Australia's best travel destinations

The best holiday destinations in Australia – what to expect, where to go and what to see in Australia during the year ahead

1. The Kimberley

She’s rugged, wild and isolated in Australia’s far north-west corner; and the Kimberley is also, without doubt, the country’s number one hot spot – taking the title of ‘Ultimate Dream Destination’ for the past two years. Plenty of the region’s accommodation is getting rave reviews, such as El Questro and Kimberley Coastal Camp, though we’d like to see local secret, Mornington Wilderness Camp, gain more attention. If you haven’t seen the Kimberley yet, now is the time… quick, before someone decides to asphalt the Gibb River Road.

2. The Top End

Often overshadowed by the famous Red Centre, the Top End is set to shine in 2014. Already famed for its spectacular Kakadu National Park and increasingly-cosmopolitan Darwin, there have been a few new additions of late set to give the region an edge, like new luxe stay Cicada Lodge in Nitmiluk National Park (just outside of Katherine). But it’s the far north-east Arnhem Land that has us spellbound, and the area is set to soar in popularity, with Venture North starting some very exclusive trips here in 2014. Watch this space…

3. Armidale, NSW

Quietly sitting 475 kilometres north of Sydney in the NSW Northern Tablelands, Armidale is the dark horse of 2014. With a rich pastoral history, Armidale balances a city-esque vibe amid a country landscape. This seemingly sleepy country town is in fact a buzzing urban centre with an impressive catalogue of galleries, museums, music gigs and theatre performances. There’s a bounty of cafés and restaurants, many of which focus on local ingredients, as well as picturesque national parks, majestic waterfalls and plenty of walking trails to get your fill of country air. Suffice to say, its cover has been blown.

4. The Gold Coast

Despite a somewhat tainted reputation in recent years, with talk of an unfulfilling restaurant scene and a, ahem, rather unrestrained local dress code, the Goldie is making a comeback with a polished new look and a host of new openings. Having been open barely 12 months, The Fish House has already won many awards for its top-notch seafood with a wine list to match. There’s also the swanky new QT Gold Coast , where “nostalgic surfer chic meets Miami cool", and the even swankier Bazaar Restaurant downstairs, not to mention Justin Lane’s Pizzeria & Bar down the road. Oh Goldie, we’ve missed you…

5. Victoria’s food regions

If there’s one thing we learnt from your responses, it’s that you love Victoria’s foodie destinations. From the Yarra Valley’s bounty of berries and stonefruit, salmon and game meats; the Mornington Peninsula’s many vineyards, olive groves and chocolate makers; to the High Country’s famed Milawa Cheese and Prosecco Road wine route… not to mention the boutique stays. Joining the company of three-hatted Royal Mail in Dunkeld and Lake House in Daylesford is The Provenance B&B in Beechworth, with a restaurant that’s already turning heads with its two-hat status. Best not pack anything fitted.

6. Adelaide

The City of Churches has already been tipped one of the top-10 cities to visit in the world according to Lonely Planet’s 2014 travel guide, and we’re inclined to agree. Thanks to a calendar-full of increasingly popular events such as Adelaide Fringe Festival, WOMADelaide and Adelaide Fest, Radelaide has finally shaken off its quiet reputation for a thoughtfully cool image, and it’s well-deserved. The new year will also see newly refurbed Adelaide Oval open, as well as a growing catalogue of impressive eateries and bars.

7. One&Only Hayman

The word is out; Whitsundays institution Hayman Island Resort is undergoing a multi-million dollar revamp before relaunching as One&Only Hayman in April. And piquing interest even more than its promised new pool area, restaurants, health spa and revamped accommodation is the new name. Only seven other One&Only properties exist around the globe, including Reethi Rah in the Maldives and Palmilla in Mexico – a regular haunt for holidaying A-listers – so we’re expecting big things.

8. Tasmania

Tassie topped our last two travel trend countdowns, and there’s no slowing down for the Apple Isle. MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) remains a major attraction for travellers, pushing boundaries (and stomachs) with its displays centred around death, sex and the human form. Meanwhile Hobart continues to add to its impressive menu of restaurants and bars, gaining interest from industry bigwigs across Bass Strait. And Tassie’s wilderness walks are just getting better, from the endangered Tarkine Wilderness in the west, the award-winning Bay of Fires Lodge Walk in the east, plus the new Bruny Island Long Weekend experience.

9. Fleurieu Peninsula

Just south of Adelaide, jutting out into the Great Australian Bite, lies this unassuming and underrated quiet achiever. But for all its stellar beaches and award-winning wines, the Fleurieu is finally on the cusp of getting the recognition it deserves – particularly at little seaside town, Port Willunga. Famed for white-sand beaches, chilled-out vibes and foodie institutions like the eclectic Star of Greece Café, the town has been described as the laidback key to the good life. Although largely crowd-free, it’s become a popular holiday destination for winemakers from nearby McLaren Vale… with more of us to soon join them.

MORE: 2014’s ‘on trend’ travel experiences’

Abandoned mills and forgotten paper plants are finding second lives – and helping redefine a city long underestimated.

Just 15 years ago, Federal Mills was a very different place. Once among the most significant industrial sites in Victoria, the historic woollen mill was one of a dozen that operated in Geelong at the industry’s peak in the mid-20th century, helping the city earn its title as ‘wool centre of the world’. But by the 1960s global competition and the rise of synthetic fabrics led to the slow decline of the industry, and Federal Mills finally shuttered its doors in 2001. Within a few years, the abandoned North Geelong grounds had become makeshift pastoral land, with cows and goats grazing among the overgrown grass between the empty red-brick warehouses. It was a forgotten pocket of the city, all but two klicks from the bustle of the CBD.

Geelong cellar door wine bar — Geelong has shed its industrial identity to become an innovative urban hub with reimagined heritage spaces. (Image: Ash Hughes)

Federal Mills: from forgotten factory to creative precinct

Today, the century-old complex stands reborn. The distinctive sawtooth-roof buildings have been sensitively restored. An old silo is splashed with a bright floral mural, landscapers have transformed the grounds, and the precinct is once again alive with activity. More than 1000 people work across 50-plus businesses here. It’s so busy, in fact, that on a sunny Thursday morning in the thick of winter, it’s hard to find a car park. The high ceilings, open-plan design, and large multi-paned windows – revolutionary features for factories of their time – have again become a drawcard.

Paddock Bakery andPatisserie — Paddock Bakery and Patisserie is housed within the historic wool factory. (Image: Gallant Lee)

At Paddock , one of the precinct’s newer tenants, weaving looms and dye vats have been replaced by a wood-fired brick oven and heavy-duty mixers. Open since April 2024, the bakery looks right at home here; the building’s industrial shell is softened by ivy climbing its steel frames, and sunlight streams through the tall windows. Outside, among the white cedar trees, families at picnic benches linger over dippy eggs and bagels, while white-collar workers pass in and out, single-origin coffee and crème brûlée doughnuts in hand.

Geelong: Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design

Paddock Bakery can be found at Federal Mills. (Image: Gallant Lee)

“A lot of people are now seeing the merit of investing in Geelong,” says Paul Traynor, the head of Hamilton Hospitality Group, which redeveloped Federal Mills. A city once shunned as Sleepy Hollow, and spurned for its industrial, working-class roots and ‘rust belt’ image, Geelong has long since reclaimed its ‘Pivot City’ title, having reinvented itself as an affordable, lifestyle-driven satellite city, and a post-COVID migration hotspot.

And the numbers stand testament to the change. In March 2025, and for the first time in its history, Greater Geelong became Australia’s most popular regional town for internal migration, overtaking Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Current forecasts suggest Geelong will continue to outpace many other Australian cities and towns, with jobs growing at double the rate of the population.

Tourism is booming, too. The 2023-24 financial year was Geelong and The Bellarine region’s busiest on record, with 6.4 million visitors making it one of the fastest-growing destinations in the country. It’s not hard to see why: beyond the city’s prime positioning at the doorstep of the Great Ocean Road, Geelong’s tenacity and cultural ambition stands out.

As Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design, Geelong is swiftly shaking off its industrial past to become a model for urban renewal, innovation, sustainability and creative communities. The signs are everywhere, from the revitalisation of the city’s waterfront, and the landmark design of the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre and Geelong Arts Centre, to the growing network of local designers, architects and artists, and the burgeoning roster of festivals and events. That’s not even mentioning the adaptive reuse of storied old industrial buildings – from Federal Mills, to Little Creatures’ brewery ‘village’ housed within a 1920s textile mill – or the city’s flourishing food and wine scene.

The rise of a food and wine destination

Restaurant 1915 is housed within a restored former boiler house. (Image: Harry Pope/Two Palms)

Traynor credits now-closed local restaurant Igni, which opened in 2016, as the turning point for Geelong’s hospo industry. “[Aaron Turner, Igni’s chef-patron] was probably the first guy, with all due respect, to raise the bar food-wise for Geelong,” he says. “People now treat it really seriously, and there’s clearly a market for it.” While Igni is gone, Turner now helms a string of other notable Geelong venues, including The Hot Chicken Project and Tacos y Liquor, all within the buzzy, street art-speckled laneways of the CBD’s Little Malop Street Precinct. Many others have also popped up in Igni’s wake, including Federal Mills’ own restaurant, 1915 . Housed within the cavernous boiler house, 1915’s interior is dramatic: soaring, vaulted ceilings with timber beams, exposed brick, a huge arched window. The share plates echo the space’s bold character, playing with contrast and texture, with dishes such as a compressed watermelon tataki, the sweet, juicy squares tempered by salty strands of fried leeks, and charred, smoky snow peas dusted with saganaki on a nutty bed of romesco.

The Woolstore , one of The Hamilton Group’s most recent hospo projects, opened in February. It occupies a century-old riverside warehouse and exudes a more sultry, fine dining ambience. Much like Federal Mills, the blueprint was to preserve the original brickwork, tallowwood flooring and nods to the building’s former life. That same careful consideration extends to the well-versed, affable waitstaff as well as the kitchen. Head chef Eli Grubb is turning out an eclectic mix of ambitious and indulgent mod Oz dishes that deliver: strikingly tender skewers of chicken tsukune, infused with hints of smoke from the parrilla grill, and glazed with a moreish, sweet gochujang ‘jam’; nduja arancini fragrant with hints of aniseed and the earthy lick of sunny saffron aioli; and golden squares of potato pavé, adorned with tiny turrets of crème fraîche, crisp-fried saltbush leaves, and Avruga caviar, to name but a few stand-out dishes.

Woolstore menu — Woolstore’s menu is designed for sharing.

Breathing new life into historic spaces

On the city’s fringe, hidden down a winding side road with little fanfare, lies a long-dormant site that’s being gently revived. Built from locally quarried bluestone and brick, and dating back to the 1870s, the complex of original tin-roofed mill buildings is lush with greenery and backs onto the Barwon River and Buckley Falls; the audible rush of water provides a soothing soundtrack. Fyansford Paper Mill is one of few complexes of its time to survive intact. It feels steeped in history and spellbindingly rustic.

“We were looking for an old industrial place that had some charm and romance to it,” explains Sam Vogel, the owner, director and winemaker at Provenance Wines which moved here in 2018. When he first viewed the building with his former co-owner, it was in such a state of disrepair that the tradie tenant occupying the space had built a shed within it to escape the leaking roof and freezing winter temperatures. “To say it was run down would be an understatement,” he notes. “There was ivy growing through the place; the windows were all smashed. It was a classic Grand Designs project.”

Provenance Wines moved to Fyansford Paper Mill in 2018. (Image: Cameron Murray Photography)

The team has since invested more than a million dollars into their new home. Where paper processing machinery once sat, wine barrels are now stacked. Vaulted cathedral ceilings are strung with festoon lights, and hidden in plain sight lies a shadowy mural by local street artist de rigueur Rone – one of only three permanent works by the artist.

While the award-winning, cool-climate pinot noir, riesling and chardonnay naturally remain a key draw at Provenance, the winery’s restaurant is a destination in itself. Impressed already by whipsmart service, I devour one of the most cleverly curated and faultlessly executed degustations I’ve had in some time. It’s all prepared in a kitchen that is proudly zero-waste, and committed to providing seasonal, ethical and locally sourced meat and produce under head chef Nate McIver. Think free-range venison served rare with a syrupy red wine jus and a half-moon of neon-orange kosho, shokupan with a deeply savoury duck fat jus (a modern Japanese take on bread and drippings), and a golden potato cake adorned with a colourful confetti of dehydrated nasturtiums and tomato powder, and planted atop a sea urchin emulsion.

handcrafted pieces — Bell’s handcrafted functional pieces on display.

The complex is home to a coterie of independent businesses, including a gallery, a jeweller, and its latest tenant, ceramicist Elizabeth Bell, drawn here by the building’s “soul”. “There’s so much potential for these buildings to have new life breathed into them,” says Bell, whose studio is housed within the old pump room. “Even people in Geelong don’t know we’re here,” she says. “It’s definitely a destination, but I like that. It has a really calming atmosphere.”

A Melbourne transplant, Bell now feels at home in Geelong, which offers something Melbourne didn’t. “If this business was in Melbourne I don’t think it would’ve been as successful,” she notes. “It’s very collaborative in Geelong, and I don’t think you get that as much in Melbourne; you’re a bit more in it for yourself. Here it’s about community over competition.”

Australia’s best travel destinations