For Odyssey Travellers who tend to be retirees and mature or senior travellers travelling as a couple or solo, we suggest an organised group tour as being the best way to tour Australia. Odyssey’s ccollection of small group escorted tours of Australia seek to be an organised tour that get off the beaten track.

A small group tour limited to 16 people allows you the freedom to enjoy the journey on one of our small group escorted tours of Australia whilst your tour guide looks after the logistics of the tour operation and getting you and your fellow travellers to the next place of interest.

An escorted Australia tour has a schedule that typically will visit all the popular destinations a traveller seeks when visiting Australia.

For Odyssey Travellers we seek to journey onto the road less travelled! small group escorted tours of Australia that explore. Preparing small group tours that explore and provide opportunity to learn as you travel to the Kimberley, Tasmania, Flinders ranges, South West coast of Western Australia, Out back Queensland or the Canning stock route. Places where Aboriginal stories come to life, the wildlife can be seen, landscapes leave you in awe and the settlement history creates the time to pause and wonder.

Australia is unique in that this vast island continent contains such a diversity of experiences to meet all types of interest that a traveller may have. It is recognised that for many it is seeking the icons.

For Odyssey Travellers a small group tour is getting beyond the “Best” but to reach the places of interest, to satisfy the curiosity and to learn. Our portfolio of small group escorted tours of Australia to each state seeks to achieve this in groups of typically 6 to 12 people plus an experienced leader.

Bookings for escorted or a group tour open upto 2 years in advance to allow you book onto your preferred Australia tour.

A deposit will typically secure your place with final payments falling due between 90 to 60 days before departure.

A reputable travel company will allow you pay by credit card or direct bank transfers in the currency of your choosing.

For a small group tour of typically 12 people in this post pandemic environment you should considering an allowance of AUD$550-$600/day   per person on a twin share basis. This should cover all travel, entrances, breakfast and one other meal a day, plus tipping.

A large group tour of uptown 50 travellers will operate with a lower cost/day.

For a small group tour for seniors with Odyssey Traveller you should allow for AUD$3500 for a 8 day city tour to Adelaide and AUD$12,500 for a 16 day inclusive tour of the Kimberley.

Location, distance, sights and duration all influence the tour price.

Your Australia tour will probably start in Sydney on Australia’s east coast, the country’s largest city known as “The Harbour City” due to it being mainly built around Sydney Harbour.

Sydney has been recognized as one of the world’s most beautiful metropolises. Probably the two most iconic and outstanding and dominating landmarks are the huge Sydney Harbour Bridge (also known as the “Coat Hanger”) and the Sydney Opera house with its sail-shaped structural designed by Jorn Utzon in the late 1950’s when he was a young architect in his mid 30’s. If you are not attending a performance in the Sydney Opera house , then you can always have a drink at one of the cafes around the house, looking across at the Sydney Harbour bridge and watch daily life on the Sydney harbour.

Sydney is situated on miles of ocean coastline and has a number of sandy surf beaches within easy reach as a day tour from the centre of Sydney . Some of the best known beaches are Bondi beach and on the north Shore of Sydney , Manly beach , and a day tour to them should be included on your tour of Australia .

A very popular activity is to take a Sydney harbour cruise which takes in not only the skyline of Sydney but also the attractive nearby suburbs spread out around the harbour. Of course you can also get onto the Sydney harbour by grabbing a ferry ride to anywhere, just to be out on the water and include a going under the Sydney harbour bridge, though some visitors choose to walk over the top of the Sydney Harbour bridge.

The city of Sydney boasts several very beautiful and scenic parks as such Centennial park and The Domain which contains both the interesting Royal Botanical Gardens but also the resplendent Government House. A great walk is through the Domain and the Botanic gardens round to the Sydney opera house following the edge of Sydney harbour. Nearby are the National Art gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Sydney and the Australian Museum.

Interesting neighbourhoods to stroll around are The Rocks with its Art Deco buildings and Paddington with its grand Victorian homes and its lively cafe and restaurant scene.

From Sydney are theUNESCO world heritage listed Blue Mountains, some 2 hours from the city of Sydney a great place to start a day tour . The unique formations of dramatic scenery encompass steep cliffs, some of Australia ‘s finest eucalyptus forests, waterfalls and small villages. The mountains include the Three Sisters, some of the world’s most beautiful awe-inspiring pinnacled peaks. In the Blue Mountains there are 140 kilometres of walking trails. However, the Blue mountains should be treated as a journey in to Australia’s outback. For the novice an escorted tour or guided touronto any of the walking trails in the Blue mountains would be prudent. Should one wish to spend time here, beyond the day tour then the best place as a base in the Blue Mountains would be Katoomba, a small town offering arty boutique shops. Another region a two hour drive away from Sydney and a suitable day tour is the Hunter Valley, a wine producing region with over 120 wineries and some of Australia ‘s finest bloodstock. To the south of Sydney , just off the Hume highway, the road to Melbourne are the Southern highlands and the regional centre of Bowral. This regional town has a tulip festival each spring as well as an amazing National trust property to visit. The Southern Highlands and Bowral are also a suitable day tour from Sydney .

Melbourne, Sydney’s “rival”, is a sophisticated metropolis and should also be included as part of the itinerary on a small group tour of Australia. Central Melbourne is the most European of Australia’s cities and is its cultural capital. Its unique character includes its trams and its Victorian-era architecture. Melbourne offers excellent shopping and cultural sites such as art galleries and museums. Central Melbourne has colourful neighbourhoods such as Fitzroy and the beach side suburb of St. Kilda, just a Melbourne tram ride away. A Day tour out of Melbourne can be to Daylesford for a spa or to Phillip Island to watch the Penguin activity at sunset. The gold rush towns of Ballarat and Bendigo are a comfortable day tour if Melbourne is your base during your time in Victoria. A long day tour would be along the scenic Great Ocean road including the unique rock formation of the Twelve Apostles, returning back to Melbourne along the inland route or onto Port Fairy. For those with more time, the Great Ocean road allows you time to also explore the Otway National park or enjoy a guided tour of the walk that follows the Great Ocean road from Apollo Bay.

South Australia holds a lot of the history of Australia’s outback and Kangaroo island is a popular destination. Geologically unique, Aboriginal culture, wildlife and European settlement is all part of the mix you can organise as part of a guided tour program in this state. Whilst Adelaide and its hills provide some of Australia’s finest Victorian buildings and design collections from this era, as well as wines on a day tour, it is the outback of South Australia’s Flinders ranges National park and Lake Eyre National park , Wilpena pound, Coober Pedy and Woomera that can inspire you when on a escorted tour of this region.

Adelaide is an easy going, relaxed and garden-like city. The Adelaide Museum and the art gallery collections will surprise and delight the visitor seeking history.

Port Adelaide is also well worth a visit. A guided tour of the Barossa Valley or the McLaren Vale wine districts are suggested in order to appreciate the impact different nationalities have had on the settlement of South Australia. Kangaroo Island with its abundance of wildlife and Cleland Conservation Park where you can get up close to many of the country’s indigenous animals is best as a mulit-night stay rather a day tour .

For those with an interest in train journeys, you can catch a train from Adelaide to the Northern Territory capital Darwin through the outback to Alice Springs, where you join a guided tour to Uluru Ayers rock , before continuing on through the Northern Territory to Darwin. This journey puts any tour of Australia into context as the kilometres of rail pull you the travelelr through Australia’s outback to Darwin.

Australia’s capital city is Canberra, some 4 hours by road from Sydney and about 6 hours from Melbourne. The serene unhurried and purpose-built and planned capital, is located around the attractive artificial Lake Burley Griffin. Some of the major landmarks are the old Parliament House, the traditionally designed Parliament Building and the Australian War Memorial. Canberra is home to the National art gallery and National museum which are worth visiting.

For the majority of people on Vacation, Queensland represents the beach in their minds. The Great Barrier reef , Cairns , East coast beaches at Noosa or the Gold coast , the Whitsunday islands, Fraser island, the worlds largest sand bank and Brisbane.

For the majority of visitors, they hug the east coast not venturing into the Australian Outback to discover the history of Aboriginal settlement, the river boat traffic down the Murray river or the impact the railway lines brought to regional towns at the begining of the 1900’s. But if you can get beyond Australia’s East coast and the Great Barrier reef particularly in going inland into Queensland then the history is revealed from Winton with the discovery of complete dinosaur skeletons, the town where Waltzing Matilda was first played or where the airline Qantas was the germ of an idea in Longreach, then the stories and history are quickly exposed and become intriguing as they reveal the Australian character. However, the Great Barrier reef , is a UNESCO world heritage site and like Uluru Ayers rock , the Sydney Opera house and the Sydney harbour bridge or the Blue mountains the Great Barrier reef should be seen by the first time visitor to Australia’s east coast. Whilst you are in based in Cairns the Daintree rainforest is also ecologically important and should be visited. Many travellers will base themselves in Cairns when visiting the Great barrier reef , taking an escorted tour upto Port Douglas as a day tour.

Brisbane is also located on Australia’s east coast, a 90 minute flight from Sydney, or 2 1/2 hours from Melbourne. Australia’s third largest city and is known as the “City of Sunny Days” due to its sub-tropical climate. The Brisbane River dissects the city and adds to the charm and character. A major attraction is the nearby Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the world’s largest with some 120 + Koalas on site. From Brisbane you can reach as a day tour the Gold coast in the South or head North along Australia’s east coast to the Sunshine coast.

The Gold Coast is a commerical strip of high rises on the beach. With some 30 beaches along the Gold coast most of which are manicured the region includes its best known beach, Surfers Paradise. Behind the Gold coast strip is a hinterland offering scenic national parks, mountains, waterfalls and rainforest to be explored. Two of Queensland best parks here; Lamington national park and Springbrook. North is the Sunshine Coast which has 70 kilometres/ 44 miles of uncrowded white sand beaches and lush green scenery to attract the visitor. The scale on Sunshine coast is low rise. Noosa heads and the national park would be a highlight for a day tour and beach visit.

The state of Western Australia is dominated by the city of Perth. Beyond Perth regional towns support Wheat farms, Mining and Tourism. Distances are substantial but the history goes back some 60,000 years and there is plenty to see that this is a destination for a planned tour of Australia on its own. It is Aboriginal history and culture, the wet and dry season of the Kimberley and the Australian outback landscapes of Rainforest, gorges and desert after the coastal town of Broome. In the eastern part of Western Australia their is or was gold and the worlds second biggest meteorite crater at Wolfes creek that struck this spot 120,000 years ago. On the South West coast of Western Australia, just a few hours drive from Perth, from June to November endemic Wildflowers come into bloom drawing enthusiasts from arond the world to come and observe the season.

What to do in Perth ?

Perth , although off the beaten track attracts the repeat visitor or inter state visitor.Perth on the West coast is Australia’s fourth largest city. The city of Perth is not only laid-back quiet and safe, but it is also culturally diverse with attractive uncrowded beaches, gardens and a good zoo. A major landmark in the city is King’s Park is a landmark, this is larger than Manhattan’s Central Park and encompasses an excellent botanical garden for visitors to Perth to explore and take time out in. From Perth , one can take a day tour to visit the winelands of Western Australia in the Swan Valley and at Margaret River. Perth is also a good starting for an escorted tour in to the Australian outback of Western Australia.

The Northern Territory with a human population of some 250,000 centered on Darwin is a the red outback in the South of the State down to South Australia, to the tropical rainforests and mangroves in the wet season of the North. This state is 75% arid even though is sits above the tropic of Capricorn. Kakadu National park and Uluru Kata Tjuta National park are both key places to visit in the Northern territory, though they are located at each end of the State. Uluru Kata Tjuta National park is associated with the red centre or Australian outback.

Darwin is the largest city in the Northern Territory. Darwin is small, yet cosmopolitan mainly due to the mix of different ethnic cultures which one finds here. It is handy for a visit to both the Charles Darwin National Park, one of Australia ‘s largest wetlands and the Kakadu National Park, the country’s largest national park with its crocodiles, unique birdlife and the largest collection of Aboriginal rock art. A traveler can arrive and leave Darwin to reach Adelaide on the train that provides a ride through these amazing landscapes of the Australian outback.

Tasmania is a scenic destination with many National parks to explore complete with pure stands of virgin bush, unique wildlife such as the Tasmanian devil to see and learn about in a rugged mountain and wilderness areas. For those interested in European and British history, Tasmania will readily share its often uncomfortable past, both social and the issues surrounding logging and mining. An escorted tour of either the wildlife or cultural history will always be a fascinating tour. The capital, Hobart is a pretty city with a vibrant waterfront and harbour built on reclaimed land. It is also associated historically with the convict era as depicted at the Port Arthur Historical site, an ex-convict prison. The contentious private art gallery MOMA is a good place to visit whilst in Hobart.

The Australian Outback is actually a vast area which comprises most of Australia and which is made up of either semi-arid or desert land. It is not an exact location. One of the best-known towns is Alice Springs , and it`s the perfect place to explore the Australian Outback , which is also known as the “Red Centre”. It is also the home of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Activities here can include camel rides from one of the many camel farms, stargazing as the town exists under amazingly clear skies and hot air ballooning. One can visit the nearby King’s Canyon and the MacDonnell Range of mountains located in National parks. There are escoted group tours out of Alice Springs along the Canning stock route or the trek of the Duracks across tro the Kimberley. Trails and routes of endurance and often hardship in part of the most arid places in rthe world.

From Alice springs 450 kilometres/270 miles away is Uluru Ayers Rock in the Uluru Kata Tjuta National park. The huge sandstone monolith which stands out starkly in the surrounding desert is one of Australia ‘s iconic sites and is typically included on a overseas visitor first visit to Australian. Uluru is classified as a UNESCO world heritage site is 348 metres/1142 feet in height. To the Aboriginals, Uluru is a sacred site of spiritual significance.

Australia has multiple time zones. Some of them are half-hour and quarter-hour time zones. Not all states and territories use Daylight Savings:

Australia has 5 standard time zones:

• UTC+8:00: Australian Western Standard Time (AWST)
• UTC+8:45: Australian Central Western Standard Time (ACWST)
• UTC+9:30: Australian Central Standard Time (ACST)
• UTC+10:00: Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)
• UTC+10:30: Lord Howe Standard Time (LHST)

If you’re on an Odyssey tour, we take care of tipping so you don’t need to give it a second thought. However, in your free time, or if travelling independently, it’s essential that you tip an appropriate amount for services. Tipping is common in Australia; A small tip of a few dollars in showing appreciation for services is greatly appreciated.

Wifi is widely available in Australia, and should be freely accessible in most hotels, cafes and restaurants.