Australia
Our own East Coast tour line, built by backpackers for backpackers. Guides run the big-ticket days, the rest are yours. One booking sorts the bus, your beds and every headline adventure. You travel solo and make friends along the way.
Full Sydney → Cairns from $4,329 · Shorter trips from $1,499 · Bus, beds & adventures included
Sydney to Cairns on one fixed route. Scroll up the coast and see the real tours you can book at each stop.
Stop 1 of 13
The harbour, the beaches and the whole coast ahead of you.
East Coast Explorer + Sydney Week (6 Weeks) 43 Days 4.6 (980) $6,799 $6,789 
East Coast Explorer Sydney to Cairns (5 Weeks) 36 Days 4.6 (980) $5,799 $5,789 
Sydney & Beaches Group Tour, 7 Days 7 Days 4.6 (980) $1,099 $969 Stop 2 of 13
A beachfront surf camp at Arrawarra, north of Coffs Harbour: lessons on a quiet break and nights in camp.
Spot X surf camp →Stop 3 of 13
Surf, hinterland and the most easterly point on the mainland.
Byron Bay Surf Tour 5 Days 5.0 (1,863) $409 
Byron Bay Surf & Stay (3D/2N) 3 Days 4.7 (374) $318 $279 
Byron Bay Tandem Skydive 15,000ft (With Byron Bay Transfer) 3 Hours 4.6 (535) $385 $379 Stop 4 of 13
High-rise Surfers Paradise and 50-odd kilometres of surf beach.
Beginner Group Surf Lesson (13 years+) 2 Hours 4.8 (391) $79 
Gold Coast 50-Minute Jet Boat Ride 1 Hour, 5 Minutes $79 
Gold Coast Parasailing, Solo Flight 1 Hour, 30 Minutes $149 Stop 5 of 13
The river city, and the gateway to the north.
Moreton Island 2-Day 4WD Tour (Glamping) 2 Days, 1 Night 4.0 (31) $495 $489 
Adventure Moreton Island Day Pass 8 Hours 4.3 (140) $149 $139 
Moreton Island 'Get Wrecked' Tour ex Brisbane 9 Hours 4.8 (398) $199 $189 Stop 6 of 13
Surf beaches and a national park on the way up.
Noosa Stand Up Paddle & Mangrove Tunnel Tour (Fully Guided) 2 Hours 4.8 (641) $59 
Learn to Surf Safari: Noosa to Double Island Point 6 Hours 4.8 (641) $159 
Double Island Point Dolphin Kayak & Beach 4WD Tour from Noosa 6 Hours 4.8 (641) $172 $159 Stop 7 of 13
A small surf town under coloured sand cliffs, and the jumping-off point for K'gari.
East Coast Starter Package: K'gari 2-Day 4WD + Whitsundays Day Sail 2 adventures · K'gari 4WD + Whitsundays sail · your own pace $689 
East Coast Big Three Package: K'gari 4WD, Whitsundays Sail & Great Barrier Reef 3 adventures · K'gari + Whitsundays + the reef · your own pace $879 
Rainbow Beach Turtle View Kayak Tour 2 Hours 4.8 (641) $99 Stop 8 of 13
The world's biggest sand island: 4WD beach tracks, freshwater lakes and dingoes on the sand.
K'gari 3-Day 4WD Tag-Along from Rainbow Beach 3 Days 4.7 (1,897) $619 $579 
K'gari 3-Day 4WD Escape Ex Hervey Bay 3 Days 4.9 (1,344) $795 $719 
K'gari 3-Day Tag-Along Safari from Noosa or Rainbow Beach 3 days · 2 nights · departs Noosa or Rainbow Beach 4.9 (527) $669 $599 Stop 9 of 13
74 islands, Whitehaven Beach and the reef on your doorstep.
Hammer Maxi Sailing, 2 Days, 2 Nights in the Whitsundays 2 Days 4.9 (1,841) $729 $689 
Spank Me Whitsundays Sailing 2 Days 2 Nights 2 Days 4.7 (1,925) $675 $639 
New Horizon Whitsundays Sailing 2 Days 2 Days 5.0 (3,858) $750 $669 Stop 10 of 13
A national park island a short ferry from Townsville.
Magnetic Island Sunset & Shipwreck Cruise 2 Hours $109 
Magnetic Island Discovery Eco Tour by Catamaran 5 Hours $169 
Breakfast with Koalas, Magnetic Island 1 Hour, 30 Minutes $79 Stop 11 of 13
Rainforest running down to the Coral Sea, and one of Australia's most scenic skydives.
Stop 12 of 13
The gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree rainforest.
Tully River Rafting (Cairns Return Transfers) 12 Hours 4.9 (2,545) $245 $239 
Evolution Outer Reef Cruise (Snorkel) 8 Hours 4.8 (2,210) $275 $269 
Ocean Spirit Michaelmas Cay Day Trip 9 Hours, 30 Minutes 4.5 (643) $288 $279 Stop 13 of 13
Sydney to Cairns in 28 days on one booking. The route is fixed and the bus, beds and headline adventures are sorted. Only your start date is flexible. You travel solo and make friends along the way.
From $4,329 per person
Same coast, 8 trips, from a 7-day taster to the full 33-day coast. Start in Sydney, Cairns, Melbourne, Brisbane or Byron Bay, whenever you're ready.
The 7, 14, 17, 21 and 30-day trips have no fixed start day: pick your date on the trip's calendar.
Sydney to Cairns
Some meals included
$4329 AUD
≈ $155/day
Sydney to Cairns
Some meals included
$4909 AUD
≈ $149/day
Melbourne to Cairns
Some meals included
$4199 AUD
≈ $140/day
Queensland's two icons
Brisbane to Cairns
Some meals included
$2599 AUD
≈ $186/day
Byron Bay to Cairns
Some meals included
$2999 AUD
≈ $176/day
Sydney to Cairns
Some meals included
$2999 AUD
≈ $176/day
Sydney to Cairns
Some meals included
$3099 AUD
≈ $148/day
Done-for-you East Coast trips
Tell us your dates, budget and must-dos. We'll build your whole Sydney-to-Cairns trip, from K'gari and Whitsundays sailing to the reef, with one all-in quote.
No booking fees · No obligation · We usually reply within a few hours.
There are two ways most people do the East Coast, and both have a catch.
Book a full group tour and everything's sorted, but you're living on the tour's clock. Up at six, back on the bus, a guide counting heads — every single day on someone else's schedule.
Go it alone and you've got total freedom, plus forty browser tabs, three weeks of planning, and the nagging feeling you've booked the wrong boat. And a lot of check-ins where you don't know a soul.
Travel Mates sits in the middle.
We book the route, the beds and the big adventures. You get a guide and other backpackers on the big days that need one, like the K'gari 4WD, the Whitsundays sail and the reef, and every other day you travel solo and unguided, each stop yours to explore. It all runs to one pre-booked itinerary, so nothing clashes and nothing sells out mid-trip. The admin's done. You just travel.
Every East Coast icon. 33 days. One booking.
The flagship packs in every big one: three days 4WDing K'gari, two nights on a racing maxi yacht in the Whitsundays, a day on the outer reef, a beachfront surf camp and a canoe through the Noosa Everglades, plus your bus pass and all 30 nights of beds. Piecing that together yourself takes a fortnight and six tabs. We've already done that bit.
See the 33-day flagship →Guides run the headline adventures, each with other backpackers on it. The days between aren't guided: you travel solo, no group to keep pace with, each stop yours to explore your own way.
Everything's bundled in. No booking fees, no checkout ambush. If your travel month carries a peak price, you see it before you pay a cent.
Your trip is open-dated and valid for 12 months. There's no departure to sprint for. Land, get over the jet lag, go when you're ready.
You travel solo, but you won't be the only one. Every stop on this route is full of backpackers travelling solo on the same run, doing the same activities and keen to make friends, and the big days (three days in a 4WD convoy, two nights on a boat) turn strangers into mates fast.
Bus pass, beds and every big adventure, booked by us, and you can message us any time. You carry a plan, not a spreadsheet.
You don't pay for any part we can't confirm, cancellations follow each operator's terms, and every operator is licensed.
From a 7-day K'gari + Whitsundays combo to the full 33-day coast. Not sure? Tell us your time and budget and we'll tell you which one fits.
One payment locks it in for 12 months. Start from Sydney, Cairns, Melbourne, Brisbane or Byron Bay, whenever suits.
We send your full itinerary pack with every reservation confirmed, plus a direct WhatsApp line to us for the whole trip.
Show up for the guided big days, do what you like with the rest. Want to add a skydive halfway up the coast? We're one message away.
Sydney or Melbourne to Cairns, in the order you'll actually travel it. Tap any stop to see what's waiting there.
The finish · Great Barrier Reef
Journey's end and the biggest tick of the lot: a full day out on the outer Great Barrier Reef. Plus the Esplanade lagoon, the night markets and day trips into the Daintree.
Tap a stop on the map to see what's there. Every bundle runs this coast, the longer ones just add more of it, and the 30-day trips start in Melbourne.
Same coast, different lengths. Here's exactly where the extra days go.
| 28-day Sydney → Cairns from $4329 AUD | Flagship 33-day Sydney → Cairns from $4909 AUD | 30-day Melbourne → Cairns from $4199 AUD | 14-day Brisbane → Cairns from $2599 AUD | 17-day from Byron Bay Byron Bay → Cairns from $2999 AUD | 17-day from Sydney Sydney → Cairns from $2999 AUD | 21-day Sydney → Cairns from $3099 AUD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 28 days | 33 days | 30 days | 14 days | 17 days | 17 days | 21 days |
| Route | Sydney → Cairns | Sydney → Cairns | Melbourne → Cairns | Brisbane → Cairns | Byron Bay → Cairns | Sydney → Cairns | Sydney → Cairns |
| Start from | Sydney · Cairns | Sydney · Cairns | Melbourne | Brisbane · Cairns | Byron Bay · Cairns | Sydney · Cairns | Sydney · Cairns |
| Spot X surf camp (3 days, meals included) | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Byron surf lesson | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Noosa Everglades canoe | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| K'gari 4WD safari | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Whitsundays sail | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Great Barrier Reef day | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Magnetic Island koalas | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Atherton Tablelands | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mission Beach skydive | add-on | add-on | add-on | add-on | add-on | add-on | add-on |
| Best for | A month with slack for the places you fall for | The lot, done properly | 30 days on the coast | 14 days on the coast | Skip the Sydney leg: Byron, the Goldie and every icon north | The big four plus the Everglades and the koalas | The full list without the rush, in three weeks |
| View trip | View trip | View trip | View trip | View trip | View trip | View trip |
Prices are per person and valid for 12 months from booking. The Mission Beach skydive is an optional add-on on every bundle.
The essentials come with every bundle, so you turn up with a plan, not a to-do list. The longer trips add more coast and more adventures.
The comparison table above shows exactly which trip has which.
You get a guide and other backpackers on each headline adventure, like the K'gari 4WD, the Whitsundays sail and the reef (longer trips add more guided days, such as surf camp and the Noosa Everglades). On every other day you travel solo and unguided, exploring each stop on the set schedule. The route, beds and dates are set and pre-booked for you, so nothing clashes and there's nothing to plan. It's the middle ground between a lock-step group tour and planning everything solo.
18-plus backpackers and gap-year travellers who want the icons sorted and to make friends along the way, without being marched around on a rigid schedule. Solo travellers are the majority: you travel solo, and at every stop you meet other solo backpackers doing the same route and the same activities.
Yes. You book the trip and your pass is valid for 12 months, so you can lock your travel dates whenever you want. Peak periods (Christmas/New Year, January, July) may carry a seasonal price and are subject to availability, always confirmed with you before you pay.
Sociable backpacker hostels along the route (multi-share by default, twin/private on request), plus beach camping on the K'gari 4WD safari and nights aboard the boat in the Whitsundays. All pre-booked for you.
On the tag-along safari, yes. You can drive the 4WD in convoy with a guide leading (full licence, 21+, 2+ years' experience), or ride along as navigator. No licence, no worries.
Roughly $50–70 a day covers meals off the guided days, drinks and the odd extra. Flights are on top, and travel insurance is strongly recommended.
Absolutely. Skydives, scenic flights over Heart Reef, extra reef dives, the Daintree, white-water rafting and more. After you book, we'll offer them for your free days, or just message us on the road.
Date changes are free until 3 months before your start. Cancellations and refunds follow each operator's terms (including if an operator cancels), and we chase any refund for you.
Guides for the big days, unguided time to explore the rest, and mates made along the way. From $1,499 AUD, with the bus, the beds and the big adventures included.
