky art galleries, new-age eateries and everything else hippies and hipsters covet. Oh, and Chris Hemsworth lives here, so you might spot Thor chilling on the beach.
Byron Bay used to be a sleepy beach town, but in recent years it’s seen a boom in beach-loving backpackers, Sydney refugees and Hollywood celebrities. Ninety minutes down the coast, Yamba feels like Byron 20 years ago – join Shane’s legendary ten-dollar tour from Yamba YHA to learn all about the best bits.
And in Byron Bay’s hinterland, you’ll find Nimbin – a town that smells like the inside of an Amsterdam coffee shop. In this capital of ‘alternative lifestyle’ (read: lots of Bob Marley, dreamcatchers and lots of weed), there’s an unusual youth hostel where you can sleep in a yurt overlooking the misty valleys of the Northern Rivers region.
How many days: 2-3 (depending on how much time you need to relax!)
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10. Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie
Muttonbird Island Coffs Harbour, 📸:Getty Images
Coffs Harbour (a three-hour drive from Byron) and Port Macquarie (another 90 minutes south) are two convenient stopovers for travellers to Australia’s east coast.
Coffs Harbour is famous for the Big Banana, but if you stay longer than a selfie with this 13-metre-long fruit, you can visit more great beaches, national parks like Dorrigo or Bongil Bongil and the nearby new-age town of Bellingen.
Port Macquarie is home to, you guessed it, even more stunning sandy beaches and a heart-warming koala hospital that has rehabilitated countless animals affected by the bushfires that ravaged this part of the world in late 2019.
How many days: 1
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11. Newcastle and Port Stephens
Newscastle, 📸:Getty Images
Newcastle – about two hours south of Port Macquarie – is the next nice stopover on the long drive to Sydney. The old mining town, which still welcomes huge shipping containers in the harbour, offers much of Sydney’s charm – golden sands just a stroll from the city centre, cafes and pubs overlooking the water, a cutting-edge food scene, especially when it comes to coffee – without the crowds or the cost.
If you spend some time in Port Stephens, check out the dolphin capital of Australia – Nelson Bay – a string of secluded surf beaches around Tomaree National Park and the sand dunes of Worimi Conservation Lands, an Aboriginal sacred site. The country’s oldest wine region, the Hunter Valley, is also close to Newcastle – the purpose-built youth hostel is surrounded by vines.
The Central Coast, halfway between Newcastle and Sydney, is another collection of beautiful beaches. However, with a lack of hostels and public transport, it’s not exactly a centre for backpackers.
How many days: 2 days
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12. Sydney
Sydney is one of the most spectacular cities in the world, let alone on the east coast of Australia. The glittering harbour features two world-renowned landmarks – the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The coastline is dotted with world-class beaches. Here you can climb the cliffs between Bondi and Coogee to see Tamarama, Bronte, Clovelly and Gordon’s Bay, and take the ferry to Manly for the quintessential Sydney Harbour experience. Inner-city neighbourhoods like Surry Hills and Newtown are full of excellent cafes, bars and restaurants (sorry, Melbourne, but Sydney is cool too). And green spaces like the Botanic Gardens on the harbour and the huge Royal National Park dominate the scene.
Stay in Sydney as long as you can (i.e. as long as your budget allows), but you’ll never reach the end of your to-do list, no matter how many nights you stay. Backpackers in Sydney have a choice of more than 80 hostels, most of which are located near the main train station in the city centre, but also many near the beach in Manly, Bondi and Coffee. However, Sydney Harbour YHA is the ultimate for those looking for the ultimate city experience. The hostel’s rooftop terrace in the historic Rocks district offers uninterrupted views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge – an ideal backdrop for the free wine and cheese night every Thursday.
The best day trip from Sydney is the 90-minute train journey or the two-hour drive to the Blue Mountains, named after the shimmer created by this endless eucalypt forest. The Echo Point lookout in the town of Katoomba offers scenic views of the Three Sisters rock formation, but an overnight stay gives you time to explore the network of walking tracks that criss-cross the forest floor.
The country’s busiest airport is a sensible start or end point for any trip to Australia’s east coast, and the stretch from Sydney to Cairns is the most backpacker-friendly part of this route. But there is also plenty to see south of the Harbour City.
How many days: 4-5
13. South Coast
Jervis Bay, 📸:Getty Images
Many travellers head straight from Sydney to Melbourne – 900km you can do in less than nine hours plus breaks, but the coastal route offers plenty more golden sands. Start in the Illawarra region, an hour’s drive south of Sydney – the city of Wollongong, like Newcastle, is another old mining town surrounded by beautiful beaches. Don’t miss Jervis Bay and the Instagram-famous Hyams Beach (said to have the whitest sand in the world) as you head further down the coast.
Batemans Bay, another two and a half hours down the coast, offers even more secluded sandy beaches. The south coast beaches are much quieter than their Queensland counterparts to the north, and most travellers here are grey nomads trudging through Australia rather than backpackers looking for a party. So save your bangs for Cairns and Airlie!
The south-east corner of the country is picturesque – Eden is as heavenly as it sounds, and so is the Mornington Peninsula on the way to Melbourne. But it’s not exactly hostel central, so backpackers should just skip the trip to the Victorian capital.
How many days: 5-6 days
14. Canberra
📸:Getty Images
The more direct route from Sydney to Melbourne is via Canberra, around three hours’ drive from the harbour city. The country’s capital has an unjustified reputation for being boring, expensive and full of politicians. Canberra was only founded to settle a dispute between Australia’s two largest cities over which of them should be the capital, and it kind of feels like it was built from an Ikea flat pack.
Despite the attention given to Sydney and Melbourne, Canberra is actually pretty cool. The Australian War Memorial, the National Museum and the National Gallery are very interesting for history buffs. There are not one, but two parliament buildings to visit, after a new one was built in 1988. Speaking of adults behaving like children, the Questacon hands-on science museum is a must. And the dining options on Lonsdale Street are on a par with those in Melbourne and Sydney, even if the tables are filled with politicians. The city is home to some major national universities, which has inevitably led to a great nightlife. Visit the city’s cocktail bars or dance in the city’s vibrant clubs!
How many days: 2
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15. Melbourne
Melbourne is Australia’s capital of culture. The capital of coffee. The capital of cool. The city is the centre of food and fashion as well as Australia’s sporting epicentre – the Australian Open in January, Formula 1 in March, the Horse Racing Carnival in spring. And then there’s the city’s true obsession: AFL football, which lights up the mighty 100,000-seat MCG in winter.
Enjoy coffee, kale and quinoa in unconventional inner-city neighbourhoods like Fitzroy and Brunswick. Admire artistic graffiti on the walls of Hosier Lane and Centre Place and galleries such as the National Gallery of Victoria and the Australian Museum for Contemporary Art. Immerse yourself in the history that oozes from buildings such as the State Library, Flinders Street Station, the Old Melbourne Gaol and the magnificent Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens. And experience the sunset in St Kilda when the little penguins come ashore after a day at sea.
There are a number of excellent hostels near Flinders Street, most notably United Backpackers. Look forward to ultra-modern rooms, free pancakes for breakfast and events seven nights a week in the secret underground bar. Most backpackers need at least four or five days to find their way around Melbourne.
To continue your journey along Australia’s east coast, head west of Melbourne on the Great Ocean Road towards Adelaide. As breathtaking as the drive from Cairns was, nothing compares to the cliffs and twists and turns of this stunning route that winds along Australia’s south coast. The 12 Apostles (giant rocks standing on the beach) can be visited on a day trip from Melbourne, but you should spend the night here to explore every bend.
How many days: 4-5
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Brush up on your Aussie accent, grab your thongs and enjoy the stunning east coast. What are you waiting for, mate?
Have you been to any of the places on the list or know a secret spot we haven’t mentioned? Tell us about it in the comments!
Read on:
🌟 Farm work in Australia: Everything you need to know, from finding a job to getting a visa
🌟 Discovering Down Under: Your guide to backpacking in Australia
🌟 New Zealand travel guide for backpackers
About the author:
Tom Smith is an Australian writer living in Manchester. He is obsessed with sport and travelling and has watched cricket in Cardiff, football in Fortaleza and baseball in the Bay Area. And there’s plenty more to tick off his bucket list. Read more from him here .
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