Australia
Melbourne to Cairns
The east coast end to end. Great Ocean Road to the Great Barrier Reef.
The east coast end to end, Melbourne to Cairns, as a semi-guided Travel Mates adventure: the Great Ocean Road, up through Sydney and Byron, then K'gari, the Whitsundays and the reef to Cairns. Guides run the big days; the rest are yours. Open-dated 12 months.
More East Coast Australia trips
✓ Lowest price online
From
$4,199 AUD
per person · price by travel month
Low-season saver, up to $1,180 below peak
Price by season
Your price is set by the departure month you pick at checkout.
Lock it in with a $840 deposit, balance before you travel
For start dates 30+ days away. Choose it at checkout.
How payment options work →Booking guarantee Price Match Promise Secure payment via Square
Usually confirmed within 24 hours
Pay to secure your spot at today's price · you don't pay for a date we can't confirm.
Free date changes up to 3 months out
Valid 12 months. Closer to your start, the operators' terms apply.
Our own trip
Planned by us, every leg with an established local operator.
Pick any start date in the next 12 months and we build the trip around it. Dated adventures like K'gari, the Whitsundays and the reef are confirmed with each operator, usually within 24 hours. We'll message you if it's going to take longer. If one's full on your exact dates we shift it a day or grab the next run, and you don't pay for anything we can't lock in.
Available, pick any date Price varies by season, pick a date to see the exact rate
A crossed-out start date means an operator on your route (K'gari, the Whitsundays sail or the reef) is full or not running that day; tap it for the nearest open dates. ⏳ means one is running low.
$4,199 AUD pp
Choose a start date →
Includes New Year's week in Byron Bay: + pp (beds cost more that week)
Open-dated, valid 12 months. We confirm your dated adventures with each operator, usually within 24 hours (we'll message you if it takes longer), and you don't pay for anything we can't lock in.
Stand on the Great Ocean Road as the Twelve Apostles rise out of the Southern Ocean, then turn north and don't stop until the reef: a surf lesson in Byron, a canoe through the glassy Noosa Everglades, three days 4WDing K'gari, two nights on a racing maxi yacht in the Whitsundays, wild koalas on Magnetic Island and a day on the Great Barrier Reef. Thirty days, Melbourne to Cairns: the whole East Coast, end to end, in one booking.
Guides run the big days, each with a group of its own, and days in a 4WD convoy or on a boat deck turn strangers into mates fast. We pre-book the Great Ocean Road tour, the overnight bus to Sydney, the hop-on-hop-off bus pass from Sydney (with overnight legs on the two longest hauls, so you wake up at the next stop), every hostel bed and every adventure; the days between are unguided, each stop yours to explore. Add a 15,000ft skydive over Mission Beach if you're game. Open-dated and valid 12 months, so you book now and lock your dates when you're ready.
30 days, Melbourne to Cairns, semi-guided
Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles to start
K'gari 4WD safari + 2-night Whitsundays maxi-yacht sail + Great Barrier Reef
Byron surf, Noosa Everglades, optional Mission Beach skydive
Hostels + transport pre-booked; expert guides on every big adventure
Stop 1
Laneway coffee, rooftop bars, St Kilda beach, Australia's culture capital before you head north.
Stop 2
The Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and the wild surf coast on a full-day run.
Stop 3
A last Melbourne day: Queen Victoria Market and the laneways, then the overnight bus north.
Stop 4
Pick up your bus pass + itinerary pack. Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk. Overnight bus to Byron on day 8.
Stop 5
Learn-to-surf lesson, lighthouse walk, whale watching in season.
Stop 6
Theme parks and Surfers Paradise, then the Brisbane river city.
Stop 7
Beaches and the Everglades canoe experience through mirror-still waterways, then on the afternoon of day 16 the coach to Rainbow Beach for the night before K'gari.
Stop 8
7am start from Rainbow Beach. 3-day 4WD tag-along: 75-Mile Beach, Lake McKenzie, Maheno wreck, Indian Head. Overnight bus to Airlie Beach on day 19.
Stop 9
Two nights on a racing maxi yacht: Whitehaven Beach, Hill Inlet, snorkelling the fringing reef.
Stop 10
Return ferry + 2 nights, koalas, forts walk, snorkelling bays.
Stop 11
Rainforest-meets-reef, with an optional 15,000ft tandem skydive over the beach if you're game.
Stop 12
Great Barrier Reef day trip and free days to finish in the tropical north.
The freedom of doing it yourself, without the weeks of planning or the lonely dorm check-ins. The route and schedule are set, and between the guided days you get free time at each stop.
| Go it solo | Travel Mates | Big-group tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planning | Weeks of it, you book every leg | ✓One booking, sorted for you | Sorted for you |
| Your pace | Total freedom | ✓Free days + guided big days | Their clock, early starts every day |
| Making mates | Luck of the dorm | ✓Make friends along the way | The same bus, all trip |
| The big-ticket days | You chase every booking | ✓Guided & pre-booked | Guided |
| Price | Cheapest, if nothing goes wrong | ✓One honest all-in price | Premium, all-in |
| If it goes wrong | You're on your own | ✓Real-human concierge on call | Your tour leader |
Optional extras you can add after you book, or just ask us on the road.
Every night's pre-booked along the route, here's where you'll lay your head.
Rooming is typically same-gender multi-share unless a private/twin upgrade is noted, ask us if you'd like a private room.
Got a question that's not here? Ask us or hit the chat, instant AI reply with a follow-up from the Wanderlust crew.
Sydney to Cairns
Some meals included
$3099 AUD
≈ $148/day
East Coast Australia
21 days · your own van + 5 big adventures
$2499 AUD
≈ $119/day
Sydney to Cairns
Some meals included
$4909 AUD
≈ $149/day
From
$4199
