Regions at a Glance

Sydney is Australia's financial 'big smoke', but most travellers come here for the gorgeous beaches, fabulous multicultural restaurants, hip bars and nocturnal opportunities. The Sydney creed: eat, drink and party, then sleep it off on the sand the next day.

Truck north out of Sydney and you'll soon hit the Central Coast, a landscape of brilliant beaches, huge lakes and laid-back surf towns. Inland is the Hunter Valley, Australia's oldest wine region.

Byron Bay: be in it, be around it...or just be! The 1970s hippie mantras still echo, but these days Byron is as much about surfing and music festivals as it is stoner vibes (for that, head into the hinterland).

Long derided as dull, new Canberra bristles with urban energy in neighbourhoods like Braddon and New Acton. Canberra's museums and galleries are superb, while the goings-on at Parliament House keep everyone entertained. Tracking southeast is a string of laid-back beach towns.

The inland agricultural towns and remote outback landscapes of central and outback NSW are quintessentially Australian. Look forward to stylish eating and drinking in Orange and Mudgee, and amazing mining heritage in Broken Hill.

Leaving Sydney can be deflating...but not if you head south! Be charmed by historic Southern Highlands towns, the lush landscapes around the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers, and Mt Kosciuszko, Australia's highest peak.

Watch out Sydney and Melbourne, Brisbane is rising! Sassy bars, classy restaurants, vibrant arts and good coffee: 'Australia's new world city' is ambitious, edgy and progressive. Beyond the city are laid-back island escapes and an unexpected wine region.

Queensland's splashy Gold Coast is the place to learn to surf or party all night (or one after the other). The massive Gold Coast theme parks are a hit with families.

The Sunshine Coast sounds kitsch, but once you splash in here that cliched name is soon forgotten. Local beaches are superb, some of the best of which are isolated sandy pockets within Noosa National Park.

Fraser Island is the world's biggest sand island – an otherworldly atoll dappled with dunes, rainforests and freshwater lakes. Spotting dingoes and humpback whales heads the agenda, with fishing, swimming and boating next on the list.

The chilled-out Capricorn Coast doesn't receive as much traffic as other parts of Queensland – more beach, island, cave and snorkel space for you! Don't miss a steak dinner in Rockhampton and the awesome Aboriginal rock art at Carnarvon Gorge.

Queensland's Whitsunday islands have been much photographed, written-about and touted: now it's time to visit! Exclusive resorts, brilliant white-sand beaches, island-hopper sailing trips and memorable nights in Airlie Beach await.

As far a small cities go, Townsville has its urban charms. But what you're really here for are beaches and beguiling island retreats nearby. Don't miss Mission Beach, a chilled-out beach town with cassowaries roaming through the undergrowth.

Cairns and Port Douglas to the north are prime spots from which to launch your Great Barrier Reef snorkelling trip. Cairns is activities central: ballooning, fishing, diving, rafting, bungee jumping... Further north the Daintree Rainforest ecosystem is astoundingly rich.

Talk about remote! Queensland's far northern tip is a long way from anywhere, especially when the summer monsoons arrive. Take a 4WD to get the most out of these tropical wilds. There are enriching Aboriginal cultural experiences to be had here, too.

Want to sidestep the tourists? Head into Queensland's vast outback heart, a land of rodeos, country music, small-town pubs, dinosaur bones and endless blue skies. Things get tropical in the Gulf Savannah – barramundi fishing is the name of the game here.

Melbourne is downright arty, with more galleries, band rooms, bookshops and theatres than hours in your holiday. Don't miss the cricket or Australian Rules football at the MCG, and long nights spent bar-hopping, coffee drinking and restaurant dining.

Wow, what a showstopper! A few days spent touring along the Great Ocean Road is one of the world's great road trips. Pack your surfboard, your camera and your appetite for fish-and-chips and cruise between sleepy coastal towns.

Gippsland's divine, untrammelled coastline makes it hard to believe there's a city of 4.4-million people just down the highway. Walking, camping and wildlife-watching in Wilsons Promontory National Park is a highlight.

In the 1850s, Victoria's goldfields were the place to be (to put it mildly). Gold-rush history defines the photogenic country towns through the state's central-west, while the majestic Grampians National Park offers accessible wilderness and rich Aboriginal heritage.

Strap on your skis and head to Mt Buller or Falls Creek for a dose of winter magic. But in spring and summer the Victorian Alps are divine, with historic towns, wineries and gourmet food offerings dappling neighbouring valleys.

The Murray River defines this quadrant of Victoria, snaking its way west into South Australia. Irrigation has turned the Mallee green – a patchwork of orchards and vineyards. Riverside towns like Echuca and Swan Hill are rich in paddleboat history.

Infused with colonial history and graced with natural beauty, Hobart is the perfect small city. Superb eating and drinking, year-round festivals and marvellous MONA make it an essential detour. The foodie-focussed southeast is on the city's doorstep.

Launceston has long played second-fiddle to Hobart's cultural cello, but 'Lonnie' has hipster bars, cool cafes and restaurants, too. The East Coast is beachy heaven (don't miss Wineglass Bay). The Tamar Valley Wine Region offers a different path to nirvana.

Tasmania's World Heritage–listed wilderness area is seriously beautiful. Hike the epic Overland Track to get amongst it, or scramble up Cradle Mountain for a good look. Down at ground level marsupials and reptiles are rampant.

Stately Adelaide delivers a frenzy of outstanding festivals, including the high-arts Adelaide Festival and its errant offspring the Fringe Festival. To the south the McLaren Vale Wine Region produces luscious shiraz, while Kangaroo Island's beaches and wildlife await offshore.

The Barossa is the heartland of the Australian wine industry, bottling up big-name reds. To the north, the Clare Valley does a refined riesling. Further afield, the mighty Murray River curls towards a limestone coastline riddled with amazing caves.

Spend a few days exploring boot-shaped Yorke Peninsula, with its wheat-coloured fields rolling down to empty beaches. Further west, Lincoln and Coffin Bay national parks are glorious coastal enclaves. The lure of fresh seafood is ever-present across the Eyre Peninsula.

The photogenic Flinders Ranges rise from the semi-desert in a jagged spine. There's brilliant bushwalking and camping here. Further north, legendary 4WD tracks rattle across the bone-dry desert to quirky outback towns.

Darwin after dark is a delirious experience, with backpackers cutting loose in the Mitchell St bars. Just down the highway are three of Australia's best national parks – Kakadu, Litchfield and Nitmiluk – with waterholes, Aboriginal cultural experiences and astonishing tropical wildlife.

Uluru and Kata Tjuta are truly enormous red rocks. Watarrka is the inverse – a dazzlingly deep desert canyon. Join an Aboriginal cultural tour for a deeper insight, and encounter outback wildlife at the excellent Alice Springs Desert Park.

Perth and bohemian 'Freo' bake beneath the Western Australian sun: cool off with craft beers in hip bars and sunset-soaked pubs. The foodie scene here is booming too – but before you get too relaxed, spend some hours in WA's best museums.

A day-trip from Perth delivers you to the amazing Pinnacles in Nambung National Park, or into some beautiful historic towns. Down by the seaside there's fishing, surfing, snorkelling, windsurfing, sandboarding, diving and swimming with dolphins on offer.

WA is hot and dry, but the southwestern corner catches enough rain to sustain some brilliant vineyards and tall-tree forests. Sassy Margaret River is the regional hub, with amazing caves, wild coastline and some of Australia's best surf nearby.

Unlike WA's southwestern corner, the south coast is too far from Perth to attract day-trippers. Give yourself a good week to explore the region's tall forests, empty beaches, cliffs, wineries and endearing small towns.

Shark Bay's Monkey Mia is famous for its dolphins, but these biologically rich waters also sustain dugongs, sea turtles, humpback whales, stingrays and (as you'd expect) sharks. Back on dry land are amazing gorges and a carpet of wildflowers in spring.

Don't miss the absurdly fertile waters of World Heritage–listed Ningaloo Marine Park – one of the few places on Earth you can swim with whale sharks. Super seafood and the oasis-like Karijini and Millstream-Chichester national parks are further Pilbara enticements.

Australia's wild western frontier is the Kimberley – a gigantic wilderness area laced with gorges, spinifex, desert sands and waterfalls. Aboriginal culture is at the fore: check out some Indigenous art or take a tour. Afterwards, Broome's plush resorts await.