10 Days in Australia

Australia has a reputation where everyone's your 'mate', and you'll feel that warm genuine welcome from the minute you arrive til the moment you leave. Australia has 26.5 million people, with 30% of the population born from overseas making it one of the most multi-cultural countries in the world.

LGBT rights around Australia have advanced over the latter half of the twentieth century and early twenty-first century to make Australia one of the most LGBT-accepting countries in the world. A 2013 Pew Research poll found that 79% of urban Australians agreed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, making it the fifth-most supportive country surveyed in the world.

With its long history of LGBT activism and annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival, Sydney has been named one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Australia since 2017. 

We could write a whole chapter on typical Aussie "tucker" (food), but instead we'll summarize some of the items you'll likely encounter (& should absolutlely try!) during your visit down under:

• Barbeque - When you think of Australia you think of surfing, nice weather, kangaroos and... the barbecue. “Throw another shrimp on the barbie” is a quote often said even though Australians call them prawns and not shrimp! In fact, many Aussies dislike this phrase and claim that it’s just another Australian stereotype. A typical Aussie barbecue will have snags (sausages), burgers, steak, fresh seafood, bread and tomato or barbecue sauce, they sometimes include salad but it’s mainly about the meat and fish (and of course a few stubbies – that’s beer to the non-Australians)
   
• Vegemite - don't knock it til you try it! It's a yeast extract, served with butter/margarine on toast/sandwiches.
   
• Fairy bread - funny name for a kids' treat, but also the perfect name for a gay bakery wouldn't you agree? This is buttered-bread with sprinkles (100's & 1000's) on it.
   
• Tim-tams - chocolate biscuits (cookies), that have become popular around the world now, best enjoyed as a tim-tam-slam!
   
• Meat pies - you'll find these everywhere, and they're not the same anywhere else in the world, crisp puffy pastry filled with loads of options inside (steak, chicken, veggie, etc.) Always topped with tomato sauce.
   
• Chicken parma - Loads of pubs have a parma night where you can grab a decently priced chicken parma with a beer. A chicken parma is a chicken schnitzel topped with a tomato sauce and melted cheese on top. 
   
• Kangaroo - While visitors usually take pictures of kangaroos bouncing around. Aussies actually eat Kanagroo meat. You’ll see them packed on supermarket shelves and on restaurant menus. Kangaroo is lean red meat, it’s healthy and you can prepare it in many ways – steaks, burgers, sausages, and much more
   
• Lamingtons - Made up of a deliciously, delicate soft, sponge cake, and topped with decadent chocolate topping and immersed in coconut flakes, the ole’ Lamington has been a fixture on the dessert table here for generations.
   

Detours doesn't believe in limiting your choices by including all of your meals at pre-decided restaurants as part of the trip package. Instead, we include all of your breakfasts to start your day off as well as select meals through the trip, then encourage you to explore all of the different restaurant options available to you for other lunches and dinners. This way you can eat when you want, where you want, with whomever you want, and spend what you want! Your trip leader definitely has their favorite spots so if you'd like some advice on the best in each location, just check with them.

Our advice is simple. Pack your bag, then take half of those things out and leave them back home. It’s common to hear people wishing they’d packed less stuff, but we’ve never heard anyone complain that they didn’t bring enough. Everywhere we visit on our itinerary is convenient for grabbing any last-minute things as you go, so if you realize you forgot to pack a crucial item you can just pick it up on the trip. We'll include some trip-specific packing advice based on expected weather as part of our update email to you, sent 10 days prior to your trip.

Australia uses the Australian Dollar (AUD). In an effort to avoid bank fees, we suggest arriving to Australia with some local currency (around 300 AUD) and ATMs are widely available, so your debit card from home will be the most economic way to withdraw local currency as/when you need more. Credit cards are widely accepted, and you should have no problems paying for your portion of the group meal with card or cash. AMEX isn't widely accepted in Australia, mostly just Mastercard and Visa.

1 USD = approx. 1.50 AUD (as of May 2023)

Tipping is not considered a common practice for many industries in Australia.  Restaurant and bar workers are paid more per-hour to reflect this, contrary to many other countries who have a strong tipping culture.  If service you've received at a restaurant is particularly excellent feel free to leave 10% or so to show appreciation.  Taxis are also not commonly tipped in Australia, although local guides within the tourism sector do expect tips which are similar to guiding tips in other parts of the world.

We have pretty high standards when it comes to choosing our accommodations, and trust us, we’ve done plenty of room-sniffing, pillow-patting, and bathroom inspections to make sure we stay at quality spots. To be approved as a Detours accommodations provider, a guesthouse must preferably be locally owned (to support the local community), be in an amazing location (close to the beach or other hot spots), AND be gay-owned or gay-friendly. We won't be staying in 5-star Ritz-Carltons but we also won't subject you to anything we wouldn't want to stay in ourselves. Clean, comfortable, well-located spots that'll put a smile on your face, you can count on that!  Click on the "accommodations" tab to get a better idea of what accommodation we use on this trip.

For this trip, you get not one, but two trip leaders! And they'll be there with you every day to help ensure that this is your trip of a lifetime by taking the hassle out of your trip and enabling you to experience everything you came to Australia for. Consider them like a friendly concierge that's traveling along with you.  All of our trip leaders are gay and all are well-traveled and experienced in the destination they're leading in, so they'll be a great part of your experience!

Shane (mentioned a few times on this trip page) was actually born & raised in Australia (til he was 19!), and he's agreed to be the translator as he'll be one of your trip leaders ;)

We do absolutely everything possible to avoid needing such a mundane awakening. A world without alarm clocks is one we want to be part of! Our travel days might start a bit earlier (due to flight schedules) but for the majority of your adventure you'll be welcome to start each morning at your leisure, come on down to breakfast when you wake up and are ready to start the day. In most places your natural alarm clock will be the sound of a laughing kookaburra or magpie outside your window encouraging you to seize the day. Don't worry these are peaceful sounds and very Australian!

For many people, 10 days in Australia just wont be enough! If you’re one of the lucky ones who can stay a bit longer, or maybe you'll decide to quit your job and become a beach bum in Byron Bay with Chris Hemsworth as your neighbour, we’d be happy to offer any assistance or advice to help extend your trip. We’ve been all over the area, and Shane grew up in 19 different parts of Australia - so don’t think twice about asking where to go or what to do after your Detours trip is complete.

Our Australia trip will run with a maximum of 30 travelers. Ages of group members vary but the average travelers are in their 40's to 60's.  Whatever the age of the guys on our trips though, everyone's got something in common, an exciting new experience in a new country! The Australia trip will be led by 2 Detours trip leaders who are there to ensure everything goes off without a hitch, allowing you to focus on having the time of your life!

As previously mentioned, Australia is quite a gay friendly place, and while most people (78% according to a recent study) are welcoming of homosexuality, there may still be people, especially in rural areas, who may not be comfortable, and so out of respect we usually suggest keeping your excitement and affection for your partner to more private locations.

Traveling solo? No problem! About 60% of our travelers come solo and our trip will provide plenty of chances to meet great people both inside and outside of our group, including other solos. As far as your accommodations go, you’ve got two choices. We can either pair you up with another solo group member in a two-bed room, or you can have your own room for a reasonable surcharge.

Australia uses only one plug shape so it's important to bring a "Type I" plug shape on your trip here. Australian electricity runs on 220-240 V and 50 Hz. Please make sure your electronics accept 220 – 240 volts (V). If your device uses 110 – 120V, common in North America, you will need a step down transformer. However, these days, the majority of items that are plugged into an outlet are built to handle varying voltage and frequency levels, but just to be sure, we suggest checking your item for its accetable range.