Byron to Cairns: 17-Day Semi-Guided Adventure

Start in the town the whole coast talks about. Day one is finding your feet (the beach, the drum-circle sunset, a hostel full of people who also just arrived) and day two is standing up on your first wave with a local school on Byron's forgiving beach break. Climb to the Cape Byron lighthouse, mainland Australia's most easterly point, and let the markets and beach bars fill whatever's left. Two nights, a real surf skill, and the whole coast queued up ahead of you.

An hour north and the volume goes up. Surfers Paradise brings high-rises straight onto the sand, Australia's biggest rollercoasters at Movie World, Dreamworld and Wet'n'Wild (an easy add-on if you're chasing thrills), and a strip that doesn't blink till sunrise. Surf in the morning, scream on a coaster after lunch, dance past midnight. Two nights of the loud, glittery Australia. The wild, empty version starts north of here.

Noosa is the coast with its collar straightened, and the last easy, polished stretch before the sand island. Day 5 is the coach north from the Gold Coast, then the national-park track past dozing koalas to the longboarders peeling along Tea Tree Bay: paddle out for a free surf now you've got the skills, graze Hastings Street and swim off the calm main beach. On the afternoon of day 6 the coach carries you on to Rainbow Beach for the night, a short walk from the briefing that starts K'gari the next morning. Savour it, then go get sandy.

First showstopper, and you wake in Rainbow Beach a short walk from the 7am briefing. K'gari is the world's largest sand island and you'll drive it yourself, tag-along style, sharing the wheel of a 4WD in convoy while a lead guide calls the lines over the radio. Swim Lake McKenzie's silica-white shallows, float down Eli Creek's glass-clear current, scramble over the rusted SS Maheno wreck, fizz about in the Champagne Pools and hike the sandblow to Lake Wabby. Nights are beach camping: campfire, a proper feed, and 75-Mile Beach as tomorrow's highway. Meals and camping gear sorted, bring or hire a sleeping bag, then just drive and swim. Back on the mainland mid-afternoon on day 9, you board the overnight bus to Airlie Beach.

The overnight bus rolls into Airlie Beach on the morning of day 10: a full day for the lagoon and the marina at sunset. On day 11 you step aboard an ex-racing maxi yacht for two nights threading the 74 Whitsunday Islands. Snorkel the fringing reef, hike to the Hill Inlet lookout where the tide swirls turquoise sand into shapes that look edited, and go barefoot on Whitehaven Beach, 98% pure silica sand that genuinely squeaks. You're back on the dock late morning on day 13 with salt in your hair, then one more Airlie night with the boat crew before the morning coach north. Worth it.

A morning coach up the coast to Townsville, a short ferry, and the pace falls off a cliff, in the best possible way. Hire an open-top Barbie car, a Maggie institution, and loop the island's 23 bays with the wind in your face, snorkel the fringing reef right off Geoffrey Bay, then take the Forts Walk at golden hour for the best odds in the country of spotting a wild koala wedged in a gum fork. Two nights of island time before the finale.

Ride north to Cairns on day 16, then end on the biggest name in the water. A full day on the outer Great Barrier Reef on day 17 puts you over turtles, rays, giant clams and coral in colours you'll struggle to describe afterwards, one of the seven natural wonders, ticked, snorkel in hand. Round it out with the Cairns Esplanade lagoon and the night markets, and one last round with the mates you didn't have 17 days ago. Or start here and run the whole thing in reverse.

Start on the biggest name in the water. Day 1 is yours to land and settle into Cairns, because the reef boats leave in the morning: the Esplanade lagoon and night markets are built for meeting the dorm. Day 2 is a full day on the outer Great Barrier Reef, over turtles, rays, giant clams and coral in colours you'll struggle to describe afterwards, one of the seven natural wonders, ticked, snorkel in hand. Collect your bus pass and itinerary pack, and on day 3 ride south to Townsville for the ferry.

The island stop plenty of East Coast itineraries skip, and arguably the trip's sweetest. A short ferry from Townsville, 'Maggie' hands you an open-top Barbie car, yes, really, to loop its 23 bays, snorkel the fringing reef metres off Geoffrey Bay, and climb the Forts Walk at golden hour, where wild koalas doze in the gum forks above the trail. Granite boulders the size of houses, beaches with nobody on them, sunsets that fall straight into the sea. Two nights of island time, then down the coast to Airlie Beach.

A night in Airlie Beach at the lagoon and the marina at sunset, then on day 6 you step aboard an ex-racing maxi yacht for two nights threading the 74 Whitsunday Islands. Snorkel the fringing reef, hike to the Hill Inlet lookout where the tide swirls turquoise sand into shapes that look edited, and go barefoot on Whitehaven Beach, 98% pure silica sand that genuinely squeaks. Back on the dock late morning on day 8 with salt in your hair, and that evening the overnight bus carries you south to Rainbow Beach. Worth it.

Off the overnight bus into Rainbow Beach on the morning of day 9, with the day free to wander the town and a bed here tonight. At the 7am briefing on day 10 you're onto the world's largest sand island, driving it yourself, tag-along style, sharing the wheel of a 4WD in convoy while a lead guide calls the lines over the radio. Swim Lake McKenzie's silica-white shallows, float down Eli Creek's glass-clear current, scramble over the rusted SS Maheno wreck, fizz about in the Champagne Pools and hike the sandblow to Lake Wabby. Nights are beach camping: campfire, a proper feed, and 75-Mile Beach as tomorrow's highway. Meals and camping gear sorted, bring or hire a sleeping bag, then just drive and swim. Back at Rainbow Beach mid-afternoon on day 12, you've a bed here again that night, then on day 13 it's a short hop south to Noosa.

Noosa is the coast with its collar straightened, and the perfect place to shake the sand island out of everything you own. The coach from Rainbow Beach lands you here on day 13: walk the national-park track past dozing koalas to the longboarders peeling along Tea Tree Bay, graze Hastings Street and swim off the calm main beach. One polished, easy night before the Gold Coast.

A long coach south and the volume goes up. Surfers Paradise brings high-rises straight onto the sand, Australia's biggest rollercoasters at Movie World, Dreamworld and Wet'n'Wild (an easy add-on if you're chasing thrills), and a strip that doesn't blink till sunrise. Swim in the morning, scream on a coaster after lunch, dance past midnight. One night of the loud, glittery Australia, then the finale in Byron.

Finish in the town the whole coast talks about. Stand up on your first wave with a local school on Byron's forgiving beach break, climb to the Cape Byron lighthouse, mainland Australia's most easterly point, and let the markets, beach bars and drum-circle sunsets fill whatever's left. Two nights, a real surf skill, and one last round with the mates you didn't have 17 days ago.