Beaches - Chasing the Wow

A 3 week itinerary for the highlights of Vietnam

Vietnam is a wonderful country to spend 3 weeks working your way through. Hill tribes tucked in misty mountains surrounded by emerald green rice terraces and long palm-lined beaches; vibrant cities riding the wave of a country booming alongside idyllic small towns miraculously unaffected by the Vietnam War or commercialisation; and several truly world-class experiences within picture perfect landscapes that look like they were carved from a fairy tale. Its also still super cheap and easy to travel through based on its long thin shape and the established bus routes that make hoping on and off sleeper buses simple

The below itinerary will allow you to see the highlights of Vietnam over 3 weeks using the bus network, without being super rushed and without having to double back on yourself other than using Hanoi as a hub for the experiences in the north

Hoi An’s Old Town, An Bang Beach and the ruins of My Son

I found Hoi An and its surrounding area the highlight of Vietnam. It has a UNESCO-listed historic old town that miraculously avoided destruction in the war and even more miraculously has still largely avoided the over commercialisation of the modern day; its An Bang beach is beautiful and has a truly gorgeous bay setting; there are 500+ master tailors ready to make anything you want cheap as chips; and the other UNESCO-listed ancient Cham ruins of My Son within an hours drive

Make sure to give yourself at least 2 days, ideally 3 to really enjoy this place

And for ideas on how a trip to Hoi An can fit into an itinerary for experiencing the highlights of Vietnam, see this entry A 3 week itinerary for the highlights of Vietnam

Chilling at Mui Ne Beach

20km / 12miles of palm-fringed beachfront and a centre for water-sports, Mui Ne is one of the standard stops on the north-south route through Vietnam. Whilst there are other better highlights to experience in Vietnam for sure, Mui Ne is nice if you’re looking for a nice long beach and the opportunity to relax without it being super touristy. Plus, its a must for kite surfers

A short entry for Mui Ne Beach, but to see how it can fit into an itinerary for experiencing the highlights of Vietnam, see this entry A 3 week itinerary for the highlights of Vietnam

10 day roadtrip around Tasmania

Tasmania is one of the jewels of Australia for its rugged remoteness, world-class natural landscapes, unique history and fewer tourist numbers compared to some of the other famous sites. It also has the added benefit of being far smaller than some of the other parts of Australia, which makes it ideal for a week-10day road trip. The itinerary below gives you the highlights of this wonderful little island

3 high level tips:

Could do in a week? You could do this itinerary in a week by shaving off Port Arthur and the Tamar Valley, but it will feel a little rushed. 10 days far better . . . and don’t make the error most people make which is dropping the west coast – it is the highlight of Tasmania
UNESCO rate Tasmania – the high scores give an idea for just how impressive Tasmania is, and in particular the West Coast. But don’t only take my word for it. UNESCO have 10 potential criteria for a site to be designated World Heritage, with only one of the criteria needed to be met. The Tasmanian Wilderness Area in the south west part of Tasmania meets 7 of the 10 criteria which, alongside Tai Shan in China, places it at the top of all sites in the world. Really is quite a remarkable place to visit
Tasmania or South Island New Zealand? The two are often compared as they’re relatively close and similar sizes which, considering the world-class natural landscapers of the South Island, gives you an idea of the quality on offer in Tasmania. Broadly, I’d say that the South Island just nudges it from a natural sites point of view based on its snow capped mountains, glaciers and fjords, but Tasmania clearly wins from a cultural significance point of view and might just shade it based on its more compact size for a roadtrip and its lower fellow tourist numbers

Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park

Regularly voted one of the world’s best beaches, Wineglass Bay within Freycinet National Park is about as perfect a setting for a beach as you can get and the highlight beach for Tasmania.

It’s a bit difficult to access – which makes sure that tourist numbers aren’t hectic on the beach itself – but you can easily walk the 30mins or so from the main road car park up to the Wineglass bay lookout that will give you the famous view.

Biggest tip though – continue on to the beach. We turned back at the lookout because it looked quite a way further to get to the beach and had run out of time that day. But it’s only another 30-45mins walk to the beach and, looking back, it needs to be done.

Macquarie Harbour in Tasmania – fishing, sailing, trains and hiking

Some may be a bit surprised as to why Macquarie Harbour gets into the maximum Wow-factor category of ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️, especially considering the world-class travel experiences its shares this with. West Coast Tasmania isn’t an obvious choice, and it’s not trying to compete on postcard beauty, but when you step back and look at rarity, scale, history and access, Macquarie Harbour stands apart. To explain, consider a few factors:

1. The Tasmanian Wilderness Area is the world’s #1 UNESCO World Heritage site – yes, you read that right. Macquarie Harbour sits within the Tasmanian Wilderness Area, the isolated south west part of Tasmania that has gained UNESCO World Heritage Status. In order to gain World Heritage status a site must meet 1 of the 10 UNESCO criteria for outstanding universal value, of which there are 6 for cultural and 4 for natural. The Tasmania Wilderness Area meets 7 of those 10 criteria (4 cultural and 3 natural)- along with Tai Shan in China (see its travel entry here – Climbing Tai Shan for sunrise), it has the highest measurement of any site globally.

Visiting the islands near Macquarie Harbour in style on the Gordon River Cruise

2. World class ways to see the area – the Gordon River Cruise (www.gordonrivercruises.com.au) the West Coast Wilderness Railway (www.wcwr.com.au) must-dos for the area and allow you to see the harbour and hidden abandoned logging towns in style. And they do it to a level of service quality that is a pleasant surprise considering how much in the wilderness you are. Add to that the fishing from Hell’s Gates where the second largest harbour in the southern hemisphere empties into the ocean and the wonderful hiking nearby, and you have some incredible activities to help you see the area.

Taking the Coast Wilderness Railway train to explore the interior by Macquarie Harbour

3. Fewer fellow tourists – whether it’s the 4 hour driving distance from the major towns of Hobart or Launceston, the worry about the infamous Tasmania weather, or just that Tasmania in general doesn’t get huge tourist numbers, you will find relatively few fellow tourists for such a big area.

The drive over from Hobart to Strahan sees you drive through some of the most remote parts of non-Outback Australia

4. It is a place of wonderful natural extremes – the harbour is huge (more than six times the size of Sydney Harbour), the trees are super tall (Tasmania has 5 of the top 10 tallest tree species in the world), the rainwater and river water is the purest in the world . . . and the sun’s UV rating is often the strongest in the world (yep, wear sunscreen).

Road sign for one of those more famous extremes – the Tasmanian Devil, which has the strongest bite force per weight among all mammal carnivores.

5. Super colourful – the lush greens of the rainforest, the whites of the sand, the multicoloured water with its tannins giving dark browns, reds and crystal clear. Just beautiful.

One of the sunsets from Strahan across part of Macquarie Harbour

3 days basing yourself in Strahan – a truly wonderful experience at the edge of the world and crushes the Wow-factor.

Top tip – go in summer! So much of the enjoyment was based on the bright blue skies

Roadtrip up the Queensland Coast in winter

A road trip up the Queensland coast is one of the classic Australia trips and includes some of the best beach and ocean experiences in the world.

You’ve got 4WDing on Fraser Island, sailing the Whitsunday Islands, diving the Great Barrier Reef, tropical rainforest, giant waterfalls, and a string of beach towns and islands all the way up the coast. Add in the glitzy, hedonistic Gold Coast and the random giant roadside “Big Things”, and it becomes a very varied and very Australian road trip.

One of the best roadtrips in the world and a must for Australia.

In a nutshell:

Australia’s classic road trip and one of the best in the world
Fraser Island and sailing in the Whitsundays are the mega wow experiences
Great for beaches, sailing, diving and warm weather
Very varied: beaches, rainforest, waterfalls, islands and cities
Best done as a self-drive trip from Brisbane to Cairns either supercharged in 10 days or more civilised in 3 weeks
Go in the Australian winter (dry season in the north)

Camping in the Daintree Rainforest

For most people, the Australian East Coast trip ends at Cairns as it’s the last town to fly back from.

But, if you continue just another couple of hours north you hit the UNESCO World Heritage listed Daintree Rainforest – the oldest continually surviving tropical rainforest in the world.

The whole north trip from Cairns feels like you’re escaping the well trodden tourist path as you need to cross flooded roads, say goodbye to electricity from anything other than generators and leave yourself open to nature. You have jellyfish stopping you swimming in some places, the constant sound of birdsong and insects of the jungle, and frogs getting just about everywhere. A real getting-back-to-nature experience and prepare to get very very wet!

The beaches of the Whitsunday Islands

I know there are white sand beaches all all along the Australian East Coast, and, in a country that already prides itself on its beaches, the competition is fierce. Even so, the Whitsunday Islands takes the prize for the most paradisiacal beach setting in the whole country.

The Lonely Planet describes them as “like emeralds scattered on aquamarine velvet” – that goes part of the way to describing the beauty – you also need to throw in the sheer brightness of the whiter-than-white sand, the warm crystal clear waters and the range of corals all around.

Taking a day trip so you can get in amongst the islands and sun yourself on the perfect beaches is a great experience, and one not to be missed on your East Coast adventure.

Top tip – do a multi-day trip to enjoy them outside of the standard day trip would be truly magical. We didn’t and I regret it.

Glamping on Great Keppel Island

White sand beaches, practically no traffic, 90% natural bushland and a chilled out vibe. Very little not to like about Great Keppel Island and, whilst its not quite in the usual top lists for Queensland, its nevertheless a beautiful place to spend a couple of days.