Best of Australia Self-Launched: Melbourne to Sydney via Uluru, Cairns & the Blue Mountains

Land at Tullamarine (MEL) and take the SkyBus to Southern Cross Station (~AUD 22 / £11) — far cheaper than a taxi and runs every 10 minutes. Check into a hostel or budget hotel in the CBD or Fitzroy, then spend the evening getting your bearings: wander the laneways off Flinders Lane, grab a flat white and a cheap dumpling dinner in Chinatown. If you're doing the Great Ocean Road self-drive option on Day 3, pick up your hire car this evening or first thing tomorrow.

🚌SkyBus from Tullamarine ~£11 each way

🛏Hostel dorm or budget CBD hotel (e.g. YHA Melbourne Central area), £25–45

• →SkyBus transfer to CBD
• →Laneway walk: Hosier Lane, Degraves Street
• →Chinatown dinner

The commercial version includes a half-day small-group city tour — you can replicate it for free with the I'm Free Melbourne walking tour (tip-based, ~2.5 hrs), which covers Collins Street, the Block Arcade and Federation Square. Add the Melbourne Cricket Ground: the MCG guided tour costs about AUD 35 (£18) and runs daily. Afterwards walk the Royal Botanic Gardens (free) and visit the Shrine of Remembrance (free entry, great city views from the balcony). St Patrick's Cathedral and Carlton Gardens/Melbourne Museum (free general entry) are a short tram ride away.

🚌Free City Circle tram + Myki top-up ~£4

🛏Hostel dorm or budget CBD hotel, £25–45

• →Free walking tour (tip ~£5)
• →MCG guided tour ~£18
• →Royal Botanic Gardens & Shrine of Remembrance (free)
• →Carlton Gardens & Melbourne Museum (free)

Two ways to do this. Cheapest: a full-day small-group Great Ocean Road tour booked on GetYourGuide or Klook, typically £60–80 including hotel-area pickup, hitting Torquay/Surf Beach, the Memorial Arch, Kennett River koala spotting, the Maits Rest rainforest boardwalk, the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge. Cheaper still if you're in a group: hire a car in Melbourne (~£35/day split between travellers) and drive it yourself — the route is a straightforward 550km loop via the Princes and Great Ocean highways. Bring a packed lunch or eat in Apollo Bay (fish and chips ~£10). Back in Melbourne late evening.

🚌Day tour with pickup ~£70, or shared car hire + fuel ~£20 each

🛏Hostel dorm or budget CBD hotel, £25–45

• →Great Ocean Road day tour
• →12 Apostles & Loch Ard Gorge
• →Maits Rest rainforest walk
• →Koala spotting at Kennett River

Fly Melbourne–Yulara (AYQ) direct with Jetstar or Qantas (~£150–220 one-way booked a few weeks ahead; note the direct service is seasonal, otherwise route via Alice Springs or Sydney). The airport is 10 minutes from Yulara resort village — a shuttle is ~AUD 15. Book two nights at a Yulara hostel (Outback Pioneer Lodge dorms are the budget option). Book the Uluru sunset viewing tour plus barbecue dinner through GetYourGuide or directly with AAT Kings/SEIT (~£95–110 including park entry, sparkling wine, meat and salad spread). Many operators add a stargazing/astronomy talk after dinner with Aboriginal stories — worth choosing an operator that includes it. Note: Uluru-Kata Tjuta park entry is now free (since 2021) — operators who charge you for it are padding the bill.

🚌Melbourne–Yulara flight ~£180; airport shuttle ~£8

🛏Outback Pioneer Lodge dorm, Yulara, £45–60

• →Uluru sunset viewing tour
• →BBQ dinner with Uluru backdrop
• →Optional stargazing/astronomy talk

Book a sunrise Uluru tour (self-drive hire car is also viable here — a day's car hire in Yulara is ~£45 and gives you total flexibility). Watch first light from the dune viewing area with tea/coffee, walk part of the base walk (the full circuit is 10.6km, flat and easy), and visit the Cultural Centre for Anangu art and dreamtime stories. In the evening, book the Field of Light installation by Bruce Munro (entry ~£45–55 through Ayers Rock Resort) — the field of 50,000 illuminated stems is best after sunset. If you have energy, add a Kata Tjuta (Olgas) Valley of the Winds walk in the afternoon — 7.4km, moderately hard, spectacular.

🚌Shared day tour ~£60 or hire car share ~£20

🛏Outback Pioneer Lodge dorm, Yulara, £45–60

• →Uluru sunrise viewing
• →Uluru base walk & Cultural Centre
• →Kata Tjujta Valley of the Winds walk
• →Field of Light entry ~£50

Fly Yulara–Cairns with Qantas/Jetstar (usually one stop via Alice Springs or Sydney/Brisbane; ~£200–260). Alternatively, if you're watching the budget, Yulara–Alice Springs by coach (Greyhound, ~5.5 hrs, £50) opens up cheaper flights from Alice. Arrive Cairns, take the public bus or a rideshare from the airport (bus ~AUD 6, taxi ~AUD 30) and check into a hostel in the city centre — Cairns is compact and walkable. Evening: walk the Esplanade lagoon (free), where you can swim in a stinger-safe pool and watch the sunset over Trinity Inlet.

🚌Yulara–Cairns flight ~£230; airport bus ~£3

🛏Cairns hostel dorm (e.g. Gilligan's or Mad Monkey area), £20–30

• →Esplanade lagoon & sunset walk
• →Cairns night markets (free entry)

Replicate the Quicksilver catamaran day by booking your own Outer Reef trip — Quicksilver's Agincourt Reef cruise from Port Douglas is bookable direct or via GetYourGuide for around £140–160 including transfers, snorkel gear, lunch, semi-submersible and underwater observatory. Cheaper alternative: a Cairns-departing reef trip (e.g. Reef Magic, Sunlover or Great Adventures) from ~£110. Add an introductory scuba dive (~£40–55 extra) if you want — no certification needed. The reef is genuinely worth the splurge; this is the one day not to cut corners on. Book 3–5 days ahead in high season.

🚌Included in reef trip (or bus to Port Douglas ~£10 if self-arranging)

🛏Cairns hostel dorm, £20–30

• →Outer Great Barrier Reef snorkel day ~£150
• →Semi-submersible & underwater observatory
• →Optional intro scuba dive ~£45

Book a small-group Daintree day tour (GetYourGuide or Klook, ~£90–110) covering Mossman Gorge, a Daintree River crocodile-spotting cruise, Cape Tribulation beach, Kulki and Alexandra lookouts, and a rainforest boardwalk with lunch included. If you have your own car, do it independently: Mossman Gorge shuttle is ~AUD 15, the river cruise ~AUD 35, and the Daintree ferry ~AUD 39 return. Overnight in Cairns again, or — better — book one night at PK's Jungle Village in Cape Tribulation (~£25 dorm) to see the rainforest at night and avoid the long drive back.

🚌Included in day tour ~£100

🛏Cairns hostel dorm £20–30 (or Cape Tribulation dorm ~£25)

• →Mossman Gorge
• →Daintree River croc cruise
• →Cape Tribulation beach & Kulki Lookout
• →Daintree Ice Cream Company stop

Fly Cairns–Sydney (Jetstar/Qantas/Virgin, ~£130–190 three hours ahead of peak dates). Sydney airport to the city: the Airport Link train is ~AUD 20 to Central, or a public 400 bus plus train is under AUD 8 if you're being strict about budget. Check into a hostel in the Rocks, Surry Hills or Potts Point — Sydney hostels are pricier than Melbourne or Cairns. Evening walk around Darling Harbour (free), then dinner in Chinatown or Haymarket (a good cheap eat is ~£10–12).

🚌Cairns–Sydney flight ~£160; Airport Link train ~£11

🛏Sydney hostel dorm (e.g. Sydney Central YHA), £30–45

• →Darling Harbour walk
• →Haymarket / Chinatown dinner

Buy a 24-hour Big Bus Sydney hop-on hop-off ticket (~£30, cheaper on Klook) covering the city and Bondi routes — or do it all on public transport for under £8 with an Opal card. Must-dos: Circular Quay and the Opera House forecourt, the Sydney Harbour Bridge walk (free, 30 min), The Rocks historic quarter (free self-guided walk or a ~£15 Rocks walking tour), and Bondi Beach — take the train to Bondi Junction and the 333 bus, then walk the Bondi to Coogee coastal path (6km, 2 hrs, free and one of the best free things in Australia).

🚌Hop-on hop-off ticket ~£30 or Opal card ~£8

🛏Sydney hostel dorm, £30–45

• →Opera House & Circular Quay
• →Harbour Bridge walk (free)
• →The Rocks self-guided walk
• →Bondi to Coogee coastal walk (free)

The commercial package includes a harbour cruise with a buffet BBQ lunch. Book your own: a 2–3 hour Sydney Harbour lunch cruise on GetYourGuide/Klook runs ~£45–60, or a simple ferry ride on the public Circular Quay–Manly route is ~£5 and arguably a better harbour view. Most travellers find a harbour lunch cruise unnecessary — if you'd rather spend the money on a Taronga Zoo visit (~£25 ferry + entry) or the BridgeClimb (~£170, book well ahead), do that instead. Afternoon free for the Art Gallery of NSW (free) or the Australian Museum (free).

🚌Ferries ~£5–10

🛏Sydney hostel dorm, £30–45

• →Harbour lunch cruise ~£50 (optional)
• →Manly ferry (cheap alternative)
• →Art Gallery of NSW or Australian Museum (free)

Book a Blue Mountains small-group day tour via GetYourGuide (~£85–100) with Featherdale Wildlife Park entry, Scenic World (Cableway, Skyway, Walkway and the 52-degree Scenic Railway — the world's steepest passenger railway), Echo Point for the Three Sisters, and lunch. Budget alternative: take the Blue Mountains Line train from Central to Katoomba (~AUD 10 each way with an Opal card, 2 hrs) and buy a Scenic World unlimited pass (~AUD 59 / £30) plus Featherdale entry if you combine it en route. Train-plus-Scenic-World is roughly half the price and gives you more time at the lookouts.

🚌Train to Katoomba ~£11 return, or day tour ~£90

🛏Sydney hostel dorm, £30–45

• →Three Sisters / Echo Point
• →Scenic World Railway, Cableway & Walkway ~£30
• →Featherdale Wildlife Park (kangaroo feeding)
• →Optional guided day tour

Check out and head to Sydney Airport via the Airport Link train (~£11). If your flight is later in the day, squeeze in a final swim at Bondi or a coffee in Surry Hills. Note that domestic and international terminals are on separate train stops — allow 30 minutes to transfer.

🚌Airport Link train ~£11

🛏—

• →Optional morning at Bondi or Surry Hills