This itinerary will plan your entire 11 days in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia. Perfect for solo or group travel, each day is a mix of adventure, relaxation, and lots of delicious food and drinks! 

Along with an itinerary, you will also get helpful tips and things to know before you make the trip down under. All you need to know before you go!

Sydney NSW, Australia

Brisbane QLD, Australia

11 day Brisbane and Sydney, Australia travel itinerary

11 Days in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia

Woohoo! You’re traveling down under. While Australia travel is relatively simple to navigate, there are a few helpful tips you should know before you go. 

1. When you’re booking flights, make sure to give yourself at least 3 hours on layovers. Australia (especially from the US) is way too long of a trip to have things go wrong at the airport. 3 hours will give you enough time so that you are comfortable and not rushed at the start and end of your trip. 

2. Australia has visa entry requirements. Travelers to Australia must purchase an Australian visa. The process is simple and online and takes minutes. Note you may also need a visa if you have a layover in other countries. I flew through New Zealand and needed one there as well. 

3. Get a credit card without foreign transaction fees. I recommend the Chase Sapphire as it’s great for all travel points in general. You can apply for the card through this link:

4. Know the name and address of your hotel when going through customs. It is always best practice to have the location and dates of each stay in case you are asked to provide it at customs. 

I recommend staying in the central business district (CBD) of Brisbane. It is the perfect location in the center of the city to get to everything. Brisbane is a very walkable city and taxis or ride shares are only needed for day trips or trips outside of the city. 

Start your first morning on the Brisbane Riverwalk. It’s beautiful at sunrise and has amazing views of the city and lots of restaurants and cafes to stop into. 

After the riverwalk, I recommend doing some outdoor shopping at Queen Street Mall. There is lots to explore around this area as it’s right downtown and is an indoor/outdoor mall. 

Close to Queen Street Mall is the ANZAC memorial. It is a great place for a city-break to stop, relax, sit, and enjoy. 

End your first day with dinner on the riverwalk at Ciao Papi. This is a contemporary italian restaurant with outdoor dining under the lights of the Story Bridge. 

Your second day, you will want to take a taxi or ride share to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. You could spend all day here looking at the local animals and doing their unique experiences such as holding a koala. Side note- the state of Queensland is one of only 3 states in Australia where you can hold a koala so definitely take advantage of the experience if it’s something that interests you. 

In addition to holding a koala you can also take photos with dingos, hold a snake, watch a bird show, and feed kangaroos. If you want to book these experiences I recommend booking tickets in advance as they fill up. 

After spending the day at Lone Pine, treat yourself to an ice cold beer and dinner at Felons Brewery. Felons is one of the best in Brisbane and right on the river for the best views. 

Start your third day off in the morning with a trip to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. These are free gardens in the heart of the city and on Sundays they have farmers markets. 

Following the gardens, walk through Southbank and Streets Beach. This is a man-made beach along the river perfect for relaxing. There are many restaurants and shops in the area to choose from. 

For dinner, go to Birrunga Cafe for Indigenous-inspired food. I was able to try kangaroo, crocodile, and emu meat. 

Museum day! There are so many free museums in Brisbane to choose from and fortunately, they’re all in the same area. Pick your favorites but I recommend the Queensland Museum and Contemporary Art Museum. 

After your museum day, walk back towards CBD along the river. You’ll pass by some Brisbane landmarks like the Brisbane sign, Channel Seven Wheel of Brisbane, and Rainforest Walk. 

In the morning, head to Roma Street Parkland to walk and explore. Then make your way back to James St. (where dinner was the previous night). 

There is lots to explore in the James St./Fortitude Valley area so spend the day shopping, eating, and drinking. I recommend grabbing dinner and drinks at the Lobby Bar at the Callie Hotel. This may have been my favorite meal in Brisbane. But there are so many places to choose from here! 

Start your morning with life changing croissants from Lune. You will seriously want everything in the store. 

Walk off all the pastries by walking to the West End Markets (note they are only on Saturdays so plan your days accordingly). There is so much at these markets from food trucks, fresh produce, clothing, hand made jewlery and more. 

Following the markets, explore the vintage shops in the area.

For your last dinner, head to the Prawnster in Kangaroo Point. This simple seafood restaurant is serving up fresh oysters, shrimp, and lobster in an open air boat. Definitely an experience to remember. 

Similar to Brisbane, I recommend staying in Sydney’s CBD (central business district). I stayed at Little National Hotel in Sydney and loved my experience. It was affordable, clean, close to everything and exactly what I needed. 

Getting from Brisbane to Sydney is very simple. It’s a short hour long flight and is fairly inexpensive. I flew Virgin Australia Airlines and had a great experience. 

It wouldn’t be a trip to Sydney if you didn’t start your first day with a trip to Sydney Harbour. See the famous Harbour Bridge and Opera House. I didn’t take a tour of the Opera House but I’ve heard that’s amazing- along with climbing the Harbour bridge if you’re not afraid of heights. 

After exploring the harbour, take a short walk to the Royal Botanic Gardens. This is a free place to roam and houses the Governer of Sydney’s home that you can tour. 

If they’re going on, I recommend visiting the Markets at Glebe. They’re a bit outside CBD so you will need to take a taxi or ride share- but there are so many vintage finds here. 

After a long day, take the edge off with a spicy marg from the famous Cantina Ok bar. This bar may be the smallest, and cutest in Sydney, tucked away in an alley it feels like a hidden gem. I recommend getting there right when they open at 5 because only 20 people can fit at one time. 

After drinks, head to Bar Totti’s for cozy Italian food. Make sure you get their bread- it’s what they’re known for. 

For your second day take a day trip to the Blue Mountains and Scenic World. It’s about 2 hours outside of Sydney so you will need a rental car or tour company to take you. I booked my tour through GetYourGuide & Anderson Tours and thoroughly enjoyed it. Make sure you bring warm clothes, the mountains can be 10 degrees cooler than Sydney!

If you take the tour, you’ll most likely go to the Sydney zoo after the mountains but I would say this is optional. 

For dinner, head to Ragazzi Wine Bar. This spot has such an intimate vibe and amazing wine with a rotating menu. I had a king crab pasta and it was to die for. As a nightcap, head to Messina for gelato!

One of my favorite days on my trip- Bondi. Get up bright and early to swim in the famous Bondi Icebergs pool. It’s open to everyone and a bucket-list experience. Just make sure you don’t go on Thursdays as the pool is closed for cleaning. 

After a quick dip, set off on the 3 mile walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach (6 miles round trip). It took me a little over an hour to walk one way so I opted to taxi back to Bondi. I highly recommed giving yourself plenty of time on this walk so you can stop and enjoy the scenery. I swear you walk through so many different settings from beaches, to lush green areas, to more outdoor pools. It was definitely the highlight of my trip. 

After heading back to Bondi, explore the cute shops and cafes in the area. I had a late lunch at Speedos Cafe and it was delicious. 

Hop on the ferry to Manly Wharf in the morning. The ferry to Manly will give you great views of the Harbour bridge and Opera House. Once you’re at Manly, explore this fun beach town and relax on its beautiful beach. There’s another short coastal walk here as well that’s a little over a mile one way. 

Head back to Sydney with enough time to visit the Sydney Fish Markets. This is a seafood lovers paradise. Literally every type of seafood you can imagine, so fresh and delicious. I recommend trying one of everything!

End your night at Maybe Sammy. This bar is ranked #26 in the world and let me tell you it lives up to the hype. The food and drinks are out of this world and the service is unmatched. All of the bartenders are in pink suits and dance and sing as entertainment. It can be a long wait but it is 100% worth it. 

For your last day in Sydney explore more of the city.  Head to Hyde Park for a stroll or picnic, visit the Queen Victoria Building, and shop on Pitt Street. This will keep you pretty busy until dinner time. 

Grab pre-dinner drinks at Apollonia and catch sunset on Sydney Harbour. I think sunset is the best time to see the bridge and opera house. 

Have dinner at Fish at the Rocks in… The Rocks (aka the oldest part of Sydney) This is a great place to walk around and there are lots of spots to enjoy a post-dinner drink. 

For dinner this night, take a break from all the walking and taxi or ride share to Gemelli Italian on James St. in Fortitude Valley. This authentic Italian spot will blow your mind!

11 day Brisbane and Sydney, Australia travel itinerary

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