Fly or Drive for Your Australian Holiday?

With a country as loaded with tourist attractions as Australia, the debate whether to fly or drive is likely to be waged during your vacation planning, whether you’re going on a month-long Noosa holiday or a short stay in Sydney. Can you experience more while driving the highways and roads, or is a well-orchestrated, tightly-plotted schedule of flight departures and arrivals the best system to follow?

While much of the decision will depend on your specific circumstances, the following article makes a case for each choice.

When to drive:

• The Queensland jump – Travellers heading from Brisbane, up the coast, to northern Queensland will often hop on a plane for a quick flight to their destination. However, the drive along the East Coast of Queensland is one of the best day trips you can take in Australia. Stop at Bribie Island and get a taste of unadulterated nature, or see the wonders of Caboolture and Noosa Heads, places that definitely should not be missed. These destinations could even warrant an overnight stay.
• The surfing safari– Surfers find themselves with so many options at their disposal in Australia that it can be bewildering. Even individual beaches can have several different breaks within a few kilometres. Surfers would be advised to spend most of their time driving, considering the fact that conditions can change quickly. Also, the fact that large crowds can make certain spots unpleasant means that a car would come in very handy.
• Getting to know the metropolitan areas of NSW and VIC– The famous destinations in New South Wales almost demand a few road trips. Visit all of the popular beach destinations around Sydney, and then head south to Melbourne for a look at Australia’s great cultural centre.

When to fly:

• Making the trip to Queensland’s far north– Seeing the beach towns along the Sunshine Coast, and finding cheap short stay accommodation as you go, will be charming, but getting to the national park areas in the far north of Queensland is much easier with the help of an airline. You’ll simply waste too much time on the highway to justify driving to this area.
• The weekend getaways– If you know your way around Australia, and simply need to get out of town for the weekend, taking a plane is going to save you much time and aggravation. For those precious moments of serenity on your favourite beach, the added expense is going to be worth it.
• Cross-country travel– Heading to Western Australia to take advantage of all Perth has to offer is recommended on any vacation to Australia. However, being able to do it all on the road and still see Australia’s East Coast, is asking too much. If you keep the long drives to a minimum, you’ll have more energy to experience the outdoors for which Australia is renowned.

You really can’t go wrong when you end up flying and driving around Australia, but there are benefits and drawbacks for both, depending on the situation. While cross-country road trips are hard for vacationers, exploring the different states in a car will always be great fun in Australia.