Great Barrier Reef, the Red Centre and the world's most liveable food cities
Australia is enormous, so a good trip picks two or three things and does them well: the reef, the outback, the food cities, the wine country, or the wild coasts. We plan Australia for travellers who want nature at scale, city food and wine, and road trips through empty country — with the timing, the routing and the rooms decided before you leave, and someone reachable while you are away.
A typical Third Door itinerary here leans on the Great Barrier Reef from a private island or a low-key pontoon, Sydney Harbour and the coastal walks from Bondi to Coogee, the Red Centre: Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon at dawn. We book direct with the properties we know, hold the details that matter — the room with the view, the table that is hard to get, the driver who knows the road — and keep the plan flexible enough to change once you are in it.
December – February
Hot in the north, perfect in the south. Peak season in Tasmania and the south coast.
March – May
Warm days, harvest season in the wine regions, the north still pleasant before the wet.
June – August
Best for the Red Centre and the Top End; the south is cool and wet.
September – November
Wildflowers, the north warming up, and the south emerging from winter. Good all-rounder.
The harbour, the beaches, the restaurants and the coastal walks. A city that works for any length of stay.
Port Douglas, Cairns, Hamilton Island and the outer reef. Best combined with rainforest.
Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon. The spiritual and geographic centre of the country.
Wilderness, food, whisky and a cooler climate. Australia's best-kept secret.
Australia's food capital, the Great Ocean Road and the Yarra Valley wine region.
Perth, Margaret River, the Ningaloo Reef and the Kimberley. Remote and rewarding.
Sydney
The harbour bridge and opera house from your window; the best location in the city.
Hamilton Island
The benchmark Great Barrier Reef resort; private and adult-oriented.
Uluru
Tents with direct views of Uluru; the most intimate way to see the rock.
Tasmania
Tasmania's best lodge, with oysters, walks and wine.
Land, unwind, and get your bearings with a private guide who sets the context rather than reading a script. The harbour, the beaches, the restaurants and the coastal walks. A city that works for any length of stay.
Port Douglas, Cairns, Hamilton Island and the outer reef. Best combined with rainforest. This is where most of the trip's character lives, so we give it the most room.
Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon. The spiritual and geographic centre of the country. A deliberate shift in rhythm before you travel home.
Private transfers, late checkout where we can arrange it, and a single point of contact from the day you land to the day you leave.
Sydney
Peter Gilmore's harbour-side tasting menu; one of Australia's defining restaurants.
Melbourne
Ben Shewry's boundary-pushing Australian tasting menu.
March to May and September to November for most of the country; June to August for the Red Centre is the window we recommend most often. Hot in the north, perfect in the south. Peak season in Tasmania and the south coast. We will steer you by what you actually want from the trip rather than by peak season alone.
12–18 nights for a multi-region trip; shorter for one region. Shorter is possible and we plan it regularly, but the pace changes: fewer bases, less driving, one region done properly instead of three done quickly.
High; domestic flights and premium lodges are expensive, but the quality is consistently high. Once we understand your dates, party and the standard of stay you have in mind, we come back with a costed proposal rather than a range.
Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) for most visitors. Domestic flights are essential. We plan quarantine rules for pet travel carefully. We flag entry requirements early, arrange ground transport and private transfers, and keep the day-to-day logistics off your plate.
Yes. Australia is one of the destinations where we can plan pet-first properly — pet-friendly properties we have vetted, ground transport instead of cargo where possible, and documentation checked before you book flights.
Yes, but choose two regions. Sydney, the reef and the Red Centre is a classic three-part trip.
Tell us your dates, party and the feeling you want. We will come back with a first proposal built around this destination.