Going to Australia… I dreamed of it since I was little. The world I imagined was a territory a little apart, wild, immense, made of mountains, deserts, oceans, volcanoes, lagoons and populated by aborigines with ancient legends and extraordinary animals ...
And in this beautiful year 2019, I had the immense chance to go to this other world for a 3 week road trip (Exactly 25 days).
I took 5 months to organize and complete my personalised tour scheduled for a departure on August 3, 2019 with a return to Toulouse on 29/08/19.
Here is step by step how I organized my 3 week tour in Australia.

3 Week Australia Tour - Why Choose August?
There, I can say that I didn't really have a choice. Indeed, while working, it is difficult to take a full month of vacation outside the summer. And as it would be a shame to go to Australia for 1 or 1 weeks, so it was in August that I decided to leave.
3 week tour in Australia - August good season for Australia?
The seasons are not uniform in Australia. The country is so vast that the temperatures vary enormously according to the part of the continent where one is. To put it simply, we can say that the seasons are reversed compared to Europe. So, in august it's winter in australia.
It's a very good thing because winter is the ideal period to visit the territory of the North, Center and Queensland with the coral reef. Indeed, in July or August the temperatures are quite mild and we avoid the extreme heat of the Australian summer. And bingo! These are exactly the 3 main parts of the country that attract me the most to Australia.
3 weeks tour in Australia - Provide visa
To apply for a Visa (ETA, e.visitor or other visa) essential to enter Australia, nothing could be simpler. Indeed, to make tourism in Australia, no need for a Visa stamped by the Embassy or the Consulate on the passport. A simple electronic visa for Australia is emailed to you by the Immigration Department a few days after requesting it.
However, depending on the type of trip you are going to make in Australia (as a student, business trip, tourism…), the type of visa is different as well as the conditions for obtaining it. Therefore, it is better to check in advance Australia visa requirements.
How to apply for Visa on the Internet?
To apply for your visa for Australia, it only takes a few minutes to complete an online questionnaire. You can pay with Paypal or with a credit card (€ 14,95). Then a few days after the request, you receive an e.mail containing the Visa.
Where to apply for a tourist visa for Australia?
To have peace of mind, a fast and efficient quality service, I went through the Visa Request.fr site on the following link:
To better understand how to apply for a visa for Australia, the site has posted an explanatory video that describes the entire process:
3 week tour in Australia –Provide a vaccine?
This is the question I asked my doctor who told me that there was no no compulsory vaccine coming from a European country. He pointed me to the site of Pasteurizer to verify because it is the reference site for vaccinations abroad.
3 week tour in Australia - How to get around Australia?
When I drew up my itinerary, I was able to realize the infinite distances that there are between the sites that attract me the most. In total, my circuit represents 5 km !
To limit the time lost in transport and the excessively long distances by car, I combined the rental car trips (from Brisbane to Cairns), the air travel (Sydney Brisbane + Cairns Alice Springs + Alice Springs Darwin) and the rental Van trips (Alice Spring, Red center, Kings Canyon, Uluru Park).
For your transport in Australia, here is a very practical link: 12go.asia
3 weeks tour in Australia - Map of my itinerary
The main parts of my 3 week itinerary in Australia
To schematize the program of my circuit, here are the 4 main parts that make up my trip of a little over 3 weeks:
- 2 days in Sydney
- 2 weeks road trip by car along the Great Barrier Reef (from Brisbane to Cairns)
- 1 week of road trip by van in the red center
- 1 day in Darwin

3 weeks tour in Australia - Stages of my itinerary
Departure from France on 03/08/19 8:55 a.m.
- Day 1: Arrival in sydney 04/08/19 19:15 p.m.
- Day 2 : Sydney city tour 05/08/19
- 3 Day: Flight Sydney Brisbane 17:00 p.m. 06/08/19
- Day 4 : Car rental road trip from Brisbane to Cairns 07/08/19
- Day 5: Herbey Bay 08/08/19
- Day 6 : Herbey Bay (1 day excursion to Fraser Island) 09/08/19
- Day 7: Herbey Bay (whale watching excursion) 10/08/19
- Day 8: Direction Rockhampton (stopover town) 4h30 drive 11/08/19
- Day 9: Very early departure for Airlie Beach (5h10 drive) and installation
- Day 10: Airlie Beach (Whitsunday Islands excursion) 13/08/19
- Day 11: Airlie Beach (Whitsunday Island excursion) 14/08/19
- Day 12: Road to Cairns and installation 15/08/19
- Day 13: Cairns 16/08/19 Excursion to Green Island
- Day 14: Road (30 minutes) to Rainforestation Kuranda with visit (4h) then road (1h15) to Port Douglas and installation 17/08/19
- Day 15: Port Douglas 18/08/19
- Day 16: Return to Cairn (2h drive) - return by car - hotel near the airport 19/08/19
- Day 17 : Flight from Cairns to Alice Springs 5h50 20/08/19 13h05 – Van rental for 6 days and departure for Parc Uluru
- Days 18-19-20-21: Road trip in the Red Center 21-22-23-24/08/19
- Day 22: Return to Alice Springs - Night Van to Alice Springs 25/08/19
- Day 23: Return van and Alice Springs Darwin flight 15:30 p.m. 26/08/19
- 24 Day: darwin city tour 27/08/19
- Day 25: Darwin + flight back to France 28/08/19 15:45 p.m.
- Arrival in France on 29/08/19 12:50 p.m.
Discover
my selection of cheap hotels for this route
or the details of the visits starting with the Sydney discovery
Hello,
I discovered your blog and I congratulate you on it.
What was your total budget counting absolutely everything (meals, excursions…)?
I suffer from acrophobia (vertigo in the car) the roads with nearby cliffs are too difficult for me, is it a brake on your journey?
Thank you very much for your answers
Francis
Hello Francis,
I have not done the total budget but it is one of the trips that cost us the most with Polynesia.
On the other hand, the car rental and the accommodation that I had chosen + the rental of the van for the red center were the most economical formulas.
No problem for roads that are not like in Peru or Colombia on the side of cliffs, in Australia the roads are good, wide and for my route outside mountainous areas.
Do not hesitate if you have any further questions.
Thank you for your itinerary which tempts me well! I would like to leave in July and I would have liked to have an idea of your budget? Did you mainly sleep in a hotel or did you use free camps?
Hello Melissa,
Australia and French Polynesia were the 2 most expensive trips I have taken. For Australia, I preferred motels because they are cheaper than hotels and are equipped with microwaves, fridges, toasters. So I was able to save on restaurants by preparing meals in the room. My total accommodation budget was 1268 Euros (see details on: https://sacavoyage.fr/hotels-pas-chers-australie-pour-mon-circuit-de-3-semaines/).
Note that excursions on site (boat trips, whales, park tickets) are quite expensive. The amounts are specified in my articles.
Finally, for meals, if you like fast food you can eat inexpensively but if you look for good restaurants, then you will explode your budget!