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Realise your New Year’s resolutions with a luxury Australian vacation

Sail on Sydney Harbour (image courtesy of Splendour Tailored Tours)

The new year is often a time for setting new goals for the year ahead, so we’ve put together a list of our Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for 2020 – and how to achieve them all with a luxury Australian vacation ..

How to realise your New Year’s resolutions with a luxury Australian vacation

Eat Well: from fine dining to casual picnics Australia offers tasty and innovative dining using fabulous fresh produce from the land and sea. Dine under the striking sails of the Opera House or under a canopy of stars, the Southern Crossings Travel Design team can recommend the perfect local dining experience for any occasion.

Sleep Well: 2019 saw the opening of some fabulous new hotels right across the country – from the Ritz Carlton in Perth to Mt Mulligan Lodge in the Queensland outback and Elysian Retreat on the Great Barrier Reef to name only a few. 2020 brings plenty more including a W in Melbourne, a new luxury lodge in the Adelaide Hills, a completely revitalised Silky Oaks lodge with Baillie’s signature flair surrounded by the Daintree Rainforest and much much more.

Exercise More: sail on Sydney Harbour, cycle through the vineyards or stretch your legs on one of Australia’s fabulous new multi-day walks: the new 5-day Spicers Rim Walk or Tasmania’s Three Capes Lodge Walk. These fully-guided, accommodated and catered hiking experiences offer the perfect opportunity to disconnect from the worries of the modern world and reconnect with fellow travellers.

Save more: ask us about some of the fabulous value adds and special offers at some of Australia’s most prestigious properties. Our Travel Design team are also always happy to share their local tips for ‘hip pocket friendly’ things to do: catch the ferry across Sydney Harbour to the beachside suburb of Manly, sample fresh local produce from colourful farmers markets, take a tram through Melbourne’s city centre, visit a gallery or sail with a local ‘yachty’ in Port Douglas

Pick up a new skill: learn to surf, sail or scuba dive, try your hand at fly-fishing, create your own piece of street art with a local street artist, take a wine-blending masterclass or make your own gin with Australian native botanicals

Find time for yourself: take a walk on the beach, relax by the pool with a good book, enjoy a beachside yoga session or a local cooking lesson. Australia offers some spectacular short walks and decadent day spas – or if you’re feeling like you need a little more time out, we can recommend some great wellness retreats to escape to !

Spend more time with family and friends: we have countless villas and beach houses (even a private island or two) that are just perfect for special family get-togethers and celebrations. Private chefs and concierge or complete privacy – the choice is yours.

Try something different: sleep under outback stars or under the water on the Great Barrier Reef, eat Balmain Bugs (a local seafood delicacy) or sample a witchery grub (indigenous bush tucker treat), take a selfie with a quokka or swim with a whaleshark – Australia’s diversity of landscapes invite unique adventures, and it just so happens that one-of-a-kind is our speciality !

Tick items off your bucket list: watch the sunset over Uluru or see a performance at the Sydney Opera House (even better yet, we can arrange for you to perform on stage alongside the Australian Opera!), scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef or drive the Great Ocean Road, catch a famed Barramundi, hand-feed a kangaroo or learn to cook with one of the world’s greatest chefs.

Do good, give back: Help spread the word that Australia is ‘open for business’ and that, whilst bushfires have dominated the news recently, so much of tour beautiful country and the unique Australian experiences on so many international travellers’ bucket lists remain unaffected. Visitors travelling to Australia in 2020 can really make a difference by combining their bucket list travel experiences with the support our welcoming local communities – many of whom are reliant on tourism – really need.