From the eclectic northeast and thriving central business district to the riverside parks and chic bayside south, Melbourne hums with variety, sporting covert boutiques and bars, mind-blowing cuisine, unrestrained architecture and an all-around, great attitude.

Make camp. There are dozens of places in Melbourne to lay your head, at multiple price-points, from the super up-market to the cheap and cheerful. Inspired by and dedicated to Australian contemporary artists, each property within the Art Series hotel group features the work of a particular artist, with Adam Cullen being the focus of The Cullen. Two restaurants, hip neighbourhood, you’re all set. Six, luxury airstream campers imported from the U.S. sit on top of a car park on Flinders Lane at Notel—futuristic and fun, but also beautifully designed, quiet and comfortable. Find gourmet chocolate, private decks, and free mini bars. And with sophisticated, high-design, gel-topped beds, and a beautiful rooftop lounge, The QT chain is one of the most popular high-end hotels trending at the moment.

Order up. You could eat out in Melbourne every day for a year and barely scratch the surface. The dining scene is a healthy and hearty, headed up by innovative and award-winning chefs. Casual but dramatic Russell Street wine bar Embla highlights unique wines to wash down inventive wood-fired oven dishes. Capital C cool. Old-world char-grilled goodness at San Telmo on Meyers Place parades the very essence of Argentinian culture and cuisine. Warm and welcoming. Gertrude Street nightspot Marion blends small plates with small-batch wines in a rustic setting. One of top chef Andrew McConnell’s many Melbourne restaurants. And hallowed Crossley Street staple Becco does authentic Italian up perfectly, right down to the terrazzo floors and starched whites. Simple and superb.

Drink up. Five o’clocktails or midnight nightcaps, Melbourne knows how to prop up a bar in the best possible way. Dark and sexy, L.A.-like Russell Street juke joint Heartbreaker shakes the meanest cocktails under a neon glow. Pick up a gift box of their bottled best-sellers to-go. Noted cocktail bar Eau De Vie Melbourne off Flinders Lane is sexy and fun, with a 16-page whiskey list and a private whiskey room to peruse it in.

Wander the laneways. The secret passageways that wind through Melbourne’s central district are full of surprises—Centre Place and Degraves Street among them. Many connect two major streets while others hit a dead-end. What looks like a nothing alleyway can yields a cool bar, top restaurant or fab hair salon. Many of them began life as market lanes, with stalls congregated near pedestrian thoroughfares. Today, they’re home to gift shops, food pit stops, arts and crafts, vintage goodies and more. Five lanes earmarked for graffiti artists make for great photo ops. Top fashion laneways include Howey Place and Scott Alley.

Take a wine tour. Plan ahead to get out of town to the Yarra Valley to devour some of the region’s best wines. Add in the rolling countryside, terrific views and kangaroo-spotting, and you’ve got a brag-worthy day trip. The Australian Wine Tour Company is the pick of the pack for getting you there and back with maximum winery coverage.

Soak up the art. The National Gallery of Victoria has not one but two locations: one for international exhibits opposite Queen Victoria Gardens and one focusing on Australian art, a.k.a. the Ian Potter Centre at Federation Square. Both are free.

Go for a walk. There are 50 walking tours in the city, but the one you want is Walk Melbourne, a culinary romp through the Melbourne side streets. Monique Bayer and her team can take you on one of eight different tours built around dumplings, coffee shops, rooftop bars or a combination thereof (The Melbourne Experience).

Troll the arcades. Get lost in the three square blocks of shopping malls clustered around the Bourke Street Mall at Bourke and Elizabeth Streets. Mega retailers sit side-by-side with the beautifully preserved Block Arcade and Royal Arcade, which exude Victorian glamour.

Hit the beach. Hop on the St. Kilda Road streetcar south to St. Kilda beach, where you can dig in the sand, walk the pier, cool off with a swim or hop on an amusement ride in historic Luna Park. Cafés and bars along the boardwalk at the weekend see the cool crowd stepping out for late-afternoon beverages.

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The first thing you notice after hopping off your flight into Hamilton Island are the immaculate golf carts—dozens of them waiting to whisk you to your villa. The second thing are the cockatoos, winging their way onto your balcony railing to welcome you to your new favourite place in the world.

The hub of the Whitsunday Islands archipelago, Hamilton Island is a luxury retreat off the coast of Queensland, Australia, rife with posh pampering, exclusive boating, fine dining and full-on Great Barrier Reef adventure. The island runs like one big happy town, the marina its high street, ringed with the basics: post office, general store, pharmacy, liquor mart, novelty shops and galleries, and quite a number of specialty restaurants. Luxury condos—big and small—are self-catered with all the comforts of home.

Grocery up. Visitors pre-order supplies in advance from a grocer in the mainland port of Airlie, which are then picked up after check-in. A fish monger in the marina delivers the freshest seafood right to your doorstep.

Explore! With the golf cart as your wheels for the week, to get you to and from the island’s pools and beaches, attractions and distractions, marina and yacht club. There’s even a small zoo, where you can commune face-to-face with kangaroos, koalas and wallabies. Or how about soaring over Heart Reef by seaplane or helicopter and picnicking on a private beach? You can also explore the Ngaro Sea Trail and stop in at the historic aboriginal caves at Nara Inlet.

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Hop on a boat. Guests can take in a wide cross-section of marine activities—everything from a romantic tall-ship cruise to a sporty yacht adventure. You can even explore the region by raft or jet ski, or sail around all 74 Whitsunday islands if you like, skippering yourself or chartering a crew.

Hit the reef. Cruise Whitsundays tour company will get you to Reefworld, their pontoon platform stationed at Hardy Reef, where you can snorkel or scuba dive with up to 1,500 species of fish around 400 types of coral. White, red and green feather sea stars light up the ocean floor. A crown-of-thorns starfish looks like a fir tree. Sea cucumbers resemble big, fat worms. Mangrove jacks hide in their shells, while bumphead parrotfish do everything but bump heads. Sergeant fish are everywhere, supervising. Giant schools of yellowtail fusilier are a cascade of beauty. The turtles and stingrays you may spot are always an added bonus.

Stop at the famous beach. An afternoon on the fine white silica sands of world-famous Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island proper is time well spent. This seven-kilometre strip of sand consistently makes the world’s top-10 lists. The sand is so fine, it feels like you’re walking on cornstarch, making a squeaking sound when you drag your heels.

Take a hike. If you can’t justify spending all of your time swinging in a hammock, take a hike: The views from the trails are superb. The Passage Peak hike in particular offers 20 kilometres of trail, with a guided audio tour you can listen to via app. And when you’re done with the beach, the marina and the exercise, you can simply sit on your balcony and drink it all in. Your cockatoos will always be up for the company.

When you go. Although you can fly to Airlie Beach on the mainland and take a ferry, the best route to Hamilton Island is to fly into its tiny airport directly. Qantas Airways or Virgin Australia can get you there and back from Sydney. The best time to go is October through May, keeping in mind that December and January can get very busy. June to September is a great time for sailing and whale-watching.

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For such a tiny island, Tasmania has a diverse mix of environments—alpine ranges, wetlands and grasslands, coastal heaths and extremely large temperate rainforests. Almost half of Tasmania is parkland and designated heritage land, with five regions and two islands. No wonder the fleecies love it.

The capital of Hobart is your jumping off point for cool excursions, including a picnic visit to Mount Wellington for one of the best views in the world. Hobart’s Salamanca Market is a must-see on Saturdays, as is the quirky Museum of Old and New Art. There are also five, count them, five World Heritage-listed convict sites. Grim but also fascinating.

The 200 species of native orchids make up for the sad convict stories, though, with at least one species blooming somewhere throughout the year. Autumn is the best time to see some of the more rare species, including the autumn bird orchid and the mosquito orchid.

The animal kingdom here is both rich and fascinating—this is the home of platypuses, penguins, wallabies, kangaroos, possums, bandicoots, dolphins, seals, whales in the winter, eagles and the above-mentioned snarling, carnivorous marsupial, to name just a few. December to May (summer to fall) is the best time to see Tasmanian devils, who breed in March.

Skip the ferry from Melbourne and just take the (almost) two-hour flight.

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