All Out Australia & Indonesia

Sydney, capital of New South Wales and one of Australia’s largest cities, is best known for its harbourfront Sydney Opera House, with a distinctive sail-like design. Massive Darling Harbour and the smaller Circular Quay port are hubs of waterside life, with the arched Harbour Bridge and esteemed Royal Botanic Garden nearby. Sydney Tower’s outdoor platform, the Skywalk, offers 360-degree views of the city and suburbs.

Discover the capital of Queensland, Australia’s Sunshine State. Laid-back Brisbane feels like a big country town, but it’s actually Australia’s third-largest city. Cruise from Brisbane, Australia and experience its charm in any season thanks to year-round warm temperatures. Head to South Bank, where you join the locals cooling down in one of the many museums and galleries, or enjoy the sunshine at the man-made Streets Beach. Two of Australia’s beach-going meccas, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, border Brisbane – take a short drive out and hop on a surfboard or relax in the sun-soaked sand.

Situated in tropical north Queensland, Cairns is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest. These two UNESCO World Heritage Sites are why Cairns is the fourth most popular destination for international tourists in Australia. Enjoy the city’s year-round tropical summer weather as you relax beside the man-made lagoon on the Esplanade. Then, experience one of Cairns’ two main drawcards: Head into the rainforest in nearby Kuranda, which you can reach by taking the Skyrail Cableway or the Scenic Railway. Cruise to Cairns and take the half-day trip to Green Island — you’ll be snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef within an hour of leaving the city.

The capital city of Australia’s Northern Territory, Darwin delivers more than enough rugged natural beauty to earn its namesake: none other than renowned naturalist Charles Darwin. This port city on Australia’s Top End — the lushly forested northern tip of the province — is known for its year-round tropical climate. After you take in the ocean views at Cullen Bay Marina, cool down inside the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Here, you’ll find collections on Cyclone Tracy, Darwin’s World War II history and indigenous and Australian art. If you’re looking to venture farther out with your Darwin cruise, it’s just over an hour to the Kakadu rainforest or the waterfalls and plunge pools of Litchfield National Park.

The island of Lombok also offers some of the world’s most spectacular scuba diving sites and the sacred Gunung Rinjani volcano is blessed with a beautiful aquamarine crater lake.

Windswept, isolated and possessed of some of the most raw natural beauty on the planet, Exmouth sits at the tip of Western Australia’s North West Cape, roughly 800 miles from the state capital of Perth. Its remote location (and proximity to South-East Asian waters) made it a natural choice for establishing a naval communications base back in 1967, with civilisation inevitably springing up around it. Fortunately, civilisation never crept too far since Exmouth also happens to play host both to a spectacular underwater wonderland (with reef diving and snorkelling to rival that of the continent’s better-known Great Barrier Reef) and a true Outback range, complete with black-footed rock wallabies, red rock canyons and over 700 caves, many of them hidden. One look at this extraordinary place and you may well want to hide away here too.

Spend your time exploring Perth, Fremantle or both. In Perth, stick to the city centre and visit its best sights, including Kings Park, Elizabeth Quay and the historic London Court shops. If you choose to make your way to Fremantle, don’t miss the historic Fremantle Prison. Cruise to Perth and explore maritime archaeology at the WA Shipwrecks Museum, and peruse the stalls at bustling the Fremantle Markets.