Australia: Victoria & Tasmania Highlights

Start your Journey in multicultural Melbourne, a city filled with chic shopping plazas, stylish streetscapes, beautiful beaches, and cosmopolitan cafés. When not sampling the cappuccinos and freshly baked cakes and pastries, you’ll discover the city's rich history and fascinating bar scene, on the Melbourne 'Coffee & Culture' tour. Don’t miss the tram ride to the seaside suburb of St Kilda, where you can ride the rollercoasters at Luna Park.

Accommodation: 4* Mantra Southbank
Included Excursion: Melbourne Coffee & Culture tour

Pick up your hire car and hit the road, stopping at the Mornington Peninsula, a strip of vineyards and orchards lined by beaches, unsurprisingly very popular with families. The top activity here is touring the wineries and sampling a glass or two, when you’re not kicking back on the beach that is. For something a little more active, you can choose to hike the coastal pathway, looking out for wombats, koalas, kangaroos and dolphins as you go.

Accommodation: 5* InterContinental Sorrento Mornington Peninsula by IHG

Take the car ferry across the entrance to Port Phillip Bay to Queenscliff, then drive down to Lorne, along the famous Great Ocean Road. Famous for its golden beaches, Lorne is a great place to relax, or to get out and discover the nearby Otway Ranges. If you don’t mind the drive, Lorne can also be used as a base to explore the Twelve Apostles, a collection of limestone stacks jutting out from the ocean.

Accommodation: 4* Mantra Lorne
Included Excursion: Mornington Peninsular to Queenscliff ferry

Drive back to Melbourne and catch your flight to Launceston, Tasmania, one of Australia’s oldest non-Indigenous settlements. Launceston’s elegant layering of convict, Georgian and Victorian architecture frames a garden city set along a ribbon-curled river, while its museums, including the Automobile Museum and Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, are definitely worth a peek. Alternatively, explore the hiking trails of Cataract Gorge, an easy walk from Launceston’s central business district.

Accommodation: 4* Hotel Grand Chancellor Launceston

Head for the coast and Freycinet National Park, a collection of jagged rocks and mountains backing up bright blue seas and white beaches. The park is most famous for the sweep of sand that makes up Wineglass Bay (shaped like a wine glass), which you’ll have plenty of time to explore – remember to look out for dolphins and seals! There are also plenty of walks to choose from, plus scenic drives along the beaches and rugged coastline.

Accommodation: 4* Freycinet Lodge

The capital of Tasmania, Hobart is a superb natural sailing port, backed by the looming peak of kunanyi/Mount Wellington. Spend some time exploring the markets, hip music and foodie scenes, including the Cascade Brewery, and if you’re feeling energetic, you can drive or hike to the top of kunanyi/Mount Wellington for some fabulous views out to sea. Don’t miss the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), dubbed “the world’s most far-out museum” by CNN and “a subversive adult Disneyland” by founder David Walsh.

Accommodation: 4* Ibis Styles Hobart
Included Excursion: Port Arthur Historic Site tour