At a glance

Sitting side-by-side on the south east corner of Australia are Victoria and South Australia, where you can explore both lively city buzz and the allure of the outback.

What to see

Café culture gets an Australian reimagining in Melbourne; home to romantically winding lanes and incredibly tasty coffee. For a road trip like no other, jump in your car and head off along the Great Ocean Road, a legendary route that leads you past vista after stunning vista of captivating sea views.

Surfers and surf spectators should visit Bells Beach for impressive waves; Bodhi’s last scene in Point Break was filmed here.

Then, from Adelaide – the city of churches – make a visit to the world-famous Barossa Valley wine region to try a red from some of the oldest shiraz vines in the world.

Venture into the Flinders Ranges for some outback delights at Arkaba, a 60,000 acre sheep ‘station’, where you will stay in a luxury homestead among the River Red gumtrees and sandstone crags.

A short plane or ferry trip gets you to Kangaroo Island, home to bandicoots, wallabies, possums, seals, and miles and miles of white sand and pristine turquoise waters.

Why we love it

From Melbourne’s rich cultural neighborhoods (Greek and Italian food is amazing here), to Adelaide’s charming colonial architecture – and so many epic landscapes that it’ll leave your head spinning – this part of Down Under ticks both the ‘up’ and ‘down’ boxes.