The most common Australian backpacker tours 

Australians are not unfamiliar with backpackers. They even skipped calling ‘hostels’, ‘hostels’, and just call them ‘backpackers’, to make things easier for everybody. Everything in the country seems made for backpackers, it’s just perfect! 

As soon as you arrive, you’ll notice all the possibilities your hostel offers, and all the tour stories from fellow travelers. Don’t be overwhelmed, there are a few tours that are most common and will bring you to amazing places! Curious? I have featured the most common Australian backpacker tours. It doesn’t really matter where you’re based at the time, most tours are offered from all locations in a slightly different way. For example, you can do the Great Ocean Tour as a day tour from Melbourne, or as an overnight camping trip from Adelaide. Just pick your favorite tour, book in advance and enjoy!

From all things I did I enjoyed the tours the most! (I didn’t have a car so was slightly limited in what I could do). Once you’re in Australia and you hear all these great stories about tours and all the things you can discover, all you want to do is book tours! But pick wisely, because most tours are kind of expensive (like 10x your average daily budget).

How I worked? I always browsed my tours at Viator, had a look at the options and booked the cheapest, most fun (camping!) or unique experience. I’ll add a few links to tours here, so you’ll get a feeling what to expect (and to make booking easy!).

Australian Backpack tour Ayers Rock in the Outback

| Overnight Ayers Rock / Uluru / Kata Tjuta Sunset or Sunrise tour | 

Yaaay, I did an organised Uluru tour, because believe me, people get stuck in the Outback all the time. I recently heard that yearly about 300 people get lost there. Like LOST.. in the desert. So pick an organised tour, and I suggest you go for a sunset or sunrise tour. Traveling in a group to a special place is really fun, so is the local tour guide that told me a lot about the indigenous culture! Oh and btw, the girly jumpy photo had to be taken if every girl in the group takes one right..?!!

| Great Ocean Road |

I can't believe I didn't do the Great Ocean Road yet! But When I was in Australia, I went for unique experiences rather than the 'must visits'. This way, I knew I had to come back rather sooner than later to visit all the touristic tours! Great Ocean Road is the road you have to visit when you're in Victoria (Melbourne & surroundings). This my friends, is where you find koalas and kangaroos in the wild!

Travel the Great Ocean Road and beyond and experience one of the world's most scenic coastal drives. See the towering 12 Apostles, iconic surf breaks and misty waterfalls. Discover a diverse array of things to see and do in the region, from outdoor activities such as surfing, scuba diving and sea kayaking to arts, cultural and heritage attractions. Admire the stunning coastline on the Great Ocean Walk, get up close to native wildlife at Tower Hill, and explore surf towns and seaside villages. Enjoy fine dining up and down the coast and stock up at local winemakers, dairy farms and fresh provedores along the way. - Visit Victoria

| Twelve Apostles |

Visiting the Great Ocean Road and you'll drive past the Twelve Apostles. But you can also do day trips to just the Twelve Apostles! Witness the rugged splendour of the famous 12 Apostles, magnificent rock stacks that rise up majestically from the Southern Ocean on Victoria's dramatic coastline. I've seen pictures from every backpacker I met, and they were all SO enthusiastic about this bizarre nature wonder. So, on my bucketlist!

| Phillip Island |

Do you love penguins? Visit Phillip Island! Or, when in Melbourne, watch them wild & for free at St. Kilda pier around sunset. I visited the penguins over at St. Kilda pier, but I'm definitely planning on visiting Phillip Island next time I'm around!

Iconic wildlife and family fun, stunning white beaches and hi-octane motor sports, you'll find it all on a seaside holiday at Phillip Island, just 90 minutes from Melbourne. See little penguins and sleepy koalas, teach the kids to swim on a quiet bay beach, and soak up all the action at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. - Visit Victoria

| Tasmania |

When I arrived in Melbourne, I didn't really had a plan. The only plan I had was visiting the Outback and ending in Sydney for my next flight. But right from the moment I arrived, I felt this desire to visit Tasmania. And I'm so happy! It was simply the best experience I've ever had! It's such a beautiful island and although most of the time it's really cold, the nature is incredible! I did a hiking tour all around the island, but you can also pick one that visits only the East- or West Coast! But make sure you visit Cradle mountain, Freycinet National Park and Hobart!

Australian backpack tour from Melbourne Puffing Billy

| Australian Wine tours / Yarra Valley |

Ohhh those Aussies love their wine! In Europe you'll find more French or South American or South African wines, but when you're on the other side of the world, they have their own wines and yesss, they are nice. I'm not talking about Goon here guys, but real wine. Visiting a wine farm and enjoying a wine tasting is good fun for an afternoon! A day trip to a wine tasting is not even that expensive, considering that a glass wine in a cafe is $AUD17,-! I never made it to the Yarra Valley (next time!) but I did do the Puffing Billy Train ride and high tea – that was so much fun!

| Fraser Island |

EAST COAST AUSTRALIAN is high on my list, but I haven't been there. Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island and of course did I see a lot of photos from my fellow backpackers. It looked beautiful! And they all said: it's the most beautiful beach I've ever visited!

Visit Fraser Island to be dwarfed by the ancient, gravity defying rainforests growing out of only sand and to explore the freshwater lakes and spectaculars and formations of one of the most incredible islands on earth. World Heritage-listed Fraser Island has the absolute best that one island can offer – cool towering rainforests to walk through; over 100 freshwater lakes to swim including the iconic Lake McKenzie and Lake Wabby, huge sand blows to climb, and an amazing 120km beach highway, complete with the Maheno shipwreck and cliffs of stunning coloured sands. Lying off the coast of Hervey Bay and just south of the last of the Great Barrier Reef’s coral cays, Fraser is the world’s largest sand island and stretches for 123km and spans 166,000 hectares. - Visit Fraser Coast

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