Facts for the Traveler

Visas: Every nationality except New Zealanders need visas. Tourist visas and Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) visas are valid for three months. ETAs are just under US$11; standard visas cost US$35. Longer-term visas can be applied for.
Health risks: Sunburn, heat exhaustion, drowning
Time: There are three time zones: Eastern Standard Time is UTC +10; Central Time is UTC +9.5; and Western Time UTC +8.
Electricity: 220-240V
Weights & measures: metric

When to Go

Any time is a good time to be in Australia. Summer (December to February) can get uncomfortably hot just about anywhere, even sometimes in Tasmania. If you're in the southern states during these months it's great beach weather and great melanoma weather. Up north, this is the wet season, when it's very, very humid and when the sea is swarming with box jellyfish. On the upside, the Top End is beautifully green and free of tourists at this time.

From June until August things have cooled down a little and dried up a lot up north. This is a good time to visit Queensland or the outback. If you're here for the skiing, now's the time to head for the snowfields of NSW and Victoria. Overall, spring and autumn are probably the safest bets - the weather is reasonably mild wherever you are, and spring brings out the wildflowers in the outback, while autumn is particularly beautiful around Canberra and in the Victorian Alps. If you want to avoid holiday road chaos, don't arrive in Australia at Easter or just before Christmas.

Events

Christmas is part of the long summer school vacation and during December and January you can be forgiven for thinking that half of Australia is on holiday. This is when accommodation is almost always booked out.

Australia's arts festivals attract culture vultures from all over Australia to see mainstream and fringe drama, dance, music and visual arts. The huge Festival of Sydney, which takes up most of January, is the umbrella for a number of events from open air concerts, to street theatre and fireworks. The Adelaide Arts Festival takes place at the beginning of March in even-numbered years. In odd-numbered years, Womadelaide, Adelaide's outdoor festival of world music and dance, takes care of February. Melbourne has a Comedy Festival in April, the world's biggest Writers' Festival in September and the fabulous Melbourne International Festival in October. A couple of festivals to celebrate Aboriginal arts and culture include the Stompen Ground Festival, which is held in Broome in October and the Barunga Wugularr Sports & Cultural Festival, held near Katherine in June.

Sporty fun includes Darwin's Beer Can Regatta in August, when a series of boat races are held for craft constructed entirely of beer cans; Alice Spings holds the Henley-on-Todd, a boat race 'run' on a dry river bed. More mainstream events include the Sydney to Hobart yacht race (from Boxing Day); the Australian Open tennis championship (Melbourne in January); the Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne in March); Australian Rules Football (around the country from March to September); and the country-stopping Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday in November.

Gay festivals include Sydney's massive, outlandish Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, in February/March, and Melbourne's January/February Midsumma Festival.

back to top

previous

next