Australia, vast and isolated, brims with unspoiled natural beauty and some very sophisticated coastal cities, too. A cruise is a wonderful way to see this island nation, and a wide variety of cruise options are available.
The most basic decision to make about your Australian cruise is whether to cruise between the west coast of the U.S. and Australia or to fly to Australia and make a partial or full circumnavigation along its coastline.
Sailing to or from the U.S. is a great choice if you would like to visit other destinations in the South Pacific. Stops along the way may include Hawaii, Moorea, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia and New Zealand. These cruises are usually two weeks in length or more.
If you choose to cross the Pacific by air, landing in Sydney will provide the most options for cruises of Australia, although ships depart from other Eastern Seaboard cities like Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide; and, from Perth (Freemantle), the capital of Western Australia.
Once in Australia, your cruise options are more numerous than you may think. They range from quick two- or three-night cruises between Sydney and Brisbane to full circumnavigations, which take about 30 days. A full circumnavigation enables you to see many of Australia’s most spectacular treasures, including the beaches of Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef, and the wild Kimberley Coast. Some itineraries include excursions to interior sights such as the Blue Mountains, Uluru, or one of many national parks.
Your Australian cruise can be aboard a large ship equipped with lots of features and amenities; or a smaller ship that’s able to visit smaller ports, such as the fishing capital of Port Lincoln; Newcastle, near the famous Hunter Valley wine region; or tiny Eden, a charming town with terrific whale-watching.
There are expedition cruises that can take you to Australia’s greatest outdoor adventure areas, including the Great Barrier Reef, where kayak excursions can take you to the reef’s more remote reaches. In the Kimberley region, expedition boats equipped with Zodiac craft can take you deep into red sandstone gorges with sheer walls and thundering waterfalls. There are some attractive options for river cruises, too.
To check out all of the ways you can take the Australian cruise of a lifetime, talk with Anita, your Cruise Holidays personal cruise expert.
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