The Best East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary: For First Timers

By Gemma Tedaldi | Published: 17th April 2020 | Updated: 27th January 2025

Two weeks in Australia may not seem like a long enough amount of time to get to see a lot of the country, Australia is big and getting from place to place can take a long time depending on your mode of transport. However, we spent 14 days exploring the East Coast, hitting up a lot of the main sights and tourist attractions along the way and it was the perfect first-time trip in Australia, (all without having to drive a car too!). So here is our guide for an Australia 2 week itinerary, East Coast Australia edition:

Planning Your Trip? Use our favourite travel resources below:

Accommodation: We recommend Booking.com

Rental Car: We recommend Rentalcars.com

Flights: We recommend Kiwi.com

Tours: We recommend Get Your Guide & Viator

Currency Conversion: We recommend Wise 

Travel Insurance: World Nomads

East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary Overview

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 1: Sydney

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 2: Syndey & nearby coastal walk

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 3: Syndey & Tarango Zoo

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 4: Brisbane

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 5: Brisbane, Mount Tamborine & Lamington National Park

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 6: Brisbane & Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 7: Hervey Bay & Frazer Island

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 8: Hervey Bay

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 9: Airlie Beach

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 10: Whitsundays

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 11: Airlie Beach

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 12: Cairns

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 13: Cairns & Barron Gorge National Park

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 14: Green Island & Great Barrier Reef

How to get around for this East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary

There are numerous ways that you can get around Australia, from hiring a car or campervan, taking public transport or even hopping on a plane here and there, but for this 2 week trip in Australia we highly recommend that you let someone else do the hard work and long distance driving for you. That is where the fantastic Greyhound Buses come in!

We utilised these buses a few times over the course of our trip up the East Coast of Australia and not only can you take overnight buses, which saves on the costs of accommodation, but they are also very comfortable, spacious and perfect for any first time visitor to Australia. They also offer a 15 Day Whimit Pass that allows you to hop on and off the buses over a course of 15 days, ideal for this itinerary.

Get your Greyhound 15 Day Whimit Pass here.

East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary

First port of call – Fly into Sydney!

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 1 – 3: Sydney

For Day 1 to 3 you will be staying in Sydney and exploring not only this wonderful city but also taking day trips to the surrounding area and nearby beaches, (which are stunning!).

For this part of the trip we recommend booking to stay at the following accommodation:

Budget – ibis Budget Sydney East

Mid range – Park Regis City Centre

Luxury – Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Sydney

More time in Sydney?

If you have more time to spend in Sydney, then we suggest you take a trip out to the Blue Mountains or the Hunter Valley. This can easily be done through a tour companies such as the ones below, making it super simple for you to get around without having to do the driving yourself!

🦘️ From Sydney: Blue Mountains Full Day Trip

🦘️ From Sydney: Hunter Valley Wine / Spirit Tasting Tour & Lunch

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 1: Sydney

Sydney Botanical Gardens – Sydney Harbour – Harbour Bridge Pylon Lookout – Manly Beach – Darling Harbour

Sydney is a great place to start the adventure, with awesome sights to see and great nightlife. Once you get your bearings head to the botanical gardens, from where we were staying it meant we hadn’t seen the Opera House yet and walking through the gardens lets you walk right up to it. This gives you a real bam, in your face, you are in Australia feeling!

After exploring the Opera House head over to the Harbour Bridge. Most people pay to climb up and over, yet being 1. slightly nervous of heights and 2. budget savvy, we opted to climb our way to the top of the pylon bridge lookout. In all honesty, I think the view is just as good if not better!

From here hop on a ferry out to Manly Beach to soak in the sunset before heading back to Darling Harbour for a drink or two.

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 2: Sydney & nearby coastal walk

Opera House Cafe – Coastline walk Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach Gordans Bay, Clovelly Beach, Bronte, Tamarama Beach, Bondi Beach & Glenmore in the Rodes

Head to Sydney Opera House Cafe for breakfast, not only is it in the Opera House but you can sit outside and soak up the views of the bridge and harbour too. So after a tummy and eye fulfilling breakfast head out via a beach bus to Coogee Beach. From here follow a coastline walk to Bondi Beach taking in Coogee Beach, Gordans Bay, Clovelly Beach, Bronte, Tamarama Beach and of course Bondi Beach itself.

This walk is incredible. The scenery, the friendly locals and the artwork along the way make for a great day out exploring the beaches even if it is too cold to get in the water! After stopping in Bondi, head to the Icebergs bar/cafe for a rewarding meal overlooking the beach then hop on a bus back to Sydney.

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 3: Sydney & Taronga Zoo

Sydney – Taronga Zoo – Australian Bar & Hotel

For a last full day in Sydney catch the ferry over to Taronga Zoo, views to and from the Zoo are well worth a boat ride anyway so why not stop over there and wander through animals as well?

Get your Taronga Zoo Tickets here.

After a day wandering the zoo, (make sure you check out the Australian Walkabout Trail for local species including a Platypus!), and enjoying ferry rides, head into the main eating district of Sydney and find Australian Bar & Hotel. Not only do they have lemon, lime and bitters, (a drink you must try in Oz), but they also serve delicious emu and kangaroo pizza! Seriously this is a must try if you are in the area, they are so good!

Now for something a bit different after staying put for a few nights, hop on board a Greyhound overnight bus to not only save on money on accommodation but also to allow you to arrive in Brisbane the next morning.

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 4 – 6: Brisbane

From day 4 to 6 you will be based in Brisbane exploring the city as well as nearby islands and the surrounding landscape including Lamington National Park and Mount Tamborine.

For this part of the trip we recommend booking to stay at the following accommodation:

Budget – Holiday Inn Express Brisbane Central

Mid range – Riverside Hotel Southbank

Luxury – Amora Hotel Brisbane

More time in Brisbane?

If you have more time to spend in Brisbane, then we suggest you take a trip out to one of the nearby islands or take a trip to the famous Australia Zoo. These can easily be done through guided tours such as the ones below, so it is easy to get to and from your destination without any hassle.

🦘️ From Brisbane: Australia Zoo Transfer and Ticket

🦘️ From Brisbane: Moreton Island Full Day Trip

🦘️ From Brisbane: North Stradbroke Island Wildlife Adventure

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 4: Brisbane

Yay, you made it through your first night on an Aussie overnight bus and you’re in Brisbane! We spent a day exploring the city waterfront as well as just general chilling to recover from the experience of the night bus, (we had a slightly unlucky first trip which lasted longer than it should, but don’t let that put you off, we certainly weren’t!).

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 5: Brisbane, Mount Tamborine & Lamington National Park

After a good nights sleep hop on a tour bus out to Mount Tamborine for a rainforest skywalk and to try some local fresh macadamia nuts. From here stop at an Alpaca Farm on your way to Lamington National Park, purely for some cuddly cuteness of alpacas. There are some good views here too but it all about the alpacas in my view!

Lamington National Park is the next stop of the day with World Heritage status and ancient Gondwana Rainforest it is breathtaking wandering the trails, birdsong in the air and wind whistling through the leaves. From here make your way back via a bus for your final night in Brisbane.

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 6: Brisbane & Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

In the ultimate 2 week itinerary to exploring Australia, how could I not mention Koalas?! Who could come to Australia and not want to feed kangaroos and hold a koala? Well, we certainly didn’t and at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary it was the best spot for us to do both those things. We wandered around for a few hours coming up close to numerous species, including a rather scary looking emu…

Now for the next Greyhound Bus heading overnight to Hervey Bay. Buses may be slightly uncomfortable and noisy at times but they are worth it, I woke up early in the morning on this stretch and found that we were driving through landscapes filled with wild kangaroos!

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 7 – 8: Hervey Bay

For day 7 and 8 you will be staying in Hervey Bay and exploring this wonderful city but also the nearby Frazer Island.

For this part of the trip we recommend booking to stay at the following accommodation:

Budget – The Beach Motel Hervey Bay

Mid range – 545 Esplanade

Luxury – Ramada by Wyndham Hervey Bay

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 7: Hervey Bay & Frazer Island

Hervey Bay – Ferry to Frazer Island – Maheno Shipwreck – Lake Makenzie

An early start is needed today for a day trip out to Frazer Island! This is the worlds largest sand island and boy did we find that out whilst driving around. Buses that take you out there are 4 wheel drive and even then we still got stuck on sand dunes a couple of times!

Stop off at 75-mile beach to take in pure sand wonder, being mindful to watch out for dingo’s that roam around here. From here find the Maheno Shipwreck for the beautiful, if not slightly eerie ghostlike feel.

Whilst walking along another beach to the Maheno Shipwreck a small 4 seater seaplane landed and offered a short trip up to spot whales that were currently in the bay. We could not refuse! The views from above were incredible and spotting whales was amazing!

From here hop on a Frazer Island bus and head to Lake Makenzie. With is calm, cooling waters and silica sand it is a perfect way to end your day on Frazer Island.

If you want to enjoy a tour like the one we did above then be sure to check out this 🦘️ Hervey Bay: K’gari, Frazer Island Full Day Tour.

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 8: Hervey Bay

Hervey Bay – Urangan Pier – Orchid House – Botanical Gardens

So you are now halfway through your Australia 2 week itinerary, (sad face!). After getting a late ferry back to Hervey Bay from Frazer Island, have a relaxing day exploring Hervey. First stop Urangan Pier, where you can walk to the end weaving amongst local fisherman and humungous pelicans for some pure sun and sea views.

After this walk a short distance into town to the Orchid House and Botanical Gardens. You can easily while away a day here just watching the world go by or wandering the endless pathways through gardens.

So after a relaxing day off, you go to hop on your penultimate Greyhound Bus, an overnighter to Airlie Beach…

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 9 – 11: Airlie Beach

Days 9 to 11 are based at Airlie Beach which is ideal for getting out exploring the stunning coast, including the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef.

For this part of the trip we recommend booking to stay at the following accommodation:

Budget – Airlie Beach Hotel

Mid range – Club Wyndham Airlie Beach

Luxury – Mirage Whitsundays

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 9: Airlie Beach

Airlie Beach has to be my favourite spot that we stayed and it’s easy to see why. Blue skies, white sands, blue waters, pesky cockatoos… When they say don’t feed the birds, DONT FEED THE BIRDS! We ended up trapped in our apartment room with no escape for a few hours after eating a pizza on the balcony and a cockatoo nabbing some…

Anyway, I digressed! Airlie beach is awesome to explore, wander beaches popping in ice cream parlours and multiple beachwear shops along the way, stop for a relaxing dip in a lagoon and watch the boats come in and out the bay. Such a hard life living in Airlie Beach.

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 10: Whitsundays

Airlie Beach – Whitsunday Islands of Hamilton Island & Whitehaven Beach

After a fairly relaxing day previously now is for an early start onto a ferry out to where other than the Whitsunday Islands! These incredible islands are surrounded by brilliant blue waters, white silica sand beaches and of course some warming sunshine. We stopped off on Hamilton Island with it’s no car policy before heading out to Whitehaven Beach. Seriously this beach is amazing, but be warned sand being so teeny tiny gets everywhere! My poor GoPro has never fully recovered…

We took a tour to visit the Whitsunday Islands, and although our tour is no longer available, these tours are very similar to what we did so we can recommend them:

🦘️ Airlie Beach: Whitehaven Full Day Eco-Cruise with Buffet

🦘️ Airlie Beach: Whitsundays & Great Barrier Reef Scenic Flight

🦘️From Airlie: Whitsundays and Whitehaven Half Day Cruise

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 11: Airlie Beach

For your last day in Airlie Beach take a stroll around the harbour, watch the world go by from above, (we were in an apartment on the hill will a great pool with a view perfect for doing this!), and eat your heart out. For some reason, we found Airlie had the best breakfast places on the trip.

Now for your final Greyhound Bus! Goodbye Airlie Beach, hello Cairns!

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 12 – 14: Cairns

For day 12 to 14 you will be staying in Cairns and exploring not only the city but also taking day trips to the surrounding area and of course out to the Great Barrier Reef.

For this part of the trip we recommend booking to stay at the following accommodation:

Budget – Sunshine Tower Hotel

Mid range – Park Regis City Quays

Luxury – Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 12: Cairns

Botanical Gardens – Harbour Esplanade

After another late night / early morning on the bus, head to your hotel/hostel and grab a bike. That is the best way to explore Cairns and we found that even though we couldn’t keep up with one another, (I am super slow compared to Meryl!), cycling around by oneself isn’t that bad. You can cycle through botanical gardens which are more like a mini rainforest and then on out to Cairns Harbour Esplanade for a spot of grub and a cooling drink.

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 13: Cairns & Barron Gorge National Park

Cairns – Skyrail – Barron Gorge National Park – Kuranda

From Cairns grab a bus out to the Skyrail. This cable car is a 7.5 km scenic route that runs above the Barron Gorge National Park, in the wet tropics World Heritage area. This cable car itself is a bit wobbly but you soon forgot about it when you see the views. After getting off the Skyrail head out along the trails and boardwalks to Kuranda, watching out for the rainbow lorikeets that fly above you.

Wandering around Kuranda is bizarre. You could honestly be in a different country with the market stands selling street food, incense burning everywhere and brightly coloured flags wafting in the wind. From Kuranda hop on a train painted in aborigine legends back to Cairns following along the scenic railway.

We visited Kuranda as part of this tour, which we would highly recommend 🦘️ From Cairns: Self-Guided Kuranda Trip with Train and Skyrail.

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 14: Green Island & Great Barrier Reef

Green Island – Great Barrier Reef – Cairns

Taking a catamaran out to Green Island for the day is a must. This tropical hideaway an hour by boat from Cairns was the relaxing end to our trip we needed, even if it was windy and you needed a hot chocolate to warm your hands up!

Now here’s the thing. The Great Barrier Reef has been on my, and I’m sure many other peoples bucket lists for a long time. Yet the thrill of actually seeing it first hand was somewhat underwhelming for me. The coral didn’t look as vibrant as I had seen in other countries and the number of tourists in the area just didn’t make it feel special. I’m sorry to say it but it’s true! I would still recommend going there to witness it yourself just be prepared to not love it as much as you thought.

From snorkelling and viewing the reef from a glass-bottomed boat, we headed out on a walk around the entire island, its only small only 1.5km round route, so it was quite nice to get away from the crowds. After this, we hopped back on the catamaran back to Cairns for our final night stay in Australia!

We visited the Great Barrier Reef as part of this tour, which we would recommend 🦘️ From Cairns: Great Barrier Reef Cruise by Catamaran.

But you can also take this tour for some of the best views of the Great Barrier Reef from above 🦘️ Cairns: Outer Edges of the Great Barrier Reef Scenic Flight

📍 East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary – Day 15: Goodbye Oz!

And that’s that! Your amazing adventure in Oz has come to an end. I hope the ultimate 2 week itinerary to exploring Australia helps you plan a route for yourself or you even use it! I know Meryl and I had an amazing time exploring along this route so hopefully, you will too.

Where To Stay Along The East Coast Of Australia

Where to stay in Sydney:

Budget – ibis Budget Sydney East

Mid range – Park Regis City Centre

Luxury – Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Sydney

Where to stay in Brisbane:

Budget – Holiday Inn Express Brisbane Central

Mid range – Riverside Hotel Southbank

Luxury – Amora Hotel Brisbane

Where to stay in Hervey Bay:

Budget – The Beach Motel Hervey Bay

Mid range – 545 Esplanade

Luxury – Ramada by Wyndham Hervey Bay

Where to stay in Airlie Beach:

Budget – Airlie Beach Hotel

Mid range – Club Wyndham Airlie Beach

Luxury – Mirage Whitsundays

Where to stay in Cairns:

Budget – Sunshine Tower Hotel

Mid range – Park Regis City Quays

Luxury – Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort

East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary FAQs

How to get to Australia

The most popular destination to fly in and out from in Australia is Sydney International Airport. This connects to numerous other international airports around the world including Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong, all of which make for a great stopover on route to or from Australia.

Visas for Australia

Every non-Australian citizen must hold a visa to enter Australia for travel, visiting family or friends or as a business visitor. If you are a New Zealand citizen however you will be given a visa-on-arrival.

Citizens of EU countries need an eVisitor visa, which you can get online before arriving in Australia, which grants you a 12 month visa with multiple visits allowed into Australia, up to 3 months at a time. You can apply for the EU eVisitor Visa here.

Citizens of other countries including Canada, Japan, Malaysia, the UK and the US will need an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), which costs 20 AUD. You will be notified of your application result immediately, but should there be any problems it is worth applying well in advance of travelling to Australia. It is valid for 12 months from the date granted and allows you to stay up to 3 months at a time. You can apply for the ETA Visa here.

How to get around Australia

🚗 Car / Campervan – A great way to get around Australia is to hire a car or campervan, which gives you the freedom to go where you want when you want. Indie Campers is a brand we have heard great things about so be sure to book them if you want to hire a campervan.

🚌 Public Transport – One of the best ways to get around Australia is via coaches and long-distance buses, including Greyhound. We travelled around the East Coast of Australia just using the Greyhound buses and it was ideal, with stops at all the destinations we wanted to visit and more. You can get various travel passes with Greyhound too, including this Greyhound 15 Day Whimit Pass.

✈️ Flight – you can of course fly between destinations in Australia, but for our East Coast Australia itinerary above you’ll want to keep your feet firmly on the ground!

When is the best time to travel the East Coast of Australia?

We visited Australia during July and although this is technically the Australian winter, (winter falls from May to September in the southern hemisphere), it felt like the perfect mix of cooler nights with still warm days, (especially the further north we travelled), and fewer tourists.

If you plan on visiting the very northern states of Australia including Queensland and the Northern Territory then they are much cooler and with much less rain in the winter months in comparison to the summer months of November to April.

Is Australia safe to visit independently?

When we visited Australia we did the whole trip completely independent of any tour group, (other than the odd day trip or specific location tour that we did), and we didn’t have any trouble with accommodation, eating out or getting around.

Is it worth going to Australia for 2 weeks? How much of Australia can you see in 2 weeks?

100% it is worth going to Australia for 2 weeks and you can see a surprising amount of Australia in that amount of time too. Our above East Coast itinerary is proof of that!

Can you do the East Coast of Australia in 2 weeks? How many weeks do you need on the East Coast of Australia?

We did the East Coast of Australia in 2 weeks and didn’t feel rushed. That being said of course if you have more time to spend then the longer the better!

How long does it take to drive the East Coast of Australia?

If you were to drive the East Coast of Australia straight through from Sydney to Cairns without stopping it would take around 28 hours, not something we would recommend doing!

Conclusion: The Best East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary

And there you have our guide to the best East Coast Australia 2 Week Itinerary! We absolutely loved our first trip to Australia, and were so glad that we were able to fit so much in considering the sheer size of the country, so hopefully our itinerary can help you plan a fantastic trip to Australia too!

Gemma Tedaldi

Gemma is the owner and author of The Travelling Tedaldi, a travel blog helping travellers to discover the best road trips and travel itineraries throughout the UK and Europe. When she isn’t writing about her favourite travel destinations, she can often be found out exploring local hikes or planning future trips.