Fourteen days with a private vehicle and driver — Blue Mountains, the Great Barrier Reef, Phillip Island penguins and the Great Ocean Road.
The trip in a nutshell
If the idea of a coach full of strangers makes you wince, this is the alternative. It's a fully private tour: your group, your vehicle, your English-speaking driver, and a travel planner who will adjust the itinerary before you go.
The route covers the three cities everyone wants — Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne — with the two internal flights included, and the headline days built in: an interior tour of the Opera House, Taronga Zoo, the Blue Mountains with the cableway, a Great Barrier Reef cruise, the Skyrail and Kuranda railway with a koala photo and an Aboriginal dance performance, Phillip Island's penguin parade with priority seating, and a full day down the Great Ocean Road to the Twelve Apostles.
Free days are built in too, so you're not on the go for a fortnight.
Land only: this price does not include international flights. You book your own flights to Sydney and home again — which many people prefer, especially with airline points or a preferred carrier. Everything inside Australia, including the internal flights listed, is covered. You also choose your own hotels on this tour — see our guide to budget-friendly Australian hotels.
Live availability on Trip.com's site · land-only package, so no UK flight protection applies
Our signature calculation
The brochure tells you what this trip costs to book. This is what it costs to take — the price plus every meal the package doesn't cover, plus the flights it leaves out, per person.
This package leaves more out than most — the headline price is a long way from what you'll spend.
Meals priced at mid-range Australian rates: breakfast £14, lunch £20, dinner £38. How we calculate it · See every trip ranked
vs £220/day on the brochure · +71%
The moments you'll remember
Not just the photograph from outside — a guided tour beneath the sails.
A full day of the city's best family attractions, driven door to door.
The Three Sisters, the Scenic World cableway and the Jamison Valley.
The Sunlover outer reef cruise as standard, with other vessels available on request.
Cableway over the rainforest, the scenic railway back, an Aboriginal dance performance, a BBQ lunch and a koala photo.
With priority given to the Plus viewing platform — a much better view than the general stand.
Through the Dandenong Ranges, legs dangling out of the window in the traditional manner.
Lorne, Apollo Bay and the Twelve Apostles at your own pace, not the coach's.
Sydney → Cairns and Cairns → Melbourne, taxes included, with private transfers at both ends.
Where you'll go
Every stop below is included, with a private vehicle and driver on touring days and the internal flights booked for you.
3 centres, linked by the internal flights listed — with a private vehicle and driver on touring days.
SydneyCairnsMelbourne
Day by day
Tap any stage to open it. Meals included at each stage are marked in green.
Private airport pick-up and transfer to the hotel you selected at booking.
Opera House interior tour, Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, Hyde Park and The Rocks Discovery Museum, in a private vehicle.
Taronga Zoo across the harbour, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and the Australian Museum.
A full day in the Blue Mountains National Park, including the cableway.
No driver today — the city is yours. Bondi, the ferries, the galleries, or nothing at all.
Airport transfers at both ends and the internal flight. Rest of the day free in tropical north Queensland.
A full day on the outer reef aboard the Sunlover cruise, with snorkelling and a semi-submersible.
The Skyrail cableway up over the canopy, Kuranda village, a koala park with a photo, an Australian BBQ lunch, an Aboriginal dance performance, the Army Duck rainforest tour and the Scenic Railway back down.
LunchInternal flight south, private transfer and an afternoon city tour.
The Dandenong Ranges steam train, then Phillip Island for the penguin parade with priority viewing.
The full run — Great Ocean Road walk, Lorne Beach, Apollo Bay and the Twelve Apostles.
Two days at your own pace. Markets, galleries, coffee, the Yarra Valley if you add a car.
Private transfer to Melbourne Airport for your flight home.
Itinerary summarised from the operator's published programme and correct at the time of writing. Order of stages can vary by departure date — confirm the exact schedule for your date on the operator's site.
Photo tour
Photography from Wikimedia Commons contributors under Creative Commons licences — full credits here.
The detail
An excellent format at a surprisingly reasonable price — your own vehicle and driver, three cities, and the headline attractions all included. The catch is significant and prominently missed: international flights are not in the price.
Before you fly
On a 14-day trip, parking is a serious line item — and a policy that caps single trips at 31 days would leave you uninsured for none of this one.
Not sure this is the one?
Here's how this compares with the other private tours we rate. See all 20 holidays →
| Tour | Days | Australia | New Zealand | Cook Islands | From (pp) | True Cost / day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private 12-day three-city tour | 12 | ✓ | — | — | £2,688 | £394 | View |
| Private 11-day Sydney & Melbourne tour | 11 | ✓ | — | — | £2,722 | £429 | View |
| Private 11-day customisable tour | 11 | ✓ | — | — | £2,870 | £440 | View |
| Private 11-day tour (Cairns start) | 11 | ✓ | — | — | £3,059 | £457 | View |
| Private 14-day East Coast tour You're viewing this | 14 | ✓ | — | — | £3,081 | £376 | View |
| Private 14-day tour with Hamilton Island | 14 | ✓ | — | — | £3,753 | £426 | View |
| Private 16-day Australia & NZ tour | 16 | ✓ | ✓ | — | £5,815 | £509 | View |
Before you book
No. The itineraries state plainly that the driver does not enter attractions with you. This is private transport with admission tickets included, not a private guided tour. For Australia that is usually fine — everything is in English and well signposted.
Yes, within reason, and that is the main appeal. A travel planner works with you before departure to adjust days, swap attractions or change the pace. Changes once you are travelling are harder.
Because it is a land-only package with no UK flights, it falls outside the ATOL scheme. Book your flights separately and protect them separately — check that your travel insurance covers supplier failure.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Live availability, departure dates from your local airport and current offers are on the operator's booking page. Deposits are low, the balance isn't due until much later, and every booking is ABTA and ATOL protected.
Check dates & prices for Private Tour: Sydney, Cairns & Melbourne — 14 Days →Keep looking
Twelve days, three cities, private driver throughout — Opera House, Blue Mountains, Great Barrier Reef and the Great Ocean Road.
Eleven days covering every east-coast classic — reef cruise, Opera House, Blue Mountains and the Twelve Apostles.
Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne in eleven days — and a planner who will rearrange any of it before you go.