Sample Itinerary
01 — The Shape of the Trip
Six stops, and a loop rather than a line — you begin and end in Sydney. Reef, then Kangaroo Island, then the Great Ocean Road and Tasmania, so the trip gets quieter as it goes.
Why the loop. Two nights in Sydney on arrival, when you are jet-lagged and the harbour does the work for you. Three more at the end in the same room, with nothing left to work out. Late March is autumn in the south — warm days, thin crowds.
Stop 01 — Mon 15 – Wed 17 March
New South Wales
Two nights is enough for the harbour and not much else, which is the point. You arrive on the wrong clock, and Sydney is the easiest place in the world to be tired in.
Proposed days
Private transfer in. A walk through the Botanic Garden to Mrs Macquarie's Chair, dinner at Bennelong, asleep by nine.
Three hours on a skippered launch out through the Heads, with a swim at Store Beach — reachable only by boat.
Breakfast on the water, then the late-morning flight to Hamilton Island and the launch across to Hayman.
Premier Harbour View Room, high floor
Above The Rocks with the whole harbour in the window. The only Sydney hotel inside budget that clears a 9 on guest reviews, and the strongest location score in the trip.
On foot
Circular Quay is four minutes and the Opera House about ten. The Rocks laneways start at the front door, so the first two evenings need no transport at all.
Secured through my partnership
Stop 02 — Wed 17 – Sun 21 March
Great Barrier Reef, Queensland
The longest stay, and the one that does the least. Four nights on a private island buys two reef days, one on Whitehaven, and one where the entire plan is a swim and a long lunch.
Proposed days
Fly to Hamilton Island, then the resort launch across to Hayman — an hour on the water. Late lunch, the infinity pool, dinner at Pacific.
Seaplane to Hill Inlet at the beach's northern end — seven kilometres of silica sand, and almost no one.
Helicopter over Heart Reef, then two guided snorkel drops at Hardy Reef with a marine biologist.
Private day sail through the inner islands, anchorage chosen by wind. Afternoon at the spa, dinner at Bam Bam by the pool.
Morning swim, the launch back to Hamilton Island, then the long hop across the country to Adelaide.
Retreat Courtyard Room, Beach Wing
The whole island is the resort — a horseshoe of white sand at the northern edge of the Whitsundays, closer to the outer reef than anywhere else you can sleep, with four restaurants and a pool you can swim lengths in.
Getting around
A private island, so nothing is walkable beyond the resort itself and the beach it sits on. Hamilton Island and its airport are an hour by launch or fifteen minutes by helicopter; every reef trip leaves from the resort jetty.
What I’ll arrange
Stop 03 — Sun 21 – Wed 24 March
South Australia, via Adelaide
The detour most people skip, and shouldn't. A night in Adelaide to land softly, then two on Kangaroo Island — sea lions on the beach, and almost nobody else on it.
Proposed days
The long hop from the reef via Brisbane. Dinner in the city grid and an early night before the island.
Thirty minutes in the air to Kingscote, then the drive south. Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch in the afternoon light.
Seal Bay at low tide, on the sand among a wild colony. Flinders Chase after lunch, regrowing since the 2020 fires.
Morning flight back to Adelaide and straight on to Melbourne.
One-bedroom apartment
The old State Treasury on Victoria Square, vaults and all. Apartment rooms, which on a one-night staging stop means coffee in your own kitchen before an early flight.
On foot
On Victoria Square with the tram at the door. Rundle Mall is ten minutes, the Central Market five, and the airport twenty by car.
Secured through my partnership
Bayview Room
Waterfront at American River, halfway between the ferry and Seal Bay, with a saltwater pool and pelicans on the jetty. At 8.2 it is below the bar we set — the island simply has nothing better that is bookable at this price.
Getting around
American River is a hamlet, so this is a car-based stay by nature. Seal Bay is fifty minutes, Remarkable Rocks an hour and a half, Kingscote twenty.
Secured through my partnership
Stop 04 — Wed 24 – Sat 27 March
Port Fairy & Melbourne, Victoria
Land mid-morning and drive straight out along the coast — the Twelve Apostles at dusk, a night at the far end of the road, then back into the best eating city in the country.
Proposed days
Collected at Melbourne and driven the coast road through Lorne and Apollo Bay. The Apostles at last light, then on to Port Fairy for the night.
Griffiths Island at first light for the lighthouse and the shearwaters, then the inland run back to Melbourne.
Laneway coffee, an hour at the NGV, and dinner somewhere that takes three months to book.
Short flight to Launceston, then the drive down the east coast to Coles Bay.
Suite Six, with breakfast
Six suites behind an 1840s facade on the main street, rebuilt by Multiplicity into something genuinely architectural. At 9.5 it is the best-reviewed place to sleep anywhere on this coast, and worth carrying on the extra hour west for.
On foot
In the middle of Port Fairy, so everything is a walk: the Moyne River wharf and the fishing fleet five minutes one way, the pubs and the two good restaurants three minutes the other. Griffiths Island and its lighthouse are twenty minutes on foot.
What I’ll arrange
Park Deluxe Room, garden aspect
The quieter, more residential Melbourne — low-rise on Parliament Square, opposite St Patrick's, with the rooms built around a twenty-five-metre pool.
On foot
Fitzroy Gardens are across the road and Parliament station is three minutes. The Paris End of Collins Street is a seven-minute walk, and Federation Square and the river about twelve, downhill.
Secured through my partnership
Stop 05 — Sat 27 – Wed 31 March
Freycinet & Hobart
Four nights and two very different Tasmanias: granite and oysters on the east coast, then the city — MONA, Salamanca, and sea cliffs an hour south. One drive between them, no backtracking.
Proposed days
Short flight to Launceston, then the drive down the east coast to Coles Bay, with a glass at Devil's Corner above the vines.
Up to the lookout early. Afternoon thigh-deep in Great Oyster Bay, shucking your own with a riesling.
The resident devils before breakfast, then the coast road south. Afternoon at MONA, arriving by ferry from the waterfront.
Boat out along the Tasman Peninsula under three hundred metres of dolerite. Back for dinner at Franklin or Fico.
Coffee on the docks, then the flight to Sydney.
Coastal Pavilion
The only accommodation inside Freycinet National Park, so the Wineglass Bay trailhead is effectively at the door. The one deliberate splurge on the trip, and the right place to make it.
On foot
Inside the park boundary. The Wineglass Bay car park is five minutes by road and the lookout forty on foot from there; Coles Bay township is ten minutes.
What I’ll arrange
Storyteller Waterview Room
On Hunter Street right on the docks, with every room built around a Tasmanian character's story. The best guest score anywhere on this itinerary.
On foot
On the waterfront. The MONA ferry leaves from Brooke Street Pier four minutes away, Salamanca Place is a ten-minute walk and Battery Point fifteen.
Secured through my partnership
Stop 06 — Wed 31 March – Sat 3 April
New South Wales · Return
Back to the same room, which is the point — nothing to work out, no orientation. What changes is the range: the beaches, the mountains, and the food there was no time for on the way in.
Proposed days
Afternoon at Bondi, then the cliff walk south to Bronte. Dinner at Icebergs.
Two hours west for the Three Sisters and the Grand Canyon track. Back by dark.
Ferry across the harbour for the Shelly Beach walk. Dinner at Quay to finish.
A slow morning, late checkout, evening flight.
Premier Harbour View Room, suite upgrade requested
Back to the room you opened the trip in — same building, same view, nothing to work out on arrival. The three-night rate is $76 lower than the opener.
On foot
The same four minutes to Circular Quay, which matters more this time: the Manly ferry and the Bondi bus both leave from there, and the Blue Mountains car can collect you at the door.
Secured through my partnership
Where you stay
| Hotel | Nights | Per night | |
|---|---|---|---|
Sydney Four Seasons Hotel Sydney |
2 nights | $400–500 | |
Whitsundays InterContinental Hayman Island |
4 nights | $300–400 | |
Alternative Peninsula Airlie Beach |
mainland | $200–300 | |
Alternative Reef View Hotel |
Hamilton Island | $300–400 | |
Adelaide Adina Adelaide Treasury |
1 night | $200–300 | |
Kangaroo Island Mercure Kangaroo Island Lodge |
2 nights | $100–200 | |
Port Fairy Drift House |
1 night | $500–600 | |
Alternative Deep Blue Hotel & Hot Springs |
Warrnambool | $100–200 | |
Melbourne Park Hyatt Melbourne |
2 nights | $300–400 | |
Freycinet Freycinet Lodge |
2 nights | $500–600 | |
Hobart MACq 01 Hotel |
2 nights | $300–400 | |
Sydney Four Seasons Hotel Sydney |
3 nights | $400–500 | |
Alternative Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour |
Circular Quay | $400–500 | |
Alternative Ace Hotel Sydney |
Surry Hills | $200–300 | |
| Rooms, whole trip — indicative | $7,000–8,000 | ||
Next Steps
Alex’s Atlas