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Need a last-minute long-weekend escape? Here’s your perfect day-trip inspo

Elizabeth Whitehead Elizabeth Whitehead
What better way to ring in the warmer weather than a taking a day trip this long weekend to the great outdoors?

Spring has officially sprung. And with daylight savings about to kick in (for some states), the October long weekend is the perfect opportunity to get out of the city and into the great outdoors. Haven’t booked anything? You don’t need to! There’s an abundance of great long weekend day trips just one to two hours’ drive from Australia’s major cities, and we’ve rounded them up below. Here’s to the long weekend!

We asked the Australian Traveller Media team: what’s your favourite spring getaway destination around Australia?

Sydney

an aerial view of Resolute Beach in Ku-ring-gai National Park
Ku-ring-gai National Park contains bush walks that lead to secluded beaches, such as Resolute Beach.

Sydney is basically surrounded by world-class National Parks. The Royal National Park is a weekend classic, whether you’re into kayaking, SUPing, swimming at Wattamolla cove or enjoying the idyllic ferry ride from Cronulla to Bundeena.

But while the south steals a lot of the spotlight, daytrippers should also set their sights north. Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is just a 40-minute drive north of the city. Inside this 14,977-hectare swathe of bushland, you’ll find hiking trails leading to secluded beaches, Aboriginal engraving sites and incredible views over dazzling inlets. Avoid the crowds by jetting past the city limits, all the way up to Bouddi National Park. It’s 90 minutes north of the CBD, but the journey is well worth it for the golden-sand beaches and incredible bushwalks, like the epic eight-kilometre Bouddi coastal walk that runs from Putty Beach to MacMasters Beach.

Looking for even more day trip inspiration close to the Emerald City? We’ve rounded up all of the best day trips to take from Sydney.

Melbourne

Peninsula Hot Springs is a natural geothermal mineral springs less than 90 minutes from Melbourne.

Can you kick it? Yes, you can, in Victoria’s hot spring country that surrounds Melbourne. The Mornington Peninsula, Daylesford and Gippsland are all within a two-hour drive of the Victorian capital, offering lots of mineral baths and steamy outdoor pools for the ultimate spring reset.

If you’d rather get moving, head an hour east to the Dandenong Ranges to wander along trails that thread through forests of towering mountain ash. Or get your steps in by cafe hopping and browsing dinky antique stores and galleries around the villages of Mt Dandenong.

And if neither of those take your fancy? We’ve got a whole laundry list of day trips you need to check out near Melbourne.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

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Brisbane

South Gorge on North Stradbroke Island
Secluded South Gorge beach on North Stradbroke Island/Minjerribah is the perfect spot for a dip. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/Sean Scott)

October is one of the best months to visit North Stradbroke Island/Minjerribah. Just a short drive and ferry ride from the city, the island is perfect for kayaking, swimming and pottering around the many pristine beaches and laid back cafes. if you’re lucky, you might even spot dolphins when you’re out on the water.

Foodies can set their sights on the Scenic Rim,  just 90 minutes away from the Queensland capital. The 4000-square-kilometre region is packed with an array of epicurean adventures, from paddock-to-plate eateries to fine wines at destinations like Kooroomba Vineyard. If those don’t satisfy your day-trip hunger, we’ve got plenty more suggestions for the best day trips to take from Brissie. 

Adelaide

Adelaide's Fleurieu Peninsula
The Fleurieu Peninsula is a slice of coastal bliss just a stone’s throw from Adelaide. (Image: Zac Edmonds/Unsplash)

Wine, wine and more wine: there are plenty of boozy excursions a cork’s toss from the South Australian capital. A trip to McLaren Vale or the Barossa is classic Adelaide day trip territory, but if you’d rather ditch the glass and get active, head an hour south to the stunning Fleurieu Peninsula. Here, you can stroll sandy coastlines, meander through the cafe scene and gorge on freshly caught seafood. Yum!

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Perth

Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island/Wadjemup is a 90-minute ferry ride from Perth and 30 minutes to Fremantle. (Image: Amanda Kevin/Unsplash)

With its impossibly blue waters, paradisiacal white sands and famously friendly locals (we’re talking about the quokkas), Rottnest Island is no secret to Perthlings. Just a 90-minute ferry ride from Perth’s Barrack Street Jetty, ‘Rotto’ or Wadjemup is always a good idea, whether you’re cycling around the island, snorkelling its reefs or picnicking by the beach. For something different, head north to the Pinnacles Desert in Nambung National Park (about two hours’ drive), where thousands of limestone spires rise from the lunar-like landscape.

Darwin

Surrounded by lush forest, a woman cools off in Florence Falls, just one of many incredible things to do in the Northern Territory.
Cool off beneath the cascading waters of Florence Falls in Litchfield National Park. (Image: Joshua Griffin)

Darwinites already know to make a beeline for Litchfield National Park to cool off in one of the majestic swimming holes like Florence Falls and Buley Rockhole. With October marking the end of the dry season, the long weekend is a great opportunity to get some swimming in before the Top End is plunged into monsoon season.

Here are more Darwin daytrips you must experience.

Elizabeth Whitehead
Elizabeth Whitehead is a writer obsessed with all things culture; doesn't matter if it's pop culture or cultures of the world. She graduated with a degree in History from the University of Sydney (after dropping out from Maths). Her bylines span AFAR, Lonely Planet, ELLE, Harper's BAZAAR and Refinery 29. Her work for Australian Traveller was shortlisted for single article of the year at the Mumbrella Publishing Awards 2024. She is very lucky in thrifting, very unlucky in UNO.
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Victoria’s surprising new outdoor adventure hotspot

    Craig Tansley Craig Tansley
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    A town charmingly paused in time has become a hot mountain biking destination. 

    There’s a forest reserve full of eucalyptus and pines surrounding town – when you combine all the greenery with a main street of grand old buildings still standing from the Victorian Gold Rush, Creswick looks more period movie set than a 21st-century town.  

    old gold bank Victoria
    Grand buildings from the Victorian gold rush. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    This entire region of Victoria – the Central Goldfields – is as pretty-as-a-picture, but there’s something extra-special about Creswick. I used to live 30 minutes north; I’d drive in some evenings to cruise its main street at dusk, and pretend I was travelling back in time. 

    It was sleepy back then, but that’s changed. Where I used to walk through its forest, now I’m hurtling down the state’s best new mountain bike trails. There’s a 60-kilometre network of mountain bike trails – dubbed Djuwang Baring – which make Creswick the state’s hottest new mountain biking destination.  

    Meet Victoria’s new mountain biking capital 

    Creswick bike trail
    This historic town has become a mountain biking hotspot.

    Victoria has a habit of turning quiet country towns into mountain biking hotspots. I was there in the mid-2000s when the tiny Otways village of Forrest embarked on an ambitious plan to save itself (after the death of its timber cutting industry) courtesy of some of the world’s best mountain bike trails. A screaming success it proved to be, and soon mountain bike trails began popping up all over Victoria. 

    I’m no expert, so I like that a lot of Creswick’s trails are as scenic as they are challenging. I prefer intermediate trails, such as Down Martuk, with its flowing berms and a view round every corner. Everyone from outright beginners to experts can be happy here. There’s trails that take me down technical rock sections with plenty of bumps. But there’s enough on offer to appeal to day-trippers, as much as hard-core mountain-bikers. 

    I love that the trails empty onto that grand old main street. There’s bars still standing from the Gold Rush of the 1850s I can refuel at. Like the award-winning Farmers Arms, not to be confused with the pub sharing its name in Daylesford. It’s stood since 1857. And The American Creswick built two years later, or Odessa Wine Bar, part of Leaver’s Hotel in an 1856-built former gold exchange bank.  

    The Woodlands
    The Woodlands is set on a large bushland property. (Image: Vanessa Smith Photography)

    Creswick is also full of great cafes and restaurants, many of them set in the same old buildings that have stood for 170 years. So whether you’re here for the rush of the trails or the calm of town life, Creswick provides. 

    A traveller’s checklist 

    Staying there 

    1970s log cabin
    Inside the Woodlands, a chic 1970s log cabin. (Image: Vanessa Smith Photography)

    RACV Goldfields Resort is a contemporary stay with a restaurant, swimming pool and golf course. The Woodlands in nearby Lal Lal comprises a chic log cabin set on a 16-hectare property abundant in native wildlife. 

    Eating there 

    Le Peche Gourmand
    Le Peche Gourmand makes for the perfect pitstop for carb and sugar-loading.

    The menu at Odessa at Leaver’s Hotel includes some Thai-inspired fare. Fuel up for your ride on baguettes and pastries from French patisserie Le Peche Gourmand. The Farmers Arms has been a much-loved local institution since 1857. 

    Playing there 

    Miss NorthcottsGarden
    Miss Northcotts Garden is a charming garden store with tea room. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Creswick State Forest has a variety of hiking trails, including a section of the 210-kilometre-long Goldfields Track. Miss Northcotts Garden is a quaint garden store with tea room.