8 once-in-a-lifetime getaways in Australia to add to your bucket list

Editor By Editor
hero media
From ultimate escapes in tropical paradises and luxury expedition cruises to helicopter wine odysseys and decadent dinners, these OTT adventures by land, sea and air need to be on your wish list.

1. Stay in Queensland’s Luxury Lodges of Australia

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

Turquoise, terracotta and emerald are the three bands of colour that define the distinct landscapes that backdrop the three Luxury Lodges of Australia in Tropical North Queensland. Stitch them together and it becomes a bold needlework. Bounce from Lizard Island , with its white sand hemmed in by turquoise seas, to Silky Oaks Lodge , which is enveloped in the tropical greenery of the Daintree, to Mt Mulligan Lodge in the outback, which is dominated by the russet-red hues of the ancient monolith.

the white sand beach on Lizard Island
Lizard Island is blessed with pristine white sand and turquoise waters. (Image: Elise Hassey)

2. Cruise the Kimberley, WA

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

A cruise to the Kimberley is on most Australians’ bucket lists for a multitude of reasons. True North has small ships purpose-built for navigating the region’s shallow bays and river systems, offering unparalleled access to that Kimberley magic. Or join a Silversea cruise onboard Silver Cloud from Broome or Darwin to make this vast stretch of wild and remote coastline more accessible: see everything from saltwater crocodiles and humpback whales to ancient Indigenous rock art and soaring limestone cliffs carved by the mighty Fitzroy River over millennia.

Kimberley falls on a True North cruise
Explore the Kimberley onboard True North. (Image: True North)
a Silversea cruise onboard Silver Cloud
Passing through the narrows on Talbot Bay at Sunrise with the Silver Cloud. (Image: Kris Markovska)

3. The Big Lap of Australia

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

It’s time to leave your life as a corporate schlub behind and head out on the road to do the Big Lap of Australia. While you might have pressed pause on this popular pilgrimage while working your way up the career ladder, the bitumen still beckons for a golden gap year. Cash in your long service leave and hit the road in your RV to make your own discoveries during this indulgent, oh-so-Aussie rite of passage.

an RV at the Great Australian Bight
Hit the road in your RV to the Great Australian Bight. (Image: Getty Images/Philip Thurston)

4. Sail to Antarctica from Hobart, Tas

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

While most Antarctic expedition cruises depart from Ushuaia in Argentina, the southernmost city on Earth, it’s possible to sail from Australian shores, too. Hobart is a launch pad for exploring remote East Antarctica with Scenic Cruises. Departing January 2026, its 24-day itinerary, Antarctica’s Ross Sea: Majestic Ice & Wildlife, cruises from the Tassie capital to New Zealand onboard Scenic Eclipse II.

Aurora Expeditions’ 24-day Mawson’s Antarctica sets sail in December 2025 onboard Douglas Mawson, stopping at Tasmania’s subantarctic Macquarie Island and crossing the Arctic Circle. Or flip the script with the 31-day half-circumnavigation of the Antarctic onboard Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot, sailing January 2026 from Ushuaia all the way back home to Hobart.

Adelie penguins in Cape Adare
Adelie penguins in Cape Adare. (Image: Myeongho SEO/Shutterstock)

5. A heli-tour of SA’s best wine regions

Travelling with: Kassia Byrnes

You’ve probably visited several wineries, possibly even in South Australia, but you’ve never been on a wine trip like this. Watch the ground below give way as the roar of propellers signals the start of a heli-tour between three wine regions and three female-owned and/or operated wineries on an Ascend Wine Odyssey : Oliver’s Taranga in McLaren Vale, Golding Wines in the Adelaide Hills and Kimbolton Wines in Langhorne Creek. At each stop, there’s a different experience – from a tasting amid the vines to a long lunch to cheese pairings. Plus, there’s a chance to compare how the different geography of each region gives a unique flavour to its wines. This is wine tasting at its most luxurious.

wine tasting on an Ascend Wine Odyssey tour
A wine tasting offers a glimpse into the region’s unique flavours.

6. Dinner with the founder of Mona, Tas

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

Accept your rich benefactor’s offer to drop $50K on Dinner with David Walsh , founder of Mona in Hobart. The experience, dreamt up by Cultural Attractions of Australia, includes a private jet from the mainland, a two-night stay in Mona’s luxury pavilions and lavish degustation dinner with David at onsite eatery, The Source. The price tag includes a private museum and winery tour, lunch at Faro Bar + Restaurant and access to art experiences.

MONA Founder, David Walsh
Meet MONA Founder, David Walsh. (Image: MONA and Remi Chauvin)

7. Circumnavigate Australia

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

Circumnavigation cruises around Australia operate between September and April each year. Think of the voyages as a highlights reel of the country as the ships hug the curves of the coastline. Itineraries tend to include capital cities from Sydney to Brisbane and Perth to Melbourne, as well as regional ports like Hobart, Port Lincoln and Cairns. You’ll need some time on your hands to circle our vast coastline with Princess Cruises , Viking , Holland American Line and Silversea .

a woman at the sauna, Silversea
Relax at the Otium Spa onboard Silversea. (Image: Tim Faircloth)

8. Hire Makepeace Island, Qld

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

the interior of Richard Branson’s Makepeace Island home
Book a stay at Richard Branson’s Makepeace Island home.

Live out your most debauched White Lotus fantasies when you book a stay at Richard Branson’s Makepeace Island home on the Noosa River. The private sanctuary, surrounded by a tangle of tropical gardens, sleeps up to 22 guests and includes a tennis court, gym, media room, pool and 15-person heated spa, as well as dedicated staff. Inclusions range from guided nature walks to river fishing, kayaking, kids’ cooking classes and a sunset river cruise.

an aerial view of Makepeace Island
The magnificent heart-shaped Makepeace Island was reopened in 2024. (Image: Jesse Lindemann)
Editor
See all articles
Geminid meteor shower 2018 over Ulanhada Volcano, Inner Mongolia, China
Australia

How to see the last (and best) meteor shower of 2025

Look up for the last (and best) meteor shower of the year.

Read more
Lake Burley Griffin
Australia

12 summer weekends away across Australia to plan now

The weather is heating up, the days are getting longer, and the break we are all looking forward to is nearing closer. Here, 12 different ways to spend your summer weekends, from beach breaks to city stays.

Read more
26 incredible ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve
Australia

26 incredible ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve

Still don't have plans for New Year's Eve? Here are 26 ways to welcome 2026.

Read more
cold moon december
Australia

Friday’s Cold Moon is your last chance to see a supermoon in 2025 

On 5 December, a spectacular 'Cold Moon' will close out this year’s supermoon trilogy with a bang.

Read more
hero media

Farm fresh produce to a trail of lights: the ultimate guide to Mildura

    Rachel LayBy Rachel Lay
    Continue
    The charm of Mildura is hidden in plain sight along the Sturt Highway. The capital of Tropical North Victoria is in a league of its own.

    From the moment you arrive in Mildura , the warm air and palm trees invite you to slow down. While most Australians might drive right past it, Mildura is full of surprises. Here you’ll spend one day witnessing over 50,000 years of First Nations history in a UNESCO-listed National Park, and the next dining in a hatted restaurant after wandering through 12,500 fireflies as the outback sunset bursts to life above. From roadside fruit stalls and family-run wineries to houseboats and galleries, it’s time to explore Mildura.

    Feast Street, at the heart of Langtree Avenue in Mildura.
    Taste, wander and be surprised in Mildura.

    Taste Mildura’s produce

    It makes sense to start your trip by addressing the most important question: where to eat. In the beating heart of Australia’s food bowl, sample the local produce directly from the source. And then, of course, experience it through the menu of a hatted chef. Or sandwiched between pillowy slices of Nonna’s ciabatta.

    Rows of orchards and olive groves invite you to spend the day traipsing from farm to farm. Taste olives propagated from Calabrian trees brought over in the 40s, oranges picked right from the tree and squeezed into juice and spoons full of honey . Bring the holiday back to your kitchen by stocking your pantry at roadside produce stalls, or calling into the ‘silver shed ’ (Sunraysia’s gourmand Mecca).

    Thanks to the warm, balmy air and fertile soils, the wineries dotted along these hills produce award-winning local wines. Like Chalmers , a family-run, innovative winery dedicated to making their wines as sustainable as possible. And picturesque Trentham Estate offers views of the snaking Murray River as you sample their vintages.

    Venture beyond the gnarled shadows of olive groves and fragrant rows of blossoming fruit trees and you’ll find an otherworldly side to Mildura. With Discover Mildura as your guide, visit Murray River Salt’s Mars-like stacks. The naturally pink salt is formed from an ancient inland sea and evaporated entirely by the sun to create one of the region’s most iconic exports.

    Start your day with just-squeezed sunshine.

    Hatted dining & Italian history

    Mildura is home to a proud community of Calabrians and Sicilians. This, paired with the exceptional local produce, means that you can find paninos on par with those in Italy. The Italian is a Paninoteca serving up made-to-order, hefty, authentic Sicilian paninos. Nonna Rosa’s pork meatballs, slowly cooked in tomato ragu and served in a crusty, fluffy roll topped with gratings of Grana Padano cheese and salsa verde, will call you back to Mildura for the rest of your days.

    To find hatted dining in Mildura, simply follow the staircase down into the basement of the historic Mildura Grand Hotel to find Stefano’s . Following the muscle memory and instinct of his Italian roots, he delivers on the principle of ‘cucina povera’. That is, the Italian cooking ideology that turns simple, local ingredients into magic.

    Things to do in Mildura include dining at the acclaimed Stefano’s, where simple local ingredients are transformed into Italian culinary magic beneath the historic Grand Hotel.
    Bite into Mildura’s Italian heritage.

    Discover a thriving culture scene

    The city is alive with culture. Whether it’s painted on the town’s walls, told in ancient yarns, or waiting for you in a gallery.

    The Mildura Arts Centre was Australia’s first regional art gallery. Behind the walls of Rio Vista Historic House, you’ll find a lineup of ever-changing exhibitions. The gallery’s wall space pays tribute to the art and songlines of local First Nations People, the region’s awe-inspiring landscapes and more. Outside, on the gallery’s lawn, find 12 contemporary sculptures in the Sculpture Park.

    Mildura’s streetscapes are a punch of colour. Swirling strokes of paint blend the winding artery of the Murray River, red dirt and local characters into a story you can see with your own eyes, thanks to the Mildura City Heart’s Mural Art Project . Pick up a copy of the Murals of Mildura guide from the Visitor Information Centre.

    Follow the border of NSW and Victoria on a map and you’ll see it hugs the curves of a tiny island on the Murray. That’s Lock Island, where, as the sun and moon trade places, the island comes alive as darkness falls. The island is dotted with 12,500 firefly lights that lead you on a meandering path through the outback sunset. The installation is known as Trail of Lights and was created by the same visionary who dreamt up Field of Light at Uluṟu, Bruce Munro.

    Things to do in Mildura include exploring its rich cultural scene. From vibrant street art and ancient stories to exhibitions at the Mildura Arts Centre, Australia’s first regional gallery.
    Find culture around every corner.

    Wonder at ancient landscapes

    The landscapes of Mildura feel almost transcendental. The skyline bursts to life with reds, pinks, and deep, sparkly night skies.

    The nature will leave you in awe. See hues of pink water changing with the weather at Pink Lakes inside Victoria’s largest national park, Murray Sunset National Oark. Cast a line into Ouyen Lake. Watch the sunset against 70-metre tall red cliffs that reflect the setting sun. Or get the heart racing and sandboard down the Perry Sandhills dunes, formed 40,000 years ago at the end of an ice age.

    Just don’t leave without following the twists and turns of the Murray. Stroll or ride along the Shared River Front Path, or jump onboard a boat for a scenic ride.

    Your itinerary will be incomplete without a visit to UNESCO World Heritage-listed Mungo National Park . Head out with an Indigenous ranger to witness ancient campsites and footprints, before standing in awe of ancient civilisation near the discovery site of Mungo Man—Australia’s oldest human skeleton at 42,000 years old.

    Mungo National Park at night is a vast, silent landscape where ancient dunes glow under moonlight and stars blanket the sky in breathtaking clarity.
    Walk in the footsteps of ancient civilisation.

    Meet your home away from home

    On equal par with planning your meals and adventures, is finding the perfect place to relax at the end of each day.

    Sleep inside a Palm Springs postcard at Kar-Rama . A sleek boutique hotel complete with a butterfly shaped, sun-soaked pool. Here you’re staying right in the heart of Mildura but you’ll feel worlds away. Or if you really wish to connect with nature, a night glamping under the stars at Outback Almonds will have you spellbound.

    When in Mildura it’s only right to stay on one of the Murray River’s iconic houseboats . Wake up each day to the calm waters of the Murray lapping outside your window. Enjoy days full of river swims, fishing and exploring. All boats are solar-powered and can be self-skippered or moored along the river.

    A solar-powered houseboat on the Murray River in Mildura.
    Stay and play on the Murray in a solar houseboat.

    Start planning the perfect getaway at mildura.com .