How To Spend Two Weeks In Australia [5 Perfect Itineraries!]

If you’re planning on visiting Australia on a two-week vacation, this is an ambitious holiday, but don’t let anyone deter you from taking the trip because it’s not a lot of time.

Australia is a huge country, the sixth biggest in the world in fact, and has so much to see and do. Although you won’t be able to explore it all, it’s totally possible to have an epic time in Australia in just 14 days – as long as you come prepared with an epic 2 week Australia itinerary!

As Australians who spent 18 months exploring our own backyard, we’ve travelled to almost every corner of the country and know where the best places are.

We’ve also learned not to try and cram too much in, so if you have two weeks at your disposal – focus on one area in Australia only.

Rather than spread out a two week itinerary across the entire country, we’ve put together several ideas for how to have a two week trip in Australia with separate itineraries for each region.

Each itinerary has been selected for adventurous travelers, wildlife lovers, city dwellers, nature lovers, beach bums, and more, so you will find the perfect itinerary for your travel style below.

Table Of Contents

1. Is 2 weeks enough for Australia?
2. 2 Week Australia Itineraries
   • 2 Week Sydney Itinerary
   • 2 Week East Coast Itinerary of Australia
     • Day 1-2: Gold Coast
     • Alternative Day 1-2: Brisbane
     • Day 3-4: Sunshine Coast
     • Day 5-6: K'Gari (Fraser Island)
     • Day 7-9: The Whitsundays
     • Day 10-11: Townsville & Magnetic Island
     • Day 12-13: Cairns & the Great Barrier Reef
     • Day 14: Day Trip to the Daintree Rainforest & Cape Tribulation
   • 2 Week Southern Australia Itinerary
     • Day 1-3: Sydney
     • Day 4-5: Melbourne
     • Day 6-8: The Great Ocean Road
     • Day 7-9: The Grampians
     • Day 10-11: Adelaide
     • Day 12-13: The Barossa Valley
     • Day 14: Adelaide
   • 2 Week Red Center & Northern Territories Itinerary
     • Day 1-2: Alice Springs and West Macdonnel Ranges
     • Day 3-5: Kings Canyon, Uluru, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
     • Day 6-7: Alice Springs to Darwin via Katherine Gorge
     • Day 8-9: Darwin
     • Day 10: Litchfield National Park
     • Day 11-13: Kakadu National Park
     • Day 14: Darwin
   • 2 Week South Australia and Tasmania Itinerary
     • Day 1-6: Melbourne, Great Ocean Road, back to Melbourne
     • Day 7-14: Tasmania
   • 2 Week Western Australia Itinerary
     • Day 1-2: Exmouth
     • Day 3: Coral Bay
     • Day 4-5: Kalbarri National Park
     • Day 6: The Pinnacles
     • Day 7-9: Perth
     • Day 10: Rottnest Island
     • Day 11-13: Margaret River
     • Day 14: Perth
3. Things to consider before you travel Australia in 2 weeks
   • Australia is massive
   • It's a once-in-a-lifetime trip, do it right!
   • Prioritise your attractions and bucket list places to visit
   • What cities in Australia should you see?
   • Where do you go in Australia for food and wine?
   • Where are the best places in Australia for beaches and snorkelling?
   • Can you visit the Outback on a two week vacation to Australia?
   • Where are the best places to go for Aboriginal Experiences in Australia?
   • Where should I go to see wildlife in Australia?
   • Where is the best place to go for adventure in Australia?
   • Remember to pick a destination before booking a flight to Australia
4. Before You Go
5. More Australia Travel Tips
6. Pin To Save It On Pinterest

Is 2 weeks enough for Australia?

First of all, let’s quickly answer the obvious question; is two weeks enough to visit Australia? The simple answer is, there is never enough time to see Australia. People can live there their whole life and not see it all.

But it’s entirely possible to have a great vacation in Australia in two weeks, you just won’t be able to see everything. If you can extend your trip to three weeks, you can pack all the highlights into one trip if you don’t mind taking a few internal flights – we have a three week itinerary for Australia here.

If you’re planning on visiting Australia with just two weeks at your disposal, you need to start by adjusting your mindset and be ok with not seeing it all.

Many travelers disregard the actual size of Australia until they arrive and end up regretting the choices they made in the planning stage.

I once had a British guy complain to me that he took a bus from Perth to Sydney and that it wasted three days of his trip, and all he saw was red desert. A little planning and common knowledge would tell you this!

As I said earlier, choose an area of Australia to explore and travel within it, so you don’t waste precious time traveling from A to B.

Planning to travel soon? Let us help you know what to do and when. Our pre-departure checklists will arrive in your inbox at the right stage of the travel planning journey and tell you what to take care of. Download your free pre-departure check lists from here!

2 Week Australia Itineraries

The following suggestions are for a two week Australia itinerary, and they take into consideration various travel styles, budgets, and tastes.

These are how we would spend two weeks as a first time visitor to Australia, but you should use them as a guide and pick and choose the places and activities that suit you the most. Use this as a starting point to help you plan a trip to Australia.

Of course, your mode of transport and the distance you travel within Australia will affect how much time you have available in each place or region. The flight times are different each day, so make sure to look these up when putting your own 2 week Australia itinerary together.

For some parts of your trip you may need a rental car. We recommend Discover Cars as having the best booking platform for finding deals that is user friendly and backed by great customer service. I use them regularly for my car hire and love them. See rates and availability here.

These aren’t the only combinations, these are some of our favourites, and to be perfectly honest I could easily spend the whole two weeks travelling Australia in Sydney and Melbourne and still run out of time to do things there!

2 Week Sydney Itinerary

In Sydney, you don’t have to travel far to see iconic landmarks in Australia. You could easily spend a whole two weeks in the city. To prove my point, here is a quick two week itinerary for Sydney.

• Day 1: Take a tour of the Sydney Opera House and have a picnic in The Royal Botanic Gardens
• Day 2: In the morning, do the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb followed by walking across the bridge and spending the afternoon at Luna Park Sydney, and visit Kirribilli Markets.
• Day 3: Spend the day shopping in Sydney CBD
• Day 4: Spend the day at Taronga Zoo
• Day 5: Do the Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach coastal walk and relax on Coogee Beach
• Day 6: Learn to surf at Bondi Beach and enjoy the surfer town vibes.
• Day 7-8: Take a getaway to Manly Island to see the Little Penguins
• Day 9: Explore The Rocks district and it’s vibrant arts scene
• Day 10-11: Take a trip to the Blue Mountains and see the Three Sisters rock formation, go hiking, and learn about aboriginal culture.
• Day 12-13: Go hiking and camping in Royal National Park.
• Day 14: fly home

2 Week East Coast Itinerary of Australia

• Start | End: Gold Coast or Brisbane to Cairns
• Distance: 1766 km

For beach lovers and fans of nature, I highly recommend you spend your two weeks staying on the East Coast.

This area in Australia is most suitable for adventurous travelers, beach lovers, and wildlife and nature lovers. This route takes you to some of Australia’s most famous tropical rainforests, including the oldest rainforest in the world, the Great Barrier Reef, remote islands, surf towns, and vibrant coastal cities.

If you have two weeks to spend in Australia, I recommend the following starting in Brisbane (or the Gold Coast if you have kids) and working your way up to Cairns. You can start the other way and work down if flights are convenient for you.

Day 1-2: Gold Coast

The Gold Coast is where Australians go to vacation, and there’s a reason for this. Flanked by golden sands on one side and high-rise buildings on the other, it’s the place to go for a vibrant beach vacation.

If you have two weeks, I would skip the Gold Coast if you don’t have children and want an intimate vibe, as there are better beaches further up the coast later in this itinerary.

If you do have kids, take them to theme parks such as MovieWorld and Dreamworld, as well as Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.

If you’re travelling with friends, visit Surfers Paradise for nightlife, or head to the Gold Coast Hinterland for waterfalls and rainforest walks. Avid surfers may want to drive 3 hours south to Byron Bay for a day, but I would only do this if surfing is your thing, otherwise it will eat into your travel time too much.

Alternative Day 1-2: Brisbane

Brisbane is easier to access from international destinations, so it might be better to start your two weeks here. Brisbane is a large city known for its artsy vibes.

It has a large cultural precinct by the Brisbane River, and has a few great museums such as the Queensland Museum and Sciencentre and Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.

If you only have two weeks to spend in Australia I personally don’t think you should spend too much time here. Get yourself orientated and kick off the jet lag, and prepare to drive up the coast as soon as you can!

Day 3-4: Sunshine Coast

Craig Makepeaceمصدر