Australia Essential

Day 1 Flight to Melbourne

Departure by scheduled flight to Melbourne. Overnight on board.

Day 2 In flight

Day 3 Melbourne

Arrival in Melbourne. Customs formalities and luggage collection. The driver – guide will be waiting in the arrivals area of the airport to transfer you to your accommodation.
In the afternoon, our guide will welcome you at the hotel reception and you will be ready for tomorrow’s city tour. Overnight in Melbourne.

Day 4 Melbourne

(Breakfast, lunch).
In the morning we will meet our local guide to visit the city.
We will discover why Melbourne was voted the city with the best quality of life in the world for seven years in a row! Melbourne, dynamic and cosmopolitan in equal measure, is today the sporting and cultural capital of Australia. On the tour we will appreciate magnificent and bold architecture, narrow streets where you can find street art and sweeping views of the river.
State Library of Victoria, Melbourne’s cultural landmark and icon, is housed in a magnificent nineteenth-century building in the heart of the city.
Federation Square is Melbourne’s meeting place – we won’t miss it! It is impossible to miss the Eureka Tower, with a height of almost 300 meters and 88 floors.
We will explore Queen Victoria Market, Australia’s favorite market. A stroll through the backstreets of the city is a must. There are more than 40 laneways and galleries to explore from alfresco dining, quaint boutiques and cozy cafes on Centre Place Lane to world-class street art on Hosier Lane.
The tour will end around 5:00 p.m. at our hotel. Rest of the afternoon at leisure. Overnight in Melbourne.

Day 5 Melbourne – Great Ocean Road – Melbourne

(Breakfast, lunch)
Today we will set off on one of Australia’s most mythical and well-known routes.
Breathtaking panoramic views appear at every turn of this iconic southern road.
We will be able to breathe in the sea air and relax as we pass secluded beaches and surf through coastal towns, dense rainforest and coastal heathlands to stop at the Twelve Apostles.
The road winds through several coastal towns, all of them different. Our first village is Torquay, home of the world famous surfing championships held at Bells Beach. Keep an eye out for kangaroos! We will have lunch at Apollo Bay, where we can sample freshly caught local seafood.
We will visit Otway Rainforest, a tropical rainforest dense with mountain ferns and deep waterfalls topped by the world’s tallest flowering plants, Mountain Ash.
We will head out to observe koalas. They are very common in the Otways. One of the short hikes will be to the Triple Falls, a series of cascading waterfalls located in the spectacular Otway rainforest.
We will return to Melbourne around 8pm to our hotel. Overnight in Melbourne.

Day 6 Flight Melbourne – Cairns

(Breakfast, dinner)
Breakfast at the hotel. At the indicated time, transfer to Melbourne airport to take our flight to Cairns.
Welcome by our guide in Cairns and transfer to accommodation. We will have dinner included in Cairns with our guide, who will explain the itinerary of the following days in Queensland. Overnight in Cairns.

Day 7 Cairns – Daintree Rainforest – Cairns

(Breakfast, lunch)
We will start a tour that will take us north to the Daintree Rainforest.
Just north of Port Douglas lies the Daintree National Park, home to the Kuku Yalanji Aboriginal people, traditional custodians of this area and beyond. This is nature at its purest.
The many ecosystems that coexist here are home to unique animals, and we’ll be able to see some of them up close at Hartleys Crocodile Wildlife Park. We will see up close and feed primitive Cassowaries, cuddle a Koala and watch Crocodiles jump close to us.
Possibility to see snakes and tropical birds.
We will continue north along the scenic route to Mossman. Lush farmland contrasts with the seascape as we approach the majestic Daintree River, where it’s “all aboard” for a river cruise on a mission to spot some of the extraordinary estuarine crocodiles that inhabit this unique mangrove habitat. Here, we will learn how the plants and wildlife have evolved unique survival techniques to endure in fresh/salt waters and why this ecosystem is now protected.
We will have a delicious lunch in a tropical garden.
Next stop, Mossman Gorge. We will enjoy a guided walk through this ancient natural wonderland filled with special and culturally significant sites. The walks are along boardwalks and gentle trails that protect the delicate ecosystem decorated with spectacular waterfalls and mountain ranges and take visitors on a journey over meandering rainforest streams.
Possibility to swim in a beautiful swimming hole surrounded by lush rainforest.
Time to return home to a picturesque sunset along the Coral Sea. If we are lucky we may spot some of the agile Wallabies relaxing in the wild. The perfect end to a memorable trip. Overnight in Cairns

Day 8 Cairns – Great Barrier Reef – Cairns

(Breakfast, lunch)
We will visit one of Australia’s natural wonders, the Australian Great Barrier Reef. Our guide will accompany us during today’s tour on board.
We will be able to observe green turtles, manta rays, clown fish, soft and hard corals… you never know what you will encounter when snorkeling in the warm, clear waters of the Great Barrier Reef. We can relax aboard a luxury catamaran.

Snorkeling – The reef sites are selected for their abundance of marine life and diversity of healthy corals. Access to and from the water is via snorkel platforms at the back of the boat. Our snorkel guides are on hand to assist.

Introductory dives – These are available for those who wish to try scuba diving for the first time. These are fully guided dives in small groups under the competent instruction of fully qualified and experienced dive instructors Certified Divers – Have the opportunity to make two dives during the day. All dives are guided in small groups of no more than 6, by experienced dive masters.
17h00 Arrival at Cairns Terminal and walk back to hotel. Overnight in Cairns.

Day 9 Flight Cairns – Sydney

(Breakfast)
Transfer to the airport for our flight to Sydney. Once in Sydney, transfer to accommodation and rest of the day at leisure. Overnight in Sydney.

Day 10 Sydney

(Breakfast, lunch)
Today we will take the city tour of Sydney.
Sydney, like so many other port cities, has a wild and exciting past, and the inner areas of the city bear the marks of that heritage.

Colonial Sydney. We will begin by exploring the grand colonial buildings of the city center, reminding us of the wealth of the colony in Victorian times. Then, we will see the contrast of this wealth as we head to the older area, the infamous ‘Rocks’. Here, the Rocks have stories to tell, as life was difficult, poverty-stricken, disease-ridden and crime-ridden. The Rocks occupies a unique place in Sydney’s colonial history as the birthplace of European Australia.

From The Rocks, we will go to the Sydney Opera House, one of the most photographed buildings in the world. Break for lunch (not included) enjoying the sweeping views of the harbor.
We will continue with a tour of the affluent eastern waterfront neighborhoods of Vaucluse and Watsons Bay. This is your chance to see the homes of the rich and famous.
We will then continue on to Bondi, a mecca for surfing deeply rooted in Australian culture. Possibility of a short walk to see some of the important Aboriginal rock art.
Continue to Paddington, an old Sydney suburb, for a stroll through its narrow tree-lined streets. ‘Paddo’, as it is known to locals, is famous for its impressive Victorian townhouses decorated by elaborate cast iron work. Overnight in Sydney.

Day 11 Sydney – Blue Mountains – Sydney

(Breakfast, lunch)
Today we will visit the nearby Blue Mountains of Sydney.
Before departing, the tour guide will discuss with you your preferences, fitness level and the pace at which you wish to travel. We will then head west, traveling through the Cumberland Plains. Once we begin our 1,000-meter ascent through the Blue Mountains, we will be treated to spectacular views of forested valleys and deep rocky gorges. We will be amazed by the quintessential blue hues that give these mountain ranges their name. From here, we will have several options.

Stunning rock overlooks, waterfalls and dazzling panoramic views, Lincoln’s Rock offers spectacular views of the entire heavily forested Jamieson Valley. Even in fog, this view is captivating. Sublime Lookout offers a magnificent panoramic view of the entire Jamieson Valley, from which the rocky pinnacles of the Three Sisters can be seen (we prefer this site, as the more popular Echo Point lookout can be crowded with tourists).
Leura Cascades Picnic Area is an enchanting place, set amidst tall eucalyptus trees and giant ferns; we will take a short hike through the forest that will lead us past some lovely waterfalls to the picturesque Bridal Veil Falls lookout. Echo Point Lookout is the closest lookout we can get to see the famous Three Sisters. Although it is a major tourist attraction, it offers an excellent close-up photo opportunity.
Aboriginal sites, the earliest inhabitants of this region were tribes of the Dharug and Gundungurra language groups. For at least 22,000 years, they walked these hills and are now spiritually connected to the Blue Mountains.
Iconic Australian wildlife, on the way to the Blue Mountains, we can visit the Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park where we will see up close a wide range of typical Australian animals such as wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, dingoes and echidnas.
On the return trip, we have the option of passing by the site of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, which is now a social and sports center near the Parramatta River.
We will continue to our hotel.
The tour will end around 5:30 p.m. returning to Sydney CBD. Overnight in Sydney.

Day 12 Sydney

(Breakfast)
Free day to enjoy the city on your own and continue visiting some of the places that will remain to be discovered. We can also do optional activities such as Bridge Climb, helicopter/hydroplane tours… or an optional tour to visit the northern part of the city, visiting Manly and Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP (Consult). Overnight in Sydney.

Day 13 Flight Sydney – Spain

At the agreed time, transfer to Sydney airport for the return flight. Overnight on board.