The long journey and jetlag are well worth it for a trip to Australia in 2025.
Besides the beautiful beaches, famous landmarks and natural wonders, the world’s biggest island also goes big on events – from sports and festivals to food and comedy.
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Here’s what Australia has to offer in 2025:
Thomas Dambo’s Giants – Mandurah – Until Oct ‘25
Enjoy a fun family day out hunting for giants!
Danish artist Thomas Dambo’s ‘Giants of Mandurah’ is an impressive outdoor exhibition and game in the coastal city of Mandurah, about an hour’s drive south of Perth.
You’ll need a car to travel between each of the five giants, which are all within a 40km radius. Then there’s a sixth giant 75km away, in Perth!
Australian Open – Melbourne – 12th – 26th Jan
The Australian Open is 2025’s first Grand Slam and is played at Melbourne Park. Last year’s Men’s Singles title was won by Italian tennis superstar Jannik Sinner, while the current women’s world number 1, Aryna Sabalenka, from Belarus, won the Women’s Singles title.
Expect plenty of high-quality hard court tennis this year from the likes of Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Coco Gauff.
Geelong Beer Festival – Victoria – 18th Jan
Fun times flow at the Geelong Beer Festival, at the picturesque Johnstone Park, in Victoria.
The event showcases the region’s best food, drink, arts and entertainment – everything from beer, cider and cocktails to wine and street food, with a side helping of awesome live entertainment.
Festivale 2025 – Tasmania – 31st Jan – 2nd Feb
Festivale is Tasmania’s big summer event to showcase the best of the island’s food, drink and entertainment.
Held across three days at Launceston’s City Park, the event attracts around 30,000 guests keen to sample Tasmanian produce and see top chefs deliver cooking masterclasses, alongside music and comedy. It all makes for a great time out with friends and family.
Chinchilla Melon Festival – Queensland – 13th – 16th Feb
Do you like melons? Even if the sweet fruit isn’t one of your faves, they make for a unique and seriously fun event in Queensland every other year.
The celebration is due to Chinchilla’s melon farming reputation, with quirky family fun and a colourful street parade. Anyone for melon skiing or a melon bungee?
Adelaide Fringe – Adelaide – 21st Feb – 23rd Mar
Adelaide Fringe showcases over 6,000 independent artists and 1,400 shows across 31 summer days. It’s the largest arts festival in the southern hemisphere, and the perfect place to experience energetic entertainment, delicious food and family fun.
Laugh out loud at comedy performers and stand ups, engage little ones at a children’s theatre show, and be amazed as daring circus acts fly through the sky! This event has it all!
Adelaide Festival – Adelaide – 28th Feb – 16th Mar
The Adelaide Festival is recognised as one of the best festivals in the world. Expect a heady mix of music, opera, theatre, dance, literature and visual art from the world’s greatest artists and performers.
The programme also includes Australia’s largest free literary festival, Adelaide Writers’ Week, which gives writers and readers an opportunity to share ideas and get the creative juices flowing.
Australian Grand Prix – Melbourne – 14th – 16th Mar
The glitz and glamour of the Grand Prix comes to Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit for the opening race of the season.
Anticipation will be high as F1 fans get their first glimpse of the drivers and teams battling it out over 24 rounds in 2025/26. Last season it was a Ferrari one-two, as Spain’s Carlos Sainz took the chequered flag ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.
CMD Rocks QLD – Queensland – 21st – 23rd Mar
Grab your Stetson, Australia’s biggest country music festival is riding into town.
This three-day festival features two main stages parked next to each other, so the music stays in full swing. Past events have seen the likes of Tim McGraw, The Dixie Chicks, and Taylor Swift top the bill. This year’s line-up is headlined by country stars Thomas Rhett, Cody Johnson, and Jon Pardi.
World Surfing Championships – Multiple locations – 18th Apr – 27th May
Australians love their surfing, so it’s only right that the World Surfing Championships 2025 tour features three events in Oz – two on the east coast and one in western Australia.
The first stop on the island (fifth event overall) is in Torquay, Victoria, from 18th – 28th April. The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach is the longest-running surf competition in the world – it’s been held here since 1962!
The tour then moves on to Snapper Rocks, in Queensland, for the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro. Event number six of the championship runs from 3rd May – 13th May, and promises to deliver some spectacular surfing conditions. It’s a welcome return to the schedule after a five-year hiatus!
The final stop down under is at Margaret River, on the rugged coastline in western Australia, from 17th May – 27th May.
Vivid Sydney – Sydney – 23rd May – 14th Jun
See Sydney in a whole new light, as Vivid Sydney illuminates the city’s famous landmarks and skyline across 23 nights between 23rd May and 14th June.
As well as light projections on buildings and water, and stunning drone shows that light up the sky, there’s live music and a huge choice of food to dig into.
Darwin Festival – Darwin – 7th – 24th Aug
If you’re heading north, stop by for the hottest winter festival in the region, Darwin Festival. It’s a hotbed of theatre, music, comedy, circus, cabaret, dance, visual arts, food and drink!
It all takes place over 18 fun-filled days at the city’s Festival Park.
Check out 2024 Darwin Festival highlights
City2Surf – Sydney – 10th Aug
Despite the name and the country’s love for surfing, this isn’t another surf event. It’s actually the world’s biggest fun run, attracting runners from all over the world to the city.
In fact, 90,000 people take on the 14km course from Sydney’s central business district to the iconic Bondi Beach.
Whether you’re a seasoned runner or this is your first time giving it a go, decked out in all the gear or dressed up as a giant banana, City2Surf is a great way to raise money for charity, achieve your personal goals and most importantly, have fun! Anyone can take part – you just need to pre-register first.
Outback Festival – Queensland – 23rd – 27th Sep
Outback Festival is like no other – a truly unique event filled with quirky fun in Winton, outback Queensland.
For five days you can throw yourself into weird and wonderful events such as outback Iron Man (there’s also Iron Woman and Iron Junior), bushman’s egg throwing, broom tossing, wool bale rolling, and the Quilton Australian Dunny Derby, where teams race past obstacles to claim the golden porcelain bowl!
Floriade – Canberra – 13th Sep – 12th Oct
Floriade has been a staple of Canberra’s event calendar since 1988. It was originally created as a one-off celebration for Canberra’s 75th birthday and to mark the bicentenary of European settlement.
Now each year more than one million blooms turn an area alongside Lake Burley Griffin into a spectacular kaleidoscope of colour from September to October.
Nearly half a million visitors come to enjoy the flowers, music, cultural showcases, gardening workshops, art displays and activities to celebrate the beauty of spring.
Melbourne Cup – Melbourne – 4th Nov
The Melbourne Cup is the ‘race that stops a nation’.
It’s been run since 1861, and since 1877 a public holiday has been held in Victoria so that people can take time out to watch the race on TV. Most of Australia gets involved, too – clocking off early to enjoy the race.
So it’s no wonder that this is the country’s biggest sports event of the year. The jockeys love it, too – it’s one of the richest races in the world with a prize pot of over $6 million for the top ten past the post.
And it’s not all about the horses. Fashion certainly shares centre stage, with punters dressing for occasion! If you’re heading to Flemington Racecourse, dress to impress.
The Ashes – Multiple locations – 21st Nov 2025 – 8th Jan 2026
The Ashes is one of the biggest clashes in sport, where England and Australia face off every other year for cricketing glory.
After 2023’s epic 2-2 draw, which was enough for Australia to retain the Ashes, the series returns to Perth for the first test match in 2025.
It will be the first time that a test match will be played at the Optus Stadium, which opened in 2017. All 13 previous meetings in Perth were held at the Waca.
After Perth, the series heads to Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne in 2025, before the fifth and final test takes place in 2026 at Sydney’s Cricket Ground.
Can England win the Ashes in Australia for the first time since 2011? After their previous close call, it could be a big year for England captain Ben Stokes and the team.
1st Test: Optus Stadium, Perth, 21-25 Nov
2nd Test: Gabba, Brisbane, 4-8 Dec
3rd Test: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, 17-21 Dec
4th Test: MCG, Melbourne, 26-30 Dec
5th Test: SCG, Sydney, 4-8 Jan 2026
The best of Australia
Sydney
See the city from new heights by climbing the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge or have dinner and catch a film up the Sydney Tower Eye
Watch a performance at the legendary Sydney Opera House
Head to Bondi Beach for beach brilliance, surf and coastal walks
Take a short trip to the Blue Mountains National Park and uncover unbelievable natural beauty
Head farther afield to the Hunter Valley wine region to sample of the world’s finest wines
Melbourne
Take a short trip to Phillip Island and enjoy a blissful break with penguin watching
Watch dolphins spring out of the water at Port Phillip Bay
Experience one of the world’s most scenic coastal drives from Melbourne and along Victoria’s south coast
Take a stroll through the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria then refuel and enjoy the atmosphere at Queen Victoria Market
Cricket fans should visit the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground
Got a head for heights? See the city from up above at Melbourne Skydeck
Brisbane
Visit the home of Australia’s biggest export – Bluey’s World!
Cairns
Want to get in the water? Enjoy snorkelling and diving cruises to the Great Barrier Reef
Discover the world’s oldest living rainforest, including Aboriginal guided tours in the Daintree Rainforest
Perth
Take a ferry to Rottnest Island to spot cute quokkas
Head down to Dunsborough to watch whales or swim with wild dolphins in Bunbury
‘Do time’ at UNESCO World Heritage-listed Fremantle Prison
Darwin
Explore nature at, and spot crocs, at Kakadu National Park
Visit Litchfield National Park and see the stunning waterfalls
Adelaide
Get bowled over at the Adelaide Oval Tour
Take a ferry to Kangaroo Island to see Australia’s famous marsupials, koalas and more!
Byron Bay and the Gold Coast
Enjoy beach bliss at Byron Bay and along the Gold Coast
Visit Cape Byron Lighthouse for whale watching and to see the sun rise
3 Australia travel hacks
Travel for free: Melbourne’s City Circle tram is free. It encircles the CBD and main city sights. Travel for free on Adelaide’s City Loop Bus, great for shopping and sightseeing. You can ride bikes for free too, from the Bicycle SA office.
Explore Sydney for less: The Sydney Attraction Pass and Sydney Big Ticket will save you between 40-50% on the city’s big attractions, including Sydney Tower Eye and Sydney Harbour cruises.
Most airlines offer open-jaw tickets: These let you fly into one Australian city and out of a different one. There’s no need to fly in and out of Sydney – so you can avoid backtracking to the farthest away of all the big Oz cities when it comes to flying home.
