Everyone knows Byron Bay. Everyone knows the Yarra Valley. Everyone knows the Barossa. These are all genuinely great destinations, but they’re also very full, increasingly expensive, and you’re going to queue for brunch behind a hundred other people who had the same weekend idea as you.
Australia is enormous. There are extraordinary towns hiding in plain sight, accessible from every major city, that offer everything the famous destinations offer with a fraction of the crowds and often a fraction of the price.
1. Beechworth, Victoria
One of the best-preserved 19th century towns in Australia, with exceptional food, the brilliant Beechworth Honey shop, a distillery that will make you miss your train home, and a history connected to Ned Kelly that’s told with more intelligence than most Ned Kelly tourism manages.
2. Birregurra, Victoria
A tiny town in the Otways region that punches wildly above its weight on the food front. The restaurant scene here — anchored by some genuinely serious cooking — has made it a destination for Melbourne food obsessives. Don’t go unless you’re eating well.
3. Braidwood, New South Wales
An hour from Canberra and a world away from anywhere. Braidwood has antique shops, excellent cafes, a population that includes a suspiciously high number of interesting people who left Sydney for reasons they describe as “complicated,” and surrounding countryside that’s beautiful in every season.
4. Tumby Bay, South Australia
Eyre Peninsula is generally underrated as a travel destination, and Tumby Bay is the jewel of an underrated region. The seafood is absurdly good, the beaches are extraordinary, and you will have them largely to yourself.
5. Childers, Queensland
A heritage town in the South Burnett region with a main street that looks like a film set, surrounding countryside that produces excellent wine and macadamias, and the kind of pace of life that reminds you what weekends are actually for.
6. Denmark, Western Australia
On the south coast between Albany and Augusta, Denmark has developed a quiet but genuine food and wine culture alongside its spectacular natural environment. The Valley of the Giants is nearby. The Walpole Wilderness is nearby. The town itself is lovely.
7. Bicheno, Tasmania
On Tasmania’s East Coast, Bicheno is the kind of small fishing town that Tasmanians have been quietly enjoying for generations while the rest of the country was looking at Hobart. The penguin colony at dusk is as genuinely magical as it sounds.
8. Coober Pedy, South Australia
Weird, wonderful, and unlike anywhere else on earth. The underground town built by opal miners is a genuine one-of-a-kind destination. Go in, understand it, and leave saying “I’ve been to Coober Pedy” with the confidence that very few people can say the same.
9. Nambucca Heads, New South Wales
The mid-north coast of NSW is full of alternatives to the over-developed holiday towns, and Nambucca Heads is one of the best — a relaxed, genuinely beautiful coastal town where the main business is still actually being at the beach.
10. Clunes, Victoria
Every year, Clunes hosts one of Australia’s best book fairs and does absolutely nothing about it the rest of the time, which is why it’s perfect. A gorgeous Victorian-era streetscape, zero pretension, and excellent coffee. What more do you need?
