Australia, one booking at a time.

A first trip usually comes down to six decisions. Here is what each one costs, how long it takes and which operator earns the day.

★★★★★★★★★★4.5· 3,714 travellers on the busiest reef boat

The reef is 2,300 km long and the boat decides your day. Fast catamaran to the outer edge, an ocean raft off Airlie Beach, or thirty minutes in the air over the ribbon reefs and the Heart. These three carry the most travellers.

• 1Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling and Diving Cruise from Cairnsfrom $190
• 2Great Barrier Reef Cruise by Premium Catamaranfrom $190
• 3Outer Edges of The Great Barrier Reef Scenic Flightfrom $169

The sailing day

Outer reef by catamaran from Cairns

Full day· from $190· two snorkel stops

Ninety minutes out to a pontoon or a mooring on the outer edge, gear and lunch aboard, marine biologist on the mic. The water is clearer past the inner reefs.

The beach day

Whitehaven sand, then Hill Inlet

9–10h· from $150· ocean raft

Silica sand that squeaks and never gets hot, the swirl at Hill Inlet from the lookout, then a snorkel stop on the way back to Airlie Beach.

The view from above

Ribbon reefs and the Heart

30–60 min· from $169· scenic flight

From the air the reef reads as one thing: turquoise shelves, dark coral heads, the Heart itself. Half the operators will fly you out and cruise you back.

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Australia is not a cheap country and the tour prices show it. Every review on the site, bucketed by what it really costs before you commit a day to it.

Under $75

962 tours

Zoo and aquarium tickets, harbour ferries, city walks, a first surf lesson. Half a day, no transfers, and you still see something.

• 1Opera House Guided Tour with Entrance Ticketfrom $33
• 2Sydney Opera House Official Guided Walking Tourfrom $34
• 3Big Bus Hop-On Hop-Off Tour with Optional Cruisefrom $51

$75–$180

1,296 tours

The full-day classics: the Great Ocean Road, the Blue Mountains, wine country with lunch, the standard reef boats out of Cairns and Airlie Beach.

• 1Great Ocean Road Small-Group Eco Tour from Melbournefrom $106
• 2Great Ocean Road, 12 Apostles, Wildlife Tourfrom $94
• 3Ocean Rafting: Whitehaven Beach, Snorkelling & Hill Inlet Lookoutfrom $149

$180 and up

663 tours

Scenic flights over Uluru and the reef, multi-day sailing in the Whitsundays, private guides and the swim-with-whale-sharks days at Ningaloo.

• 1All Inclusive Blue Mountain,Scenic World,Lunch,Koalas,ferryfrom $204
• 2Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling and Diving Cruise from Cairnsfrom $190
• 3Great Barrier Reef Cruise by Premium Catamaranfrom $190

From a thirty-dollar Opera House walk to a full day on the reef — the tours travellers here take before anything else, and what makes each one worth its day.

1

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 8,312 reviews

Opera House Guided Tour with Entrance Ticket

Tour Sydney Opera House beyond the sails with an expert guide, theater access, rare views, and 300 stairs in one memorable hour.

From · $33

Read our review →

2 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 7,832 reviews All Inclusive Blue Mountain,Scenic World,Lunch,Koalas,ferry from $204 3 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 6,607 reviews Great Ocean Road Small-Group Eco Tour from Melbourne from $106 4 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 6,020 reviews Great Ocean Road, 12 Apostles, Wildlife Tour from $94 5 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 4,777 reviews Ocean Rafting: Whitehaven Beach, Snorkelling & Hill Inlet Lookout from $149 6 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 4,552 reviews Laid back, Yarra Valley Wine Tour: Wine, Cider, Gin, Beer + Choc from $93 7 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 4,471 reviews Blue Mountains Full-Day Trip from $148 8 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 4,186 reviews Great Ocean Road Reverse Itinerary Boutique Tour – Max 11 Guests from $106

Beaches and vineyards exist everywhere. Silica sand that never gets hot, a sandstone monolith the size of a suburb, and a reef where the biggest fish in the ocean turns up on schedule do not.

Whitehaven Beach

The sand that will not hold heat

Whitehaven is 98 per cent pure silica, so fine it squeaks underfoot and so reflective it stays cool at midday when the rest of Queensland is unbearable. Nobody agrees where the sand came from; it does not match the surrounding rock. Go at low tide, when the currents at Hill Inlet pull the white sand and the turquoise water into the swirl every photograph of Australia eventually shows.

1. 1Ocean Rafting: Whitehaven Beach, Snorkelling & Hill Inlet Lookout★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 4,777 reviews
2. 2Whitsundays Guided Jet Ski Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,348 reviews
3. 3Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet Lookout Snorkeling Cruise★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 2,953 reviews

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The Red Centre

A rock that changes colour twice a day

Uluru is 348 metres high and continues underground for kilometres. It looks red because of oxidised iron in the sandstone, and it flares through orange to violet in the twenty minutes either side of sunrise and sunset. Climbing ended in 2019 at the request of the Anangu traditional owners; the 10.6 km base walk and the sunrise viewing platforms are what tours run now.

1. 1Day Trip to Uluru with BBQ Dinner★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 761 reviews
2. 2Ayers Rock Day Trip from Alice Springs Including BBQ Dinner★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 639 reviews
3. 3Uluru: Field of Light Sunrise Tour with Hot Drinks★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 572 reviews

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Ningaloo

Swimming beside the biggest fish alive

Ningaloo is a fringing reef — you can wade off the beach at Coral Bay and be over coral in a minute. From March to July whale sharks feed along the drop-off, and licensed boats work with spotter planes to put a capped group of swimmers in the water ahead of one. They are filter feeders, up to twelve metres long, and entirely uninterested in you.

1. 1Swim with Whale Sharks in the Ningaloo Reef: 3 Island Shark Dive★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 919 reviews
2. 2Marine Eco Safari – Swim with Manta Rays★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 493 reviews
3. 3Best of Ningaloo Mantas and More★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 221 reviews

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