All About Our Trip to Australia

Last summer, cheap tickets popped up for Australia (here’s how we watch for cheap tickets!) and Bart, who has wanted to visit Australia his entire life, snagged them SO fast.

Nine months later, after lots of planning, we headed out for a two week trip down under!

Here’s what our trip to Australia looked like:

All About Our Trip to Australia

Travel Day: We left for the airport around 4pm (Bart’s stepdad took us to the airport so we wouldn’t have to leave our car parked for almost two weeks), caught our flight to LAX and then around 10:30 p.m. boarded our flight to Sydney. 

The nice thing about leaving that late is that we were all very tired so once the lights when down, we all fell quickly asleep and slept for around 5-6 hours (these travel pillows were a lifesaver – I’d bought them for the two big girls too after we’d loved them so much on our trips to Croatia and Costa Rica). Frankly, I’d be nervous about this flight but it turned out to be fine! We read, listened to audiobooks, and watched movies and napped until we landed at around 8:30 a.m. in Sydney (we’d left the US on a Tuesday afternoon and landed on Thursday morning).  

Day 1 in Australia: We’d considered trying to get checked in early when we arrived at our hotel, but everyone was pretty alert so we decided we’d just power through the day. We took the train from the airport to Circular Quay and then walked the one block to our hotel (the Four Seasons) and checked in (our rooms weren’t ready yet since it was so early), changed clothes and brushed our teeth in the spa bathrooms which they gave us access to, and then dropped our luggage off with the concierge and headed out to find some lunch. 

The girls had spent quite a bit of time looking at various restaurant options before our trip and Star had been very taken by a tapas restaurant in the area. We headed over, arriving just as it opened and it was perfect. We sat outside and the weather was ideal and the food was terrific (the goat cheese stuffed tomato was especially fantastic). 

Afterward, we walked down to the ferry and caught it across the harbor to the zoo. The views were gorgeous and the zoo wasn’t too busy. We especially loved the bird show (the views over the harbor from there were stunning) and the seal show. After several hours, we caught the ferry back to the city and then headed to Darling Harbor to check out the playground which we’d heard rave reviews about. It was, no surprise, a huge hit with our kids and we enjoyed the perfect weather and bustle of the city until we were ready to eat and we walked down to Roadhouse Burger & Ribs (despite the excellent reviews, I thought it was fairly mediocre). 

We caught the light rail back to our hotel, grabbed our keys at the front desk and headed up to our rooms where our luggage had already been deposited. The views over the harbor were gorgeous and we all quickly got settled in (Bart, the two little girls and me in one room and Bart’s mom and the two older girls in the other. Each room had a king bed, a fold out sofa, and a rollaway bed so everyone had their own bed, aside from Bart and me). Most of us showered before bed now that we’d been awake and traveling for SO MANY HOURS and then quickly got into pjs, and fell asleep within moments. 

Day 2 in Australia: We woke up around 6 a.m. and I did some work in the closet while Bart snuck out to hit the gym. Tally woke up a bit later and we played Spot It in the closet until Star woke up too. We got ready for the day and then Bart came back and showered too. Once everyone was ready, we headed out to grab some breakfast at Banksia Bakehouse (just a block away from our hotel) and we ate our assortment of pastries at the outdoor tables in the courtyard. The strawberry, peanut and rosemary pastry was an especially big hit and my pistachio cinnamon roll was terrific. 

We walked down to the wharf and caught the ferry to Manly Beach. Again, the views as we cruised through the harbor were spectacular and when we arrived in Manly, it wasn’t very busy at all (it was a bit windy). We wandered through all the shops on the way down to the beach and then just as we arrived at the beach, we saw signs seeing the beach was closed for weather. We sat on the steps along the beach and the girls played on the sand and it was absolutely delightful (there were SO many jellyfish washed up the beach which was a cool thing to see). 

After an hour or so, we started heading toward lunch and walked along the shore, stopping for 30 minutes or so at a playground. We eventually reached the Ruby Lane and it was absolutely delicious (after a heavy dinner the night before and a breakfast of baked goods, I think we were all delighted by a meal that included a ton of vegetables). It poured rain while we ate but cleared up by the time we were done and we made our way back to the ferry and headed back to Circular Quay. We went back to the hotel and the girls swam in the pool while Bart and his mom stayed behind in our rooms – it was VERY sunny outside and I found the tiniest patch of shade to read my book while they swam.

Everyone got changed and we walked over to the Opera House for our scheduled tour. It was the hour long tour and I was glad I’d booked it in advance since it was completely sold out for the day (many people had warned me this was the case, which is why I’d booked early). The tour was terrific and we all really enjoyed it, even my younger girls were worried it would be long and boring. The architecture was spectacular and we got to sit in on the sound check in the main concert hall for an incredible performer, so we got a mini concert out of our tour! 

Afterward, we took the light rail down to Chinatown for the Friday Night Market which goes every week. It was phenomenal – we ate our way through the booths including some fantastic Thai coconut pancakes, the BEST fresh mango, cream puffs, skewered meats, potstickers and lots of other delicious things. 

I’d looked up that afternoon to see if there was Asian-style karaoke in the area (where you have a private room instead of being on a stage in front of a bunch of strangers) and indeed there was. We’d done this in Japan and our girls LOVED it so they were beside themselves with delight when we told them what we were doing. We paid for an hour and sang ourselves hoarse before heading back to the hotel where we all fell asleep almost instantly. 

Day 3 in Australia: Our plan this day was to head to the Blue Mountains and I’d checked the train schedules the night before (it looked like it would take us about 2.5 hours by train). But when we looked them up that morning, it suddenly was saying about 4 hours to get there. We’d had some glitches the first day with Google Maps not showing all the ferry times so we decided we’d head to Central Station and see once we got there if the trains were working or not. 

Once we arrived, we could see that the Blue Mountain line was down for the weekend with bus service replacing it (hence the extra 90 minutes each way!). We sat down on a bench to regroup and decided we’d walk through Hyde Park, grab some breakfast at Flour and Stone (a bakery we’d been wanting to try) and then rent a car and drive out to the Blue Mountains. 

It was a beautiful morning and Hyde Park was lovely and then, as we rounded the corner to Flour & Stone, there was a Hertz rental car location on the corner! We ordered all our pastries and then while my mother-in-law and I took the girls to a park just another block or two away, Bart went back to rent a car. He texted 10 minutes later to say he’d gotten an 8-passenger car and he’d meet us in a few minutes. Success! 

When our pastries were finished (the toasted ham & gruyere sandwich was a crowd favorite, along with the chocolate raspberry buttermilk cake), we walked back to the rental car location, grabbed the keys, used the bathroom and headed out. 

It ended up being SO MUCH BETTER having a car because it cut the travel time down from 2.5 hours by train to 1.5 hours plus it got very rainy so it was super nice to go straight to the entrance. 

We did Scenic World and I’m delighted we did – our tickets gave us unlimited access to riding the passenger train down to the rainforest floor, the sky tram back up and the tram that went across for views. Although it was rainy, down on the forest floor, it wasn’t too bad because there was such thick tree cover and it was absolutely otherworldly down there – it was definitely a highlight of the trip for me and we did all the available paths before riding back up to the top. 

We took the scenic tram across to see the waterfall, although it was cloudy enough that there wasn’t much visibility on our way across and absolutely zero on the way back (although fun to go through the clouds!). 

Afterward, we drove into Katoomba to have a late lunch, but when the restaurant we were planning to eat at was closed for a wedding, we went to the grocery store and got fruit and cheese and snacks and then stopped at a local bakery for a baguette. We ate them in the car (and got to see the bride arrive at the restaurant we were still parked in front of!) and then headed back to Sydney. 

We got back to the hotel and the girls and my mother-in-law went for a swim while Bart and I lounged by the pool and then we headed to a quick pizza dinner (this place was fine but not noteworthy). 

Day 4 in Australia: This was Sunday and so we all slept in a bit and had a leisurely morning before taking the train across the bridge (spectacular views!) to attend church. The walk from the station to the chapel was ridiculously beautiful, like stepping into a fairy land. The service was lovely and everyone was really friendly and then we walked back to the station and rode back to our hotel and walked up to The Rocks Market. 

Everyone was HUNGRY (we had run out of time to grab breakfast before church) so we sped through the stalls until we got to the food section and then enjoyed crepes, shiskabobs (we got beef, kangaroo, and crocodile – crocodile was a HUGE hit with our kids!), focaccia bread, and ice cream and doughnuts before heading back to the hotel. 

It was a HOT afternoon and after several days of going hard, everyone was ready for a little break. We played some card games, read, and basically lounged around for a few hours (including having a taste test of 5 different flavors of Bundaburg soda/ginger beer – the ginger beer was the standout for me for sure). 

Once it started to cool down, we headed out to the Botanic Gardens and enjoyed wandering through the beautiful grounds and then made our way to a highly rated Indian restaurant for dinner (which was, indeed, absolutely delicious!). 

We grabbed a bus back to our hotel, packed up and went to bed early since we had an early flight to catch the next morning to Melbourne!

Day 5 in Australia: Our flight was at 7 a.m., so we left the hotel around 5:15 to catch the train to the airport. We arrived with plenty of time and security was quick, so we stopped in at the airport lounge for a free breakfast before our flight. 

The flight was very quick (I’d been thinking it was 2.5 hours but it was only 1.5 so it flew by for me!) and when we landed, we grabbed a taxi into the city. Because it was so early, our Airbnb wasn’t ready yet, but they’d told us where we could store our luggage and we dropped that off and then headed toward the Botanic Gardens where a big annual parade was taking place for Memorial Day. On the way, we walked past a very fun playground and stopped for a while so the girls could play (spoiler – we ended up coming here two more times on our trip!). 

We found a good spot for the parade and watched about 3/4s of it before our girls were ready to go and we walked down across the river and to Maha, a Mediterranean restaurant our Airbnb hosts – who were major foodies – had recommended as the best fine dining lunch deal in the city. 

I was a little nervous that my younger girls wouldn’t love any of the food, but we ordered 3 of the 2 course lunches for the adults and then an assortment of a la carte dishes for the girls and everyone loved it. This was a highlight meal of this trip for me – everything was so delicious and it didn’t feel like the same old, same old. 

Afterward, we walked back to our Airbnb, grabbed our luggage, and checked in. The girls really wanted to swim, so we all changed into our swimsuits and I took them down to the pool while Bart and his mom took naps. 

After an hour or so of swimming, we got changed and headed back out to find some dinner. The girls wanted to go back to the playground, so we spent maybe 45 minutes there and then walked down to a sushi place that had looked good. Bad news, it was closed (likely because it was a public holiday). We found another place online that looked good so we walked across the bridge and. . . closed too. Finally we just got gelato and called it a night!

Day 6: We’d booked a tour of The Great Ocean Road through Airbnb, so we met our driver and 2 other people on the tour at 6:30 a.m and headed out. The three hour drive flew by (many of us slept quite a bit) and we arrived at the Twelve Apostles. 

Big tour buses usually do the opposite route, ending at the Twelve Apostles late in the afternoon, so there were very few people there and we mainly had it to ourselves. It was SPECTACULAR and really gave me that “I can’t believe we’re here in Australia!” Feel. 

We arrived back in the city around 6:30 p.m. and tried again for the sushi place we’d struck out the night before and this time it was a success. We had a bunch of sushi rolls, some appetizers and some ramen before heading back to our Airbnb to go to bed. 

Day 7 in Australia:  This was our only full day in Melbourne and after two early mornings in a row, we took it a little easier. The girls played Monopoly and Bart went to the gym and we headed out to explore around 10 a.m. 

Our first stop was Lune for croissants which, as promised, had a nice long line out the door. We got 8 of the 10 different options (we skipped the plain croissant and the Vegemite one) and took them up to the church at the end of the block to eat on the steps. They were fantastic – the morning bun was my personal favorite and the blue cheese and mushroom one was also terrific. 

Bart’s niece is moving to Melbourne for the summer for a research job and so we walked through Chinatown and up to the facility she’ll be working at and then stopped at a nearby (very cool!) park before catching an Uber back south to the South Melbourne Market (another recommendation from our Airbnb hosts!). The place was hopping and we got some amazing fruit and then sandwiches in the food hall. There was a little spice store and I bought some cool salts and a butter chicken spice blend as souvenirs. 

At this point, it was very warm and we walked back to our Airbnb and Bart took the girls to the pool while I finished my book and then caught up on a little work! 

Once everyone was back, we walked across the bridge and caught the free tram to the State Library (gorgeous!) and checked out the dome and the exhibit about books, which was really fun. 

We stopped in the gift shop on our way out and there were gorgeous wooden magnets designed by an Australian artist that showed some of the famous landmarks from Sydney and Melbourne along with some Australian animals. I’d been on the lookout for an ornament and this was exactly the kind of the thing I was looking for – the magnet could peel right off the back and a quick drilled hole makes it perfect for hanging on the tree. My mother-in-law ended up buying one too! 

Our plan was to go to St. Kilda’s pier to see the fairy penguins come in at dusk and we made a valiant effort, but traffic was so bad that it became clear we’d likely not make it in time (much to Ani’s dismay). We bought some doughnuts, regrouped and decided to go back to the Queen Victoria Market for the last summer night market of the year. Just as we arrived, it started POURING rain which made us very glad we hadn’t gone to the beach for the penguins – it would have been miserable! 

Instead, we spent a delightful hour or so wandering the market, trying different foods (the Portuguese tarts and the Korean coin pancakes were the biggest hits!) and listening to live music. The place was absolutely packed and it was the perfect end to our Melbourne adventure. By the time we left, the rain had cleared and we walked back to catch the free tram and then walked down along the river and across the bridge with everything lit up. It was magical! 

Our flight the next morning was EARLY so we quickly packed up, Bart scheduled an Uber and went to bed with our alarms set for 5:00 a.m. 

Day 8 in Australia: We got up early, quickly showered and got ready, packed up the last of our things and went down to catch our Uber. We arrived at the airport in time to hit the lounge for a free breakfast (we had the lounge to ourselves!) and then boarded our plane to Hamilton Island. 

The flight into Whitsundays was spectacular and I could just see everyone in our group soak in the beauty and relaxation after going hard in two different cities. Our driver was waiting for us when we landed (this was all arranged through our Airbnb) and took us to our Airbnb which was ready for us despite the fact it was only about 10 a.m.

Everyone was THRILLED to be here and everyone got settled in and then we walked down to Marina Tavern for lunch, which was surprisingly good. Afterward, Bart and I took the golf cart that was included with the house down to the grocery store with the two little girls and we stocked up for the rest of our trip. We spent the afternoon playing games, exploring the little downtown area, and watched a movie (and I took a nap!). After eating out so much, it was a delight to eat at the house (I bought some pasta, pasta sauce, garlic bread and fresh fruit so we had an easy, delicious meal).

Day 9 in Australia: We were supposed to visit Whitehaven beach and snorkel this day, but the weather was rainy and very windy and we got notice early in the morning that it was canceled. The rain cleared up for a bit and Bart, his mom, Ella and I went for a long hilly walk around the island. It was a very relaxed day with a swim in the pool, a walk to lunch at Bob’s Bakery, another movie, working on the jigsaw puzzle I’d packed, lots of reading, and many many many games of Dutch Blitz.

In the late afternoon, we went down to the beach and spent a couple of hours wandering around (the tide was SO FAR OUT), watching crabs and tiny fish, and digging in the sand before we finally headed back to our Airbnb where I made another easy dinner.

Day 10 in Australia: This was our biggest outing day and I was relieved when our snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef wasn’t canceled. Because of the weather, we stayed on the inner Reef spots, rather than going to the Outer ones, but our two snorkel outings were still highly successful, especially the second one which was incredible. There were just so many fish and gorgeous coral everywhere you looked. I could have stayed all day (and I usually only medium-ly like snorkeling, so this is saying something!).

When we got back in the afternoon, everyone showered and we went to dinner at the Pizzeria before ending the night with gelato.

Day 11 in Australia: This was our last day in the Whitsundays and we kept it very low-key with more games, movies, a little family devotional (since it was Sunday), a long golf cart ride around the island (we saw LOTS of kangaroos) and more time at the beach. We finished off our trip with dinner at The Palms – it had lots of outdoors seating and live music and was a fun, high energy place to finish our trip.

Day 12 in Australia: We slept in a bit and then packed up before heading to breakfast at Marina Cafe which was the best meal we’d had on Hamilton Island – everything was delicious! We came back and finished packing just before our driver arrived to check us out and take us to the airport. We hung out at the airport until our flight which was slightly delayed and then flew back to Sydney, arriving in time for dinner. We checked into our hotel (we stayed at the Rydges which was JUST across from the International terminal at the airport, which would make the next morning very convenient).

Afterward, we grabbed a taxi to dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant which was INCREDIBLY good and the perfect end to our Australia trip. We stopped at the Woolworths right by the restaurant for snacks for the flight home the next day then walked back to the hotel along the water. The weather was perfect and it was absolutely beautiful. We all got ready for bed so we could get a good night’s sleep before a LONG flight the next morning.

Day 13 in Australia: Bart woke up early and he and his mom went to the gym while I knocked out some work as the girls kept sleeping. We all got ready, packed up, walked the 3 minutes to the airport and got through security with time to get an excellent free breakfast at the lounge (this was the best lounge of our trip!). We boarded our flight and 12.5 hours later we touched down in LAX.

I’d done all the paperwork for the girls’ Global Entry applications a few weeks earlier and all they needed was their interview/fingerprinting, so we did that when we went through (and so did Bart’s mom!) and then we caught a flight from LAX back to SLC where Bart’s stepdad picked us up and we were home by 1 p.m. (the same day we’d left Australia at 11:15 a.m.!). It was a loooong afternoon as we all tried to fight through until bedtime and we had groceries delivered, unpacked, and got settled back in, finally all going to bed at about 9 p.m.

We LOVED Australia and all of us hope to go back again!

If you have questions about our trip to Australia, I’m happy to answer!

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