Australia: The Grand Tour

Travel Day - Depart Detroit

Travel Day - Cross the international date line.

Tour Begins (B,L) - Arrive at the Brisbane Airport and meet your local tour leader. Enjoy a short city orientation followed by a light lunch. Check into the Sofitel Brisbane Central. This evening, meet your fellow travelers for a welcome dinner at the hotel.

Sydney & Harbour Cruise (B,D) - Breakfast is included at the hotel. Transfer to the Brisbane Airport & fly to Sydney. Your guide will meet you for a short city tour. Check into Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. Tonight, embark on a 2.5 hour dinner cruise in the iconic Sydney Harbour.

Sydney & Harbour Cruise (B,D) - Breakfast is included at the hotel. Transfer to the Brisbane Airport & fly to Sydney. Your guide will meet you for a short city tour. Check into Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. Tonight, embark on a 2.5 hour dinner cruise in the iconic Sydney Harbour.

Sydney City Tour & Bondi Beach (B,L) After an included breakfast, take an in-depth city tour of Sydney and its neighbors - including a tour of the Sydney Opera House. This afternoon, spend time at Bondi Beach soaking in the magnificent scenery. Lunch is included at The Meat & Wine Co Barangaroo. Time permitting, visit the National Opal Collection & Museum. The evening is yours to spend at your leisure.

Blue Mountains & Featherdale Wildlife Park (B,L) - Breakfast is included at the hotel. Spend a full-day at The Blue Mountains. See native wildlife while you explore World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park with your guide. Arrive at Scenic World and take a ride on the Scenic Railway, Cableway, or Skyway. These rides are a great way to see the steep valleys, canyons, and Three Sisters rock formations. Lunch is included at Lookout Echo Point. Depart for Featherdale Wildlife Park. See kangaroos, wombats, dingoes, and cute little fairy penguins. Dinner is on your own this evening.

Ayers Rock & Sunset at Uluru (B) - After breakfast, transfer to the Sydney Airport & fly to Ayers Rock. Check into Voyages Sails in the Desert Hotel. This evening, take the coach to the sunset viewing area to see the changing colors of Uluru - a massive sandstone rock formation & one of the most impressive natural sites in Australia. Return to the hotel for an independent dinner. Choose from the hotel restaurant or several restaurants within walking distance.

Sunrise at Uluru & Field of Lights (B,D) - Meet your guide early this morning and head to Uluru for a sunrise tour. The Talinguru Nyakunytjaku viewing platform allows you to see for many miles. You’ll witness the first light gently embracing the desert landscape from here. As the sun rises, so does the incredible birdlife that calls Uluru home. Return to the hotel to freshen up and have breakfast. Continue your tour by visiting the Mutitjulu waterhole. In times of rain, experience the magical waterfalls, while in the warmer months, watch for noisy finches and nankeen kestrels soaring on the thermal winds. This is a living cultural landscape where you will learn more about the indigenous culture. Lunch is on your own followed by a Dot Painting Workshop. You will be taught by a local Anangu artist (and an assisting interpreter). Learn about traditional art, symbols, and tools. Get inspired by the ancient ways of the desert and create your very own work of art to treasure. Experience a unique dinner at The Field of Light Uluru - an incredible art exhibition featuring 50,000 spindles of light in the open outback sky.

Travel to Cairns (B,D) - After breakfast at the hotel, check-out and spend time walking around around the galleries and shops and enjoy an independent lunch. Transfer to the Ayers Rock Airport for your flight to Cairns. Check into the Hilton Cairns with time to relax & freshen up. Dinner tonight is at the hotel or a local restaurant.

Great Barrier Reef Cruise & Cairns Night Markets (B,L) - Breakfast is included at the hotel. Walk to the Marina Reef terminal and embark on a fullday Great Barrier Reef Cruise. Set sail aboard the beautiful 32-meter sailing catamaran Ocean Spirit to experience Michaelmas Cay’s unique reef environment - a pristine sand cay surrounded by fringing reefs and a protected sanctuary for migratory seabirds. A hot & cold buffet lunch is included. Enjoy all the activities – snorkel in the Cay’s protected shallow waters, cruise in the semi-sub for a diver’s view of the reef, watch the fish feeding presentation and observe the island birdlife. The “beach buggy shuttle” will transfer you between Ocean Spirit and the beach throughout the day. If you prefer a more leisurely day on the Great Barrier Reef, relax on the beach or onboard Ocean Spirit’s spacious decks. The choice is yours! Tonight, explore Cairns and the night markets on your own

Rainforest Interpretation Centre & Kuranada Scenic Railway (B,L) - After breakfast, transfer to the Smithsfield Station and board the Skyrail. Your Skyrail experience is approximately 1.5 hours and includes spending time at the two rainforest mid-stations. Enjoy ranger-guided boardwalk tours and visit the Rainforest Interpretation Centre, lookouts, and historical displays. Journey by cable to Kuranda to spend some free time browsing the Kuranda Village and Heritage Markets. Board the shuttle from Kuranda to Rainforestation. Take part in a Pamagirri Aboriginal Experience & Dreamtime Walk. Enjoy a buffet lunch at Rainforestation. Board an amphibious WWII Army Duck for a rainforest tour. Your day concludes with a scenic ride back to Carins onboard the Kuranda Scenic Railway. The famous railway was built over 120 years ago and winds through the tropical mountain ranges between Cairns and Kuranda. Transfer back to the hotel for dinner on your own and to explore the town and Esplanade area.

Cairns to Melbourne (B,D) - Breakfast is included at the hotel followed by a transfer to the Cairns Airport for your flight to Melbourne. Meet your guide for a brief orientation tour of Melbourne - a city that blends bustling laneways, worldclass restaurants, and captivating museums. Check into the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins and enjoy an included dinner with your fellow travelers.

Melbourne City Tour & Koala Conservatory (B,D) - After breakfast, meet your guide for an in-depth tour of Melbourne. Experience an Aboriginal talk at the Koorie Heritage Trust. Learn how the land on which Melbourne is located has changed over time and about the significance of the Birrarung Wilam to the local Kulin people. You will gain a deeper and more meaningful understanding of this incredible location. Lunch is on your own. Proceed to Phillip Island. Visit the Koala Conservatory, Nobbies, and the Antarctic Center. Overlooking the Bass Strait, the Nobbies boasts spectacular clifftop views. Gaze out to the Nobbies rock formations and beyond to Seal Rocks, home of Australia's largest fur seal colony. You may even spot a migrating whale in the right season. After dinner, when dusk arrives, you will witness the Penguin Parade on floodlit Summerland Beach from the Penguins Plus premium viewing area.

Yarra Valley & Melbourne Skydeck (B,L) - Meet your guide after breakfast and depart for Yarra Valley. Visit Rayner’s Orchard - a family-run, boutique fruit orchard in the Yarra Valley. They grow over 450 varieties of fruit, including peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, tamarillo, pomegranate, persimmon, figs, Pepino, feijoa, guava, kiwi fruit, dutch medlar, and various citrus throughout winter. Taste the many varieties of fruit available in the orchard. Stop at De Bortoli Wines for an included lunch and wine tasting. Time permitting, stop at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie to try one of their delicious ice creams. On route to the hotel, stop at the Melbourne Sky Deck. Featuring the Southern Hemisphere’s highest observation deck, the Melbourne Skydeck experience dazzles, entertains and informs through its spectacular and ever-changing views and state-of-the-art virtual and augmented reality experience.

Free Day (B,D) - Breakfast is included at the hotel. Today is a free day to relax or further explore the city. This evening, join your fellow travelers for a farewell dinner.

Journey Home (B) - After breakfast, transfer to the Melbourne airport to make your journey home filled with wonderful memories of your Australia Tour.