They don’t call it the great outdoors for nothing. Being outside really is great – for the body, mind and soul. Lucky for us, spending time outdoors is a breeze in Australia. We’re blessed with beautiful beaches, peaceful parks, calming forests and urban green spaces to soak up all the natural beauty on offer. Thus, it's no wonder a new travel index just crowned Australia as the world’s top outdoor destination for 2025.
The Global Outdoor Destinations Index, created by outdoor apparel brand Kühl, compared 183 of the world's largest countries across 12 key metrics, including the number of outdoor activities, forest coverage, coastline length, weather conditions, nature preservation efforts and how peaceful each place feels. After weighing the scores, Australia came out on top as the number one outdoorsy destination for travellers.
Australia thrives in the nature preservation category, boasting 12 UNESCO Natural World Heritage sites and lawfully protecting 45 per cent of its marine and coastal areas alongside 22 per cent of its land. With an average yearly temperature of 22 degrees and less annual rainfall than other top ten countries, the conditions here are practically made for spending time outside.
Australia also ranks in the global top 20 for adventure opportunities and landscape richness, offering almost 2,000 different outdoor activities for travellers to dive into. Our perfect outdoorsy day in Australia would start with a sunrise hike along the coast, followed by an underwater safari in the Great Barrier Reef, a Dreamtime Walk in the Daintree Rainforest, a soak in the hot springs at Mornington Peninsula, chasing waterfalls in Litchfield National Park, and a refreshing dip in the Bay of Fires. Of course, we’d have to factor in time to watch the world’s most beautiful sunset at Uluru, before falling asleep under the stars. Sounds achievable, right?
You can check out the full Global Outdoor Destinations Index here, or see which countries ranked just behind us below.
The 10 best outdoor travel destinations in the world
- Australia
- United States
- New Zealand
- Canada
- France
- Mexico
- China
- Bhutan
- Malta
- Brazil
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