Luxury holidays in Australia
See Uluru turn red at dawn, then fly over the Great Barrier Reef by seaplane. Say how long you have, and we fit the lodges and domestic flights around it.
It comes off your final price, and is refunded in full if you don't go ahead.
Australia slows you down once you leave the cities. You wake in a suite facing Uluru as the rock turns red, and a few days later a seaplane carries you over the Great Barrier Reef. The distances are vast, so we plan the domestic flights and lodges to keep each move to half a day.
Each region feels like its own country. Watch the light change on Uluru and Kata Tjuta at sunset, then fly to the tropical north, where the Daintree runs down to the reef and Aboriginal guides share the stories of the land. Islands such as Hayman offer quiet days by the water, and Sydney and Melbourne round out a journey with harbour views and dining worth the detour.
Local guides lead harbour days in Sydney and walks at the red heart of the country.
Go behind the famous sails with a guide to see the halls, backstage spaces and stories of how this building came to be.
Climb the arches of the 1932 bridge to the summit, with the harbour, the Opera House and the whole city spread below you.
Walk Melbourne's lanes and Victorian arcades with a local guide, stopping for street art, small bars and good coffee.
Start at Bells Beach to watch the surfers, then follow the Great Ocean Road past cliffs, beaches and the limestone stacks of the Twelve Apostles.
Explore the Daintree, a World Heritage rainforest older than the Amazon, then swim among the coral of the Great Barrier Reef just offshore.
Watch Uluru change from orange to deep red and violet at sunset with a drink in hand, followed by dinner under the desert stars.
Spend a day among the old vines, olive groves and cellar doors of the Barossa Valley, one of Australia's great wine regions.
Head out with a local wildlife researcher to find koalas, kangaroos, wallabies and echidnas in the wild on Kangaroo Island.
The Red Centre and the tropical north make a strong pairing, with a city stay at either end.
Sydney's harbour, beaches and Opera House, and Melbourne's laneways, galleries and food, the two cities where most journeys begin.
The great sandstone monolith at sunrise and sunset, the domes of Kata Tjuta and the stories of its Anangu traditional owners.
Hayman Island in the Whitsundays and Palm Cove near Cairns, bases for sailing, snorkelling and flights over the Great Barrier Reef.
The north is best in the dry months from May to October, while the south is warmest from December to February.
Summer in Sydney and Melbourne, hot at Uluru and the wet season in the tropics.
Warm in the south, while the wet season continues in the tropical north.
Autumn begins in the south, with warm seas and cooling days at Uluru.
Mild in Sydney and Melbourne, comfortable at Uluru as the tropics dry out.
Dry season in the north, with clear, cool days in the Red Centre.
Winter in the south, warm and dry in the Whitsundays and around Cairns.
Cold nights at Uluru, with dry, sunny days on the reef and in the tropics.
Dry and mild in the north, a fine month on the reef, cool in the south.
Spring wildflowers in the Red Centre and calm, clear water on the reef.
Warm in Sydney and Melbourne, still dry in the tropical north.
Early summer in the south, heat building at Uluru and humidity in the north.
Summer in Sydney and Melbourne, very hot at Uluru, and the wet season begins up north.
Uluru has direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne, and Cairns links you to the reef.
A three-hour flight lands you in Queenstown or Auckland, which makes a second country easy.
Rotorua's hot springs, Marlborough's vines and Queenstown's lakes.
Warm lagoons and quiet islands a short boat ride from Nadi.
Tell us when you want to go, for how long and who is travelling. Your travel expert replies in writing with a trip shaped around you.
