From backyard cricket to local footy matches and tennis grand slams, sport is just part of daily life Down Under. And there’s no doubt Australia is one of the best places in the world for live sports. We’re the only country in the Southern Hemisphere to have hosted the Summer Olympics twice, have hosted more Commonwealth Games than any other nation, and have our own annual line-up of homegrown tournaments. Now, with more Aussie travellers switching into sports mode, we’re spotlighting the top destinations to catch the action.
According to Skyscanner, our growing obsession with sports travel is largely thanks to the rise of ‘behind-the-scenes’ sports shows like Netflix’s Drive to Survive, Break Point and Full Swing. Their 2025 Travel Trends report reveals that more than a quarter of Aussies plan to travel either domestically or internationally to see a sporting event in 2025. And honestly, we totally get it. Nothing beats the buzz of watching the action live, joining a Mexican wave and maybe even having a cheeky tiffle with the opposing team.
While Melbourne has long held the unofficial title of Australia’s sporting capital, a new study by Compare The Market has dubbed its rival, Sydney, as the best city for a sportcation. The travel insurance site pitted the cities against each other on seven factors, including the number of sports teams, stadiums, bars, camps and parks.
Sydney took home gold as the ultimate city for sports spectators, with the highest number of sports bars and sports camps in all of Australia. However, in terms of Aussie sports teams, we’d say it’s an even playing field. Sydney is of course the NRL capital, with nine teams compared to Melbourne’s one, while the Victorian capital is the undisputed heart of AFL with ten teams compared to Sydney’s two.
If you’re looking to catch the action live, we say Melbourne, which took silver, is an equally great place for sports. For starters, it’s the only city on the planet that hosts both a tennis Grand Slam and a Formula One World Championship race. It’s also home to Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the country’s largest sports stadium, which hosts the world’s highest-attended annual cricket match.
Sydney and Melbourne are the only two cities to have Olympic Games bragging rights in Australia, but Brisbane’s time to shine is coming in 2032. The Queensland capital currently ranks as the third best city for a sportcation, with many flying to Brissy to attend the NRL Magic Round – the world’s largest festival of rugby league.
Australia’s most recent Commonwealth Games host city, the Gold Coast, ranked fourth, while Adelaide swooped in at fifth. This year, the South Australian capital broke records for Adelaide Airport's busiest week, with approximately 200,000 travellers descending on the city for the AFL Gather Round. Missed out on the action? You can see what other major Aussie sporting events are coming up here.
The 5 best cities in Australia for a sport getaway:
- Sydney
- Melbourne
- Brisbane
- Gold Coast
- Adelaide