Australia in June/July

[Trixie2012]

Hi , I’ve got a big birthday next year and my dream is to visit Australia , I’m really looking for advice on
locations as we would be visiting when it’s winter
I would like to visit Sydney but I think it’ll be very cold so I’m thinking about going north places like Darwin , does anyone know if the areas surrounding it are nice ?
Im also looking at somewhere to stop off on the way for a night or two from London
Any advice please ? Thankyou

You might like Queensland, it’s tropical so will still be warm but it might be quite wet. Sydney doesn’t get cold like the UK winters but again, it might be quite wet. I can’t speak for Darwin as I’ve never been there.
For a night or two stopover you could look at Hong Kong or Singapore, very different places in my view but both worth staying at.

We regularly go from NZ to Sydney in May/June and temp is often around 20 degrees- a perfect temp. And whatever the temp, being in Sydney is so special and so different from UK if that i where you are from. A Sydney winter - or any Australian winter - is nothing like a northern hemisphere winter. Be adventurous - do it!!!

Adding ... you cannot compare Darwin to Sydney.

How long are you thinking about spending in Australia? Do you like city or country. Do you like beaches or inland?
It doesn't get that cold here. I mean you might get the odd freezing day under 10 degrees, but chances are in June July it will be warm and bright.

Thankyou all for your replies, it’ll be a trio of a life time , it’s good news in Sydney climate in July
We would be staying around 4 weeks in air bnb’s fly drive , I’d like to do some excursions too
bit of beach & inland

Have been to Melbourne in the winter and also Perth - had a great time in both places and had some beautiful sunny days in Perth (20 degrees) and Melbourne was typical Melbourne- complete mixture of weather. If you want some heat you could fly to Broome in WA for a few days.

I went to oz for 2 weeks end of July/early August. It rained solidly for the week in Sydney- like biblical rain on and off for the week except one day. I had a week in cairns and it was lovely. No rain and great temperature.

You'll have a ball. 4;Weeks is plenty of time to see lots if carefully planned.
Schools usually have a two week break end of June, beginning of July. So you may want to book accom for those weeks a bit earlier. Just google school holidays as the states usually overlap so everyone isn't off at the same time.

Sydney and Melbourne really could be anything from lovely sunny and warm to snowing in June/July. Best bet is QLD, Brisbane is nice all year round, Cairns for a bit warmer.
Never been to Darwin it will be warm, but there's nothing much there and is remote. Maybe a flight into Alice Springs and see Uluru would be good too, will be cold at night in the outback though

Australia is wonderful, even in winter. I’ve been to Melbourne and Great Ocean Road etc in July and it still blew my mind. It was actually my first trip to Australia and I fell in love immediately and have been back 6 times since then! I’ve also been to Tasmania in winter and stayed in a log cabin in the snow at Cradle Mountain, with a log burner and sunken bath overlooking the view of the mountain and pademelons outside on the deck. Just incredible!

But if you want actual heat, you’re better off going to the north for your trip although I’d suggest mixing it up depending on what you want to see and experience. Do you want wine, wildlife, scenery, food, history or ???

I've been to Australia (Sydney, Perth,Melbourne) in June and July (separate times) and one of the defining memories is being freezing all the time. Not least in the fact that Australians don't seem to believe in heating!

I still had a great time, but if going anywhere non tropical it could be cold/wet.

Darwin, Lichfield, Kakadu are all great but they wouldn't be a trip in themselves unless you've got another reason to visit. Have to be mindful that if the wet season is late, some things may be inaccessible.

Sydney is normally lovely in winter, typically jumper weather but sunny, but this year we landed July 26th and left August 12th and we had rain about 65% of the time. I'm not talking drizzle it was very wet, the wettest August in years. Also big hotels are probably warm enough, but people's houses are cold as there is no central heating. Whilst Darwin is pretty average itself, you can visit Kakadu, Katherine, Litchfield national parks from there. Maybe start in Sydney, fly to Alice to see Uluru for a few days and then on to Darwin if you want to see the national parks. The coastal area of Queensland, with the reef a fair way offshore is also lovely in Australian winter, I might be more tempted with the Whitsundays than Darwin.

Alice Springs is hundreds of miles away from Uluru which now has its own airport.

If you like snorkelling, the Whitsundays should be lovely at the time of year you’re looking to go. It’s not jelly fish season so no having to wear the stinger suits. We’ve stayed at Airlie beach a couple of times and also, if you fly into Cairns, hire a car and drive about an hour north to Port Douglas, it’s lovely and you can go out to the reef from there,

I know you've had a few answers already, but we did Australia in June 2023. Sydney was very pleasant - around 20 degrees, I think. Melbourne was definitely cooler (I had to buy a coat!) and it also rained. I think during the day it was around 14 degrees. I had to giggle as the Aussies were in gloves and scarves! We then went to Cairns and it was very humid (I don't know how anyone manages the humidity in the summer months!). Cairns is like paradise, so 😍

Sydney is probably one of my favourite cities that I've been to. It has a more corporate vibe compared to Melbourne, but it is just a stunning city. And so, so clean. In fact, everywhere we went in Aus was immaculate.

Hope you have the best time in an incredible country!