Five amazing experiences on an iconic Queensland road trip with Cosmos

Outdoor enthusiasts will find themselves in paradise while on an iconic Queensland road trip that bounces between Brisbane and Airlie Beach.

Road trips are a brilliant way to travel. Who during lockdown didn’t dream of escaping to sunny, sweeping coastlines and beautiful islands? And who doesn’t have the urge to get away right this minute? Then you start thinking about organising it all, and where to go, and how you’ll have the time to do it all yourself when you’re self-driving and self-planning.  Your head already feels like it needs a holiday.

Road trips are a brilliant way to travel. (Image: Tourism & Events Queensland)

Well, here’s how you do it. Start in Brisbane and head north along the Queensland coast. Visit Noosa and K’Gari Fraser Island on the way. Check out the rum brewery at Bundaberg. Head out to Great Keppel Island. Tour a sugar plantation at Sarina. Finish at Airlie Beach, where you can explore the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef.

Visit Fraser Island on the way. (Image: Tourism & Events Queensland)

Sound complicated? It’s not. You can have this road-trip adventure – and throw in a whale-watching cruise, 4WD tour, snorkel and much more, too – without worrying about a thing on a 10-day Tropical Island Discovery with Cosmos. What’s not to like about a holiday made simple? Here are some highlights.

1. Noosa

Noosa, at the exclusive end of the Sunshine Coast, is a hot getaway that combines a laid-back beach lifestyle with a dash of urban chic. The town sits on a glorious rocky headland, part of a national park. Koalas snooze in the gum trees and pelicans waddle on the waterfront. Take time to explore and you can go surfing, dine out on crab and papaya salad, kick back at a bar with wine and oysters, or browse eclectic boutiques.

Noosa combines a laid-back beach lifestyle with a dash of urban chic. (Image: Tourism & Events Queensland)

2. Fraser Island

The world’s largest sand island is stunning, and a three-night stay lets you explore. You’ll find sand heaped in spectacular dunes and cliffs banded in colour. Stands of scribbly gums and towering kauri pines rustle, and freshwater lakes shimmer in emerald and turquoise.

You’ll find sand heaped in spectacular dunes and cliffs banded in colour. (Image: Tourism & Events Queensland)

Bushwalking is a pleasure; Indian Head rewards you with magnificent panoramas. Enjoy a cruise to spot whales, turtles and manta rays, and take a spin by 4WD to the Pinnacles, Champagne Pools and Pile Valley Rainforest.

Take a spin by 4WD to the Pile Valley Rainforest. (Image: Tourism & Events Queensland)

3. Great Keppel Island

With a full day at leisure here, the only problem is deciding how to enjoy this magnificent island on the southern Great Barrier Reef, encircled in 17 pristine beaches. Walking tracks meander through its rainforest, and corals wait just a wade and snorkel offshore. You might decide to kayak, paddleboard, visit historic Leeke Homestead or do nothing much at all but bask on the sand and tinkle the ice in your cocktail as the sunset explodes.

Enjoy this magnificent island on the southern Great Barrier Reef. (Image: Tourism & Events Queensland)

4. Whitsunday Islands

Airlie Beach, which sprawls around several bays and has a great dining scene, is the gateway to the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef. Think impossibly blue seas, white-sand beaches, reefs filled with a kaleidoscope of tropical fish, and islands where butterflies dance. Take a scenic cruise to the outer reefs and plunge into a dazzling underwater world of giant clams, coral and angelfish. With two days to explore, you could be tempted into an astonishingly beautiful scenic flight over Whitehaven Beach and Heart Reef.

Take a scenic cruise to the outer reefs. (Image: Tourism & Events Queensland)

5. Reefsleep

Consider this optional add-on, because Reefsleep is a unique experience that sees you overnight on a moored pontoon 39 nautical miles offshore. Enjoy the Great Barrier Reef after the day-trippers depart, and dine as the sunset and a magnificent sweep of Milky Way appear overhead. Afterwards you can take to your Reefbed to be lulled to sleep by sea breezes. If you fancy an early morning snorkel on the reef with nobody else around, the big blue is only a step away.

All these experiences are moments to remember for a lifetime, but you’ll enjoy them even more knowing you don’t have to organise a thing. No multiple bookings, no working out itineraries, no driving. Experts who take care of everything, and who know what works. And most of all, no stress and no worries. And surely that’s what makes any holiday perfect.

Reefsleep is a unique experience that sees you overnight on a moored pontoon 39 nautical miles offshore. (Image: Tourism & Events Queensland)

You may also like:

Tassie Quick Bite

If you’re a foodie, then this seven-day culinary adventure from Hobart to Launceston will whet your appetite. Sample oysters and cheese on lovely Bruny Island, make artisan chocolates, and visit a whiskey distillery, winery and flour mill. Don’t worry, you can walk off the calories on Grey Mares Tail waterfall and the stunning beaches of the Bay of Fires.

Top End & Central Australia Explorer

Our Red Centre is like nowhere else, and this 11-day tour shows you why as you travel between Darwin and Uluru and take in iconic sights including Kakadu, Katherine Gorge, Kings Canyon and Uluru itself, whose majestic, brooding presence makes your neck prickle. In between, you’ll enjoy a jumping-crocodile cruise, rock art, bush tucker, thermal springs and more.

Thirsting for more? Perhaps one of these holidays operated by Cosmos Tours’ sister brand Globus.

Contrasts of the Kimberley

This 10-day escorted tour immerses you in a vast frontier wilderness of stunning rust-red gorges, giant boab trees, waterfalls and refreshing waterholes. Highlights include Katherine Gorge, the beehive-shaped Bungle Bungle Ranges and legendary El Questro Station. The rugged outback adventure is bookended by Darwin and Broome, where a sunset camel ride along the beach is unforgettable.

Rugged Tasmania

Never been to Tassie? This nine-day tour return from Hobart sets out to highlight the top reasons why this state is renowned for spectacular scenery, from lovely Bruny Island and the almost untouched wilderness of the Gordon River to the rugged splendour of Cradle Mountain and the blue beauty of Freycinet National Park and its picture-perfect Wineglass Bay. While this tour takes you to the great rugged beauty of Tasmania, your accommodation is anything but rugged. Enjoy stays at Cradle Mountain Lodge and Freycinet Lodge.

For more information and bookings visit cosmostours.com.au or globus.com.au.