AAT Kings - Australian Highlights Sightseeing Itinerary

Australian Highlights Tour Itinerary
1

 Welcome to Melbourne!

Settle into your hotel on the banks of the Yarra River and meet your Travel Director for a welcome reception and dinner at the South Wharf riverside pub, The General Assembly restaurant. It's a great opportunity to get to know everyone in a unique setting.

Included Meals: Dinner with Wine

Flights to arrive prior to 12 noon into Melbourne Airport 

Accommodation: Melbourne - 3 Nights

Melbourne
Crowne Plaza Hotel Melbourne is located on Spencer Street on the fringe of the CBD. Just a short stroll to Crown Casino, Docklands and South Wharf, Crowne Plaza Melbourne is a Southbank hotel ideally situated on the bank of the Yarra River.
Crowne Plaza Hotel Melbourne

2

Melbourne

Join your Travel Director for a city sights tour that includes a private walk through Melbourne's famous hidden laneways. You'll discover the city's eclectic little lanes, arcades, café society and fascinating street art. There's time afterwards to explore the city on your own, enjoy an optional experience to the Penguin Parade (own expense) or simply relax and watch the world go by.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Melbourne Laneways

3

Melbourne Free Time

If you’re still getting your Melbourne bearings, linger in town to explore boutiques, galleries, and eclectic suburbs. Or, perhaps exploring the city on foot with a History and Donuts Walking Tour is more your thing. But if it’s time to venture further afield, you might want to sign up to discover the Great Ocean Road, a stretch of coastline that deserves its reputation as one of the most scenic touring routes in the world.

Included Meals: Breakfast

12 Apostles

4

Melbourne - Alice Springs

Some parts of Australia are so remote that the only way kids can get an education is remotely via the School of the Air. Your next stop is the birthplace of the Alice Springs township, the historic Telegraph Station. Being this far flung also means there’s no light pollution from cars or skyscrapers. The result? Unrivalled stargazing (and a BBQ feast) with the Falzon family at their eco-oriented Earth Sanctuary World Nature Centre.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Be My Guest Dinner

Accommodation: Alice Springs - 2 Night

Alice Springs
Situated on the banks of the famous Todd River, Mercure Alice Springs Resort offers spectacular views of the towering River Red Gum. Well-manicured lush green lawns of the hotel create a relaxing atmosphere, letting you soak in the Australian Outback charm in the Northern Territory (NT).
Mercure Alice Springs Resort

5

Alice Springs - Uluru

Spiritual, sacred and spectacular, the world's largest rock monolith will give you goosebumps. In Australia's Red Centre, Uluru has been home to the Anangu for millennia. Their connection is palpable, as you'll discover when you arrive at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, at sunset watching the shifting colours transform the desert with every last ray (sparkling wine essential).

Included Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Yulara - 2 nights

Uluru
Desert Gardens Hotel offers air-conditioned rooms, some with a private balcony or views of Ayers Rock (Uluru). Guests can unwind in the outdoor pool, or at the restaurant and bar. Spa facilities, shops, tour information, and cafes are conveniently located a short walk from the property or via a free shuttle bus. Set amongst native gardens, each room at Desert Gardens Hotel includes a TV, minibar and tea and coffee making facilities.
Desert Gardens Hotel - Uluru

6

Uluru & Kata Tjuta

If there’s one thing worth getting out of bed early for, it’s sunrise over Uluru. Incredibly, the Rock’s base caves are home to First Nations art that dates back tens of thousands of years. What an honour to glimpse it. The ochres and silvery greens of the NT outback follow you to Kata Tjuta, where Walpa Gorge humbles with its soaring cliffs. Wander through the tallest domes before yet another sparkling sunset (and sparkling wine).

Included Meals: Breakfast

Blue Mountains

7

Uluru – Cairns

Another reason to get up early is to view artist Bruce Munro’s installation Field of Light at dawn – 50,000 glowing spindles of light blanketing the desert. Clamber to the top of a sand dune to marvel in the morning unfolding over this very special part of the world. Later an Anangu artist will explain just what makes it so spiritual over an introduction to Western Desert art, introducing totems and symbols important to the region and represented in paintings and installations. Head to your next stop in tropical Cairns.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Cairns - 3 nights

Cairns
Accommodation:
The Hilton Cairns hotel boasts a unique tropical setting, enjoying spectacular scenery surrounded by lush gardens. The hotel offers bright accommodation with spacious bathrooms and private balconies with stunning waterfront views of Trinity Inlet, the Cairns Esplanade and blue-green mountains beyond
Hilton Cairns

8

Cairns at Leisure

If you’re in the habit of getting up early now, you may wish to begin your day with an optional horizon-bending hot-air-balloon ride over the Atherton Tablelands. Prefer to stay grounded? Sign up for a guided walk through the Daintree Rainforest, or surround yourself with nature riding the Scenic Railway to Kuranda returning on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway – perhaps with a side visit to Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures for wetlands cruise? Tonight, celebrate the end of an incredible day at dinner on Cairns’ waterfront at Salt House for regional seafood plucked straight from the ocean, highlighting fresh, local ingredients, and prepared on their custom-built Argentinian wood fired grill.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner with Wine

Daintree

9

Great Barrier Reef

The world’s largest living organism, the Great Barrier Reef, never fails to dazzle. Set out on a catamaran to explore this natural wonder of over 1,500 species of fish, 215 different birds, 3,000 molluscs, six of the world’s seven marine turtle species, and 30 species of dolphins and whales are residents. Strap on a snorkel or visit an underwater observatory and semi-submersible craft to take in the menagerie without getting your hair wet. A tropical buffet lunch is served on board before returning to Cairns.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Reef

10

Cairns – Sydney

Touch down in Australia’s largest city, and spend time at leisure in the buzzing metropolis of Sydney. Take a stroll along the iconic harbour, visit one of the city’s many bars, pubs, or restaurants, or simply while away the day at the beach. You decide how best to enjoy this bustling city of delights.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Sydney - 4 Nights

Sydney
Located in a historic 19th-Century building in Circular Quay, this 5-star hotel overlooks the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. All air-conditioned rooms at the InterContinental have views of the city or the harbour. Each room includes satellite TV and a minibar. Guests can make use of the 24-hour fitness centre, or enjoy a range of beauty treatments at Sebastian Salon. Cafe Opera features a buffet with global cuisine and a seafood buffet on weekends.
InterContinental Sydney

11

Sydney Opera House & Sydney Harbour

Bring your stamina: today is one of innumerable highlights. Go on a tour of the Sydney Opera House, discovering its architectural and performance secrets. If these sails could talk. Then see the city from the water on a Sydney Harbour Highlight Lunch Cruise enjoying a menu focusing on local food and wine. One icon to another: The world’s most famous beach beckons this afternoon, with your chance to pad along the sand at Bondi with Sydney’s beautiful people.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Highlight Lunch

Bondi Beach

12

Sydney Free Time

The hardest decision you have to make today: explore more of Sydney, or head to the Blue Mountains, 11,400 square kilometres of World Heritage listed wilderness. Or why not linger around the harbour – perhaps it’s time to glimpse it from above on a Sydney BridgeClimb? Back at ground level, you’re in the heart of the Rocks, the city’s original colonial settlement and a place of cobbled alleys and private galleries. This evening, farewell Sydney at Dinner at Midden restaurant at the Sydney Opera House.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Farewell Dinner

The Three Sisters

13

 Farewell Sydney

Say farewell to your fellow travelers when your vacation comes to an end this morning after breakfast

Included Meals: Breakfast

Flights to depart anytime from Sydney Airport

Itinerary Variations
The provider strives to improve trip itineraries. If improvements can be made, or if circumstances beyond their control make changes necessary, the provider reserves the right to vary itineraries and to make substitutions.

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What Elizabeth says about this tour: Melbourne to Sydney - World Heritage Sites – Uluru-Kata Tjuta, Great Barrier Reef – and exclusive experiences. This trip is a marvel of colours from turquoise blue of the Great Barrier oceans to the red ochre of the Red Centre. Be prepared to be dazzled!
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