A green sea turtle surfacing for air in clear blue water

The Australia travel guide series

DiscoverAustralia.


The land of reef and red earth.

Sydney·Cairns·Uluru·Hobart·Perth·Melbourne

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One country. A lifetime of places.

Australia is too big for one book. So Discover Australia publishes a series of focused guides, each one built for a single state, region or way of travelling.

Every guide covers what you need on the ground: when to go, how to get around, where to stay, what it costs, local etiquette and the precautions that keep a trip on track. Each title is updated for the 2027 season.

8,222Islands
93%Of Australia's marsupials are found nowhere else on Earth
8States and territories
Aerial view of turquoise lagoons and reef walls meeting the deep blue ocean

The ocean series

Beneath
the Surface


Australia is ringed by three oceans, its reefs full of life found nowhere else. Here's what lies beneath.

A diver descending beside a sheer reef wall with sunlight breaking through the surface

Diving Australia

Three oceans.
The largest reef on Earth.


Australia is an island continent, and its reefs grew up far from any other land. Warm currents run south along both coasts, carrying larvae and nutrients from reef to reef, and the Great Barrier Reef stretches some 2,300 km. The result is marine life you will not find anywhere else.

But the distances are huge, the best reefs lie far offshore and the seasons change from coast to coast. A dive at Ningaloo in May is a very different dive.

Ribbon ReefsGiant potato cod and the clear outer walls of the northern Great Barrier Reef
NingalooWhale sharks and a fringing reef close to shore
SS YongalaA 1911 wreck alive with sea snakes, rays and big groupers
Julian RocksGrey nurse sharks, turtles and rays off Byron Bay, in NSW
See all the dive regions on our free map →
Diving Australia: The Complete Guide, book cover coming soon

The dive guide · Coming 2027

Diving
Australia

Diving the reefs of three oceans


Everything you need to plan the dives of your life, from your first drift dive to your tenth liveaboard: the right reef, in the right season.

The best dive sitesThe Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Sea, Ningaloo, Sydney, Byron Bay, Tasmania and more, by level and conditions
Season calendarWhen to see whale sharks, humpbacks, mantas and minkes
Boat vs. shore divesHow to choose, real costs and dive shops
Dive safetyCurrents, insurance, recompression chambers and emergencies
A pod of dolphins seen from above in clear turquoise water

The flagship guide

Sea
Turtles


Six of the world's seven sea turtle species swim in Australian waters, and green and loggerhead turtles crawl ashore to nest on beaches from Mon Repos to the outer reef. Our guide shows you where to see them, how they live and how to watch them the right way, with maps of the best turtle beaches and snorkel spots.

Coming 2027

Read: how to see turtles responsibly →
Discover Sea Turtles, Complete Guide, cover
A crater steaming above a sea of volcanic sand
Discover Tiger Sharks, Complete Guide, cover

The shark guide · Coming soon

Tiger
Sharks

Meet Australia's apex predator


Named for the stripes they wear when young, tiger sharks patrol Australia's warm waters year-round and can grow beyond four metres. Our complete guide explains the animal behind the myth: how they live, where they roam and how to share the ocean with them.

Life of a tiger sharkDiet, migration, breeding and why they will eat almost anything
Where they roamReefs, seagrass bays and the open ocean around the coast, mapped
Keepers of the seagrassShark Bay, where tigers help shape a whole ecosystem
Ocean safetyThe real risk, sensible habits and what to do if you see one

Southern Great Barrier Reef

Lady ElliotGreen Zone


The southernmost coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef, a ring of sand and reef far off the Queensland coast. It lies in a Marine National Park Zone and is a seabird haven, with manta rays gliding past for much of the year.

Getting there means a small plane. That's exactly why the water around it is some of the clearest on the reef.

The dive guide · Coming 2027Diving Australia: The Complete GuideSee the reef dive guide →
Close-up of a teal leather coral
Uluru glowing red above the grasslands of the Red Centre
Discover Australia: The History of Australia, Complete Guide, cover coming soon

The history guide · Coming 2027

The History
of Australia

Inside the hidden history of the continent


Shaped over billions of years on the oldest rocks on Earth, home to the world's oldest living cultures for more than 65,000 years, and a British colony from 1788 before it became a nation in 1901. The story behind every place you will visit.

How the land formedAncient rocks, Gondwana and the long drift north
First PeoplesAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and Country
Colony to nationThe First Fleet, the gold rushes and Federation in 1901
Living culturesStory, art, language and song across the continent

Discover Australia's hidden gems.

Tasmania & the Kimberley

Most visitors never leave the east coast. Our guides go further: Tasmania's wild coast, the Kimberley's gorges, the empty bays of the west and the quiet shores in between.

See the region guides
Rugged limestone cliffs and stacks along the coast of southern Australia

The continent

Map of Australia showing Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania Western Australia Northern Territory Queensland South Australia New South Wales Victoria Tasmania Great Barrier Reef

On land

The Region Guides


New South Wales, Queensland, the Outback, Tasmania and the West, region by region. Coming in 2027 on Amazon in Kindle and paperback, and as ebooks on Apple Books and Kobo.

DiscoverAustralia.
Sydney & NSW2027

The Harbour, the Blue Mountains & Byron Bay
TRAVEL GUIDE
Discover Australia

New South Wales 2027 Travel Guide: Beyond Sydney

DiscoverAustralia.
Queensland2027

The Reef, the Daintree & the Whitsundays
2027 EDITION
Discover Australia

Queensland 2027: The Complete Travel Guide

DiscoverAustralia.
The Historyof Australia

First Peoples, colony & the nation's story
COMPLETE GUIDE
Discover Australia

The History of Australia: The Complete Guide

DiscoverAustralia.
The Outback2027

Uluru, Kakadu & the Red Centre
2027 EDITION
Discover Australia

The Northern Territory 2027: Outback Travel Guide

DiscoverAustralia.
Tasmania2027

Cradle Mountain, Freycinet & Hobart
TRAVEL GUIDE
Discover Australia

Tasmania 2027: The Complete Travel Guide

DiscoverAustralia.
WesternAustralia

Perth, Margaret River & Ningaloo
COMPLETE GUIDE
Discover Australia

Western Australia: The Complete Travel Guide (2027)

Free download

The Australia Travel Checklist


Everything to sort out before you fly, on two pages. Join the Discover Australia list and we'll send it to your inbox, plus a note whenever a new guide comes out.

One email per new guide. Unsubscribe any time.

  • Visa & arrival
  • SIM card & internet
  • Money, ATMs & tipping
  • Health & vaccinations
  • Getting around Australia
  • Safety, scams & emergency numbers
A pod of dolphins swimming over sand in deep blue water
Discover Dolphins, Complete Guide, cover

The dolphin guide · Coming 2027

Discover
Dolphins

Inside the secret life of the ocean's brightest minds


From the bottlenose dolphins of Australia's bays to the pods of the Azores and the Maldives: who they are, how they think and live together, and where to see the ocean's smartest mammal in the wild, the right way.

The speciesSpinners, bottlenose, spotted dolphins and their relatives
IntelligenceSignature whistles, play and problem-solving
Family lifePods, calves and the daily rhythm of rest and hunting
Where to see themSheltered bays, open oceans and island reefs, responsibly