19 Amazing things to do in Eastern Australia

Enjoy reading my 19 amazing things to do in Eastern Australia. East coast, party coast 😉

Quick Overview

Cairns
Mission Beach
Townsville & Magnetic Island
Airlie Beach
Whitsunday Island & Whitehaven Beach
Seventeen Seventy (1770) & Agnes Water
Rainbow Beach
Fraser Island
Noosa
Brisbane
Surfers Paradise
Byron Bay
Coffs Harbour
Sydney & Circular Quay
Bondi Beach
Manly
Katoomba & Blue Mountains
Hyams Beach at Jervis Bay
Narooma

Things to do in Eastern Australia

Cairns (6 days)

Cairns is the starting point for many outdoors adventure activities. Skydiving in Cairns, Great Barrier Reef snorkel trip, daytrip to the Atherton Tablelands and Milla Milla Waterfalls are some of the things to mention. In between you can make a chill day at the Cairns lagoon. After that you can make a 2 or 3 days trip to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation.

Mission Beach (2 days)

Mission Beach is a good place if you want to make a stopover between Cairns and Townsville.

Townsville & Magnetic Island (2 days)

Townsville is the city where you take the ferry to Magnetic Island. On Magnetic Island you can rent a funny “topless car” to drive around the island. Ever want to see Koalas in the nature? Take a little hike up the hills to spot some Koalas hanging out in the eucalyptus trees. Or up to for a game on the golf court? That’s possible as well.

Airlie Beach (Gateway to heaven) (2 days)

Airlie Beach is the gateway to heaven, Whitehaven beach. It is basically the starting point for all the cruises around the Whitsunday Islands. Airline Beach itself has a nice lagoon to chill around and some nice bars for the evening fun.

Whitsunday Island & Whitehaven Beach (3 days)

Experience the amazing three days sailing cruise around the Whitsunday Islands. The highlight is the world-famous Whitehaven Beach and to snorkel with turtles in the Great Barrier Reef. A must do for everybody, just beautiful.

Seventeen Seventy (1770) & Agnes Water (3 days)

One of the only towns with only numbers in the name. Agnes Water is known for first time surfers as there are good beginner waves.

Rainbow Beach (1 day)

Rainbow Beach is the gateway to the largest sand island in the world, Fraser Island.

Fraser Island (3 days)

Fraser Island is considered to be the largest sand only island in the world. With its picturesque white sand beach on Lake McKenzie with crystal clear freshwater.

Noosa (Sunshine Coast) (2 days)

Take a canal Cruise, stroll along the coastal boardwalk, chill at the beach and get on to your surfboard.

Brisbane (3 days)

Walk around Brisbane center and Southbank, stroll around the Botanic Garden and take a cheap lovely river cruise.

Surfers Paradise (Gold Coast) (5 days)

Surf, party, sleep & repeat. And a big city feeling (Surfers Paradise is also called the “Miami Beach from Australia”) with its skyscrapers directly behind the beautiful beach. Go up the Q1 Tower to have a great view overlooking Surfers Paradise and the ocean.

Byron Bay (3 days)

Wanna surf? Byron Bay is a good place to surf with its steady waves. Furthermore you can rent a bicycle, go to the most eastern point of Australia and visit the lighthouse for a nice coastal view. In the evening I recommend to hang out at the Dening Park and enjoy the live music.

Coffs Harbour (2 days)

SUP, what’s that? Stand up paddle! It’s kind of a big surfboard where you stand on it and paddle. Start on the river in Coffs Harbour with your SUP until you reach the sea.

Ride with a bicycle to the Big Banana Fun Park to play a round of mini golf, go ice skating (when it is 35degress outside), slide down some waterslides in the aqua park or take the toboggan to drive down the little hill. Outside of the park is the World’s largest banana (made of cement) as a symbol of the big banana export business from that region.

Sydney (4 days)

Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, Sydney Tower or Bondi Beach are just a few landmarks to mention about Sydney. Kings Cross is a well know nightlife district. All are a must to visit while you are in Sydney. Circular Quay is another great spot to visit. Circular Quay is a very popular tourist attraction and area where all the major cruise lines depart from in Sydney (including Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia). You will see all the massive cruise ships departing to exotic locations in the South Pacific. The cruise ships have very attractive offers, in case you wanna take a break from the busy city.
Go to the “chair lookout” to take great pictures of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.
Other great spots for taking nice landmark pictures are in front of the “Luna Park” or at “Milsons Point”. If you don’t have enough from the beautiful landscape take the ferry to Watsons bay to have an amazing view of the whole Sydney Skyline.

Bondi Beach (2 days)

Go to the world-famous Bondi beach and watch the pro surfers catching the big waves, watch people swimming in the “Bondi Icebergs Pool” and take a walk along the gorgeous “Bondi to Bronte Coastal Walk”.

Manly (1 days)

Take the ferry from Sydney to Manly and chill at the beach or walk along the “scenic lookout walk”.

Katoomba & Blue Mountains (3 days)

If you need a break from the big city or all the beaches, then the Blue Mountains are the perfect escape. In just two hours per train from Sydney you can reach Katoomba. There you can take easy walks or longer hikes in the endless mountains. The Three Sisters and the Wentworth Falls are the two main sights to see in the Blue Mountains.

Hyams Beach at Jervis Bay (1 day)

Hyams Beach is officially recognized as the whitest sand beach in the world. It is 99% white quartz sand. A dream for beach lovers 🙂

Narooma (1 day)

Narooma has an amazing Golf court overlooking the coast, cliffs and a view down to the ocean.

Hope you enjoyed reading this post. Let me know if you have any update for it!