When you picture your dream trip to Australia, you’re probably not imagining bus rides, hostel check-ins, or group briefings. You’re imagining moments — standing on deck as the Whitsundays glow pink at sunset, catching your first wave in Byron Bay, or sitting around a campfire in the Outback as the Milky Way explodes above.
That’s why Contiki works. It doesn’t just get you from Sydney to Cairns (or Alice Springs to Uluru). It builds the activities that make the trip feel like the one you’ve been dreaming about.
Some are big-ticket bucket list items. Others are small, shared experiences that only make sense when you’re there. Together, they’re what separate a Contiki from a patchwork DIY bus ride.
Here are the best activities on Contiki Australia — and why they matter more than you think.
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Learning to Surf in Byron Bay
There’s no more iconic Australian travel story than catching your first wave. Byron Bay is the country’s surf capital, where beginners, pros, hippies, and influencers all share the same breaks.
What it feels like: You drag your board across hot sand, wobble awkwardly, then suddenly you’re standing — balancing on salt and adrenaline as your group cheers from the beach. You’re not good. But you don’t care. For that moment, you are a surfer.
Why it matters with Contiki: Surf lessons are included. No hunting for operators, no risking a dud experience. You’re with your crew, laughing at each other’s wipeouts, turning it into a shared story.
Sailing the Whitsundays
If there’s a single image that sells Australia to the world, it’s Whitehaven Beach: seven kilometres of pure silica sand so bright it squeaks. The Whitsundays are seventy-four islands of turquoise and white, and sailing them is the crown jewel of the East Coast.
What it feels like: You step onto deck, sails up, the Coral Sea stretching out. By day, you snorkel reefs teeming with fish. By afternoon, you climb Hill Inlet for the view — the famous swirl of sand and sea that looks painted by hand. By night, you lie on deck, watching the Milky Way stretch across the sky.
Why it matters with Contiki: Spots on good boats sell out months ahead. With Contiki, your berth is guaranteed. And instead of sailing with strangers, you’re on deck with the same friends you’ve been travelling with.
4WD Adventure on Fraser Island (K’gari)
Fraser isn’t just another beach. It’s the largest sand island in the world, and one of the most unique landscapes you’ll ever see. A place where rainforests grow in sand, freshwater lakes shimmer in the dunes, and the “highway” is a beach where 4WDs and small planes share the same strip of sand.
What it feels like: Driving a 4WD with the ocean crashing metres away. Floating down Eli Creek with a beer. Standing before the rusted hulk of the Maheno shipwreck. Diving into Lake McKenzie’s impossible blues. And sitting around a fire at night, red dust on your skin, laughing under a canopy of stars.
Why it matters with Contiki: Fraser isn’t forgiving to DIY. Permits, tides, and overbooked tours make it easy to mess up. Contiki locks it in and makes sure you’re not one of the regret stories in the hostel bar.
Diving the Great Barrier Reef
No East Coast trip is complete without the Reef. From Cairns, you head out across open sea to the world’s largest living organism. Whether you snorkel or dive, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
What it feels like: Mask on, face down, and suddenly you’re flying. Coral gardens stretch below, turtles cruise by, schools of fish shimmer like liquid silver. If you dive, it’s even better — the silence, the weightlessness, the colours hitting harder than you thought possible.
Why it matters with Contiki: The day trip is included, with the option to add intro dives or extend into a liveaboard. Doing it with your group turns the Reef from a checklist item into a shared finale.
Sunrise at Uluru
The Outback feels like a different planet. Red dirt, endless skies, and then Uluru rising like a giant from the earth. Seeing it at sunrise is one of the most powerful experiences you can have in Australia.
What it feels like: It’s 5am. You’re cold, tired, barely awake. Then the rock begins to glow — crimson, then orange, then violet. Conversation dies. Cameras click, but most people just sit in silence. It’s not just beautiful. It’s spiritual.
Why it matters with Contiki: Timing is everything. Contiki builds Uluru into the flow of their trips so you’re not rushing in and out, but actually getting time to walk, learn, and feel the place properly.
Party Nights in Cairns
Cairns is the finale for most East Coast trips, and it goes out with a bang. Backpacker bars, live music, cheap drink specials, and travellers celebrating the end of their journey.
What it feels like: Sticky floors, big laughs, terrible dance moves, and the bittersweet knowledge that tomorrow some of you will be on planes home. It’s the last party with your crew — and it always goes big.
Why it matters with Contiki: Ending with a group you’ve spent weeks with feels different than partying with strangers. It’s celebration and farewell rolled into one.
Hiking Kings Canyon
For those who add the Outback, Kings Canyon is the surprise highlight. Less famous than Uluru, but just as awe-inspiring. The rim walk at dawn is one of the most rewarding hikes in the country.
What it feels like: Steep climbs, burning calves, and then the view opens. Sandstone cliffs glowing in morning light, valleys filled with ghost gums, silence so deep you can hear the wind. By the time you descend, you’re exhausted, but grinning.
Why it matters with Contiki: Hiking the Outback without a guide is risky. Contiki times the walks to avoid heat and brings the group energy that makes the climb fun, not punishing.
Cape Byron Lighthouse Walk
Byron’s party reputation often overshadows its natural beauty. But the lighthouse walk at sunrise is unforgettable.
What it feels like: You start in darkness, hiking uphill with the sound of waves below. By the time you reach the cliffs, the horizon is glowing. Dolphins leap in the surf, and you’re standing at the easternmost point of Australia, watching the first light hit the continent.
Why it matters with Contiki: It’s easy to skip the hike if you’ve been out late. Contiki builds it in, making sure you don’t miss one of Byron’s most magical moments.
Skydiving Over the Reef
It’s optional, it’s expensive, and it’s not for everyone — but for those who do it, skydiving over the Reef becomes the story they tell forever.
What it feels like: Heart pounding, freefalling at 200km/h, then the parachute snaps open. As you float down, the patchwork of reef and islands spreads below. You’re grinning like an idiot, adrenaline flooding every vein.
Why it matters with Contiki: Doing it solo is terrifying. Doing it with half your bus, watching your mates drop out of the sky one after another, makes it legendary.
Why Activities Matter More Than Itinerary
You could, in theory, do the East Coast with a Greyhound pass. You’d see the same towns, stay in the same hostels. But without the activities, the shared moments, it would feel empty.
Contiki stitches the highlights into a flow. Surf in Byron, 4WD Fraser, sail the Whitsundays, dive the Reef, hike Uluru. These aren’t optional extras you hope to book last minute. They’re the backbone of the trip.
That’s the difference. That’s why Contiki costs what it does. And that’s why travellers come home raving about the people and the experiences, not the buses.
One Trip, One Set of Stories
Here’s the thing: you’ll only do your first trip to Australia once. The beaches will blur, the hostels will fade, but the activities, the moments, are what last.
That’s why choosing the right Contiki isn’t just about where it goes, but what it includes. Miss a highlight, and you’ll regret it forever. Get it right, and you’ll come home with a story so good you’ll be telling it for years.
Claim your free Dream Trip Blueprint session now.