Best Time To Visit Australia

When is the best time to visit Australia?

Some of the factors to consider when trying to work out the best time to visit Australia are:

• Geography of Australia
• Where you want to go
• Australian weather and seasons
• Australian School Holidays
• Major Events in Australia you might want to attend or avoid!
• Things you want to see in Australia

When is the best time to visit Australia?

I hate to say it but that sort of depends! You see the question is really only half a question...

When is the best time to visit Australia to...

Whilst you think about what other half of your question is, I shall try to guide you through some common considerations. Including resources to help answer those fundamental questions.

Is there a best season to visit Australia? Or a best month to visit Australia? I don't think there is one answer to that, you'll have to read on and research a bit more!

About Australia!

Australia is a vast country, often that size is totally underestimated by visitors. I fell into that category myself. I came to Perth in 1989 and I thought I would just go to the Great Barrier Reef for the weekend!

If you look at a map of Australia you can see that wouldn't have been the little weekend trip I was thinking of! The Great Barrier Reef is off the northern coast of Queensland, almost diagnoally opposite Perth and about a 6 hour flight each way!

Australia is made up of 5 states and 2 territories, each has its own capital city. Canberra is the capital of Australia, not Sydney! However, Sydney is probably the place most people associate with Australia. Australia has just over 20 million people, so it really isn't that populated. You will find that what we think is crowded isn't compared to USA or Europe. You will always be able to find your piece of beach!

Getting To Australia

Pretty much the main way most people arrive in Australia is by flying to Australia! Usually into one of the major captial cities. However, you could arrive by cruise boat!

All visitors to Australia who do not hold an Australian passport require a valid Australian visa to enter Australia.

Visas must be obtained before arrival. You usually cannot even board a plane to come to Australia without a visa.

For some passports you can get an electronic visa for your passport which can be issued online without the need to go to an Australian Embassy or Australian High Commission Office.

Getting Around Australia

There are many ways to get around Australia. Popular options to get around Australia are:

• take an internal flight within Australia and fly between the capital cities or the many smaller regional cities and towns. When you are on holiday this can be a good option if you are strapped for time and want to pack in a lot of sightseeing.
• take a package tour that takes in the major sights, you see what they want to show you, but you will cover a lot of ground.
• hire a campervan and drive yourself around from place to place, very flexible but needs lots of planning and if time is tight don't be too ambitious.

School Holidays and Your Australian Holiday

One of the big tricks to finding the best time to visit Australia for you is working around the Australian school holidays, if you can.

If you can't then it is really important to plan your trip and book everything beforehand. That way you get the pick of accommodation, lock in your hire car and the accessories you need, save time at the tourist attractions with pre-bought tickets or pre-booked tours.

Australian Weather and Seasons

Weather may have the most influence on determining the best time to visit Australia. We all want the perfect weather for our holiday!

Regardless of what you expect the weather to be like, you should be prepared for other outcomes. I always pack a windcheater or waterproof jacket wherever I go. I find it doubles as an extra layer to keep me warm if it is unexpectedly cool and also keeps me dry if it shower. It doesn't take up much room either in my suitcase or in my travel backpack that I use when doing day trips and tours.

Also check out the local websites for any tips and tricks for wet weather. On this website about the Gold Coast I have a whole section on things you can do in the Gold Coast when it is raining. Because, it does sometimes rain, but that doesn't mean the enjoyment of your holiday should stop!

Have I Covered Everything?

I am quite sure I haven't quite managed to cover everything about working out the best time to visit Australia on this webpage. If you have a burning question and I haven't asked it, feel free to ask a question and I will try to help out. Just remember though, I am not a travel agent! So please don't ask me to book something for you!

If you are planning a trip to Australia, I hope you found these few pages on Australia helpful, and I also hope that you consider adding the Gold Coast into your itinerary, we are after all only an hour flight from Sydney! As you can see I think the Gold Coast is great, and more than meets the eye on a first look.

Good luck working out when to visit Australia, hope to see you on the Gold Coast sometime soon!

Gold Coast Annie