Suggested itineraries

A few framings depending on time and appetite. All assume starting from Sydney (most common international landing).

1 week — “Sydney + a taste”

Pick one:

• Sydney + Blue Mountains — 5 nights Sydney, 2 nights mountains
• Sydney + Uluṟu — 5 + 3 (fly direct, Yulara, base walk + Kata Tjuṯa)
• Sydney + Cairns/Reef — 5 + 3 (Port Douglas, Daintree, reef trip)
• Sydney + Brisbane/Noosa — 4 + 4
• Sydney + Melbourne — 4 + 4

2 weeks — “Greatest hits”

• Days 1–5: Sydney
• 6–8: fly Uluṟu
• 9–11: fly Cairns
• 12–14: fly Melbourne + 2-day GOR out-and-back

Or sub Cairns for Top End.

3 weeks — “Add a real drive”

Option A — SE loop with centre dash

1. Sydney (5 days)
2. Uluṟu + Red Centre + Alice (4 days)
3. Fly Melbourne (3 days)
4. GOR to Adelaide (5–6 days)
5. Adelaide + wine, fly home (3 days)

Option B — Top half

1. Sydney (5)
2. Fly Cairns, reef + Daintree (5)
3. Fly Darwin, Kakadu + Litchfield (4)
4. Fly Broome, Cable Beach + Purnululu scenic flight (4)
5. Fly Uluṟu then home (3)

6 weeks — “The drive of a lifetime”

The trip your friend is dreaming about. Anchor May–September.

1. Week 1: Sydney. Hire car at end
2. Week 2: drive Sydney → Melbourne via coast / alpine
3. Week 3: GOR to Adelaide
4. Week 4: Nullarbor to Perth
5. Week 5: Perth, Fremantle, Rottnest, Margaret River
6. Week 6: fly Perth → Broome, 4WD the Gibb, fly out Darwin

Or invert (fly to Darwin, drive west then south) — debatably better for dry-season window.

East coast subset: Sydney → Cairns

If the focus is east-coast surf and reef:

Days	Leg	Notes
1–4	Sydney	base
5–6	Sydney → Byron Bay	~9hr, break at Port Macquarie
7–9	Byron → Brisbane	Surfers / Burleigh
10–12	Noosa	beach + hinterland
13–15	K’gari (Fraser)	4WD, lakes, dingoes
16–17	Whitsundays / Airlie Beach	sailing
18–21	Cairns, Daintree, Reef	wind up

~3 weeks for the proper east coast drive.

Drive-only subset: GOR → Perth → Kimberley

Days	Leg	km
1–4	Melbourne → Port Campbell → Adelaide via GOR	~1,000
5–8	Adelaide, wine, Eyre Peninsula	~1,000 loop
9–14	Nullarbor → Esperance	~2,700
15–18	Perth, Fremantle, Margaret River	local
19–24	Perth → Broome (Coral Coast)	~2,240
25–32	Gibb Broome → Kununurra	~660 + detours
33–36	Kununurra → Katherine → Darwin	~830
37–40	Kakadu + Litchfield	loop

~6 weeks of actual driving. Fly out of Darwin (or carry on to Uluṟu by air, then home).

8+ weeks

Add to the 6-week:

• Tasmania — 7–10 day side loop from Melbourne
• Uluṟu — fly from Darwin or Adelaide
• Cairns — fly from Darwin
• Karijini & Ningaloo — between Perth and Broome, +week
• East coast drive Sydney → Brisbane → Cairns — itself 2+ weeks

Season picks

• Full drive: May–Sep. Best window June–August
• East coast only: Sep–Nov or Mar–May
• Tas/Melbourne/GOR: Nov–Apr
• North only: May–Oct
• Centre only: Apr–Sep

See when to go.

Book in this order

1. International flight (Sydney in / Darwin out is a good loop)
2. Domestic flights (Qantas, Virgin, Jetstar)
3. Rental car / 4WD (book early for dry-season Kimberley)
4. Uluṟu accommodation (single operator, fills up)
5. Reef / Kimberley tours
6. Sydney hotel (last, flexibility helps)

Where next

• Driving in Australia — read before driving remote
• When to go — season planning
• Index