Get your first glimpse of Melbourne and the State of Victoria as you come in to land, then collect your bags and transfer independently to your hotel in downtown Melbourne.

Once you have settled in you will have the rest of the day to explore the surrounding area on foot, or just relax and enjoy the hotel’s facilities before beginning your holiday in earnest tomorrow.

Oaks Melbourne On Market, or similar

Spend your first full day in Melbourne discovering the city. Perhaps begin with a stroll through the Laneways that have made the city famous among food, coffee, and art lovers. Hosier Lane and its neighbouring streets are decorated by ever-changing street art, and are home to independent coffee roasters and restaurants offering local produce.

In the afternoon you could head to St. Kilda on one of the cities recognisable trams. Here you can relax on the beach or wander the seafront promenade and pier. Alternatively sports fans may prefer to visit the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the spiritual home of Australian sport, where guided tours can take you through the pavillian and on to the famous turf.

The following day you can choose to join one of these three included tours to the area around Melbourne:

• Great Ocean Road Tour – View the Twelve Apostles and other coastal scenery with a local guide
• Phillip Island Penguin Parade – Meet the local koalas, seals, and the world’s smallest penguins
• Yarra Valley WIneries – Stop by three vineyards for guided tastings and panoramic views

Oaks Melbourne On Market, or similar

This morning return to the airport for your short flight across the Tasman Sea to Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. Depemding on theflight schedule you should have time to check-in to your downtown hotel, and begin exploring this compact and welcoming city.

Crowne Plaza, Hobart, or similar

Hobart is one of the most walkable cities in Australia. Perhaps begin your day at Salamanca Place, where the sandstone warehouses that once served Hobart’s whaling and trading ships now house galleries, cafes and, on Saturdays, the city’s famous market. From here, you can wander up into Battery Point, a small maritime village of colonial cottages and quiet lanes that has changed remarkably little since the nineteenth century.

Head back down towards the waterfront to explore Constitution Dock and Victoria Dock, still home to a working fishing fleet, before following the harbour round towards the Museum of Old and New Art. MONA is a short ferry ride rather than a walk from the centre, but it’s worth the detour, with an underground gallery built into sandstone cliffs, showing a collection that ranges from ancient antiquities to contemporary works.

Back in the city, you may like to round off the day with dinner in one of the seafood restaurants around the harbour, where much of the menu will have been landed that morning.

Crowne Plaza, Hobart, or similar

This morning collect your rental car from the Hobart depot, and begin with the leisurely hour’s drive to the Tasman Peninsula and Port Arthur, Australia’s best-preserved convict settlement, and one of the most poignant reminders of the country’s colonial past. Wander among the ruins and restored buildings, from the Guard Tower and Governor’s Cottage to the church and the prison itself, and it’s easy to picture the isolation and hardship endured by the convicts sent here. A ranger lead tour can bring the site’s history to life through the personal stories of those who lived and worked here.

Beyond the historic site, the rest of the Tasman Peninsula has dramatic sea cliffs, secluded beaches and coastal walking trails offering some of Tasmania’s finest scenery. Keep an eye out for wildlife along the way, this stretch of coast is known for its birdlife and the chance of spotting seals offshore.

Hobart > Port Arthur | 95kms

Stewart’s Bay Lodge, or similar

Head north along Tasmania’s east coast, breaking the journey at a few of the small coastal villages along the way. As you continue, the landscape builds towards Freycinet National Park and Wineglass Bay, one of Tasmania’s most photographed stretches of coast. Sweeping white sand and calm, turquoise water sit between pink granite headlands, with rocky coves and open surf beaches close by for those wanting a different pace.

Spend the afternoon on one of the park’s walking trails, whether a short stroll along the coast or the steeper climb to the Wineglass Bay lookout, before settling in for the night with those views still fresh in your mind.

Port Arthur > Freycinet National Park | 200 kms

Freycinet Lodge, or similar

The scenic route to Launceston takes in the seaside town of Bicheno, the climb over Elephant Pass, the Fingal Valley and the historic village of Evandale, so there’s plenty to break up the drive.

Launceston is Tasmania’s second largest city, known as the ‘Garden City’ for its well-tended parks and gardens. Its best-known attraction is Cataract Gorge, a steep-sided gorge just a short walk from the town centre. A gentle one-mile path follows the gorge on foot, or you can cross it by chairlift, one of the longest single-span chairlifts in the world.

Freycinet National Park > Launceston | 180 kms

The Sebel Hotel, Launceston, or similar

Leave city life behind as you drive west towards Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, a vast wilderness area encompassing some of Tasmania’s highest peaks, with forest, valley and moorland scenery along the way.

Your two-night stay gives you plenty of time to explore. Popular walking trails include the route around Dove Lake, with its classic views back towards Cradle Mountain itself, though there are options to suit most levels of fitness and time. Alternatively, use your car to reach some of the park’s other beauty spots, with wildlife, including wombats and wallabies, often seen grazing beside the road at dawn and dusk.

In the evenings, settle into comfortable lodge accommodation, with log fires, hearty meals and good company to end each day.

Launceston > Cradle Mountain | 150 kms

Cradle Mountain Cabins, Discovery Resorts, or similar

Continue through more mountain scenery today as you make your way to Strahan, on Tasmania’s rugged west coast. The first stop is Tullah, set among mountain lakes, before continuing on to Rosebery and Zeehan. These quiet towns were booming mining settlements in the 1800s, and reminders of that era, from old mine workings to heritage buildings, remain scattered throughout the area.

Strahan itself sits on a sheltered inlet and is the only significant harbour on Tasmania’s west coast, with tourism now supporting much of the local economy. Spend the afternoon exploring at your own pace, the short walk to Hogarth Falls starts right from the town centre, or head to Ocean Beach, Tasmania’s longest, for a walk along the sand and, weather permitting, a striking west coast sunset before dinner.

Cradle Mountain > Strahan | 145kms

Strahan Village, or similar

From Strahan, the road climbs up to Queenstown, once the major centre for mining in the region and still marked by the bare, scarred hills left behind from a century of copper mining. From here, a spectacular drive takes you through the heart of Tasmania, with the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park unfolding around you, before you finally arrive back in Hobart.

On arrival in Hobart you can return your car and check-in at your hotel in downtown, with enough time to stretch your legs, and enjoy a little more of Hobart;s fresh cuisine for dinner.

Strahan > Hobart | 295kms

Crowne Plaza, Hobart, or similar

After breakfast this morning, check out of your hotel and return to Hobart Airport in time to check in for your domestic flight to Sydney.

Just before you arrive into Sydney International Airport, you may be able to get some fantastic views of the New South Wales coastline, Sydney Harbour, and the vast National Parks that surround the city. Once you have landed and collected your bags,  transfer independently to your hotel in downtown Sydney, ready to check in and begin exploring.

Paradox Hotel, Sydney or similar

Discovering one of the world’s great harbour cities, with the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay all within easy walking distance of your hotel. You may like to start at start at Circular Quay, where ferries fan out across the harbour, and spend the morning at the Botanic Gardens adjacent to the Sydney Opera House. The views of the sail-like architecture, with the iconic bridge behind are great from the gardens. Continue around Circular Quay to The Rocks, with cobbled lanes, colonial-era buildings and a weekend market that’s well worth timing your visit around. For a different perspective on the harbour, consider booking a BridgeClimb to the summit for sweeping views over the city and out over the harbour towards the Heads.

On your second day you can take the opportunity to explore more by choosing one of these included guided tours:

• Take in the views of Sydney Harbour on a Dinner cruise, with a choice of two course lunch, or sunset dinner on the water
• Take a Backstage Tour of the Sydney Opera House, with access to the stage, orchestra pit and dressing rooms
• Join a Guided Tour to the Blue Mountains, viewing the Three Sisters and Katoomba Falls

On your final day, perhaps head to Bondi for a change of scene, whether that’s time on the sand or the coastal walk to Coogee, which takes in a string of smaller beaches, cliffside lookouts and ocean pools along the way. Back in the city, Darling Harbour makes for a relaxed afternoon, with waterfront dining, the Sydney Sea Life Aquarium and regular events, or spend the time browsing the shops of the historic Queen Victoria Building.

Paradox Hotel, Sydney, or similar

There may be time this morning for some last minute souvenir shopping, before it it is time to transfer back to Sydney International Airport in time to check-in for your onwards, or return flight.