A backpacker’s guide to the East Coast of Australia

If you’re heading to Australia then you are probably hoping to see as much of the east coast as possible. It’s definitely not the road less travelled…

So why do it?

I’m convinced it is impossible not to love the east coast! Yes it’s the beaten track, but it’s full of absolute must see’s nonetheless. There is such a variety of things to do – beach hopping, diving, river rafting, skydiving, sailing… the list goes on. There are world heritage sites and you’ll find landscapes and wildlife like nowhere else on earth. One day you’re in the rainforest, the next you’re on the world’s biggest sand island. It just throws at you one wonderful thing after another!

How long will it take?

This depends on your budget and wider timescale, but you should try to do some serious saving so you can do it slowly. We spent around 8 weeks travelling from Cairns to Sydney and, although we could have shaved a few days off here and there, generally it was perfect.

There’s so much to see, you want to take your time if you can! I would suggest a minimum of two weeks so get the main things in, but five to do it properly. If you can take it even slower and work along the way, even better!

What transport should you use?

Most backpackers tend to go for a hop on hop off bus. Greyhound is the most popular and is what we chose, but there is also Premier. You can of course hire a car or campervan, but when we looked at these options it worked out more expensive. Greyhound was super easy to use and with several buses from each stop every day it’s not much less flexible than having your own vehicle. You also get six months to complete the route so it’s dead easy to bend to whatever your plans are.

How much will it cost?

We spent around $800 each on activities. This including diving on the Great Barrier Reef, three days sailing in the Whitsundays, three days on Fraser Island, river rafting, etc. A good mix! Most of this we booked and prepaid before we got going through the Happy Travels shop in Cairns.

The Cairns to Sydney pass for Greyhound costs £250. But if you choose a different route this will be different. Check out their passes on their website here.

For accommodation, allowing around $30 per person per night should cover a mixture of dorms and private/twin rooms.

Food and drink isn’t cheap in Australia so an average of $50 per day for this is a good benchmark.

What you can see – a mini guide from north to south:

Port Douglas

Not on the Greyhound route but a gorgeous place about an hour north of Cairns and well worth a visit.

Things to see:
– Four mile beach and its lookout
– Great Barrier Reef: the Quicksilver trip to the outer Reef is fantastic.
– Daintree Rainforest, Mossman Gorge, and Cape Tribulation. Cape Trib is where two world heritage sites meet – the Daintree Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef.
– Port Douglas Wildlife Habitat for kangaroo feeding and koala cuddles.

Read more on this town here.

Accommodation suggestion: Port Douglas Backpackers. This hostel also runs a free shuttle bus from/to Cairns on certain days but you have to book ahead.

Cairns

Things to see:
– You can also easily do the Great Barrier Reef, Daintree, Mossman and Cape Trib from here.
– Waterfalls and lakes in the Atherton Tablelands: the Barefoot trip was one of the best trips we did on the coast!
– River rafting on the River Tully (we did this from Mission Beach)
– Cairns Botanic Gardens
– The man-made beach at the Lagoon.

Accommodation suggestion: the Global hostels for cheap stays, Gilligans for partying!

Mission Beach

Things to see:
– River rafting on the Tully with Raging Thunder
– Skydiving (amazing here, so I’m told!)
– Lush beach (but not for swimming unless you’re a croc!)

Accommodation suggestion: Jackaroo is a must – it’s a treehouse!

Townsville

Things to see:
– This town is only really worth visiting if you’re going to Magnetic Island – which you should!
– Great views from the top of the ‘big red rock’ in the middle of the town.

Accommodation suggestion: Base on Magnetic Island.

Airlie Beach

Things to see:
– This is the gateway to the Whitsundays, which are an absolute must! Whitehaven Beach (main pic) is mind blowing.
– Great walks and views in the Airlie national park.

Accommodation suggestion: Beaches for cheap food and drink

NB: Airlie Beach is still recovering from Cyclone Debbie.

Agnes Waters/ 1770

Things to see:
– Kangaroo spotting in a chopper moped convoy with Scooteroo, so good!
– Sea kayaking.
– Kangaroo feeding at the local sanctuary, which is a really lovely place.
– Beautiful beach with great surf.

Accommodation suggestion: Backpackers @ 1770 for all the chilled out vibes.

Hervey Bay

Only really worth visiting if you’re going to be there during humpback whale watching season. Incredible experience if you can!

Rainbow Beach

Things to see:
– A great place to do Fraser Island from, with the amazing Pippies Tag Along Tour.
– Slide down sand dunes on a body board!
– Beautiful beach with its ‘rainbow’ cliffs.

Accommodation suggestion: Pippies hostel.

Noosa

Things to see:
– Incredible coastal walk with spectacular views, koalas and rock pools deep enough to jump into!
– Surfing on Sunshine Beach (as beautiful as it sounds).
– Kayaking in one of only two Everglades in the world.

Read my post on Noosa here.

Accommodation suggestion: Nomads for the parties!

Brisbane

Things to see:
– Botanic gardens
– Southbank
– Ma Coot lookout

Accommodation suggestion: Brisbane City Backpackers.

Surfers Paradise

Things to see:
– Drive to Springbrook National Park for the day, gorgeous!
– Surfing on the beautiful beach.

Byron Bay

Things to see:
– Views at and en route to the Byron lighthouse.
– Diving with grey nurse sharks at Julian Rocks.
– Surfing with Stoked surf school.
– Get the public bus to Nimbin for a hippy day out!
– Enjoy the beach and general loveliness of this chilled out town!

Accommodation suggestion: Byron Beach Resort – a 15 minute walk down the beach from the main town but they run a regular free shuttle bus and the hostel is right on the beach.

Read my post on this town here!

Sydney

Things to see:
– Opera House and the Botanic Gardens, where you’ll find me driving the Choo Choo Express!
– Harbour Bridge climb.
– The Blue Mountains.
– Bondi to Coogee coastal walk.