Oceania · country guide
Australia travel guide
Beaches, the Great Barrier Reef, the outback and laid-back cities
Sydney Opera House. Photo: Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Australia is a long way to go, but it repays the journey: Sydney's harbour, Melbourne's food and culture, the Great Barrier Reef, the red centre around Uluru and some of the world's best beaches.
Distances are huge, so many visitors take internal flights between regions. The south is best from October to April, when it's warm, while the tropical north is best in the dry season, May to October. British visitors need an eVisitor visa or ETA before travelling.
Top places to visit in Australia
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Great Barrier Reef
Snorkel or dive the world's largest coral reef system from Cairns or Port Douglas.
+ Add to bucket list - 3
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Great Ocean Road
A coastal drive past surf beaches and the Twelve Apostles sea stacks.
+ Add to bucket list - 6
Whitsunday Islands
Sailing trips and the pure white silica sand of Whitehaven Beach.
+ Add to bucket list - 7
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Trip ideas
Two weeks: the east coast
- Sydney (4 nights)
- Melbourne & the Great Ocean Road (4 nights)
- Cairns & the reef (4 nights)
- Uluru (2 nights)
Three weeks: the big loop
- Sydney (4 nights)
- Blue Mountains (1 night)
- Whitsundays (3 nights)
- Cairns (3 nights)
- Uluru (2 nights)
- Melbourne (4 nights)
- Tasmania (3 nights)
Best time to visit Australia from the UK
Best value: Apr–May, Sep–Nov. Sep–Nov and Mar–May; Jun–Sep for the tropical north. Busiest and priciest: Dec–Mar.
Each bar is the average temperature in Canberra for that month, and its colour shows the season for visitors: best value (good weather, fewer crowds and lower prices), busiest and priciest, or quiet (off-peak, sometimes because the weather is poorer).
- Our pick: April and NovemberThe warmest of the best-value months (13–16°C), with fewer crowds than peak season.
- Peak season: Dec–MarUsually 16–21°C. The busiest time, so book flights and rooms early and expect higher prices.
- Quiet season: Jun–AugAround 5–6°C. The cheapest and least crowded time, but cold, so pack layers.
- Warmest: January (21°C) · coolest: July (5°C)A 16°C swing between the warmest and coolest months.
Temperatures as a table
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.8 | 19.1 | 16.5 | 12.9 | 8.8 | 6.2 | 5.2 | 6 | 9.2 | 12.5 | 16 | 18.2 |
Festivals and events
- Sydney New Year's Eve Dec · Sydney
- Vivid Sydney May–Jun · Sydney
- Melbourne Cup Nov · Melbourne
- Australian Open Jan · Melbourne
Festival dates move from year to year: check before you book.
Getting there from the UK
Flights from the UK take about 22 hours with one stop, often in Singapore, Dubai or Hong Kong. There is also a direct London to Perth flight.
- Flight time
- About 21h 15m
- Distance
- 17,003 km
- Main airport
- SYD
- Time difference
- +7 h to +11 h, depending on the state and time of year
Flight times are straight-line estimates for a direct flight from Heathrow; journeys with a change take longer.
Practical info and travel guidance
- VisaApply online before you goeVisitor or ETA before you travel
- HealthcareSome free urgent careA UK reciprocal agreement covers some urgent state care. Still take travel insurance.
- LGBT+ travellersLegal and broadly accepted
- Women travellersNo specific FCDO warningTake the usual precautions.
For British passport holders, summarised from the FCDO's advice for Australia, checked October 2026. FCDO page last updated 19 March 2026. Rules change: read the official FCDO travel advice for Australia before you book and again before you go.
Open Australia on the map Log it as visited, drop pins for the places you went, or plan it as your next trip.