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East Coast Beaches and Reef

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Fully Guided Coach Group Scenic
Our Price From 6,635 Per Person
Exclusive Savings 420 Per Person
 Trip Length
12 Days
 Trip Starts
Cairns
 Trip Finishes
Sydney
12 Day East Coast Beaches and Reef Itinerary (AAT Kings)
Countries Explored: Australia
Trip Style
Best Buys
Departures
Accommodation
3 - 4 Star
Max. Group Size
49
Guide Level
Fully Guided
Trip Code
QCS

Overview

Book online and enjoy exclusive savings on AAT Kings 12 Day East Coast Beaches and Reef. On this East Coast Australia tour, prepare yourself for record-breaking attractions: The Great Barrier Reef (the largest of its kind), the Wet Tropics of Queensland (some of the oldest rainforest on the planet), and K’gari (Fraser Island), the largest sand island in the world. All rightly have World Heritage status, and are on your itinerary. Along with glorious swathes of sand stretching from Cairns to Sydney.

Itinerary

Your Queensland tour begins in Cairns, which is not only the gateway to Tropical North Queensland, but also the Great Barrier Reef, that enormous swathe of World Heritage-listed coral that hugs the Queensland coast. Take today easy, because the next few of your East Coast Australia trip are going to be jam-packed with adventures. (D) Stay: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Cairns (3 Nights)

Hold onto your hat as you zip out on your Great Barrier Reef tour aboard a high-speed catamaran. Pause to snorkel over immense fans of coral, a verdant habitat for six of the world's sea turtles as well as so many fish you won't know where to look. If you prefer to keep your head above water, the marine world can also be glimpsed from an underwater observatory and glass-bottom boat. (B/L)

From the reef to the rainforest... Enjoy some perspective of the Wet Tropics on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, lifting you above the canopy of the Barron Gorge National Park to Kuranda. The Atherton Tablelands awaits, this high tropical plateau a tangle of dense forest - look out for the heritage-listed Curtain Fig Tree - where waterfalls drop from high escarpments. Millaa Millaa Falls is among the most dramatic, a natural magnet for iridescent Ulysses butterflies. (B)

Some days, the journey matters just as much as the destination. Sit back and enjoy the scenery as you travel south through sugar cane fields and rolling green paddocks, all framed by the ocean and rainforest-clad mountains. Stretch your legs en route to Airlie Beach and soak up this steamy part of the state. (B) Stay: Mantra Club Croc (2 Nights)

Powdery beaches and rainforest unite in the Whitsundays, 74 tropical drops of land all ringed by the Coral Sea. There are endless ways to explore this part of the Great Barrier Reef on tour - today, we're letting you choose. Perhaps rise early for an optional helicopter ride over Heart Reef. Or catch a catamaran to Whitehaven Beach, with sand so high in silica it squeaks underfoot. (B)

Life is sweet in Sarina, Australia's sugar capital, where your guided tour takes you behind the scenes of processing and distilling sugar cane at the Sarina Sugar Shed. And yes, you get to sample the wares. You'll be bouncing off your seat all the way to Rockhampton, another town with a big title: this is the country's beef capital. See if it deserves its accolade at any of the restaurants that line the streets. Ask us for dining tips. (B/L) Stay: Quality Hotel Regent, Rockhampton

More beef awaits after you cross the Tropic of Capricorn, GPS set for Langmorn Station, where the Creed family will welcome you with afternoon tea and a tour of the immense (and historic) cattle property - the original family homestead was built in 1873. The Creeds love nothing more than a good yarn about life on the land.

Your next destination involves water. Lots of it. The ferry ride to World Heritage-listed K'gari (Fraser Island) is a highlight, particularly during whale migration when these gentle giants come to the calm, protected waters to calve. Alight on the world's largest sand island, and the only place in the world where rainforest grows from the sand. (B) Stay: Kingfisher Bay Resort (2 Nights)

The island also has a really long sand highway. Jump in a 4WD on your Fraser Island tour and skid along 75 Mile Beach, all the way up the east coast to the Pinnacles Coloured Sands, calm Eli Creek and the Maheno shipwreck, which offers quite the photo opportunity.

Just when you thought the island couldn't get any prettier, Lake McKenzie appears on the horizon, this dazzling patch of blue formed only with rainwater. It's a hard act to follow, but the ancient rainforest at Central Station and Wanggoolba Creek lives up to the challenge with its huge satiny, scribbly gum and kauri trees. (B/L)

Back on the mainland, follow the waves of Hervey Bay south to the Gold Coast, where you can be surfing one minute and surrounded by rainforest the next.

This afternoon, fall into beat with locals and explore the city's booming food and wine scene. We have a few restaurant favourites… (B) Stay: Novotel Surfers Paradise (2 Nights)

The hardest thing you have to do today is decide which direction to set your Queensland trip compass. Perhaps stay close to your Surfers Paradise base and explore long stretches of sand and achingly cool cafés. The city also breaks records for its extensive network of canals, which you might opt to explore on a leisurely cruise. Or go further afield to see another side of the ‘Goldie' in the Mt. Tamborine hinterland - a hub for creatives and foodies. (B)

Australia's most easterly point is the stuff that postcards were made for, as you'll discover when you reach the Cape Byron Lighthouse, standing proud over the Pacific Ocean. Dolphins are a common sight year round, and they're joined by whales during migration. Keep your eyes peeled all the way to Coffs Harbour on the mid-North Coast of New South Wales.

This pocket of paradise has some of the state's most impressive beaches. Follow the breeze (and lead of locals) to the beach for a dazzling end of day sunset. (B/D) Stay: BreakFree Aanuka Beach Resort

Your final stretch of your East Coast Australia tour takes you to the ‘Harbour City', one of the prettiest of its kind anywhere in the world, in our humble opinion. If you're not quite ready to say goodbye to life on the road, chat to your Travel Director about extending your trip to take in Sydney's legendary sights. (B)

Trip Inclusions

  • Follow the lead of Byron Bay locals to the most easterly point on mainland Australia. From here, your outlook over the Pacific is only broken by the dance of dolphins and whales.
  • On the Gold Coast, surf and sand meet rainforest hinterland. Choose your own adventure, whether that's a hike, swim, restaurant-hopping or padding along the sand.
  • When you're in the Whitsundays, time seems to slow. Which gives you ample opportunities to explore, on a catamaran, with a snorkel strapped on or from the air.
  • 12 days, three World Heritage Sites, one epic holiday. Visit K'gari (Fraser Island), the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics of Queensland.
  • You're travelling through some of Australia's most fragile ecosystems. Do your bit to protect them with our ‘10 Pieces' program, encouraging you to pick up rubbish ruining the environment.

  • Specialist team of two highly experienced Travel Director and Driver
  • Local Specialists (Guides)
  • Centrally located premium hotels

  • 11 Full Breakfasts
  • 3 Lunches
  • 1 Dinner
  • 1 Dinner with Wine

  • Water bottle
  • Warm layers in cooler months
  • Camera
  • Comfortable walking shoes
  • Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat

  • Day 1: Flights to arrive by 2:00pm into Cairns Airport
  • Day 12: Flights to depart after 9:00pm from Sydney Airport (recommended next day)

  • Low level of fitness required

  • Accommodation, itinerary and inclusions subject to change.
  • Prices are for land/cruise and internal flights as specified only. Flights not specified are not included.
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Brochure

Australia

AAT Kings Australia (2023-24)

At a time when exclusivity is the world’s greatest travel luxury, Australia ticks every box. It delivers every wide and wonderful landscape conceivable, from record-breaking canyons to soaring sacred monoliths; from tangles of rainforest to ribbons of reef. And in between await innumerable soul-stirring stories to hear, characters to meet, adventures...more to enjoy, meals to savour, and spirits to accompany.

Availability

Exclusive Deal
Friday 15 Nov 2024
Tuesday 26 Nov 2024
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From: $7,055 $6,635
Save $420 Enquire
Friday 17 Jan 2025
Tuesday 28 Jan 2025
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From: $7,285
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Friday 14 Feb 2025
Tuesday 25 Feb 2025
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From: $7,285 $7,139
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Friday 14 Mar 2025
Tuesday 25 Mar 2025
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From: $7,285 $7,139
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Friday 05 Sep 2025
Tuesday 16 Sep 2025
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From: $7,410
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Friday 14 Nov 2025
Tuesday 25 Nov 2025
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Friday 13 Feb 2026
Tuesday 24 Feb 2026
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From: $7,620 $7,468
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Friday 13 Mar 2026
Tuesday 24 Mar 2026
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Friday 15 Nov 2024
Tuesday 26 Nov 2024
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From: $9,400 $8,841
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Friday 17 Jan 2025
Tuesday 28 Jan 2025
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From: $9,786
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Friday 14 Feb 2025
Tuesday 25 Feb 2025
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From: $9,786 $9,640
Save $146 Enquire
Exclusive Savings
Friday 14 Mar 2025
Tuesday 25 Mar 2025
Status
From: $9,786 $9,640
Save $146 Enquire
Friday 05 Sep 2025
Tuesday 16 Sep 2025
Status
From: $9,875
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Friday 14 Nov 2025
Tuesday 25 Nov 2025
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From: $9,875
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Friday 13 Feb 2026
Tuesday 24 Feb 2026
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From: $10,155 $10,003
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Friday 13 Mar 2026
Tuesday 24 Mar 2026
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Note
A definite departure means minimum numbers have been reached for this departure to operate. Your Global Journeys Travel Advisor will check the availability of your departure date when you enquire. Additional savings may apply. We guarantee the lowest price in Australia. T&C’s apply.
Note
Tour & cruises prices are per person. Prices shown have savings applied, are subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time without notice. Prices and trip information are correct at the time at this point in time, however are subject to confirmation at the time of booking and are subject to change by AAT Kings. For cruise itineraries, cabin images are sourced from AAT Kings. These should be treated as indicative only. Cabin inclusions, upholsteries and room layout may differ to the image(s) shown depending on the ship selected and your sailing dates.

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