Australian Traveller

Packed with honest reviews and inspiring travel stories, Australian Traveller is the most authoritative and trusted guide to travelling this great country. It's no wonder that it's Australia's best-selling travel magazine.

Editor’s letter

AUSTRALIAN TRAVELLER

ONLINE • OUT OF IDEAS for a QUICK BREAK? Luckily, we have the answers. YOU DESERVE IT.Australiantraveller.com. Anytime, ANYWHERE.

SHORTCUTS

Wish you were here

PILLOW TALK • CHECK IN to check out the latest, greatest and most FABULOUS new STAYS for a WEEKEND away in our capital CITIES.

WINE & DINE • From WELCOME returns to must-visit NEWCOMERS and chic bottled COCKTAILS to take on a trip with you.

GREAT AUSSIE BRUNCH SPOTS • There’s nothing that says ‘weekend’ quite like brunch – that deliciously anything-goes space between breakfast and lunch – and these go-to haunts deliver on flavour and atmosphere.

THE HIGH LIFE • In its LIFETIME, the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s southeast PYLON has housed everything from a CAMERA OBSCURA to a tearoom, but most uniquely of all – a CLOWDER OF CATS who lived at its very top.

HIGH AND DRY • NON-ALCOHOLIC drinks and degustation PAIRINGS are increasingly common in Australia’s top restaurants and BARS. In a post-pandemic Australia, MINDFUL DRINKING is having a moment, writes Claire Doble.

Saltwater people • The sun seems to be shining BRIGHTLY on a new Sunshine Coast CULTURAL TOUR that has been shaped by a YOUNG INDIGENOUS leader, as CARLA GROSSETTI writes.

A traveller’s checklist

MUST-SEE SIGHTS

Carnarvon National Park • An OUTBACK OASIS in the heart of Queensland’s SANDSTONE Wilderness, Carnarvon Gorge, one of seven sections of CARNARVON National Park, needs to be seen to be believed.

Art and about

IF YOU DO THREE WALKS…

FASCINATING FAUNA • Carnarvon National Park is home to a biosphere of all sorts of curious critters to hear as well as see.

(Secret) Road trips of the GREAT OCEAN ROAD • If you thought the BEST BITS of a Great Ocean Road trip are the ones beside the sea, you’ve been doing it all wrong, writes LEE ATKINSON.

STYLISH WEEKEND AWAY • Maximise the drop-everything-and-go VIBE of a SHORT BREAK by packing light and including only essential pieces that you need and LOVE.

SPEED READS

The Australian Traveller Weekend Away Quiz • Put the Scrabble tiles back in the box, hide all smartphones and do not consult Google; it is time to exercise your grey matter the old-fashioned way by guessing, debating and shouting your way through Australian Traveller’s ultimate weekend away quiz.

WEEKENDS

NEW SOUTH WALES • Weekends are made for VIEWS like this. From the rolling green COUNTRYSIDE of Gundagai and many more besides, NSW offers them up in ABUNDANCE.

Best for... national parks

ON THE RISE • AT THE HEART of Australian folklore and some of NSW’s most idyllic countryside, and with exciting developments afoot, GUNDAGAI and its surrounds are CALLING out to be rediscovered, writes Imogen Eveson.

Ultimate weekend breaks

SHORT STAYS • NSW ESCAPE plan: stay in a luxury eco lodge, a beach-chic HANG or the ULTIMATE heritage HOMESTEAD.

You will also love...

Hit refresh • BOUTIQUE accommodation, a thriving arts scene, HISTORY and heritage, exciting NEW EATERIES, and proximity to PICTURESQUE COUNTRYSIDE makes Maitland a magnet for COUPLES.

QUEENSLAND • A dose of VITAMINS D and SEA – we’re looking at you, Noosa – is the ultimate weekend RESTORATIVE, and something the SUNSHINE State has in ample supply.

Best for... islands

THE SLOW ISLE • MAGNETIC ISLAND has always attracted those seeking a slower pace of life, but as NEW WAYS of experiencing it bubble up, it’s set for...