Australia Vacations

There's nothing like Australia. Both country and continent, wild and refined, ocean and Outback -- an Australia vacation offers up a diverse menu of options for travelers.

There's cosmopolitan cities like Melbourne and Sydney, with its iconic Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Bondi Beach. For the other extreme, venture into the country's Red Centre to find 20,000-year-old Aboriginal rock art at Ubirr and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Beach bums can head up the Gold Coast near Brisbane to spots like Surfers Paradise (yes, that's a real place) or go north to Cairns -- the most common entry point for travelers wishing to dive in the Great Barrier Reef.

Wine-lovers may choose to head to the vineyards around Adelaide or taste their way through the Yarra Valley in Victoria. Finally, if your goal is to fill your Instagram with kangaroos and koalas, don't miss the Taronga Zoo (near Sydney) or Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo (Queensland), day-trip to Phillip Island for a penguin parade, meet their adorable devils in Tasmania or hop over to Kangaroo Island, where sea lions and wallabies also hang out with the locals.