Map of Australia
Hello! Welcome to the Gold Coast Australia and the sunshine state of Queensland!
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I guarantee you will find real information on this website and I promise no endless lists of accommodation!
You'll find hints and tips from my own experiences and those of my family and friends who visit or live here. I've lived in and around Gold Coast since 2004. I'm here to help.
Use this website to get all the information you need to plan your perfect Gold Coast holiday, or simply click here to get planning cheat sheets, tips & tools to make it easier!
AND, to make it super easy here are our main booking partners for hotels and for tours, tickets, theme parks and activities with all the latest deals & up-to-date information.
Looking for a simple map of Australia?
On this page, you will find a large scale map of Australia plus interesting information and statistics.
If you are here researching Australia as a place to visit, I highly recommend Gold Coast in Queensland for at least a part of your visit.
If you want some help to plan out your stay in Gold Coast, you may find planning cheat sheets, tips & tools helpful in working out your itinerary and the things you want to do. Even though it is based around Gold Coast, the principals of planning are the same so you could use these as a basis to do more research for other parts of Australia.
If you have any questions about travelling to or around Australia, you can also check out question and answer section or you can contact me directly with a question if you cannot find your answer, and I will try to help.
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Small Map of Australia
About Australia
Australia is a huge country with a coastline of over 34,000kms or 21,000 miles.
You can fit nearly 32 UKs in to Australia!
The population of Australia is now over 24 million people (2016 data). Most of those people live in the capital cities or close to the coast.
Australia is made up of states and territories. Each one with their own capital city, state government and their own unique tourist attractions.
Looking at the map of Australia (below) doesn't really give much perspective.
Even after a long flight to Australia, most visitors don't quite realise how BIG this country is.
Flights in Australia are usually how you get around between the cities.
Perhaps these approximate flying times between some Australia cities might help.
- Sydney to Perth - 5 hours
- Sydney to Canberra - under an hour
- Sydney to Melbourne - 1 hour 20 mins
- Sydney to Adelaide - 2 hours
- Sydney to Brisbane - 1½ hours
- Sydney to Darwin - 4½ hours
- Sydney to Cairns - 3 hours
As you can see on the map and from these flight times, Australia is a really big place! In comparison 24 million people isn't that many people compared to many other countries. This means that most visitors to Australia have expectations of the country which are not necessarily true.
Being so big means several things to visitors to Australia.
- Climate and weather is quite different from top to bottom and from east to west.
- Australia spans different time zones.
- Travel planning is essential because of the large distances between places in Australia.
- Outback travel planning is especially vital because getting it wrong can mean life or death in the harsh Australian outback. Outback guided tours are recommended for novice outback travellers.
- Each state or territory has its own government. Public holidays, school holidays and even laws and road rules are different across the country!
Map of Australia
You can experience just about anything in Australia.
Simply decide what you want to do!
Australian States and Territories
Name
Capital City
Australian Capital Territory
(ACT)
Canberra
(Australian Capital)
- Australian Parliament
- Floriade annual flower festival
New South Wales
(NSW)
Sydney
- Bondi Beach - Sydney
- Sydney Harbour Bridge
- Sydney Opera House
- Sydney Harbour
- Mardi Gras -Sydney
- Blue Mountains
- Hunter Valley for fine NSW wines
- Coffs Harbour home of the Big Banana!
- Byron Bay and Cape Byron most easterly point in Australia
- Bathust 1000 Motor Race
- Thredbo, Perisher and NSW Snowfields for skiing, cross country skiing and snowboarding.
- Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
- Sydney Olympic Park & ANZ Stadium for Sporting Events
- Best New Year's Eve Party on the Harbour
Northern Territory
(NT)
Darwin
- Kakadu National Park
- Uluru National Park (Ayers Rock, The Olgas and more)
- Alice Springs
- Outback Australia
Queensland
(QLD)
Brisbane
- Gold Coast
- Gold Coast 600
- Great Barrier Reef
- Sunshine Coast
- Port Douglas
- Cairns
- Town of 1770
- Whitsunday Islands
- Fraser Island - largest sand island in the world and home to the purest australian dingos
South Australia
(SA)
Adelaide
- Adelaide City of Churches
- Coober Pedy - Outback Australia
- Opal Mining
- Barossa Valley fine South Australian wine
Tasmania
(TAS)
Hobart
- The Apple Isle!
- Port Arthur
- Cradle Mountain
- Tasmanian Devil
Victoria
(VIC)
Melbourne
- Shopping in Chapel Street and Bridge Road
- Melbourne Theatre, Culture and Arts
- Australian Open Tennis
- Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix at Albert Park
- Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Home of Australian Rules Football (AFL)
- Great Ocean Road
- Mt Hotham, Mt Buller and Victorian snowfields
- Yarra Valley for fine Victorian wine
- Ballarat Gold Rush country
- Bendigo for pottery and gourmet foods
- Daylesford - Natural Spa Country
- Houseboats on the Euchuca River
Western Australia
(WA)
Perth
- Fremantle (Americas Cup Sailing)
- Broome
- The Kimberleys
- Monkey Mia (dolphins)
- Nigaloo Reef (whale sharks)
- Margaret River (fine WA wines)
- Kalgoorlie gold mining town
- The Indian Pacific Railway
- Karri Forests
- Nullabor Plain
- Australian Outback
You'll find lots of photographs, descriptions and information to help you dream up your perfect Gold Coast Holiday.
Why not start with all that the Gold Coast has to offer.
After many years of planning trips with my family both locally and overseas, I've created many resources to help you through creating an itinerary and plan that will have you seeing, doing and experiencing the best the Gold Coast has to offer you.
You can do it yourself using the resources on this website by starting here.
Or you can cut some corners and get my travel planning sheets and extra resources.
When you are ready to book your Gold Coast travel arrangements I've hand picked the best resources for all aspects of your travel itinerary. You can feel confident that you are accessing the best local and global travel providers for your holiday.