The Brisbane Travel Guide
Everything you need to plan the perfect Brisbane trip — where to stay, eat and get around, what it costs, when to come, and the day trips worth the drive. Shown properly, by locals who've been here since 1974.
The Guide We Wish Every Visitor Had
Brisbane isn't a city we read about — it's the city our offices sit in.
Brisbane is the city our specialists grew up in, and fifty years of building tours has given us a relationship with the ferry captains, the winemakers and the rangers that you can't replicate from a guidebook. It's a subtropical river city poised between Moreton Bay — seven islands, year-round wild dolphins, a winter whale migration — and the Scenic Rim, with its Gondwana rainforests and cool-climate wineries. You base yourself in the city; the region opens up in every direction from there.
This guide is built to plan around. Use the cards below to jump to where to stay, where to eat, getting around, the best time to visit and what it all costs — then read on for why Brisbane rewards a longer stay, the day trips worth the drive, and the experiences our guests call the highlight of their trip.
Everything You Need to Know First
Where
Queensland's capital and Australia's third-largest city — 2.7 million people on the meandering Brisbane River, 25 km inland from Moreton Bay.
Subtropical river cityGetting There
Brisbane Airport (BNE) is 14 km from the CBD, with direct international flights. The Airtrain reaches the city in about 22 minutes; a taxi or rideshare is around $50.
BNE · 14 km outClimate
Humid subtropical, roughly 11–30°C, with more than 280 sunshine days a year. Hot summers, mild dry winters, jacarandas in spring.
280+ sunny daysBest Months
March to November is the sweet spot. Spring (Sep–Nov) for weather and jacarandas, winter (Jun–Aug) for value and clear skies.
See Best Time →Money
The Australian dollar. Prices include GST, and tipping isn't expected — a service charge is rare and rounding up is plenty.
AUD · GST includedGetting Around
A flat 50-cent fare covers every bus, train, ferry and Metro, any distance. The CityCat doubles as the city's best-value cruise.
See Getting Around →The Complete Brisbane Planner
Every part of a Brisbane trip, in one place. Start wherever you like — each guide goes deep.
Where to Stay
Hotels and neighbourhoods by budget — luxury, boutique, mid-range and backpacker, across the river city.
Explore →Where to Eat
The city's best tables — fine dining, river dining, rooftops, breweries, coffee and the precincts where Brisbane eats.
Explore →Getting Around
Buses, trains, CityCat ferries and the flat 50-cent fare — plus the best ways from the airport to the city.
Explore →Best Time to Visit
Season by season and month by month — weather, crowds, festivals and jacarandas, with the sweet spots.
Explore →Travel Costs
Real daily budgets and what everything costs — beds, food, transport and tours in one of Australia's best-value cities.
Explore →Itineraries
Ready-made Brisbane itineraries, from a long weekend to a full week — costed and connected end to end.
Explore →Brisbane Tours
Small-group day tours with hotel pickup, run by guides who live here — city sights, Moreton Bay and the hinterland.
Explore →3-Day Itinerary
Our specialist's three-day plan — the city, the bay and the hinterland, without trying to do everything.
Explore →Why Brisbane Rewards a Longer Stay
Most guidebooks list Brisbane as a stopover on the way to the Gold Coast or Cairns. We'd push back.
Very few Australian cities pack this much diversity into a short drive. Within 90 minutes you can snorkel the Tangalooma Wrecks on Moreton Island, watch whales from the shore at North Stradbroke, taste your way around the Tamborine Mountain wineries, walk through UNESCO Gondwana rainforest at Springbrook, or hike the volcanic Glass House Mountains. Brisbane is where you base yourself; the region is the reward.
And the city itself has quietly grown up — a genuine dining scene, a walkable riverside heart, world-class coffee, and the best-value public transport in the country. Give it more than a stopover and it repays you.
The Best Day Trips from Brisbane
Six places that reward a half or full day — most itineraries combine two.
Top Brisbane Experiences
The moments our specialists consistently hear guests call the highlight of their trip.
Tangalooma Wrecks
Moreton BayFifteen deliberately-sunk vessels close to shore, now a protected marine habitat with 10–15 m visibility — green turtles, trevally and the occasional wobbegong shark.
A CityCat River Cruise
The Brisbane RiverAt 50 cents, the cheapest scenic cruise in Australia — gliding past South Bank, the CBD, the Story Bridge and the riverside suburbs.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Fig Tree PocketThe world's first koala sanctuary, 20 minutes from the CBD — hold a koala, hand-feed kangaroos and see platypus and Tasmanian devils.
Wild Dolphin Feeding
TangaloomaOne of the few places on Earth where wild bottlenose dolphins approach the shore to be hand-fed at dusk, under ranger supervision.
Story Bridge Adventure Climb
Kangaroo PointClimb Brisbane's icon for 360° views over the river, the city and out to Moreton Bay — dawn, day, twilight or night.
Whale Watching
Moreton BayFrom June to October, humpbacks migrate past Point Lookout and through the bay — seen from the shore or on a day cruise.
Tours Run by People Who Live Here
Our day tours depart from the Brisbane CBD with hotel pickup, led by guides who actually live in the city — West End, Paddington, New Farm, Wynnum. City sights and Lone Pine combinations, Moreton Bay departures, hinterland half-days and small-group experiences our specialists return to year after year. Browse the full range of Brisbane tours, or tell us what you'd like to see and we'll shape a private day around it.
Ready to string it together? Our Brisbane itineraries lay out trips from a long weekend to a full week — the city, the bay and the hinterland, costed end to end.
Where to Go Beyond Brisbane
The most natural extensions from a Brisbane visit are all within a 90-minute drive or short flight. The Gold Coast — an hour south — pairs surf, theme parks and a rainforest hinterland. The Sunshine Coast, 90 minutes north, brings Noosa's protected beaches, the Glass House Mountains, the Eumundi Markets and Australia Zoo — quieter and slower than the Gold Coast. And a 1.5-hour flight opens up the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef. Brisbane makes the ideal, affordable base for all of it.