The Best Day Trips in Australia for BackPackers
There are a tonne of day trips to head off on in Australia – one of the many reasons why Aussie is the number 1 travel location! Most of the top spots are along the East Coast, the most popular backpacker route in the country.
From sky diving to diving in the ocean, to some incredible coastlines and islands, you’re in for a treat.
We’ll be sharing with you all about:
- Skydiving at some epic locations on the coast…
- Day trips you can do from Sydney and Melbourne
- Can you see the Whitsundays in a day?
- The ultimate Great Barrier Reef day adventure
As you travel up or down the East Coast, you’re gonna want to be stopping off at all of these epic adventure spots we’re about to tell you about.
And don’t forget, when it comes to booking these trips, we can get you a load of fab deals so you don’t have to break the bank to see these beaut places.
You can book most of these trips with us around a week or two in advance, so you can be super spontaneous and flexible.
Click images to see more.
Day trips
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef 100% has to be on your Aussie bucket list – if it’s not, what are you playing at! It’s an epic spot, it’s one of the seven wanders of the world and it’s incredibly easy to access for a sick day trip…
- Scuba dive/snorkel day trip
- Scenic helicopter ride over the reef (cool huh?!)
Cape Tribulation / Daintree Rainforest
Cape Tribulation is just above Cairns. It is a coastal area within Daintree Rainforest and it is beaut! Just imagine it, stepping out of the rainforest straight onto the beach! Best of both worlds!!
Daintree Rainforest is a huge tropical rainforest and thought to be one of the oldest in the world.
Click here to check out the EPIC rainforest experiences
Cairns – Atherton Tablelands
A trip around the Atherton Tablelands is an epic roadie if you’ve got a camper, oooooorrr you can hop on a tour and see the sites that way.
This park is waterfall paradise – the whole environment is so beautiful and untouched. The top spots are:
- Millaa Millaa Falls – the home of Peter Andre’s Mysterious Girl vid.
- Lake Echam – a huge volcanic lake.
- Josepine Falls – natual waterslide and plunge pool.
- Babinda Boulders – this is a goooood view point.
Skydive
Feeling brave and up for an adrenaline rush like no other?? Experience the sky high activity thats on every backpackers aussie bucketlist and get your heart pumping for a crazy experience of falling out of a plane that you will never forget!
Where to skydive?
- Cairns
- Mission beach
- Airlie Beach
- Byron Bay
Need some more location inspo? Check out our locations here
Whitsundays day trip
Ever wanted to visit one of the worlds best beaches? Well here in the Whitsundays you can!
You can head off on a sailing trip around the islands for a couple of days or if you’re short for time, why not zoom around in a speed boat and see it that way?
Ocean Rafting is the ULTIMATE day tour of the Whitsundays, these legends from Ocean Rafting are at the top of the Whitsundays game and produce awesome memorable trips day in day out.
Thinking about a longer tour for the Whitsundays? Check out the overnight sailing trips here.
Byron Bay
We always have a lot to say about Byron as it’s the home to RatPack yeeeewwww. So, we have not 1, but 3 activities to head off on for a wicked day trip.
- Sea kayaking with dolphins – You’ll be able to get up close and personal with the locals and see the many pods of dolphins that live in the waters of Byron Bay.
- Nimbin day tour – Join the legends from the Happy Coach for the day to visit Australia’s most iconic hippie destination and alternative lifestyle capital, Nimbin!
- Surfing – When you hit up the bay come and hang with us and Blackdog surf school for a true ozzie experience of learning to surf.
In need of some more inspiration of things to do whilst you are in the bay? Click here to find out our TOP tips…
with RatPack Travel?
Sydney – Blue Mountains
Just outside of the hustle of Sydney city life is the incredible Blue Mountains National Park, if you are into unreal views and a bit of nature – this is a bit of YOU.
The Blue Mountain range offers one million hectares of tall forests, sandstone cliffs, canyons, caves, walking tracks and waterfalls! It’s here that you’ll find the famous three sisters rock formation – which is an EPIC site to see.
The legends over at Coast Warriors are the ultimate day trip to see the beauty of the Blue Mountains (and have some bants in the process).. click here to read more about this unreal experience..
Melbourne – St Kilda
St Kilda is a beachy suburb of Melbourne. You can get to it if you hop on the city tram.
This beachside spot makes for an epic day trip. After a day soaking up the sun on the beach or checking out Luna Park, head to the breakwater at the end of St Kilda pier at sunset for the chance to spot some wild penguins.
Let the adventure begin...
Are you planning your trip and wondering HOW to put it all together? It can feel pretty overwhelming right? We have been there and felt exactly the same and now the RatPack crew are here to help YOU!
We can help you by:
- Planning you an EPIC route that works perfectly with your timeframe and budget
- Hook you up with discounted campervan rentals
- Sharing with you REAL advice from our crew that have all backpacked Australia
- Get you EPIC discounts on every trip and tour and method of transport.
- AND we’ll be there for you every step of the way…
From our RatPackers
Genuinely saved me a lot of dolla and stress, thank you so much!
Steve and I were incredibly impressed with Reuben's great professionalism and his ability to find us a wonderful deal for our upcoming N.Z holiday in 2024. Reuben was so helpful, informative and gained us a awesome JUCY Campervan package. Thank you so much for all your assistance.🤩 I would highly recommend Rat Pack Travel to all travellers. 😊Lindy Jurd.
Great service from Ben, can’t recommend RatPack enough. Got us a great price over a really busy period and got us the van we wanted. So easy and will definitely use them again in the future.
Gregg was very helpful in helping me plan my trip very last minute! Thanks so much
Jenna was a huge help getting me a camper for my trip up through the East Coast. Availability was tight and I can’t thank Jenna enough for sorting and at a great price. Definitely worth taking the stress out of searching and using these guys.
Seems to good to be true but Ratpack are everything they say and more. Helped me so much to choose a van and made the whole process so easy! Big shout out to Jenna and all her help above and beyond thanks so much!! Highly recommend
Ben from RatPack Travel was amazing!! Highly recommend getting in contact with this company if you’re unsure what kind of vehicle is best suited for your road-trip plans!
Jenna was so helpful and informative. She made the whole process of booking a camper so easy and answered any questions that I had. I would 100% recommend Ratpack travel for booking a campervan trip! Thanks Jenna 😀
Jenna was amazing! She took all the worry and stress out of booking our holiday! She was so helpful and patient, offering so much advice and securing us a lovely discount as well! Congratulations RatPack Travel - you have a winner in Jenna!
Messaged on Instagram and within a few minutes Reuben had replied, he went through every bit of detail to help arrange our east coast trip, providing the specification of the van and the true costings without any pressure. Very excited to start our trip next month, credit to the team for sure
Mikey was amazing and helped us out a great deal! Can’t recommend them enough!
Just booked a camper through Ratpack Travel with Gregg. He was super professional and talked me through the entire process with constant updates - absolute legend. One of the easiest experiences booking a camper I've had. Would definitely recommend!
Reuben was so helpful to deal with. Would highly recommend
Thanks for sorting out a camper for us Ben! I look forward to the trip and travelling in the RV you found for us
Gregg was fantastic chasing a great price and was extremely responsive - he called when he said he would, chased options immediately and was quick with follow up communication. The process was quick and painless and ended with us getting a great deal.
