australia city tours

Cairns is the main centre for the tropical north and it’s a modern, cosmopolitan, colourful city. It’s an ideal base to explore the reef, rainforest and Atherton Tablelands.

Cairns is popular with many travellers because it is easily reached by plane and offers a perfect spot to explore the rest of Queensland. It offers some interesting sights, such as a handful of museums and the old wharf area. You think of an activity and there is probably the possibility to arrange it in Cairns. Or at least discuss it over a beer in one of the many bars that make Cairns’ nightlife into what it is known for these days. There are five shopping centres that you can find in the Cairns central business district. The Pier Marketplace has also a variety of shops and markets. From the pier, several boats set off for one of the islands known for their natural beauty. Because face it, Cairns is a nice place but the main reason why you came over here is probably to visit the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics World Heritage Rainforest Area.

Where else in the world can you find a City that boasts 55km of golden sandy beaches, hectares of lush tropical rainforests, beautiful mountain ranges and spectacular waterways? What city offers thrill seekers a number of exciting theme parks, a range of sporting and recreational actvities and world class events including the Australian Indy Car Grand Prix, the Gold Coast Marathon and the National Surf Life Saving Championships?

Gold Coast welcomes in excess of three and a half million tourists every year and is the venue for a number of world class events. Other favourite past times of Gold Coast visitors include dining out at many of the Coast's first class restaurants or cafes; a fun day out at one of several theme parks and tourist attractions; having a flutter at Jupiters Casino or shopping their days away at one of the many comprehensive shopping centres at Broadbeach, Southport and, of course, Surfers Paradise which is a mecca for bargain hunters.

Built along the shores of one of the world's most beautiful and extensive harbours, and stretching to the Pacific Ocean in the east, Sydney has an immense number of stunning vistas from both land and water. Vibrant and cosmopolitan, the city combines great shopping and al fresco dining with historic sights, golden beaches and a balmy Mediterranean climate. The earliest and largest of Australia's cities, its centre is reminiscent of older European cities, having grown gradually from its eighteenth-century origins around Sydney Cove, now called the Rocks. To urban visitors, the relaxed outdoor lifestyle which Sydney enjoys is the antithesis of other world-class cities and one of which Sydney residents are justifiably proud. What better way to end a hectic day than with a relaxing sail on the harbour or an invigorating dip in the ocean.

Melbourne is a city of parks, outdoor cafes and trams gliding along broad tree-lined boulevards, the capital of the state of Victoria and was home to the infamous Ned Kelly and his gang. Sitting on the north side of the strange, brown Yarra River, known locally as the 'upside down' river for its muddy surface, Melbourne is only three kilometres from the sea. The architecture here is an interesting mix of nineteenth-century elegance and up-to-the-minute skyscrapers, built on a virtually flat plain with barely an incline to be seen. Super-ceding its status as Australia's second city, Melbourne has become the country's capital of avant-garde and a cosmopolitan oasis.

The Gold Coast is Australia's theme park capital, with three major parks offering thrills, spills and excitement There's adrenalin sports - from bungy jumping and parasailing to abseiling. And, a number of wildlife parks giving you the chance to meet some colourful Australians such as rainbow lorikeets, kangaroos, wallabies and reptiles.

The tourist capital of Tropical North Queensland, Cairns has it all at its doorstep: the rich blue water of the Coral Sea and teeming tropical plants; the Great Barrier Reef and dense rainforests you can enjoy from the forest floor; the famous Kuranda mountain-climbing train, temperate tablelands and bushclad coral atolls; nightclubs and the classical Aboriginal Tjapukai Dance Theatre. Set on Trinity Inlet, which was named by Captain James Cook on Trinity Sunday, 1770, Cairns has the total tropical package.

With its superb bayside setting, sparkling harbour and fabulous beaches, Sydney is the perfect introduction to the vibrance that is modern Australia. It’s a place of never-ending activity, entertainment and cultural delight. Take time to explore the maze of cobblestone lanes in the historic Rocks district (the site of Sydney’s first European settlement), soak up the buzz of Darling Harbour or simply find yourself a harbourside café and sit back and admire the spectacular views!

Australia's biggest attraction is its natural beauty. The landscape varies from endless sunbaked horizons to dense tropical rainforest to chilly southern beaches. Scattered along the coasts, its cities blend a European enthusiasm for art and food with a laid-back love of sport and the outdoors.

Visitors expecting to see an opera in Sydney one night and meet Crocodile Dundee the next will have to re-think their grasp of geography in this huge country. It is this sheer vastness that gives Australia - and its diverse population - much of its character.