Big Volcano ERC

Australian Based Sites || Australian Road Trips || Australian Travel Blogs - Other languages || Global Travel Sites

These sites are provided for travellers unfamiliar with Australia. It always helps to find out what a country's like from people who have "been there - done that" before you.

General Information about Australia, including such items as States and Territories, time zones, hazards, credit cards, banking, public holidays, shopping and tipping etcetera, can be found here.

Australian Based Sites

• Big Volcano Visitor Guide The pre-eminent site for accommodation, attractions and activities in the Byron Bay to Gold Coast hinterland region of far north New South Wales and south east Queensland, Australia
• Australia.com The official Australian tourism website.
• Australia's Bicentennial National Trail "Australia's premier long distance trekking route for the self reliant trekker stretches an incredible 5330 kilometres from Cooktown to Healesville..."

• Australian Rail Maps New  "This website aims to help you plan your journey. We have online timetables of every train service and many other transport modes too. The sheer range of operators and fares can be a bit daunting, so we've tried to simplify things on this intoduction page by categorising services into nine different types."  This web site will definintely help make sense of the mishmash of services available, especially those between Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers.  (See our Big Volcano Visitor Guide - Transportation directory for more local info.)
• Bushwalking in Australia  "Bushwalking is an Australian activity. You may know it by a different name such as hiking, tramping, hill walking, rambling or trekking. Bushwalking covers a wide spectrum of walking experiences in natural or green areas. A bushwalk might be a walk along a trail through urban parks or forest near where you live, or it could be a full day walk or camping trip to a national park or reserve." The site for bushwalking in Australia, with info. for each state and territory.
• CERES global "...is committed to making trips as environmentally and culturally friendly as well as sustainable as possible."
• Lighthouses of Australia  "Lighthouses of Australia Inc. is a non-profit organisation which aims to create a higher profile for Australian lighthouses within Australia and overseas, and thereby preserve, protect and promote their place within our history."
• Queensland "...is a wonderland of adventures - and trust us - you really must see it for yourself." QLD official tourism web site.
• The Travel Doctor-TMVC "... one of the largest individual suppliers of travel medicine services in Australia."  Clinics available in major cities.  See also global Travel Alerts
• Visit NSW The visitor site for New South Wales.  NSW official tourism web site.
• See also Regional Tourism and Travel Sites "From Bellingen to Byron Bay, the Gold Coast and beyond, here are some useful links to the region's tourism and travel sites."

Australian Road Trips

An Aussie road trip will usually fall into one of 3 categories. "The Big Lap" taking 6 to 12 months or longer, in a refurbished bus, RV, caravan or camper van, shadowing the coastline of Australia, with optional side trips into "the centre" and the "Ouback".

The "excellent adventure" is usually a road trip between state capitals taking from two weeks to 6 weeks.  Popular options include Pacific Highway between Sydney and Brisbane, Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Adelaide, or "up the centre" from Adelaide to Darwin, while Tasmania offers its own "Tassie Lap".

Shorter road trips from home, up to 300km distance, are considered a "quick break" for a weekend getaway, and are popular with couples, families and groups of friends alike, especially to escape the cities on long weekends, where a campout in a nearby national park, a farmstay with primitive camping facilities, or a public reserve, are common.

• Claire's Footsteps - East Coast Australia Road Trip Itinerary and Ultimate Guide  "Show stopping beaches, charismatic little towns, eden-like national parks and unforgettable adrenalin filled activities mean it's no wonder why the east coast of Australia is one of the world's most popular travel destinations."  The author Claire's not kidding.  This really is an epic road trip post.  Starting in Cairns and working its way down to Melbourne, with a good chunk in this region, it's probably one of the most informative road trips included in this list.  It also includes a couple of "off the beaten tourist path" destinations, and for fellow Aussies, personal favourites.
• The Family Voyage - Action-packed Australia travel itineraries for every length of trip "During our family's gap year trip around the world, we spent a generous seven weeks touring around Australia, hitting five different states including countless cities, towns, villages and national parks." While this doesn't include any coverage of our region, this includes some excelelnt tips and hints for a family doing a highlights tour Downunder.
• Road Affair - The Ultimate Sydney to Brisbane Road Trip Itinerary  "A road trip from Sydney to Brisbane is one of the classic east coast driving routes in Australia. With a distance from Sydney to Brisbane of 900 kilometers, it's a long trip, but a trip that's absolutely packed with beautiful sights and scenic landscapes to see along the way."  Well, not really the "ultimate" road trip, but for the well heeled rental car traveller, it provides an upmarket option.
• The Travel Hack - Great Aussie Road Trip  "a UK travel blog about weekend breaks and my travel hacks and tips to help you travel more, see more and experience more!"  Here's their Travelling around Australia in a campervan | My FAQs Great blog for global travel and a number of Australian specific posts that will give you a good feel for doing an Australian road trip.
• TRIP IN A VAN "This website will give you information and inspiration to commence your Australian adventures. An opportunity to be present in the moment and experience all that Australia has to offer. Enjoy it, because life is too short not to!!"  Excellent resource for anyone wanting to travel Australia for an extended period with kids in tow, and also useful for general info.
• The Smart Local - 10 Epic Road Trips Around Australia All Singaporeans Should Embark On For Under $1500  A summary of road trips for Singaporeans.  It's from 2017 and article links will go to more in-depth posts or advertisers packages, but it will be useful for first time SE Asian visitors who have limited time, and a reasonable budget.
• Swiss Nomads - Road Trip from Brisbane to Sydney with detours through the Gold Coast Hinterland  "The road trip from Brisbane to Sydney along the east coast stretches over approximately 1000 kilometers. ... But there are several sidetracks to beautiful beaches and nice towns along the coast."  After an enjoyable visit in the Gold Coast hinterland and Tweed Valley, these Swiss adventurers get off the beaten track, and into the "woop woops" via Nimbin and Grafton, before they head over the Great Dividing Range, into the New England tableland, on their journey south.
• Vegan Travel - An Australian road trip "In June 2017, my boyfriend and I packed into our JUCY campervan. We were on a two-week road trip down the East coast on the ultimate Australian road trip. Born and raised in northern Queensland, neither of us had ever seen Australia this extensively."  Useful post for vegan travellers using a van rental to get around.
• Australian Diving Trips by The Scuba Addict; details the author's travels to various countries including four trips to Australia, Byron Bay in 1998, the Great Barrier Reef, the Ningaloo reef and the wreck of the HMAS Swan, amongst other locations.  Not a road trip as such.  See also diving Julian Rocks - Byron Bay.
• underwater australasia "was created by divers for divers, snorkellers and other water lovers as a comprehensive information resource and to provide a virtual meeting place for the Australasia dive community and anybody else interested in underwater Australasia."  Not really about being on the road, but as diving trips are almost as common as a road trip surfing tour from our friends Tim and Wandy at Planula Retreat in Byron Bay, underwater australasia is about everything underwater in Australasia!

See also Regional Tourism and Travel Sites. "From Bellingen to Byron Bay, the Gold Coast and beyond, here are some useful links to the Northern Rivers, NSW and South East QLD region tourism and travel sites."

• australien-info.deThe comprehensive guide for travel destinations and regions in Australia.

Beautiful Tours Australia "14 tage Sydney – Cairns Wir fahren zu einigen der schönsten Nationalparks Australiens und widmen uns der Vielfalt der spektakulären Naturschönheiten. Auf dieser Reise entdecken Sie einsame Küsten und Strände, interessante Meeresbewohner und Beuteltiere, Regenwälder und Farmen. Wir erfahren dabei vom Leben der Menschen in Stadt und Land und das Leben der Ureinwohner von damals und heute."  If you're short on time and want the highlights, then this expat tour operator based in Sydney offers a good range of day tours and multi day bus tours in and south of Sydney.  Longer tours include a 14 day trip from Sydney to Cairns which includes Ballina, Byron Bay, Murwillumbah and Natural Bridge stops.

Road trip en Australie "Carnet de voyage de notre road trip en Australie. De Sydney à Brisbane, puis de Brisbane à Cairns. Notre traversé du désert et notre road trip sur la Great Ocean Road. Suivez nos péripéties entre voyage en campervan et expériences helpx à travers l'Australie durant six mois." Road trip de Sydney à Brisbane  A charming account of a French couple's road trip form Sydney to Brisbane, with a good amount of time spent locally.

See also Regional Tourism and Travel Sites

• Atlas Adrift"A traveler on a budget. A collection of photos and stories from my past travels. As a Canadian, I have traveled extensively through my own country and I hope to branch out to the far reaches of this wonderful planet we are fortunate enough to inhabit."
• Pretty Little Mantras - Australia "Four years ago, I dropped everything and jumped on a plane for the very first time to move to Australia. Since, then, nothing stops me."  Stories from a French traveller, living and working in Australia, and travelling the world.
• The Little Backpacker."Everything You Need To Know About: A Working Holiday In Australia".  "When I first started planning for coming to Australia I spent hours trawling the internet for answers to my silly questions and worries. I could never seem to find all the information in one place or anywhere that gave me concrete information. So now that I have spent six months here and finally feel like I have everything sorted I worried about. I want to share my knowledge with you so you don't have to waste hours searching like I did."  Top tips for fruit picking in Australia
• Rome2Rio "Rome2rio makes travel planning easy. We are a door-to-door travel information and booking engine, helping you get to and from any location in the world. Enter any address, landmark, or city as your destination and we will instantly display all your travel and booking options, along with information about accommodation and things to do, in one convenient spot."  Whether it's your dream RTW trip, or trying to figure out the best way to get from the back of Bourke to Ballina, R2R is the bees knees!  Highly recommended.  And here's their excellent Australia travel guide.
• Travel Blog "is a unique free online travel diary for travellers across the world. It works from internet cafes and computers world wide, to allow you to update an online travel diary, it is free to join and takes just minutes to setup, all you need is a working email address."  Want to blog your adventures, but feel like domain names and content managment systems are a hassle?  Then this could be just the thing.
• WikiTravel- the free travel guide.  "Since 2003: the original free, crowdsourced travel guide with 300,000 writer/travelers visiting every day."
• Your Secret Travel  "The RSS travel feed." Register your blog to get more potential traffic, or find like minded bloggers.

See Also:

• Regional Tourism and Travel Sites
• Industry Associations and Societies
• Social Networks, Content Curation Services and Web - Mastering
• Outdoor Recreation and Adventure Activities

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