The 15 most beautiful places in Australia

Stretching 2,300 kilometres along Queensland’s coast, the Great Barrier Reef isn’t just mind-numbingly beautiful – it’s a living, breathing organism. Dive in and you’ll find coral superstructures built by tiny engineers, sheltering more than 1,500 fish species, 400 types of coral and 4,000 molluscs. The reef is also a barometer of planetary change, and its fragility makes visiting feel even more profound. With conservation efforts underway –such as Reef Restoration Foundation nurseries and coral re-seeding sites – travellers are both observers and witnesses to its regrowth. For a memory you'll replay in your mind forever, take a helicopter to Heart Reef. Viewpoints like Hardy Reef and the Whitsundays are worth the pilgrimage alone, but it’s the enormity of the reef itself that makes you realise how lucky you were to see it at all.

Nothing quite prepares you for the Flinders Ranges – serrated ridgelines, weathered gorges the colour of burnt ochre and a geology that casually spans half a billion years. This is Adnyamathanha Country, and the place takes on an entirely different meaning when you’re walking it with a Traditional Owner. You'll see ancient stromatolite fossils underfoot, learn how old trade routes cut through sandstone ranges and spot ceremonial ochre in places you’d miss without someone to show you. Sunrise at Ikara/Wilpena Pound is the moment everyone talks about for a reason – the enormous natural amphitheatre turning from mauve to apricot before the sun tips over the rim. Then there’s the Bunyeroo Valley drive, which delivers gorgeous switchback scenery that nature photographers plan their entire year around. Wildlife is plentiful and constant: kangaroos, emus and wedge-tailed eagles are spotted everywhere. For a true-blue outback experience, base yourself in a renovated sheep station or a pared-back eco-camp where you can take in the starry night sky in all of its glory. 

Wineglass Bay lives up to its name. The shoreline is shaped, quite literally, like a wine glass – which feels fitting considering the idyllic setting pairs best with a chilled Tassie Pinot Noir. Set within Freycinet National Park on Tasmania's east coast, the beach is a 45-minute climb over pink-granite mountains known as The Hazards – the reward being that first look out from across the summit: white sand like talc brushing up against deep blue water edged with a perfect turquoise ring. Keep walking down to the shore if you want to put your toes in the water, or take the longer circuit to Hazards Beach, the less crowded and less touristy option of the two. Reward yourself later with fresh oysters and Pinot at Freycinet Marine Farm.

Yes, it gets a lot of hype. And yes – it's worth it. There are few places on Earth that actually look better off camera, and Uluru in Kata Tjuta National Park is definitely one of them. Regardless of whether if it's the first or 68th time that you see Uluru IRL, the sheer magnitude of this crimson rock's beauty, presence and sacred spiritual power is something that can't be denied. No matter if it's drenched by a winter downpour, submerged in a rainbow dusk or smack-bang in the middle of a sunny desert day, Uluru offers up a kind of beauty that feeds a part of you that you didn't know needed to be fed. 

Wadjemup, or Rottnest Island, is a stunning island fringed by quiet, perfect sandy coves and full of smiling, fluffy marsupials. Surrounded by a warm current that flows all the way from the Ningaloo Reef, this very special place is bound to delight every single one of your senses. With no cars on the island, you can walk or cycle around to some of the most spectacular beaches in the world and see quokkas, birds, reptiles, seals and whales all dancing without cages in their natural habitat. Don't even get us started on the beaches – they're some of the best we've ever swum at. 

Ever wanted to walk on the moon as a child? Mungo National Park is as close as you'll get without leaving the stratosphere. Dried-up lake beds and sandy soil make for incredible crater-like terrain. Once upon a time, Lake Mungo covered the entire area, but since then, the arid landscape has made way for one of Australia's most important geological discoveries. The human remains of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady in the 1960s showed that human life was present in Australia more than 40,000 years ago. Not only that, but geologists determined that Mungo Lady had been cremated and Mungo Man ceremonially buried, proof of spiritual practices dating back tens of thousands of years.

Looking for a remarkable and surprising bit of natural beauty? You can't miss Lake Hillier on Middle Island up in the wild reaches of the Goldfields-Esperance region in Western Australia. Perhaps most striking when viewed from the sky, this bubblegum pink salt lake cuts a pretty dashing picture against the cobalt blue depths of the Indian Ocean. In 2024, it was named as one of the most ‘otherworldly’ travel destinations on Earth.

The scale of the Blue Mountains can catch you off guard. One minute you’re in the outer edges of Sydney; the next you’re standing at a lookout staring into a valley so deep and forested it feels like someone misplaced the bottom of the earth. The 'blue' really is blue – a soft haze released by millions of eucalyptus leaves when the weather warms up. If you want to understand the place properly, skip the box-ticking circuit and head straight for the Grand Canyon Track. Built by hand more than a century ago, it's a ferny world of dripping moss, overhangs, and narrow ledges and waterfalls. If you must pay your respects to the Three Sisters (and you should, at least once), continue past the lookout and drop down the Giant Stairway to leave the crowds behind. Katoomba still holds onto its old mountain character with heritage hotels and excellent bakeries. Leura is a bit more scenic – gardens, antiques and good lunches – while Blackheath is the choice of walkers who come up for the terrain, not the tea rooms. Govetts Leap, Evans Lookout and the start of the Clifftop Track are the viewpoints locals quietly keep in their back pockets.

No, not Denmark, EU. We're talking Western Australia. This coastal town, a few hours south of Perth, is brimming with natural attractions. The star of the show? The pictured Elephant Rocks – WA's most-liked destination on social media ever. The huge granite boulders that speckle the popular swimming spot are said to resemble a herd of elephants going for a splash. Just as gorgeous is the super nearby Greens Pool with that same special turquoise-hued water. With lovely mild summer temperatures and plenty of rainfall in the winter, Denmark is also a great place for drinking a drop. Driveable food and wine trails will take you between stunning vineyards for fresh local produce.

Whitehaven Beach in the protected wonderland of the Whitsunday Islands National Park in Far North Queensland gets a lot of airtime – but unlike some destinations that actually aren't worth the hype they get (Bondi Beach, sorry, we're looking at you), this wide expanse of sugary white sand and crystal clear water really does deserve the top spot that it routinely manages to hit. When you're standing on sand that's 98 per cent silica and dipping your toes in the warm, blue waters of the Coral Sea, you may get the curious sensation that you've somehow been magicked into a postcard. Not too shabby, if you ask us. 

Lord Howe Island is a tiny, incredibly beautiful island off the coast of NSW. A protected wilderness area, Lord Howe only allows 400 visitors on the island at a time – so if you get in, you know you're going to treasure it. From snorkelling in the rainbow coral reefs that surrounded the island and swimming in glassy blue waters, to hiking through tropical cliffs, a trip to Lord Howe is bound to be a veritable feast for all beauty-loving eyes, souls and photography heads. 

Kings Canyon is one of the most special places on Earth, and when you're walking around the shockingly crimson rim of this spellbinding desert oasis, you'll agree. Sheer and immense rock faces that are coloured a deep red surround you in this ancient moonscape-like place. You'll walk past plants that have seen dinosaurs, gaze at the huge, rainbow stretches of the desert, and (what is arguably the best bit) walk down to the Garden of Eden, a secret, sacred waterhole and self-sustaining fertile ecosystem that has managed to survive for milennia in the middle of an immense desert. 

The Grampians – or Gariwerd to the Djab Wurrung and the Jardwadjali traditional people of this area – is stunningly beautiful, no matter where you're standing. Staggering rock formations, sweeping views and jaw-dropping light bursts are all staples of the Grampians National Park in Victoria. Whether you like stumbling across secret swimming holes, wandering through ferny forests, or summitting a craggy peak at sunrise – The Grampians knows how to turn on a pretty good visual. 

Where the outback hits the Indian Ocean in one long flash of gold, you’ll find Cable Beach – 22 kilometres of sand dissolving into crystal-clear waters off Broome. Go at low tide to Gantheaume Point to see dinosaur prints pressed into the reef like a fossilised signature. The camel ride at sunset might be cliché, but take it anyway. For the Broome version, drop your tyre pressure, drive north with an esky and claim your own strip of sand to watch the sun sink straight into the sea. A great day here looks simple: picnic at dusk, a swim that becomes another and a late lunch at Zanders. 

The Tarkine is one of the most remarkable and ancient native forests on Earth. A cool temperate rainforest, this huge swathe of untouched, emerald-toned wilderness is home to massive ancient trees, countless waterfalls and incredibly significant ancient Indigenous sites. Wandering through, you'll be left speechless by the millions of shades of green, primeval trees and strong, tumbling rivers. Conservationists have fought for decades to preserve this phenomenal natural spot, so be sure to thank them when you're marvelling at this Tasmanian beauty.