If you really want to get Down Under and experience Australia’s highlights without feeling rushed, you’ll have to get off the big coaches. Explore Melbourne before hitting the Great Ocean Road and cutting through the Outback to the Red Centre. Here you’ll experience the mysteries of Uluru and gain insight into Aboriginal Australian culture. When it comes time to bed down, shake things up with a variety of unique accommodation — swags to underground hostels and everything in between.

Day 1 Melbourne
Arrive at any time. Tonight, get to know Melbourne as a group. Spend some time socializing in the rooftop seating area at the Space Hostel where you are staying. Then maybe head to the bar attached to the hostel called Blue Moon Karaoke for some great beer and cheap eats. Make sure you get those vocals ready because someone is getting up and singing before the night is over.

Day 2 Melbourne/Port Campbell
Say hello to the Great Ocean Road — arguably the most iconic road in all of Australia! You won’t even mind waking up early for views like the ones you’ll see as you drive to Port Campbell. Travel up the famous surf coast visiting quaint towns like Lorne and Apollo Bay en route. Get in touch with nature on an included rainforest walk in Great Otway NP. Then gaze in wonder and feel the wind whip through your hair as you admire the 12 Apostles, the kind of landmark that somehow finds a way to be more stunning in person than in photos.

Day 3 Port Campbell/Halls Gap
Open your eyes in the laid-back coastal town of Port Campbell and lace up those hiking boots for a visit to the Tower Hill Wildlife Reservation. Walk through the verdant landscape and be on the lookout for the wildlife that has multiplied on the inside of this volcanic crater. Trek through the forest with those cameras at the ready before continuing on to Grampians National Park for your next adventure!

Day 4 Halls Gap/Adelaide
Skip sleeping in this morning to get out and about in Grampians National Park. Wander through lush forest, view the craggy sandstone Wonderland range in the distance, and examine impressive Indigenous rock art. Home to some pretty amazing scenic lookouts this national park will grant you with many photo opportunities so make sure those cameras are charged before heading into the thick of it all. Walk to the stunning Balconies for expansive views of the Victoria Valley below, then stop at one of the largest waterfalls in Victoria; Mackenzie Falls and watch the water cascading down cliff faces as it creates rainbows in the air. Close your eyes, breathe in the fresh air, and find peace in the moment. As the day winds down head to Adelaide with the group and find some nightlife to enjoy as the stars fill the sky.

Day 5 Adelaide
Get ready to stuff your face in the food and wine capital of Australia; Adelaide. Wander the clean laneways and sample your way from place to place as the sun warms your skin. With an emerging art scene, natural beauty, interesting attractions, and incredible restaurants, Adelaide has tons to see and do. Get out and discover the hub of South Australia!

Day 6 Adelaide/Ikara-Flinders Ranges
Enjoy a local food experience in the Clare Valley, then it's on to Flinders Ranges.

Day 7 Ikara-Flinders Ranges
Explore Wilpena Pound, the heart of Flinders Ranges National Park, for a walk to a natural amphitheatre sacred to the Indigenous Adnyamathana people. Learn about Indigenous art and early settler history.

Day 8 Ikara-Flinders Ranges/Glendambo
Travel from Flinders Ranges to Glendambo with a stop along the way at the salt lake of Lake Hart.

Day 9 Glendambo/Coober Pedy
Travel to the town of Coober Pedy, the world's opal mining capital. After a guided tour of a mine, escape the heat like the locals by spending the night underground.

Day 10 Coober Pedy/Kings Creek
Take in the vastness of the Outback on a driving day, then bed down in a swag (padded canvas bedroll) around a campfire and sleep under the Outback sky.

Day 11 Kings Creek/Uluru
Enjoy a morning walk through the gorges and valleys of Kings Canyon. Drive to Uluru, where Australia's most iconic view awaits. Experience the colourful sunset at Uluru while enjoying a glass of bubbly.

Day 12 Uluru
Enjoy the Mala Walk at Uluru to learn the importance of the rock to Indigenous Australians.

Day 13 Uluru/Alice Springs
Discover more of the Red Centre with a hike through the beautiful Valley of the Winds in Kata Tjuta. Transfer to Alice Springs, where the tour ends upon arrival in the early evening.