hero media

Meet Ask AT: Our game-changing new travel tool

Quentin Long Quentin Long
We are excited to share with you Ask AT.

We think it is a world first – an Australian-owned, human-powered AI travel tool that will plan your ultimate domestic Aussie holiday for you.

What exactly is Ask AT?

We’ve called it Ask AT because it draws exclusively on AustralianTraveller.com content – more than 150 detailed destination guides, curated trip itineraries, family-friendly tips, outback experiences and hundreds of road trip ideas – to give you personalised recommendations in seconds.

You can prompt Ask AT with any Aussie travel questions you have, and it will give you expert ideas and advice based on real travel insights from 20 years of specialist Australian travel writers.

To give you an idea, here are some questions asked by our users during testing:

“Tell me the best things to do on the Gold Coast for families – where to stay, what to do and nature-based activities"

“Hi, can you suggest some unique luxurious stay at Port Macquarie?"

“Can you design a week away in Margaret River with great food and wine?"

Why it’s different

A car parked on the side of the road next to a pink lake
Ask AT will plan your ultimate domestic Aussie holiday. (Image: Rachel Claire/@fieldnotes__)

We think there are four reasons Australians will fall in love with Ask AT.

1. Ask AT has the answer

Ask AT uses 20 years of expert travel writing to answer your question. In numbers, that is more than:

150+ thorough Aussie destination guides

100+ individually crafted family trips

160+ detailed outback itineraries and experiences

170+ thoroughly explored road trips

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

AI Prompt

2. You can trust it

Because Ask AT draws exclusively from AustralianTraveller.com content written by real travel journalists, the answers are local, vetted and 100% focused on Aussie travel. We even include the reference articles for you to read in the answer.

3. It’s ethical

Unlike other LLMs (ChatGPT, etc.), which are trained using content from other websites without permission or reimbursement, we have spent millions of dollars paying Australian writers for our content, so we are not stealing from Australian writers.

4. It’s Australian

As an Australian company, we are invested in our community, pay taxes in Australia and employ Australians. Again, every other LLM is an international company not contributing to the Australian economy or community. The more success Ask AT has, the more Australian writers we will pay for content, the more Australians we will employ, the more taxes we will pay in Australia.
But most importantly, the more we spend on Ask AT, the better Ask AT will get at helping Aussies find their dream holidays.

That’s a win for all Australians and something we believe you can feel good about supporting.

Who it’s for

Two cars parkers near the beach
Ask AT draws exclusively on AustralianTraveller.com content. (Image: Rachel Claire/@fieldnotes__)

Everyone!

Whether you are a couple chasing a romantic getaway, a solo traveller looking for your next thrilling adventure, a group of friends in need of a weekend away, or a family planning a break for the school holidays, Ask AT is here to help.

How to use it

Ask AT
You can prompt Ask AT with any Aussie travel questions.

It really couldn’t be easier!

Ask AT sits front and centre of our new website.

All you need to do is type in your travel-related question into the prompt box and let it do the hard work for you.

Don’t forget you can clarify any response or ask for more information.

And in our testing, people loved it when they asked Ask AT to turn all those great insights and recommendations into an itinerary.

There are a couple more great features:

  1. You can save all your conversations for easy reference by creating an account using your email. Each time you log in your prompt and answer history will appear on the sidebar.
  2. You can share answers with friends and family by clicking the send icon.

Weekly travel news, experiences
insider tips, offers, and more.

A final request

Happy or unhappy with an answer?

Let us know by giving it a Thumbs Up or a Thumbs Down – we’re dedicated to continually refining our new tool to make it as helpful as possible.

Ready for your next amazing Aussie adventure? Ask AT is here to help. 

Want to see more stories from Australian Traveller in your Google search results?

  1. Click here to set Australian Traveller as a preferred source.
  2. Tick the box next to "Australian Traveller". That's it.
Quentin Long
Quentin Long is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Australian Traveller Media. Quentin is a sought-after travel media commentator. He is Australia’s most trusted source for travel news and insights, having held weekly radio segments across the country since 2006, and regularly appearing on Channel 9’s Today and A Current Affair programs from 2010. Don't ask him his favourite travel experience as that's like asking him to choose a favourite child. However he does say that Garma Festival is the one travel experience that changed him the most.
View profile and articles
Longitude 131, NT
Australia

The Aussie hotels missing from Condé Nast’s Triple Crown Hotels list

Condé Nast has released a new Triple Crown Hotels list, but there are some gaping omissions.

Read more
The Pickers Hut in Adelaide Hills, SA
Australia

13 weekends worth of winter breaks around Australia

Here’s how you can beat (or embrace) the winter blues this season.

Read more
Still got your COVID Virgin travel credit? It’s about to expire
Australia

Still holding onto your COVID Virgin travel credit? It’s about to expire

Here's how to check, redeem and make the most of your Virgin travel credits before they’re gone for good.

Read more
Winter Wonderlights in Ballarat, Vic
Australia

The most exciting winter festivals around Australia

Combat the cold with the coolest winter festivals in Australia.

Read more
hero media

The road trips and trails you need to experience in Victoria now

    Kellie Floyd Kellie Floyd
    Continue
    Wind through fern tunnels, stop for a wine in a tram bar, or chase giant murals across the wheatbelt. These drives and rides prove Victoria’s best stories are found off the straight and narrow. 

    There’s something unmistakably Australian about a road trip: car packed, playlist on, landscapes shifting. Travelling down the highway toward Healesville, in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, the mountains rise, flanking me on both sides. I feel its embrace, a silent invitation to explore what lies beyond.  

    Moss-covered embankments rise on either side, and towering mountain ash trees form a green tunnel overhead. Road signs warn of wombats and cyclists but with giant ferns lining the roadside, the landscape feels prehistoric, as if a dinosaur might suddenly emerge. This, the Black Spur, is one of my favourite road trips. 

    The Black Spur 

    The Black Spur drive
    Through the forested canopy of The Black Spur drive that winds from Healesville to Narbethong. (Image: Neisha Breen)

    Location: Yarra Ranges
    Duration: 30 kilometres / 30 minutes 

    The Black Spur is short compared to other Victorian road trips, just 30 kilometres, stretching from Healesville to Narbethong. But what it lacks in distance, it makes up for in scenery. Just outside Healesville, Maroondah Dam offers bushwalks and scenic views. However, if pressed for time, Selover’s Lookout is an easy roadside stop offering uninterrupted views of the dam.  

    In Narbethong, close to the Marysville’s snowfield, is the Black Spur Inn, a charming double-storey brick hotel that’s been welcoming travellers since 1863. Here, diners cosy up by the roaring fire or gaze through the floor-to-ceiling windows, imagining horse-drawn coaches carrying hopeful gold seekers to the eastern goldfields.   

    Victoria’s Silo Art Trail 

    Silo Art Trail
    The Silo Art Trail in the Wimmera Mallee region. (Image: Visit Victoria/Anne Morely)

    Location: Various towns across the Wimmera Mallee region
    Duration: More than 200 kilometres / 4–5 hours but best over a minimum of three days  

    What began as a way to draw travellers back into town bypassed by highways – places such as Nullawil, Sea Lake and Patchewollock – has grown into a celebrated outdoor art movement. The Silo Art Trail now includes 23 silos, each transformed with large-scale mural portraits sharing local stories, celebrating community heroes, Indigenous history, farming life, or regional identity.  

    The Nullawil silo, for example, is a portrait of a local farmer in a chequered flannelette shirt alongside his loyal kelpie, painted by artist Sam Bates (AKA Smug). And the silos at Albacutya in the Grampians, painted by artist Kitt Bennett, depict her joyful memories of growing up in the countryside. Many of the murals sit right in the heart of small towns, such as Rochester and St Arnaud, making them perfect spots to pause for a country pub meal or something sweet from a local bakery.   

    Metung to Mallacoota  

    Gippsland lakes
    Gippsland Lakes. (Image: Visit Victoria/Josie Withers)

    Location: Gippsland
    Duration: Approximately 220 kilometres / 4 hours  

    The Gippsland Lakes are a much-loved holiday spot in Victoria, but road-tripping further east reveals much more. Begin in Metung and time your visit with the monthly farmers’ market, or simply linger over lunch on the lawn of the Metung Hotel. Twenty minutes away is Lakes Entrance, where you can watch the fishing boats return with their catch. 

    Lakes Entrance
    Lakes Entrance. (Image: Visit Victoria/Iluminaire Pictures)

    Continue to Marlo, where the Snowy River spills into the sea, and Cape Conran for its many beaches and walks. If needing to stretch your legs, Croajingolong National Park is home to the historic Point Hicks Lighthouse and the Wilderness Coast Walk. Birdwatching and rainforest trails near Bemm River are worth a pit stop before arriving in Mallacoota, where the forest meets the sea. 

    Great Ocean Road 

    12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road
    The 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road. (Image: Tourism Australia/Two Palms/Harry Pope)

    Location: South-west Victoria, from Torquay to Allansford
    Duration: Approximately 250 kilometres / 4–5 hours but best over a minimum of three days  

    Victoria’s most famous road trip delivers it all: world-class surf breaks, rainforest walks, clifftop lookouts and wildlife encounters. The journey begins in Torquay, the state’s surf capital, then hugs the coast past Anglesea and Lorne to Apollo Bay, before curving inland through the lush rainforest of the Otways. Stop at Cape Otway Lightstation or take to the treetops at Otway Fly.  

    Between Cape Otway and Port Campbell lies the most photographed stretch – seven of the Twelve Apostles still standing, alongside the golden cliffs of Loch Ard Gorge. Further west, Warrnambool is a winter whale-watching hotspot, before the road winds to Port Fairy, a charming fishing village of whalers’ cottages, walking trails and offshore seal colonies further along the coast. 

    Bellarine Taste Trail 

    Terindah Estate
    Terindah Estate. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)

    Location: Bellarine Peninsula
    Duration: Approximately 80 kilometres / 2–3 hours  

    The Bellarine Taste Trail is a feast for the senses, winding through coastal towns, past boutique wineries and artisan producers. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure style trail – simply grab a map and build your own delicious journey.  

    You might wander historic, seafront Queenscliff, sip wine in a converted tram bar at Terindah Estate, sample a locally distilled whisky at The Whiskery in Drydale or pick up a jar of honey at Wattle Grove in Wallington. Seafood lovers can head to Portarlington, famous for its mussels. Eat them fresh at local restaurants or head out on the water with Portarlington Mussel Tours. 

    O’Keefe Rail Trail – Bendigo to Heathcote 

    Pink Cliffs Reserve
    Pink Cliffs Reserve in Heathcote can be seen on the O’Keefe Rail Trail. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)

    Location: Central Victoria
    Duration: Approximately 50 kilometres / 4 hours cycling 

    Travellers first journeyed between Heathcote and Bendigo in 1888, when the railway line was built to link the towns. Trains stopped running in 1956, but today the route has a new life as the O’Keefe Rail Trail. The path is mostly level for easy riding, and along the way you’ll cycle past bushland, waterways and reserves. There are plenty of places to picnic, birdwatch, and if you’re lucky, spot a platypus.  

    The trail is well supported with water stations, bike repair points, shelters, and signage. Axedale makes a great halfway stop, with the pretty Campaspe River Reserve for a rest and local cafes for refuelling. Begin in Heathcote, known for its wineries and cafes, or in Bendigo, which is easily reached by train from Melbourne/Naarm. Shorter sections, such as Heathcote to Axedale, are also popular. 

    Goldfields Track – Ballarat to Bendigo 

    Location: Central Victoria
    Duration: Approximately 210 kilometres / 2–3 days cycling  

    The Goldfields Track traces a route once so rich in gold it made Melbourne one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Starting at Mt Buninyong, south of Ballarat, the trail leads mountain cyclists and walkers north through Creswick, Daylesford and Castlemaine before finishing in Bendigo. Along the way, you’ll encounter granite outcrops, eucalypt forests, rolling farmland and remnants of the region’s mining past.  

    As it passes through the lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung and Wadawurrung people, the track shares gold rush history and Indigenous stories brought to life by interpretive signs. Walk or ride the full trail or choose from one of its three distinct sections. With cosy stays, cafes and pubs, it’s easy to mix wilderness with comfort.