Six Continents
The world awaits.
Editorial international journeys — Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, Middle East and Antarctica — tailored by Brisbane-based specialists who plan world travel every day since 1991.
Begin your journey Editorial international journeys — Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, Middle East and Antarctica — tailored by Brisbane-based specialists who plan world travel every day since 1991.
Begin your journeyWe don't run every trip on every continent. We curate a tight set of itineraries and partners we know well — Japan ryokans we've stayed in, safari camps we've checked, European boutique hotels we've quietly visited — and turn them down when the fit is wrong.
Start with one of our itineraries and we'll adapt it around your interests, pace, and dates. Or start with a blank page and we'll design from scratch — honeymoon, milestone, multi-generational, around-the-world. Bespoke is standard, not premium.
One Cooee specialist plans your trip end-to-end and stays your point of contact through the journey. We hold the partnerships on the ground — in Cape Town, Kyoto, Hanoi, Cusco, Reykjavík — so the support is real and immediate, not a 1300 number in another time zone.
The world is large; a holiday is short. Most Australians have between two and four weeks for an international trip, plus the long flights at each end. Choosing well matters more than seeing more.
Our approach is curatorial. We work on a hundred or so itineraries across six continents — each one our specialists know personally, with operators we've used for years and lodgings we'd send our parents to. We hold the partnerships in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, and the polar regions. When a country isn't a good fit for your dates or party, we say so. When a trip needs a season we can't offer, we tell you to wait six months.
Most first international trips work best at one region, two weeks — Italy alone, or Japan alone, or Kenya plus Tanzania. Three weeks opens up multi-country combinations like Vietnam plus Cambodia plus Laos, or Peru plus the Galápagos. Four weeks or more for the around-the-world or the comprehensive continental visit. The longer trips compound; they're also harder to organise. We do that part.
International travel at a glance
Cooee Tours operates in six continental regions. Each is a deep area of its own — specialised guides, long-standing operator relationships, and itineraries refined over decades.
I From the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, river cruises through Central Europe, Christmas markets in the Alps, and ten centuries of cultural depth in a small landmass.
II Japan cherry blossom and autumn colour, the South-East Asia Indochina ring, India's North and South circuits, Bhutan and the Himalayan high country.
III Great Migration safari in the Maasai Mara and Serengeti, the South African wine cape, Botswana's Okavango Delta, and the Egyptian Nile.
IV Peru and Machu Picchu, the Galápagos by small ship, Patagonia at both ends of the Andes, North American national parks, and the Canadian Rockies.
V Turkey's Cappadocia balloons and Istanbul, Jordan's Petra, Egypt's Nile and pyramids, and the historic Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan — Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva.
VI Antarctic Peninsula expedition cruises from Ushuaia, sub-Antarctic island voyages, and premium Pacific Island resorts — Fiji, French Polynesia, the Cooks.
A short list of departures travellers are booking right now. Each is a starting point we adapt to your timing, party size, and pace.
Sakura 2027 Sakura window timing — Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Osaka, with bullet train transfers and traditional ryokan stays.
Great Migration East African safari — Maasai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater — with luxury tented camps and small vehicle game drives across the Great Migration window.
Best Seller Rome, Florence and Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Amalfi Coast, Venice, Lake Como — the complete Italy circuit by private transfer and high-speed rail.
Iconic Lima, the Sacred Valley with altitude acclimatisation, Cusco, Machu Picchu by Hiram Bingham train, and Lake Titicaca. Optional Galápagos extension.
Indochina Hanoi, Halong Bay overnight junk, Hoi An, Saigon, Angkor Wat at sunrise from Siem Reap, and the slower Laotian pace in Luang Prabang.
Expedition Eleven nights from Ushuaia across the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula. Zodiac landings, naturalist team, expedition cruising at the world's edge.
Latest from the Cooee Journal
Three recent posts from our specialists on planning international journeys.
Sakura forecasts shift by 10–14 days year to year, and the peak in Kyoto can be a fortnight ahead of Tokyo. We explain how to hedge the dates, why mid-week beats weekends, and which alternate cities reward travellers who can’t make the peak.
Read in the Journal →
The Great Migration moves around the Serengeti and Maasai Mara across the year. River crossings, calving season, predator action — each is a separate window. Our wildlife specialist breaks down the calendar.
Read in the Journal →
Summer in Italy is hot, crowded and expensive. May has the wildflowers and the long evenings; October has the harvest and the truffle markets. Both have half the crowds. The case for skipping July and August entirely.
Read in the Journal →Closer to home
If you’d rather travel closer to home, or pair an international journey with a familiar base, these are the natural alternatives.
Cooee’s home country and primary specialty. Six states, two territories, 7.7 million square kilometres — many travellers find one international trip a year and one Australian one is the right balance.
Explore Australia →
3-hour flights from Brisbane. Mountains, fjords, glaciers and rainforest condensed into a UK-sized country. A different feel from any of our international destinations.
Explore New Zealand →
Trans-Tasman itineraries coordinated from Brisbane. Pair the Great Barrier Reef with Milford Sound, or Uluru with Queenstown — common for Northern Hemisphere travellers visiting the region.
Explore AU + NZ →
Combining countries that don’t sit in our scheduled departures — or designing around a single destination at your own pace. Fully private, no minimum group size.
Explore Custom tours →Everything our specialists know that affects an international trip from Australia — regional timing, visa realities, the difference between styles of travel, sample trip lengths, the practical detail. Open the sections you need; ignore the rest.
Shoulder seasons May to June, September to October. Warm enough for outdoor lunches, before/after the peak summer crush, hotel rates 20-30% lower than July-August. Avoid August in southern Europe — locals are away, businesses closed, prices peak. Christmas markets late November to mid-December for Central Europe (Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, Strasbourg).
Cherry blossom late March to early April (sakura front moves north over 10-14 days). Autumn colour mid-October to early December (kōyō front moves south). Avoid Japan in July-August — humid, hot, busy. May and November are the secret shoulder windows: weather is perfect, crowds are thinner.
Great Migration window late July to early October for the Mara River crossings. Calving season January to early March in the southern Serengeti for the dramatic predator action. Avoid mid-March to mid-May (long rains) and November (short rains) unless seeking off-peak rates.
Peru: dry season May to September for Machu Picchu. Patagonia: November to March only — outside that window, lodges close. Galápagos: year-round, with December-May (warmer, wetter) and June-November (cooler, calmer) showing different wildlife behaviours.
November to February only. Mid-November to mid-December: snowy, courtship behaviour, sea ice present. Mid-December to mid-February: penguin chicks, longer days, warmer (still freezing). Late February to early March: whale-watching peak.
Dry season November to March across the Indochina belt (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand). The shoulder months (March-April and October-November) often deliver the best combination of weather, prices, and crowd relief. Avoid June-September for outdoor sightseeing unless heading to Bali or other monsoon-pattern destinations.
Australian passports rank among the world's top 10 for visa-free access. Visa-free or visa-on-arrival to most of Europe, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Pacific, much of Latin America. Still requires a passport with at least 6 months validity beyond departure date for most destinations.
Mandatory on all Cooee international tours. Minimum cover for medical evacuation ($1M+), trip cancellation, and personal effects. We don't sell insurance — tour operators selling insurance is a conflict — but we refer to preferred Australian insurers and review your policy if you'd like.
Max 24 travellers, expert tour leader plus local guides at each major site. The Cooee default — about 60% of our international bookings. Suits travellers who want company, structure, and access to better hotels through group rates.
You, your party, and a private guide. Higher-end hotels (Aman, Belmond, Six Senses, Rosewood). The right fit for honeymoons, multi-generational families, milestone birthdays, and travellers who prefer privacy over the social side of group travel.
Danube, Rhine, Douro, Mekong, Nile, Yangtze. All-inclusive boutique vessels (typically 120-180 guests), private guided excursions at each stop. The right fit for European cultural travellers who want to unpack once.
Antarctica, the Arctic, the Galápagos, the Northwest Passage. Small ships (typically 50-200 passengers), zodiac landings, naturalist teams. Premium pricing, single-occasion trip-of-a-lifetime category.
Fully designed around your dates, party, interests. Designed in 2-4 weeks of proposal iterations. Suits complex multi-country trips, around-the-world routes, accessibility requirements, milestone trips with non-standard dates.
Examples: Japan (Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Osaka). Italy (Rome, Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Amalfi, Venice). Vietnam (Hanoi, Halong, Hoi An, Saigon, Mekong Delta). The most-booked Cooee international format — one country, done properly.
Examples: Peru + Galápagos. Vietnam + Cambodia + Laos. Kenya + Tanzania + Zanzibar. Italy + Greece. Japan + South Korea. The right length to add a second country without rushing. Around 20% of Cooee international bookings.
Examples: European Grand Tour (UK + France + Switzerland + Italy). African comprehensive (Kenya + Tanzania + South Africa + Botswana). Around the world Asia-Europe-America. The ambitious format. Requires careful pacing — we usually build in two rest days per week.
Antarctica (11 nights), Galápagos (8 days), Bhutan (10 days). Trip-of-a-lifetime experiences that don't need length — they need precision.
Direct or one-stop options to most major hubs. Europe via Singapore, Dubai, Doha, or Bangkok (22-26 hours total). Asia is closer (8-12 hours). Africa via Singapore, Dubai, or South Africa. South America via Auckland or Santiago. North America via Los Angeles or San Francisco. Premium economy is the sweet spot for value on long-haul; business is the sweet spot for sleep and arrival condition.
Westbound (Australia to Europe/Africa) is harder than eastbound (to Americas). Arrive 24-48 hours before tour start for major itineraries — we build buffer days into most premium trips. Daylight exposure, hydration, structured first-day activity.
Card acceptance is near-universal in major cities and tourist areas. Cash still needed for tips, markets, taxis in some regions (especially South America, parts of Asia and Africa). Notify your bank of travel dates. Cooee tours pre-pay accommodation and major experiences — you typically need only spending money and tips.
English-language tour leaders on all Cooee international trips. Local guides at major sites with strong English. Eight to twelve countries where English is universal in tourist contexts; another fifteen where it's strong; outside that, our local partners bridge.
Consult a travel-medicine specialist 6-8 weeks before departure. Standard recommendations: hepatitis A, typhoid for most Asia and Africa. Yellow fever certificate required for Kenya, Tanzania, several South American countries. Malaria prevention for tropical East Africa, India, parts of South-East Asia. Cooee provides a written health brief per destination on booking.
Most destinations 6-9 months ahead. Premium specialist trips (Japan cherry blossom, African safari, Antarctica, Galápagos, Bhutan) 12-18 months ahead. Off-peak Europe down to 3 months. Last-minute occasionally possible at higher prices.
Accommodation, in-country transport, expert tour leader, local guides at major sites, daily breakfast plus some lunches and dinners, entrance fees, gratuities to drivers and guides. International flights from Australia are separate (we book these for you). Travel insurance is mandatory and separate.
Maximum 24 travellers. Most international tours average 14-20. We don't exceed 24.
Yes — about 30% of our international travellers are solo. Single supplements apply but are kept reasonable. Many tours have specific solo-friendly departures with room-share matching available.
We provide detailed visa guidance per destination as part of every booking. We don't lodge visas on your behalf, but we work with preferred visa agents for the more complex destinations (India, China, parts of Africa) where assistance is welcome.
Mandatory on all international Cooee tours. Minimum cover for medical, evacuation, cancellation, personal effects. We refer to preferred Australian insurers and review policies if requested.
How Cooee plans your international trip
One Cooee World specialist plans your international trip end-to-end — the flight routing, the visa timing, the ground operators we’ve worked with for decades, and the cultural sessions that aren’t in the catalogue. We work in 4 regional silos so the specialist planning your Italy trip has spent time in Italy, not just on the brochure.
Hard cap of 24 travellers per departure (most run with 14–20). More about how we work →
More from the Cooee group
More from the Cooee group — sister brands extending the Cooee approach beyond destination touring.
Golf-themed itineraries and country-club packages across Australia. Tee times, transfers, and clubhouse dining bundled into one trip.
Visit Cooee Golf →Café trails, working-roastery tours, and the regional barista culture that has quietly become world-class. From bean to brew.
Visit Cooee Coffee →Markets, makers, and main-street shopping itineraries across Australia. The best of regional retail in one curated catalogue.
Visit Cooee Shopping → Coming soonCoastal, river and ocean cruising itineraries — launching 2026. Reef Sleep stays, the Murray, expedition cruises and ocean liners.
Register interest →The Maasai Mara during the Migration was something else entirely. Cooee timed the camps right and the small vehicles got us out to the river crossings without the convoy. The Serengeti afterwards was quieter and just as remarkable.
Three weeks across Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Cooee built the pacing perfectly — Halong Bay junk, then Hoi An slow, then the Mekong, then Angkor at sunrise. Luang Prabang at the end was a quiet finish to a noisy region. Beautifully done.
Italy in fourteen days sounded ambitious. Cooee made it feel unhurried — Rome, Tuscany by car, Cinque Terre, the Amalfi by private boat, finishing in Venice. Three meals I'll remember for years. They knew the kitchens, not just the restaurants.
Tell us your travel month, which region/s you have in mind, and what you'd like to do. A Brisbane-based Cooee World specialist will be in touch within 1 business day with options and an indicative quote.
