Today is the day you set off from your chosen airport. You’re bound for Australia with connecting flights on the way.

Welcome Down Under! You land in Australia and are transferred from the airport to your hotel.

If your room is not ready for you when you arrive, it’s possible to have your luggage stored so you can go out and take in the city.

It’s a long way to Australia, and you’ll probably feel jet lagged on the first day. The very best cure is to drink plenty of water and get plenty of fresh air and daylight during the day. Thankfully there’s no shortage of that in Brisbane!

With just over 2 million inhabitants, Brisbane is Australia’s third largest city and the capital of the state of Queensland – not to mention a lovely city! It may seem a bit quiet compared to the country’s other two metropolises, Sydney and Melbourne, but don’t let that fool you: it’s a magnificent city, oozing with charm.

South Bank by the river is the hippest area of the city, where there are restaurants, bars and a public beach – it’s pretty lively here, day and night.

If the hipster scene is more your thing, head to West End, which is less “polished” than South Bank with cool street art and cosy cafés and shops.

We also highly recommend the Botanic Garden and Roma Street Parkland, north of the station.

The days are yours to explore the city on your own.

Visit the exciting Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) for a spot of culture.

If a little more physical activity is the order of the day, you can rent a bike and cycle out to the Mount Coot-tha lookout. There is a crazy panoramic view of the city from up here. It is also possible to take the bus out here.

There are several companies along the Brisbane River that offer pleasant boat trips, where you can relax and soak up all the impressions.

You also have the option of purchasing a full-day excursion to the area around Brisbane, e.g. Moreton Island or the scenic Lamington National Park.

You are transported to the airport from which you will fly to Sydney. You are then transported from the airport to your hotel. If your room is not ready for you on your arrival, you can have your luggage stored and head out into the city.

With just over 5.5 million inhabitants, Sydney is Australia’s largest city and it is, in our opinion, one of the world’s most scenically situated big cities. The city is built up around the world’s largest natural harbour, and with access to more than 100 different beaches, it’s very much an outdoor lifestyle here in the city!

On this first day, most people head down to Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. Sydney Opera House has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007, along with the Egyptian pyramids and the Great Wall of China. Right next to the Opera House is the Botanic Garden. From here, you have a view of the harbour with ferries sailing back and forth between the suburbs, and large yachts bobbing in the many bays.

Opposite the Opera House is the old quarter, The Rocks. This is where the first Europeans settled when they arrived in Sydney.

If you continue round the harbour front, you come to Barangaroo Reserve. The area is a former industrial area which, with the help and guidance of the Aboriginal people, has now been transformed into an area of parkland that resembles a little piece of Sydney as it used to look before the Europeans settled. You might like to join a guided tour and learn more about the unique flora found there, and the cultural heritage of the Aboriginal people.

Round off the day at King Street Wharf, where you’ll find some of the city’s best restaurants.

Enjoy breakfast at one of the local cafés. In the early morning, it’s time for a half-day guided tour of one of the world’s most scenically situated cities. There are numerous highlights, and the tour will give you a good overview of the city, making it easier for you to plan what you want to return to and explore further. The Opera House, the Botanic Garden, the old quarter, The Rocks, Darling Harbour, Hyde Park, Chinatown, etc. are all on the list today. Along the way, the guide will tell you more about the history and culture of the city.

The rest of the day is yours to continue exploring the city on your own. You can choose to purchase a guided tour of the Opera House or – if you’re feeling brave – a bridge walk on Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Please note that you have to make your way to the starting point of the guided tour on your own. The address is written on your voucher.

If you haven’t yet experienced some of Sydney’s many beaches, this might be the obvious excursion option today.

A lot of people opt for Bondi Beach, but we’d also like to suggest the walk from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach. It’s a walk filled with the most scenic viewpoints and cosy little bays and beach-side suburbs.

If you’re the adventurous type, you can also walk from Spit Bridge to Manly. One of the things that makes Sydney so special is its small pockets of national parks – lots of them, and right near the otherwise densely built-up centre. The walk from Spit Bridge to the beach-side suburb of Manly takes you through Sydney Harbour National Park, and it’s not at all uncommon to see large lizards lying sunbathing in the middle of the path here. Enjoy a nice lunch in Manly – and perhaps take your swimming things with you. As mentioned before, life is very much lived outside here in Sydney, and almost all the larger beaches have good changing and shower facilities ready for bathing or surfing guests.

You can, of course, also choose to purchase one or more of our many exciting excursions. We recommend that you buy them when you book the tour, as some of them sell out quickly.

You are transported from the hotel to the airport, from which you will fly to the last metropolis on the tour; Melbourne. On your arrival in Melbourne, you’re transported to the hotel.

As in the other two cities, you can have your luggage stored if the room isn’t ready for you on your arrival.

Just as when you travelled from Brisbane to Sydney, today you will also experience a huge contrast between Sydney and Melbourne. Sydney is bright, open and – with all its tourists – very international. Melbourne is chilled, cultural and has a great culinary scene!

Spend the rest of the day exploring the city. It has come excellent shops if you’re looking to take a good souvenir home with you. You can easily while away a couple of hours at Queen Victoria Market.

If you’d like to explore the exciting culinary scene, you should head north of the city to the areas around Fitzroy and Carlton.

You might also like to stroll along the Yarra River, which flows through the city. The entire area around the South Bank is packed with restaurants, bars and trendy shops, and this is also where you’ll find the large Crown Casino.

In the morning, a guided tour of Melbourne’s hidden streets and laneways awaits. You must make your way to the start of the tour on your own. The location is written on your voucher. The tour takes you into the inner, narrow streets of the city centre, where designers and architects reside alongside quirky cafés. The walls are adorned with street art, and the narrow alleys exude history and tales from the days when things were not quite as hipster here.

Take it all in and pick the places you wish to return to. Feel free to ask the guide for recommendations for cafés or restaurants.

The afternoon is yours – possibly to get lost in the narrow streets.

You can also take the tram to the seaside suburb of St Kilda. If you head out here late afternoon, you might be lucky enough to see the small colony of pygmy penguins come ashore around sunset.

The day is yours to explore Melbourne on your own. The entire state of Victoria also has many exciting and interesting sights to offer, so if you fancy getting out of the city for a bit, you can choose to purchase an excursion. How about a trip along one of the world’s most beautiful coastlines on the Great Ocean Road? Or perhaps a visit to the Yarra Valley wine region?

It’s time to buy those last souvenirs before you head to the airport from which you will fly home to the UK with connecting flight(s) on the way. You can also choose to extend the tour to include a trip to the red heart of Australia and Uluru.

You land in the UK after a lovely, adventure-packed holiday.