10 Days Itinerary For the East Side of Australia

How to Do Ten Days on the East Side of Australia - Itinerary Summary 

Three of my friends and I took ten days to explore the east side of Australia including the world's oldest rainforest, Sydney, Great Barrier Reef, and beautiful beaches. In total, we visited six different cities/areas. Our planned itinerary for Australia was a mix of both outdoorsy and city adventures. Below is a summary of our ten days planned itinerary in Australia.

Australia has a number of different visas (length/purpose of visit/country eligibility), ETA subclass 601, eVisitor 651, and Visitor Visa 600. eVisitor is eligible for certain citizenships (U.S. citizens are not included). Visitor Visa is for if you want to stay longer than 3 months at a time. The last one is called the ETA.

Day 1 

-Land in Sydney
-Take the train from the Airport into the City
-Walk around Darling Harbour
-Ferry to Circular Quay (Purchase the Opal public transport pass)
-Take a walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens
-Sydney Opera House Tour

Day 2

-Eat Brunch/Breakfast at Social Brew
-Ferry to the Taronga Zoo
-Trek to Chinatown for some great food at Kiroran Silk Road Uighur Restaurant

Day 3 

-Travel to Cairns (About a 3 hour flight from Sydney)
-Walk along side Esplanade street
-Visit the Cairns night market
-Spend some time at Cairns Central Shopping Centre

Day 4 

-Snorkel at Michaelmas reef

Day 5 

-Diving at the Hastings Reef

Day 6 and Day 7

-Tour up and around Daintree Rainforest (2 hr drive north of Cairns)

Day 8 - Day 9

-Spend a night at Palm Cove
-Eat at Vivo Bar and Grill
-Pick up breakfast the next morning at Rising Sun
-Fly back to Sydney
-Train to Newtown and dinner at Thai Pothong

Day 10 

-Breakfast at Cornersmith in Marrickville
-Farmers Market on Addison Rd and Millawara Rd on Sundays
-Train and Bus to Bondi Beach
-Bus to The Rocks