Best Things To Do As A Group East Coast Australia

Lily Kerley

January 19th, 2024

fiber_manual_record

7 minute read

Planning a trip to Australia with your friends? It could be a girls' getaway, a holiday with the bros or a big old reunion with your favourites! Whatever your group size or style, Australia is undoubtedly the best place to travel as a group of backpackers! In particular, the East Coast is laden with awesome tours, free things to do and even ways to get around with groups. So, time to pencil in your Australian bucket list with these unmissable group activities along the East Coast... adventure awaits!

Best Tours For Groups in Australia

Sail The Whitsundays

Head to Airlie Beach in North Queensland and beeline for the exquisite Whitsunday Islands! Made up of 74 lush and beachy islands, this dreamy archipelago is the perfect, protected haven for some luxe sailing! Most tours heading out will take you to Whitsunday Island, home to Whitehaven Beach which is renowned for having some of the whitest silica sands in the world! Hill Inlet is the Instagrammable gem of the islands, with swirling sands and blue-green waters that are magnificently viewed from Hill Inlet Lookout. All overnight boats include delicious food, snorkelling, crew and accommodation, which is the perfect way to get away from it all with your dearest and nearest!

Here are our favourite Whitsunday Sailing adventures for groups:

Solway Voyager shared cabins

Solway Voyager is a charming and comfortable vessel with four-person shared cabins. Fill the room with your group and enjoy that privacy for just a fraction of the price of a normal private cabin! This sun-soaked backpacker boat lasts three days and two nights and delivers you to stunning beaches and island forests. Relax onboard your airconditioned vessel with a bar and SUPs!

Atlantic Clipper shared cabins

With shared cabins hosting three to four people, enjoy a private room amongst you and your besties for a super cheap price! It’s a bit of a travel hack in the Whitsundays and the perfect way to save! Plus, you can avoid the hostel ick of sharing with strangers. This two-day, two-night trip is ideal for backpackers and travellers searching for a fun and jampacked trip, with social vibes and natural marvels galore!

4WD K’gari (Fraser Island)

The perfect place to discover with a group of friends, K’gari (formerly known as Fraser Island) is the world’s largest sand island, with rainforest, beaches and lakes galore. The iconic Aussie dingo inhabits this beautiful destination and can often be spotted as you 4WD up the gorgeous golden beaches! Each 4WD car usually seats 8, meaning you and your mates can stay together every step of the way, and even try four-wheel driving for yourself. With incredible swimming spots like Boorangoora (Lake Mackenzie), Eli Creek, Lake Wabby and Champagne Pools (literally bubbly ocean rock pools), you can unwind and soak up paradise. Then, venture inland to the vast and biodiverse rainforest ecosystems, where cool canopies and wild birdlife await! Our favourite way to see K’gari is on a 4WD camping tour, where you can really immerse yourself in nature’s magic!

Our favourite K’gari tour for groups:

Pippies Camping 4WD Safari

4WD down golden beaches, swim in sparkling lakes, camp under the stars and have a blast on your totally-inclusive three-day, two-night K’gari adventure. Your friendly guide will take you to Lake Mackenzie, Eli Creek, Champagne Pools, Tukkee Warroo (Indian Head), Lake Wabby, Maheno Shipwreck and the Pinnacles, illuminating the rich Indigenous culture of the island. Perfect for groups, it’s two per tent at night, so hunker down with your friend as the waves lull you to sleep!

Other awesome K’gari tours for groups include: 

• Dingos Camping 4WD Safari (three days & two nights)
• K’gari Explorer Day Trip 
• Dingo’s K’gari Camping Adventure (two days & one night)

Scuba Dive in Cairns

Cairns is renowned for its exquisite slice of the Great Barrier Reef, which is ideal for learning how to scuba dive! With a vast array of diving day boats and intro or intermediate courses, don a wetsuit and tank and immerse yourself like never before with the glimmering marine world below! Scuba diving with friends is incredibly fun; picture high fives underwater, swimming alongside turtles together and getting that gorgeous GoPro footage of each other playing mermaid!

The best Cairns diving tours for groups:

• Passions of Paradise day tour
• Ocean Freedom day tour 
• Oceanquest Liveaboard (two day & one night)

Skydive

Nothing brings you close to your besties like jumping out of a plane at 15000 ft… right?! Take the plunge and say yes to skydiving while you’re in Australia. Whether you’re soaring over the Noosa coastline, landing on the pristine sands of Whitehaven Beach or flying over the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns, have a blast and get that rush with your group!

Chat with our friendly travel agents to book your next skydive over Airlie Beach, Whitehaven Beach Cairns, Noosa, Mission Beach, Gold Coast, Sydney, Byron Bay or Melbourne!

White Water Rafting & Tubing in Cairns

Hurtle down bubbling rapids through the stunning Barron Gorge National Park! With awesome half-day trips out in the tropical wilderness in Cairns, you and your mates can zoom through native Aussie wildlife, thick canopies and gorgeous cascades as you explore Far North Queensland a little bit differently! 

Check out our favourite Cairns rafting experiences.

Kayak the Noosa Everglades

Grab your posse and hit the winding waterways of the Noosa Everglades! The perfect group activities for those looking to escape the hustle and bustle, and make unique memories far from the beaten track. Relax, breathe in, and discover the vast bird and wildlife that makes up these mysterious canals. Wetlands, mangroves, winding rivers and immense bushland are home to kangaroos, koalas, fish and more! 

The Noosa Everglade kayak tours for groups include:

• Kanu Kapers Eco kayak tour 
• Noosa Everglade Canoe Explorer tour

Best Free Things To Do in a Group in Australia

Australia is uniquely full of free, accessible and outdoorsy things to do. It’s always better with mates, so whether you’re throwing a snag (translation: sausage) on the barbie (again: BBQ), or hitting the beach for a sun-soaked session, enjoy Australia for free with your friends with these group activities. 

Picnic in the park

Every backpacker on a budget loves a picnic in the park! With abundant free BBQ facilities, endless green spaces and sun-filled skies, it’s nearly impossible not to have a good afternoon when you’re outside, soaking up those rays amongst good company! Our favourite things to bring along are undoubtedly a frisbee, a packet of Tim Tams and a picnic rug.

Beach day

While backpackers come to Australia for the world-class beaches, it is sometimes forgotten that a good old-fashioned beach day is just as good as any tour! Bring your towel, your mates, a hat and plenty of sunscreen and work on your tan and swim in the waves. A day at the beach with your closest friends has a sort of magic that’s hard to describe. Be it the worry-free vibes, the goodness of the sun or the refreshing ocean, don’t forget to revel in beach sessions: they’re so underrated!

For more free and fun activities, check out our extensive blog on things to do in Australia! 

Best travel for groups in Australia

4-berth campervans

The Aussie road trip is all yours, even when you’re travelling with a group! With a vast array of 4-berth campervans, we offer amazing deals when split between a group of three or four! The penthouse design allows for a dual-sleeper bedroom on top of your van, with the “downstairs” looking like a convertible bedroom-to-living room! While snug, it’s the stuff adventures are made of, so buckle up, split the fuel and embark on the road trip of your dream. Check out our range of campervans... we have something for everyone's tastes!

For our favourite campsites for road trippers, read this handy free van camping guide, and our top 10 tips for van lifers trekking the East Coast of Australia!

Greyhound Whimit Pass

The Greyhound never fails to get you from A to B on a budget, solo or in a group! The Whimit East Coast Pass is perfect for most who don’t mind coaching it, and is certainly the cheapest way to explore the East Coast. 

Check out our sweet bus pass deals for backpackers and groups!

Do groups get discounts in Australia?

Absolutely, travelling with friends is a surefire way to save those dollars during your trip! Every tour usually offers different discounts for backpacker group bookings, so don’t hesitate to get in touch with our awesome travel agents about group discounts for you and your travel buddies!

Ready to start planning your Aussie adventure? Our locally-curated itineraries are bound to inspire you, or use our DIY trip planner to create the perfect road trip for you and your mates!

Chat with us live or contact us for a quick response about group discounts - we’ll get you and your tribe the best price on the East Coast!