Safety & practical
The specifics, not 'be prepared'
Three guides covering the things that genuinely go wrong: remote breakdowns, water, rips, stingers, crocodiles, and travelling in the wrong season.
Driving in Australia: licence rules and the basics
Can you drive on your overseas licence, do you need an IDP, which side of the road, tolls, fatigue after a long flight and road trains.
- Overseas visitors
- Before your first drive
Outback driving: water, fuel, corrugations and UHF
How much water and fuel to carry, how to drive corrugations without destroying the car, which UHF channels to use, and what to do when you break down.
- Remote areas
- Before you leave the bitumen
Beach flags, rips, stingers, snakes and crocs
What each beach flag means, how to identify and escape a rip, stinger season by region, and the rules for croc country and snake encounters.
- Coastal
- Tropical north
Wet/dry versus four seasons: when to travel
Northern Australia runs on a wet and dry season. The south runs on four. Getting that wrong is how people end up at a closed road or an empty waterfall.
- Trip timing
- All states
Where to go in Australia in summer
Summer by region, the best beach, mountain, Tasmania and city options, and where heat, the northern wet season and bushfire days need care.
- December to February
- All states
Northern Australia wet season: what to know
How the wet season affects the Top End, Kakadu, the Kimberley and Far North Queensland, and how to plan around closures, cyclones and stingers.
- Tropical north
- November to April
Travelling in the summer school holidays
When the holidays fall, where the crowds build, how to book ahead, stay safe in the heat and find quieter alternatives.
- Crowds and booking
- All states
- Campsite finder (free and low-cost sites) Coming soon
- Visitor Information Centre directory Coming soon
- National events calendar Coming soon
Planning a specific route? Each road trip guide carries its own hazard list for that road.