I just got back from a big trip. We spent 20 days in Australia and New Zealand, and I’m so excited to share all the photos and stories. There are so many! Our biggest tip is to hire a campervan from Campervan Finder for the most authentic experience you can get.

In the mean time, I shared a few snaps on Instagram during our travels and put together this quick recap video along with an itinerary. We spent 4 days in Sydney, 2 days in Canberra to visit family and 3 days in Byron Bay and the Gold Coast. Then we flew to New Zealand and spent 3 days in Queenstown and 4 days in Auckland.

There was a lot of travel involved but it was so worth it. We got to see and do a ton of things in each country. Now I need a vacation from vacation 😉

Itinerary for 20 days in Australia in New Zealand

Day 1-2: Fly from US to Sydney, Australia – see here

Australia

Day 3: Check into Airbnb, dinner at Bondi Beach

Day 4: Ferry to Manly Beach with awesome views of Sydney harbor, Sydney Botanical Gardens and Shangri-La for views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge

Day 5: Harbour Bridge walk, lunch and shopping at The Rocks, Bondi Icebergs for sunset

Day 6: Sunrise at Bondi Beach over the Bondi Icebergs, Coogee to Bondi coastal walk, swim at Tamarama beach and took part in Ocean Extreme’s faster than jet boat tours

Day 7: Took Tamarama stairs down to the coastal walk and walked towards the Bondi icebergs for sunrise, brunch at Lox, Stock & Barrel in Bondi, road trip to Canberra, hike Mt Painter

Day 8: Hike Mt Painter, breakfast at Little Oink, Telstra tower observation deck, fly to Gold Coast and Uber to Byron Bay

Day 9: Explore Byron Bay beaches, Clarkes beach, walk to The Pass, return to The Pass for sunset, fishmongers for dinner

Day 10: Shopping in town, Tallows beach, walk to The Pass, hike to the lighthouse for sunset, dinner at Miss Margarita

Day 11: Bus to Gold Coast, beach at Snapper Rocks, dinner at the Coolangatta Hotel

Queenstown

Day 12: Fly to Queenstown New Zealand, lunch at Fergburger, Skyline gondola and luge, bungee jumping, dinner at @Thai

Day 13: Milford Sound day trip, dinner at Winnie’s

Day 14: Road trip to Lake Wanaka, dinner in Arrowtown on way back to Queenstown

Day 15: Fly to Auckland, check into Airbnb

Day 16: Road trip to Rotorua for Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland and lady knox geyser

Day 17: Day trip and ferry ride to Waiheke Island, visit Palm Beach and Rocky Bay

Day 18: Road trip to Coromandel, long windy drive through countryside and mountains, lunch at the Hot Waves cafe, hike to Cathedral Cove, Hot Water Beach a few hours before low tide, surf rental, dinner and sunset at Thames on way back

Day 19-20: Fly from Auckland New Zealand to US

20 days in Australia and New Zealand was definitely enough to get a great taste of each country and visit some of the top destinations, but there’s still so much on my list to see and do there like Mount Cook, the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru and the Twelve Apostles, but especially the Great Ocean Road. That would be a beautiful road trip starting in Torquay and ending up in Warrnambool. Hopefully I would be able to stay somewhere like these beach apartments victoria when I reach the end. So I will have to go back!