Australia

Australia rewards a trip that takes in more than one city. Sydney gives you the Opera House, harbour ferries and the Blue Mountains on its doorstep; Melbourne pairs laneway cafés with the Great Ocean Road and the penguins of Phillip Island; the Gold Coast brings surf beaches and theme parks; and Cairns opens the door to the Great Barrier Reef.

Distances are huge, so most of our itineraries link three or four bases with short domestic flights rather than long drives. Ten to fourteen days lets you see the east coast without rushing, and families can swap a city day for an extra day at the theme parks or a wildlife sanctuary to meet koalas and kangaroos.

Indian food is easy to find in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and vegetarian meals are widely understood. We choose hotels close to public transport, add private transfers where they save time, and use guided day trips where driving yourself would be tiring, which suits senior travellers and first-time visitors alike.