16-Nights Australia Uncovered from $17,320

Swain Destinations

OFFER ID 1427866

Uncover Australia's heritage, from Melbourne's laneways to Sydney Harbour, with the Red Centre and the Great Barrier Reef in between. Aboriginal guides show you their Country firsthand: the Birrarung that runs through Melbourne, the rock art at the base of Uluru, the rainforest and tidal flats of Kuku Yalanji Country north of Cairns. Between them, you ride The Ghan from Adelaide into the Outback, walk among sea lions on Kangaroo Island, sail to the outer reef, and sit down to dinner in the desert as 50,000 lights come up around you at Uluru.

Your Itinerary Includes:

3 nights Melbourne
Aboriginal Melbourne: Past and Present
Lanes and Arcades Walking Tour
3 nights Adelaide
Kangaroo Island - One Day Adventure
Classic Adelaide - Culture and Heritage
1 night aboard The Ghan train
1 night Alice Springs
Private transfer from Alice Springs to Uluru
2 nights at Uluru
SEIT Uluru and Sunset Tour
SEIT Kata Tjuta Sunrise Tour
A Night at Field of Light experience
3 nights Port Douglas
Ngana Julaymba Dungay Guided Tour
Sailaway - Outer Reef Mackay Cay
3 nights Sydney
Totally Sydney - Bondi to Manly
Sydney Opera House Tour and Dinner
Meals: 16 breakfasts, 6 lunches 3 dinners

16 nights from $17,320 per person

Itinerary

Click here for Full Itinerary Details

Itinerary Details

Day 1 Welcome to Melbourne
Welcome to Australia's cultural capital, Melbourne. Upon arrival, you'll be transferred to the elegant Park Hyatt Melbourne, your home for the next three nights. Here, grand Victorian architecture stands alongside bold contemporary design, hidden laneways lead to acclaimed cafés and galleries, and leafy parks soften the edges of this vibrant city.

Park Hyatt Melbourne

Day 2 Aboriginal Melbourne: Past and Present
Before it was the Yarra, the river was the Birrarung, a source of food for the clans of the Kulin Nation. With an Aboriginal host, you walk its banks and follow its course. Your host points out where the Melbourne Cricket Ground now stands, once a Kulin gathering place, and a nearby scar tree that still carries the mark where bark was cut for a canoe or shelter.

Later, the walk moves to Fitzroy. Along Gertrude Street, sites important to the Aboriginal community sit beside murals painted by and for it, and the conversation turns to Aboriginal life in Melbourne today.

Park Hyatt Melbourne
Meals: B, L

Day 3 Lanes & Arcades Walking Tour
Melbourne keeps many of its favorite spots off the main streets. On a morning walk with a local guide, duck through Victorian-era arcades and down narrow lanes lined with street art, stopping at independent designers, specialty shops, and cafés that are easy to miss without someone who knows where to turn. Your guide fills in the history and architecture as you go.

By lunch, the city's layout makes sense, and you have a short list of places to return to this afternoon.

Park Hyatt Melbourne
Meals: B, L

Day 4 Fly from Melbourne to Adelaide
Adelaide is small enough to walk across in an afternoon. Colonel William Light laid out the city center in 1837 as a grid ringed entirely by parkland, and the plan still holds: a few blocks in any direction, the streets give way to lawns and gum trees. The afternoon is free to settle in.

Mayfair Hotel
Meals: B

Day 5 Kangaroo Island One-Day Adventure
Kangaroo Island is a haven for native wildlife, rugged coastlines and quiet beaches. At Emu Bay, watch for kangaroos near the shoreline before venturing inland to Duck Lagoon, where koalas rest in eucalyptus trees and native birds gather around the wetlands. A visit to a historic eucalyptus distillery offers a glimpse into the island's past.

At Seal Bay Conservation Park, walk with your guide among a colony of Australian sea lions. Watch pups playing in the surf, mothers nursing their young and large bulls resting on the sand. Explore the rugged coastline and secluded bays of the island's southeast before returning to Adelaide.

Mayfair Hotel
Meals: B, L

Day 6 Classic Adelaide: Culture and Heritage
Discover Adelaide's cultural heart, where grand government buildings, historic universities and tree-lined boulevards reflect the city's heritage. Admire Rodin sculptures at the Art Gallery of South Australia, explore the South Australian Museum and its desert garden, and see skilled conservators restoring paintings, books and textiles at Artlab. Wander through charming laneways and hidden corners known to locals, stopping to sample handcrafted chocolates at Haigh's and visit South Australia's own Jurlique skincare boutique. Pass the historic Adelaide Club and Queen Adelaide Club, gaining insight into the city's social history. Perhaps finish with lunch at the Art Gallery.

Mayfair Hotel
Meals: B

Day 7 The Ghan: Adelaide to the Outback
Step aboard the legendary Ghan. North of Adelaide, wheat country thins into mallee scrub, and the Flinders Ranges hold the eastern horizon before falling away behind the train. The Ghan takes its name from the cameleers, many from Afghanistan, who carried supplies through this country in the 1800s, long before the railway. Your private Platinum cabin is your base for the night, while gourmet regional cuisine and South Australian wines are served on board.

The Ghan (Platinum Cabin)
Meals: B, D

Day 8 Arrival in Alice Springs
The train stops at Marla, in the far north of South Australia, so you can step off with a coffee and watch the sun come up over the Outback. Back aboard, brunch is served in the dining car as the train continues north into the Northern Territory.

Alice Springs is Mparntwe to the Arrernte people, whose Country takes in the town and the MacDonnell Ranges around it. Your afternoon is open to visit local landmarks or venture further with a helicopter flight over the MacDonnell Ranges or camel ride across the ochre country outside town.

Crowne Plaza Alice Springs Lasseters
Meals: B

Day 9 Uluru at Sunset
Uluru rises dramatically from the red desert landscape, its immense scale becoming even more impressive as you approach. Walk with your guide along the base, visiting ancient rock art sites and the peaceful Mutitjulu Waterhole. Learn about the cultural and spiritual significance of Uluru to the Anangu people, the Traditional Owners of this land, as you explore the Mala Walk and hear stories passed down through generations.

As the sun begins to set, watch the changing colors of Uluru from the Talinguru Nyakunytjaku viewing area, with Kata Tjuta in the distance and a glass of sparkling wine in hand.

Sails In The Desert
Meals: B

Day 10 Kata Tjuta at Sunrise and A Night at Field of Light
Kata Tjuta means “many heads,” and at sunrise its 36 domes change color one after another. After a picnic breakfast, walk with your guide into Walpa Gorge between sheer conglomerate walls. Walpa means wind, and you hear why as it moves through the gap above you.

In the evening, you're taken to a dune with views of Uluru for sunset, canapés, and sparkling wine, accompanied by a didgeridoo. As darkness falls, 50,000 glass spheres of Bruce Munro's Field of Light sparkle across the desert. Dinner is three courses flavored with native ingredients, followed by a star talk on the southern sky. Afterward, you walk the paths through the installation, with a last look from the dune-top viewing area.

Sails In The Desert
Meals: B, D

Day 11 From the Red Centre to the Coral Sea
Leaving the red ochre sand of the Outback behind, by afternoon you're on the Coral Sea coast north of Cairns, where Thala Beach Nature Reserve occupies a private headland of rainforest between Cairns and Port Douglas. The rest of the day is unscheduled.

Thala Beach Nature Reserve
Meals: B

Day 12 Kuku Yalanji Country
The Kuku Yalanji have lived between the rainforest and the reef for countless generations, and their relationship with this land continues. With a Kuku Yalanji guide, you walk through rainforest and along the coastal flats, learning which plants are eaten and which are used as medicine, and tasting bush food along the way. On the tidal flats, you gather shellfish, try your hand at spear throwing, and, with luck, catch a mud crab. The day ends with a swim in a freshwater stream.

Thala Beach Nature Reserve
Meals: B, L

Day 13 Sailing to the Outer Great Barrier Reef
The Daintree's mountains follow you up the coast as the yacht sails out of Port Douglas toward the coral cays of Mackay Cay or Undine Reef. At the reef, a marine biologist leads a guided snorkel over gardens of giant clams and coral, with a chance of seeing turtles. If you'd rather stay dry, a glass-bottom boat goes over the same reef. Between swims, there's time to walk the white sand of the cay.

Thala Beach Nature Reserve
Meals: B, L

Day 14 Fly from Cairns to Sydney
Takeoff to Sydney and continue on the next stage of your adventure. Upon arrival, the day is yours to settle in and explore. Circular Quay, the ferries, and the Opera House are a short walk downhill from Shangri-La Sydney, which stands above The Rocks.

Shangri-La, Sydney
Meals: B

Day 15 Sydney from Bondi to Manly
See both sides of the Sydney Harbour in a single day. The morning starts in The Rocks, where the colony began, continues along Macquarie Street past Parliament House, St Mary's Cathedral, and Hyde Park Barracks, and pauses in the Royal Botanic Garden for a view across to the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Sulphur-crested cockatoos and lorikeets are common here.

From there, you wind through the iron-lace terraces of Paddington and Woollahra, stop for coffee at a neighborhood café, and walk the cliff path from Tamarama to Bondi Beach. After crossing the Harbour Bridge to Middle Head and Mosman for lunch, you visit Manly Beach, where surfing first took hold in Australia, and North Head.

Shangri-La, Sydney
Meals: B, L

Day 16 An Evening at the Sydney Opera House
The day is yours until evening, when you take a guided tour of the Sydney Opera House. Jørn Utzon's building opened in 1973 on Bennelong Point, named for Woollarawarre Bennelong, a Wangal man who served as an intermediary between the Eora peoples and the first British colonists. Afterward, enjoy a two-course dinner at Bennelong, the restaurant beneath the building's sails, with Australian wine pairings.

Shangri-La, Sydney
Meals: B, D

Day 17 Farewell to Sydney
If your flight time allows, take one more walk down to Circular Quay before your private transfer to Sydney Airport.

Meals: B

Featured Destinations

Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is a maze of hidden laneways, opulent bars, exclusive restaurants and off-the-beaten-track boutiques. Here you can soak up culture, hit the sporting grounds, taste the dynamic food and wine scene, dance til dawn or wander the parks and leafy boulevards. Visit Federation Square, the city's landmark cultural space, and enjoy a sunset beer on the St Kilda promenade. Shop till you drop on funky Brunswick Street or upmarket Chapel Street. Wander Southbank's cafes, bistros and bars and get a world tour of cuisines in Carlton, Richmond and Fitzroy. Take an Aboriginal Heritage Walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens and cheer with a capacity crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Five Must-Have Melbourne Experiences:

1. Shop till you drop

Bag a bargain at the Rose Street Artist's Market and browse the funky boutiques on Brunswick Street. Buy designer labels such as Akira Isogawa and Zimmerman on Chapel Street in Prahran or in the historic Melbourne General Post Office, which covers an entire city block. For everything from fashion to furnishings at fantastic value, visit Bridge Road in Richmond. Melbourne is a shopper's haven, offering eclectic boutiques, high-end fashion, funky homeware stores and European style piazzas in the city's arcades and hidden laneways.

2. Bar hop and dance till dawn

Sip a cocktail in a converted sea container in Chinatown, enjoy a sunset beer in a St Kilda pub or listen to cabaret in lush retro surroundings in jazz bars in the city. Linger over exquisite tapas and exotic wine in a Little Collins Street bar and mingle in a pink parlour with fake grass in Bourke Street. You can party from dusk in the bars of Brunswick Street. Or dance till dawn in bars in the city's lantern-lit laneways, secret apart from the spill of coloured light under heavy brass doors.

3. Get into the gourmet goodness

Let the aroma of good coffee waft over you in Melbourne's gothic European laneways. The city is famous for its coffee and old-world café culture but there's so much more to explore. Once you've downed a 'short black' or taken an afternoon aperitif, try tea in a nineteenth-century hotel or salivate over your silver spoon in acclaimed restaurants like Nobu, Botanical and Becco. Pick up fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood at the Queen Victoria Market on a Saturday, known for its bustling crowds and buskers. Try out the restaurants, cafes, bistros and bars in Southbank or Federation Square. Make your way around Melbourne's multicultural cosmos of cuisines: Carlton for Italian classics, Richmond for budget-friendly Vietnamese and Fitzroy for Spanish tapas.

4. Fill up on culture

See a performance by the Australian Ballet, which is based here in Australia's cultural capital. Or enjoy a dazzling musical at the Princess Theatre. Browse the Southern Hemisphere's best collection of international art at the National Gallery of Victoria. Or visit the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Federation Square, a landmark cultural 'space' for Melbournians. Challenge yourself with the creative collections in the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Southbank. To learn more about Melbourne's Aboriginal cultural heritage, see contemporary and dreamtime art or take an Aboriginal Heritage Walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens.

5. Go sports mad

Cheer for an Australian Rules Football game with a capacity crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground over winter. Go cricket mad in summer, when the city hosts the Ashes and one day internationals. Or join the huge crowds watching the Australian Tennis Open at Melbourne Park. Rev heads head to Melbourne in March for the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Albert Park. And whether you are a racing fan or just a casual punter, you won't want to miss the Melbourne Cup - the world's richest horse race on the first Tuesday in November.

Adelaide

Adelaide

This elegant city is known for its colonial stone architecture, expansive parklands, lively festivals and incredible sense of space. Explore the museums and libraries of North Terrace, dine on dedicated 'eat streets' or picnic in gardens that sprawl over almost half the city. Go bike riding in Botanic Park or row past rose gardens in Rymill Park. Swim with dolphins or learn to sail in Glenelg or fish from the jetty in Henley. Just beyond the city centre you'll find the picturesque Adelaide Hills and the world-class wineries of the Barossa Valley.

Five ways to immerse yourself in Adelaide:

1. Hit the eat streets

Sample everything from Asian fusion to Argentine cuisine in the exotic, bustling foodhalls of Chinatown. Embrace the alfresco ambience of Rundle Street in Adelaide's East End or live it up in one of the city's many elegant wine bars and fashionable restaurants. Enjoy a beach sunset with your meal in the coastal suburbs of Glenelg and Henley Beach or wind down with a wine at the National Wine Centre. If you're a fresh food addict, Adelaide Central Markets offer premium produce from growers across the state.

2. Feel green and serene in Adelaide's parks

Hire paddleboats and bikes in Elder Park or row past formal rose gardens in Rymill Park. Picnic in the local's beloved Botanic Park or cycle from the hills to the coast in River Torrens Linear Park. For serious tranquility, head to the classic Japanese oasis of Adelaide-Himjei Garden. Adelaide's 29 parks take up almost half of the city, and come with walking trails, quiet spaces and sporting fields for everything from football to archery.

3. Head for the coast

Swim with dolphins or learn to sail in Glenelg, which bustles with sidewalk cafes, alfresco dining and summer entertainment. In the beach suburb of Henley, you can fish from the jetty or go on a culinary world tour at the ethnic food stores and eateries. Explore the museums, markets and historic harbour of Port Adelaide, the city's maritime heart. Or see heritage buildings and colourful summer sideshows in family-friendly Semaphore. Further along the spectacular Le Fevre Peninsula, you can swim on protected beaches and walk one of the state's few heritage-listed jetties at Largs Bay.

4. Soak up Aboriginal and European heritage

Do a cultural tour of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens with traditional custodians the Kaurna people. You'll learn how native plants have been used for sustenance, shelter, ceremonies and medicines for thousands of years. Browse the world's largest collection of Aboriginal antiquities at the Aboriginal Cultures Gallery at the South Australian Museum and visit Tandanya, the National Aboriginal Cultural Institute. Adelaide also has a proud European heritage for you to explore -in the museums and libraries of North Terrace, in Adelaide Town Hall and in Port Adelaide, the state's first declared heritage area.

5. Escape to the hills

Drive to the Adelaide Hills, where the picturesque farmlands and charming villages have inspired many generations of artists. Stay in Bavarian-inspired chalets and browse the bakeries, craft shops and galleries of Hahndorf, Australia's oldest surviving German village. Visit The Cedars, once the gracious old home and studio of famous landscape artists Sir Hans Heysen. Then hit the markets of Lobethal, a fairytale town which celebrates Christmas with metres and metres of colourful lights.

Alice Springs

Ayers Rock

Cairns

Sydney

Sydney

Soak up Sydney’s gorgeous harbour, seductive outdoor lifestyle and great natural beauty. Kayak under the Sydney Harbour Bridge or wave at the Opera House as you ride a ferry across the harbour to Manly. Learn to surf at Bondi Beach or swim in the calm waters of Coogee. Lose yourself in the cobblestone cul-de-sacs of The Rocks or in the markets, boutiques, cafes and pubs of Paddington. As well as a world-famous harbour and more than 70 sparkling beaches, Sydney offers fabulous food, festivals and 24-7 fun.

Five Sydney Experiences Not to Miss:

1. Explore the historic Rocks

Discover Sydney’s colorful convict history in the harbourside quarter where it all began. Just five minutes from Circular Quay, you can hear stories of hangings and hauntings on a ghost tour, wander the weekend markets or climb the span of the Harbour Bridge. In amongst the maze of sandstone lanes and courtyards, you’ll find historic workman’s cottages and elegant terraces, art galleries, hotels with harbour views and Sydney’s oldest pubs. See people spill out of them onto a party on the cobblestone streets when The Rocks celebrates Australia Day on January 26th, Anzac Day on April 25th and New Years Eve.

2. Hit the world-famous harbour

Sail past the Opera House on a chartered yacht or paddle from Rose Bay in a kayak. Take a scenic cruise from Circular Quay or Darling Harbour, past waterfront mansions, national parks and Shark, Clark, Rodd and Goat islands. Tour historic Fort Denison or learn about the life of Sydney’s first inhabitants, the Gadigal people, on an Aboriginal cultural cruise. Watch the harbour glitter from the green parklands of the Royal Botanic Gardens, which curves around its edge. Or take in the view from a waterfront restaurant in Mosman, on the northern side of the bridge, or Watsons Bay at South Head. Walk from Rose Bay to Vaucluse or Cremorne Point to Mosman Bay, on just some of the 16 spectacular routes hugging the harbour foreshore.

3. Visit Manly on the ferry

Travel across Sydney Harbour on a ferry to Manly, which sits between beaches of ocean surf and tranquil inner harbour. Wander through native bushland on the scenic Manly to Spit Bridge walk, learn to scuba-dive at Cabbage Tree Bay or ride a bike to Fairy Bower. Picnic at Shelly Beach on the ocean and sail or kayak from Manly Wharf round the harbour. Hire a scooter and do a round trip of northern beaches such as Narrabeen and Palm Beach. Explore the shops, bars and cafes along the bustling pine tree-lined Corso and dine at world-class restaurants with water views.

4. Enjoy café culture and top shopping in Paddington

Meander through the Saturday markets, browse fashion boutiques on bustling Oxford Street or discover the antique shops and art galleries in upmarket Woollahra. Visit the 1840s Victoria Barracks Army base, open to the public once a week, and see restored Victorian terraces on wide, leafy streets. Ride or roller-blade in huge Centennial Park, then stop for coffee and lunch on Oxford St or in the mini-village of Five Ways. Catch a movie at an art-house cinema or leaf through a novel at midnight in one of the huge bookstores. Crawl between the lively, historic pubs. They hum even more after a game at the nearby stadium or a race day, when girls and guys arrive in their crumpled trackside finery.

5. Walk from Bondi to Coogee

Take in breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean as you walk the winding, sea-sculpted sandstone cliffs between Bondi and Coogee. Swim in the famous Bondi Icebergs rock pool or just watch the swimmers with a sunset cocktail from the restaurant above. See wild waves in Tamarama, nicknamed Glamarama for the beautiful people who lie on its golden sand. From mid-October to November, the stretch from here to Bondi is transformed into an outdoor gallery for the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition. You can surf, picnic on the grass or stop for a coffee at family-friendly Bronte. Or swim, snorkel or scuba dive in Clovelly and tranquil Gordon’s Bay. See the graves of poets Henry Lawson, Dorothea Mackellar and aviator Lawrence Hargrave in Waverley Cemetery, on the edge of the cliffs. Finish your tour in the scenic, backpacker haven of Coogee.

Vacation Details

Valid Date Ranges

11/01/2026 - 11/30/2026

from $17,320 per person

03/01/2027 - 03/31/2027

from $17,880 per person

* This departure has been designated a guaranteed departure by the operator, meaning that the minimum number of guests has been met, although still subject to weather and other conditions.

Prices Start At

from $17,320 per person

Length

16 Nights

Air City

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Vacation Rating

Deluxe

Remarks

Prices are land only, per person, twin/double share in USD. Single supplement applies. All highlighted savings are reflected in the price. Travel may be limited to certain days of the week. Hotels and tours remain subject to availability. Cancellation penalties and other booking or alteration restrictions may exist. Please note blackout dates may apply to Christmas, New Year and local special event periods. Pricing may increase over Holiday and special event periods and may not be reflected in price grid. Prices indicated remain subject to change without notice. Prices are not guaranteed until full payment is received and processed. Rates may vary by category and departure date; please inquire for details. Itinerary and map subject to change.

All fares are quoted in US Dollars.

OFFER ID

1427866

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