Ultimate Australia (2012)

Melbourne • Adelaide • Alice Springs • Uluru • Great Barrier Reef • Cape Tribulation • Sydney
  • 17 days
  • from only:
  • $5795
  • $341 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
NEW-Private Departures
Is this Adventure Right for You?
It's Included
Unique Accommodations
Extend Your Adventure
Tasmania: Australia's Natural Heritage
New Zealand
Optional Tours
Trip Leaders
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your adventure, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two adventures to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the OAT adventure that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your adventure
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your adventure with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of OAT adventures to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Houston, Tampa

24hrs

Boston, Dallas, Detroit

26hrs

Denver, Newark, New York (JFK)

27hrs

Miami, Philadelphia, Washington, DC (Dulles)

25hrs

Los Angeles

16hrs

Chicago, Minneapolis

23hrs

San Diego

20hrs

San Francisco

22hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Melbourne, Australia. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the OAT family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on an OAT trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-955-1925 or click here.

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Pre-Trip: Tasmania: Australia's Natural Heritage

5 nights from only $1695
T6517

One hundred and fifty miles off the southeastern coast of mainland Australia sits Tasmania—a land of pristine natural beauty with a history that is equally well-preserved. Begin your Ultimate Australia adventure with an exploration of Australia’s only island state.

Single Supplement: FREE.

Please note: Availability and price may vary by departure date. Please call for details.

It's Included

  • Airfare from Melbourne to Hobart and from Launceston to Melbourne
  • Accommodations for 2 nights in Hobart, 1 night in Cradle Mountain, and 2 nights in Launceston
  • 8 meals—5 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 2 dinners
  • 5 small group activities
  • Services of an expert OAT Trip Leader
  • All transfers

Optional Tour

Port Arthur ($125 per person)

Day 1
Depart U.S.

Relax on your overnight flight from as you begin your journey to Tasmania.
Day 2
Cross International Date Line

Continue your journey to Tasmania. By crossing the International Date Line you lose a day, but you will make it up on the return end of your adventure.
Day 3
Arrive in Hobart, Tasmania

Upon arrival on the Australian mainland—either Sydney or Melbourne, depending on your departure date—an OAT Trip Leader will meet our group and accompany us on our connecting flight to Hobart. In the evening, we'll enjoy a Welcome Dinner.
Day 4
Walking Tour of Hobart/Optional Port Arthur Tour

We rise early for breakfast this morning and then enjoy an early morning guided walking tour of historic Hobart. Here we get a glimpse of Hobart’s rich history as we tour the city center, Salamanca Place, and its surrounding areas.

This rather small city is the capital of the Australian State of Tasmania, the largest offshore island in the country. It is a seaport where you are never far from the water, while on its landward side Mount Wellington rises more than 4,100 feet above the ocean’s edge. Hobart has a fascinating blend of Aboriginal, colonial, and maritime history that includes a wealth of Georgian architecture dating from its colonial period in the 1830s.

After the walking tour, perhaps you'll join us for an optional tour to historic Port Arthur, which explores one of Australia’s most important historic sites. Port Arthur served as a prison colony for Australia between 1830 and 1877 when some 12,000 convicts were confined here. A whole network of prisons once dominated the island. On arrival we start at the Visitor Center, where an interactive interpretive gallery explains much of the history of the penal colony. We then take a guided walking tour that brings us to some of the restored buildings and ruins that were part of the prison system, followed by one-hour harbor cruise. We have some free time to stroll around the charming and well-maintained grounds before we return to our hotel.

The evening is at leisure with dinner on your own.
Day 5
Hobart/Transfer to Cradle Mountain/Evening “Spotlighting” Tour

Today we enjoy breakfast and then check out of our hotel and begin a full day of touring as we travel to Cradle Mountain.

Along the way, we visit Bonorong Wildlife Park, then stop at Ross and enjoy an included lunch. We arrive in Cradle Mountain, where dinner will be at our lodge, which has beautiful open log fires and reading rooms for relaxation.
Day 6
Cradle Mountain National Park/Overland to Launceston

Today we spend the morning in Cradle Mountain National Park, part of Tasmania's World Heritage area. Cradle Mountain is Tasmania's best-known national park, and you will quickly see why. This is an area of spectacular natural vistas—high mountains towering over gorges and lakes, and with unusual wild moorlands that stretches for miles beyond the park. There are several excellent walking trails that bring you close to the sights and sounds of the park.

We leave the park and travel to Launceston, via Sheffield. Located near Mount Roland, Sheffield is known as the "Town of Murals" for the spectacular paintings that the town's history and landscape inspire.
Day 7
Explore Launceston/Visit Cataract Gorge

After breakfast this morning, we depart for a half-day tour of Launceston.

We visit Cataract Gorge, a wild, magnificent spot where high vertical cliffs stretch along the banks of the South Esk River. We cross the Gorge over the Alexandra Suspension Bridge and enjoy some stunning views.

We then head back to town and meander through the city itself, where 19th-century houses and Victorian-era warehouses still stand. We pass by Princes Square and City Park, where an excellent collection of exotic trees, gardens, and fountains enliven the landscape.

We return to the hotel by noon. Lunch is on your own. After lunch, you have the afternoon at leisure.

Tonight, dinner is on your own.
Day 8
Launceston/Fly to Melbourne

This morning, we wake for a leisurely breakfast before transferring to the airport for our flight to Melbourne to join the main trip. We arrive in Melbourne to begin a new series of explorations and discoveries, arriving on Day 3 of Ultimate Australia.