Best value Australia
Highlights of Australia
Melbourne, Sydney, Uluru, Kakadu and the Great Barrier Reef in 22 fully-escorted days.
- ✈️ 22 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 18 nights in 4-star hotels
The UK's number one Australian travel site
The Australia trip you've been putting off for twenty years
Escorted grand tours, multi-centre holidays and private tours with your own driver — 20 itineraries compared, from £2,671 per person. Full day-by-day plans, route maps and honest pricing.
20itineraries compared
£2,671lowest price
9–53days
3ways to travel
Photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
- ATOL & ABTA protected packages
- Internal flights & transfers arranged
- Escorted, multi-centre or private
- Departures into 2028
- Low deposits · pay in instalments
Start here
One country, ten thousand miles away. Get the trip right.
Australia is not a long weekend. It's a 24-hour flight, five time zones and a continent the size of Europe — which is why almost nobody does it entirely independently. The question is really how much you want organised for you.
5 tours
Escorted grand tours
A group, a Holiday Director and one price covering everything. Longest itineraries on the site — 22 to 53 days. From £8,049.
8 holidays
Multi-centre holidays
Flights, hotels and the big day tours booked together — but no group, no coach and plenty of free days. From £3,339.
7 tours
Private tours
Your own vehicle and driver, an itinerary you can change before you go. Land only, so you book the flights. From £2,671.
5 holidays · operated by Travelsphere
Escorted grand tours of Australia
Everything arranged, a Travelsphere Holiday Director with you from start to finish, and one price covering return UK flights, every internal flight, hotels, transfers and the headline experiences. If you want to switch your brain off for seven weeks, this is how.
Australia New Zealand
Highlights of Australia with New Zealand
Australia's greatest hits plus a complete New Zealand circuit — the classic two-country trip.
- ✈️ 40 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 36 nights in 3 & 4-star hotels
Australia New Zealand
The Wonders of Australia with New Zealand
Coast to coast across Australia, then all the way down New Zealand — 48 days, one seamless itinerary.
- ✈️ 48 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 45 nights in 3 & 4-star hotels
Australia New Zealand Cook Islands
Highlights of Australia with New Zealand & Cook Islands
Australia's icons, the whole of New Zealand and four nights in Rarotonga — in 45 days.
- ✈️ 45 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 41 nights in 3 & 4-star hotels
Most complete Australia New Zealand Cook Islands
The Wonders of Australia with New Zealand & Cook Islands
Fifty-three days. Three countries. One trip you will talk about for the rest of your life.
- ✈️ 53 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 45 nights in 3 & 4-star hotels
Before you fly
The bits nobody budgets for
On a four-week trip to the other side of the world, airport parking, a pre-flight hotel, a lounge and — above all — the right travel insurance make a real difference to both the cost and the start of the holiday.
Airport parking
On a four-week trip, airport parking is one of the biggest add-on costs of the whole holiday — and one of the few that gets cheaper the earlier you book.
Airport hotels
Long-haul to Australia usually means an early or awkward departure. A night at the terminal beforehand turns a 3am start into a lie-in.
Airport lounges
Before a 20-hour flight, three hours of quiet, free food and a proper seat is worth considerably more than it costs.
Travel insurance
Non-negotiable on a trip this long and this far away. Check the medical cover limits and that your full trip length and any activities are included.
eSIM data — £2.50 off
Skip the roaming charges. An Airalo eSIM gives you data the moment you land, and our referral link takes £2.50 off your first one.
Parking, hotels, lounges and insurance are booked through Holiday Extras; eSIMs through Airalo, using our referral link (you get £2.50 off, we get credit too). Both are commercial links — see our disclosure.
8 holidays · operated by Travelodeal
Multi-centre holidays & flight-and-hotel packages
Two to five destinations, all the flights and transfers arranged, and the headline day tours already booked — but no group to keep up with. Currently discounted by 25–34% against brochure prices.
Save 28% Australia
Coastline Dreams: Perth, Rottnest Island & Margaret River
Western Australia at its best: quokkas on Rottnest, caves and cellar doors in Margaret River, heritage Fremantle.
- ✈️ 11 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 10 nights
Save 25% Australia
Sydney to Melbourne via Alice Springs
Nine days, two cities and the full Uluru and Kings Canyon guided adventure — flying from Manchester.
- ✈️ 9 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 8 nights
Best value Save 34% Australia
Australia Experience: Sydney, Brisbane, Whitsundays & Cairns
Four centres up the east coast with three flights included — and a lead-in price of £3,499.
- ✈️ 15 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 14 nights
Best value Save 32% Australia
Australia Adventure: Sydney to Melbourne via Uluru
Four nights in Sydney, a guided Outback adventure through Kings Canyon and Uluru, then four nights in Melbourne.
- ✈️ 13 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 12 nights
Save 27% Australia
Australia Bucket List Adventure
Reef, rock, harbour and the Great Ocean Road — with a headline day tour included in every single centre.
- ✈️ 15 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 14 nights
Save 31% Singapore Australia
Singapore, Cairns, Port Douglas, Hamilton Island & Brisbane
Break the journey in Singapore, then work your way down the Queensland coast — reef, rainforest and the Whitsundays.
- ✈️ 16 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 15 nights
Save 28% Australia New Zealand
South Island Exploration: Through Fiords & Wilderness
Fox Glacier, Milford Sound, the Catlins and two nights on Stewart Island — plus Sydney at either end.
- ✈️ 16 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 15 nights
Most complete Save 34% Australia
Ultimate East Coast Australia Adventure & Explorer Journey
Sydney to Cairns overland — 21 days of rainforest, reef, First Nations culture and places the coaches never stop.
- ✈️ 21 days · UK return flights included
- 🏨 20 nights
7 holidays · operated by Trip.com
Private tours with your own driver
Your group, your vehicle, your driver, and a travel planner who will rework the itinerary before you travel. These are land-only packages — you book your own international flights, which often works out cheaper if you have airline points or a preferred carrier.
Australia
Private Tour: Australia's Top Six — 11 Days
Two cities, no internal flights beyond one hop, and a deliberately gentle pace.
- ✈️ 11 days · Land only — flights not included
- 🏨 10 nights
Best value Australia
Private Tour: Australia Three-City Classic — 12 Days
Twelve days, three cities, private driver throughout — Opera House, Blue Mountains, Great Barrier Reef and the Great Ocean Road.
- ✈️ 12 days · Land only — flights not included
- 🏨 10 nights
Australia
Private Tour: Australia All-in-One — 11 Days
Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne in eleven days — and a planner who will rearrange any of it before you go.
- ✈️ 11 days · Land only — flights not included
- 🏨 10 nights
Australia
Private Tour: Cairns, Melbourne & Sydney — 11 Days
Eleven days covering every east-coast classic — reef cruise, Opera House, Blue Mountains and the Twelve Apostles.
- ✈️ 11 days · Land only — flights not included
- 🏨 10 nights
Most complete Australia
Private Tour: Sydney, Cairns & Melbourne — 14 Days
Fourteen days with a private vehicle and driver — Blue Mountains, the Great Barrier Reef, Phillip Island penguins and the Great Ocean Road.
- ✈️ 14 days · Land only — flights not included
- 🏨 13 nights
Australia
Private Tour: Melbourne, Gold Coast, Sydney & Hamilton Island
Four cities and four nights in the Whitsundays — Heart Reef, Whitehaven Beach and the Great Ocean Road.
- ✈️ 14 days · Land only — flights not included
- 🏨 13 nights
Australia New Zealand
Private Tour: Australia & New Zealand South Island — 16 Days
Australia's east coast plus a full South Island run — Kaikoura whales, Tekapo stargazing, a Mount Cook helicopter flight and Milford Sound.
- ✈️ 16 days · Land only — flights not included
- 🏨 15 nights
Reviews & verdicts
We've reviewed the pick of them
In-depth verdicts with scores, honest pros and cons, and a straight answer on who each trip suits.
Escorted tour
The Wonders of Australia with New Zealand & Cook Islands: is a 53-day tour really worth £17,929?
It's the most expensive holiday we list by some distance — and, per day, one of the best value. Here's our full verdict on Travelsphere's grand slam.
Multi-centre holiday
Ultimate East Coast Explorer review: the most interesting Australia itinerary we've read
Twenty-one days overland from Sydney to Cairns, with four separate First Nations experiences and a dozen places the big coach tours have never heard of.
Escorted tour
Highlights of Australia review: the 22-day tour that gets the balance right
Three weeks, £8,049, all 4-star hotels and every Australian icon worth crossing the world for. We think this is the smartest starting point on the market.
Guides & planning
Read these before you book
What it really costs, when to go, and how to see the headline sights properly.
Guide
How much does a trip to Australia really cost?
Flights, tours, food, excursions and the costs nobody warns you about — a realistic budget for 2027 and 2028, from £4,500 to £22,000.
Guide
Uluru: what to know before you go
Sunrise or sunset, why you can no longer climb it, how long you actually need, and which tours do it properly.
Guide
The Great Barrier Reef: how to see it properly
Cairns, Port Douglas or the Whitsundays? Inner reef or outer? When to go, whether you need to dive — and how to avoid the disappointing day trip.
Side by side
All 20 holidays compared
Sorted by price. Everything except the private tours includes return UK flights.
“We've got two weeks”
Look at the multi-centre holidays — 9 to 16 days, flights included, from £3,339.
“We're doing this once, properly”
Take Wonders of Australia, NZ & Cook Islands — 53 days across Australia, New Zealand and the Cook Islands.
“We don't want a coach party”
Look at the private tours — your own driver and vehicle, from £2,671 land only.
Why book a tour at all
What you actually get for the money
Every internal flight booked
Australia is enormous. These itineraries include anywhere from two to eight internal flights — booked, ticketed and transferred.
Someone else does the logistics
A Holiday Director, a private driver or a planner on the end of an email. The thousand small problems never reach you.
The right place at the right hour
Uluru at sunset and sunrise. Yellow Water at golden hour. The reef before the day boats. Timing is what you're paying for.
The headline experiences included
Reef cruises, Milford Sound, the TranzAlpine, Kings Canyon, the Great Ocean Road — in the price, not upsold at the door.
ABTA & ATOL protection
On the flight-inclusive packages your money and your flights are financially protected — which matters on a five-figure holiday.
Free time built in
None of these are route marches. Every itinerary has leisure days in the places you'll want them.
Know before you go
When to travel
Australia's seasons run opposite to ours, so a British winter escape lands in the Australian summer. But the country is so large that “best time” depends entirely on where you're going.
October to April is peak season in the south — Sydney, Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road are warm and long-evening'd. May to September is the dry season in the Top End, when Kakadu, Katherine and Darwin are at their best and every road is open.
| Region | Best months | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney & Melbourne | Oct–Apr | Warm, long evenings, beach weather |
| Red Centre (Uluru) | Apr–Oct | Cooler days, cold clear nights |
| Top End (Kakadu, Darwin) | May–Sep | Dry season — all roads and cruises open |
| Great Barrier Reef | Jun–Oct | Calm seas, best visibility, no stingers |
| Western Australia | Sep–Nov | Wildflowers, warm sea, before the heat |
| New Zealand | Nov–Apr | Long alpine days, Milford at its best |
Common questions
Booking an Australia holiday
When can I travel, and how far ahead should I book?
Departures run from October 2026 through to September 2028. Long-haul escorted tours of this length sell out early — the best-value departure dates and preferred room types typically go 9–12 months ahead, so it pays to secure your place sooner rather than later.
Which UK airport can I fly from?
Return flights are included from your chosen UK airport. Regional departures are available on most dates, sometimes for a small supplement — you'll see the options for your date when you check availability.
Is this a group tour? How big is the group?
Yes — this is a fully escorted small-group tour with a Travelsphere Holiday Director travelling with you throughout. They handle the logistics, the check-ins and the local know-how, so your job is simply to enjoy it. Groups are typically modest in size and overwhelmingly British.
Do I need a visa?
British passport holders need an Australian ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) and an NZeTA for New Zealand where applicable — both are straightforward online applications. Your passport should have at least six months' validity remaining. Always check the latest FCDO and official government guidance before you travel.
How much walking is involved?
A moderate amount. You should be comfortable on your feet for sightseeing, uneven ground at Uluru and Kakadu, and getting on and off coaches and boats. There is plenty of free time built in to rest, and most active elements are optional.
Are single travellers welcome?
Very. Escorted touring is one of the friendliest ways to travel solo, and single rooms are available on request — check current availability and any supplement when you view the departure dates.
Twenty years of “one day”. Let's pick a date.
Departures run from late 2026 into 2028 and the best dates go first. Comparing them costs nothing and takes about ten minutes.
Compare all 20 holidays →