Traveling to Australia on your own is easier than you think, because at least you can communicate in English easily or even in Vietnamese in areas where Vietnamese people live. This land of kangaroos has wild beauty and is also very prosperous, always an attractive destination for those who love to explore. On the Australia travel itinerary, Sydney and Melbourne stand out as bright stars, giving tourists the best experiences when you make a self-sufficient trip.
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- Australia travel itinerary 10 days. How to spend 10 days in Australia?
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So, how many days in Australia is enough, what to do and how to spend 10 days in Australia perfectly? Let’s check out our suggested Australia itinerary 10 days Australia travel itinerary 10 days, Australia trip itinerary 10 days, 10 days in Australia itinerary as follows!
Day 1: Fly to Sydney (SYD) & explore the CBD (# australia itinerary 10 days)
I booked a flight ticket on Vietnam Airlines website for less than $329.56 for this round trip. I flew with Vietnam Airlines late the night before so I could sleep well during the 8-hour flight, then landed at Sydney airport around 10am the next day. Leisurely and comfortably take the train into central Sydney and check in to the hotel.
Where I stayed was a capsule cabin at The Capsule Hotel (Agoda, Booking) located right in Sydney CBD, it only took me about 5 minutes to get here from Town Hall train station. The cabin is spacious, comfortable, and free to move around. I booked on Booking.com for $57.67/night, too cheap for a place with such a beautiful location.
The rest of the day, I wandered the CBD to see the Townhall building, Queen Victoria shopping centre, Darling Harbor area, Sydney Opera House and in the evening went to Chinatown to hang out.
Day 2: Stroll the beaches (# australia trip itinerary 10 days)
You can take the train, bus, or ferry to explore the beaches near Sydney, such as taking the ferry across to Manly to see the beautiful scenery of the CBD from the river, then enjoy the exciting atmosphere of Manly beach here. Or take the bus to Bondi beach to learn to surf.
And wander along the coast to experience the Rock Pools right next to the sea.
Day 3: Explore Blue Mountains, Three Sisters & Lincoln’s Rock (# australia travel itinerary 10 days)
Take a day tour to the Blue Mountains to explore Australia’s stunning national parks, see kangaroos, and enjoy the majestic landscapes of the Three Sisters mountain range. And end the day with a sunset experience at Lincoln’s Rock.
Day 4: Explore rural life in the Southern Highlands (# 10 days in australia itinerary)
Only about an hour and a half drive from Sydney is the Southern Highlands, a favorite place for Sydneysiders to “escape” on the weekend. Because this Southern Highlands can let them enjoy a bit of countryside life, it is a very suitable place to relax, to hunt for antiques, to enjoy glasses of wine right at the farm,… or simply just to relax.
And here are the places I stopped during one day in the Southern Highlands:
Berrima town
This town is the best preserved in Australia from the 1830s and is destined to become the center of New South Wales. However, this place was forgotten for nearly a century when the railway connecting Sydney with Melbourne did not pass through this town. But thanks to that, this town has now become a quiet and interesting vacation destination, with many long-standing historical buildings to explore.
I had breakfast with a hot cup of Latte coffee and cakes from the Italian owner at Baked In Berrima nba. The shop seems small and a bit hidden behind a row of houses, but the flow of local customers coming in and out is quite busy, making the owner unable to rest at all. Most customers just buy and take away. That’s enough to say the quality of the shop.
Just a few steps away is Berrima Vault House, which used to be a motel in 1844 and has now been renovated for guests to rest, eat, drink, etc.
And the highlight here is Bendooley Estate, which has the most beautiful grape farm in the region, a bookstore, a cafe and a restaurant so you can have a comfortable lunch break here. In particular, you can participate in the wine tasting experience of this farm.
Bowral ancient town (# australia itinerary 10 days)
A few minutes drive from Berrima, the more than 200-year-old ancient town of Bowral gives me a different vibe when surrounded by many houses that are probably as old as this town. However, this town became richer as many Sydneysiders came here to buy property and Bowral had a train station to go directly to Sydney.
Coming to Bowral, you can visit:
Dirty Janes: a place with many vintage-style souvenir shops, many antiques, and many fancy fashion accessories. Be careful, coming here can easily spend much your money, because you want to buy everything you see.
Gumnut Patisserie Bowral: Bowral’s famous bakery with lots of people coming in and out, even on weekends there are long queues.
Retford Park: This is a beautiful, ancient and large garden. The highlight of this area is the pink villa with Victorian Italian architecture built in 1887. This park was donated to the state for management by billionaire James Fairfax in 2016.
If you have a car to drive yourself, that’s great. If you don’t, you can go to Klook to find a one-day return tour by local people who have lived in Australia for a long time to pick you up, take you out and share more stories. Going on this tour, you no longer have to worry about language barriers, compared to other non-English-speaking tours.
Day 5: Fly to Melbourne (MEL)
Slowly enjoy a cup of coffee in Sydney, visit a few museums in the CBD and board the train to the airport for your flight to Melbourne – another major city in Australia. Flight time is more than 1 hour and travel from Melbourne airport to the CBD is about 30 minutes.
If you have the energy, you can explore Melbourne CBD at night to see Flinders Central Train Station, Chinatown,… for example.
Day 6: Explore Great Ocean Road & 12 Apostles
It can be said that coming to Melbourne without going to the Great Ocean Road and the 12 Apostles is a pity. For me, nowhere else can there be interesting things and stories like on this road.
During a long day of exploration, you will have the opportunity to learn about the history of the Great Ocean Road, which was built in 1919 to become the world’s largest war memorial and a worth-visit destination when coming to Melbourne city.
The closer you get to the end of the legendary Great Ocean Road, the more surprisingly beautiful natural landscapes there are, especially the limestone rocks on the coast named Twelve Apostles – 12 Apostles.
The Twelve Apostles is the name of a complex of limestone rocks out at sea that the first people to visit the area renamed after the 12 Apostles of Jesus. No one or any document is certain about the number 12 rocks as in its name because when you come to see it in person, you will never be able to count all 12 limestone rocks.
Day 7: See Penguins on Phillip Island
After about 2 hours of driving from the center of Melbourne, I arrived at Phillip Island, also known as the home of the world’s smallest penguin species that can only be found in Australia and New Zealand. And that is also the main point that has attracted a large number of tourists to Phillip Island, to witness the “Penguin Parade” – including me, LOL.
The time they swim back to shore after a day of searching for food offshore is at sunset. When they go ashore, they often wait for each other on the beach until there are enough people, then the leader leads the group back to the nest. Very disciplined!
They are so cute, so tiny, it’s so funny to look at their gait. No wonder they are so loved!!!
This season, sunset in Australia is quite late (around 8pm), so I had to wait a long time to meet those adorable “kids”. So for the rest of the day, I explored the following places:
San Remo town: Starting point of the bridge connecting Phillip Island. Coming here, I enjoyed lunch with Fish & Chip, the famous black beef dish of San Remo Hotel restaurant, and sipping another cold beer. What a satisfying meal?
Cowes City: A peaceful place with cute little cafes, delicious gelato shops, cute souvenir shops,…
Phillip Island Wildlife Park: Where you can see the typical animals of this region, such as: Kangaroo, Koala, Wombat,… and can feed them.
Nobbies Center: Where you can walk on the coastal wooden path to see the flocks of seagulls, watch the ocean waves crashing against the cliffs,… The most attractive point here is the Blow Hole, where the The water column shoots high every time waves hit the large cave here.
Day 8: Experience gold mining at Sovereign Hill
A day exploring the city of Ballarat, Australia is also very interesting, located about 2 hours by car from Melbourne CBD. Here, the most outstanding is the gold mining experience at Sovereign Hill, a place that preserves memories of the golden age in 1850. What is special here is the gold mining experience – an educational and entertaining activity that also all families can participate in.
Just walking through the ticket gate makes me feel like I’m back in the good old days. I met wooden houses with ancient architecture that are still there, dirt roads that are still dusty every time there is wind, horse carriages carrying tourists around this hill,… these things make the space It’s so lively here.
At one point, while I was walking, I heard the sound of two adjacent houses arguing back and forth. It took me a few minutes to realize that they were disguising themselves as people of that time and just acting. But it’s true!
Coming here, you can pan for gold yourself, go into deep dark caves to learn how ancient people dug gold, and visit the places where they crafted chariot wheels, where they burned and cast gold… Not just a fantasy game, but also an opportunity to better understand the lives of real gold miners.
Day 9: Explore Melbourne CBD
Before returning to Vietnam, you can spend a day wandering around Melbourne CBD. Just to go see what Melbourne city center has to offer, and also take the opportunity to go shopping. If you’re wandering around the CBD, you can board the Tram to get around, it’s free.
Some places you can explore: St. Paul, Flinders station, Queen Victoria market (where you can buy Australian beef, fruit, souvenirs, spices,…), Bourke Street shopping area, Melbourne Town Hall, DFO South Wharf,…
At night, you can walk across Prince’s Bridge to the riverside Southbank Promenade, find a restaurant or pub and enjoy a part of Melbourne’s nightlife.
Day 10: Fly back from Melbourne
So that’s the end of 10 days of self-sufficient exploration of Australia. Let the most beautiful moments, colorful and fascinating experiences make you always remember this self-sufficient trip to Australia. I believe that Australia will always be a special destination, where your adventurous heart truly belongs.
The post first appeared on Vinhgau.com and was translated and edited by Living Nomads. If you find any images or text that belong to you, please contact us, so we can credit you or give us permission to use them. Thank you very much!
Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in and from Melbourne you can refer to
- Melbourne Tullamarine Airport (MEL) Express Transfers by SkyBus
- Shared Melbourne Airport Transfers (MEL) for Melbourne
- Private Melbourne Airport (MEL) Transfers for Melbourne
- Avalon Airport (AVV) Express Transfer by SkyBus for Melbourne City
- Private Melbourne Airport (MEL) Transfers for Melbourne CBD
- Private Avalon Airport (AVV) Transfers for Melbourne
- Great Ocean Road Day Tour: 12 Apostles, The Loch Ard Gorge and More
- Morning City Sights Half Day Tour
- Melbourne Morning City Sightseeing Tour
- Great Ocean Road and Twelve Apostles Day Tour from Melbourne
- Grampians National Park Day Tour from Melbourne
- iVenture Melbourne Unlimited Attractions Pass
- Melbourne City Sightseeing
- iVenture Melbourne Flexi Attractions Pass
- Greyhound Australia Hop On Hop Off Bus Pass from Melbourne (3 Months)
Are you looking for more Melbourne travel guide and top things to do in Melbourne: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Melbourne travel blog — The fullest Melbourne city guide for a budget trip to Melbourne for the first-timers.