Brisbane is the Australian city in the middle of it all! Literally and figuratively. It’s a mid-sized city (Australia’s third largest) in the middle of the eastern coast, stuffed in between two of Australia’s best road trips, the sunshine coast and the gold coast. This is a fun city with different neighborhoods for a variety of different daytime activities and one of the most vibrant nightlifes in Australia. It’s no wonder that Brisbane is a popular stop on any Australian vacation. Keep reading to find out how long to spend in Brisbane, Brisbane itineraries to inspire you and our top things to do in Brisbane.
When To Visit Brisbane
Brisbane weather is beautiful year round. So a visit is always a good idea. However, as southern Australia cools from June-August, Australian natives head north. So this becomes the busy time of year for Brisbane. If you want to avoid crowds, visiting outside of this time of year is a good idea. However, Brisbane’s infrastructure is well suited to handle crowds so you should be able to find great Brisbane accommodations year round, regardless of the crowds.
Getting There And Around
Brisbane is home to an international airport, so several flights arrive just outside of the city. You can find direct flight from outside of Australia straight into Brisbane. Additionally, you can find very inexpensive domestic flights from other Australian destinations.
You do not need a car to get around Brisbane. The city is very walkable and a majority of the things to do in Brisbane are in the Central Business District (CBD) or South Bank.
Brisbane also has great public transportation. There is a train to take you from the airport into the city, then an extensive network of buses and ferries to get you around the city. The ferries are extra fun because you get to enjoy views from the river while getting around.
We did have a car with us when we were in Brisbane, as it was the beginning of our Pacific Coast road trip. So we learned that Brisbane was also an easy place to drive. However, as a money saving tip, we’d skip the rental car for your time here.
If you are visiting with a group, taxis or ride shares are also an economical way of getting around as long as you can split the fares.
How Long To Stay In Brisbane
We think that 1-4 days in Brisbane is plenty. By day four, we were wandering outside of Brisbane regularly. We’ve included 4 days of Brisbane itineraries below. These itineraries move at a moderate pace. You could combine days one and two to make one very busy day. Ideally, if we had it to do over again, we’d do two jam packed days of all the best Brisbane activities by completing the activities in days 1-3 below.
Top Things To Do
Where to Stay in Brisbane
Brisbane’s CBD is the best place to stay. However, it also comes with the highest price tag and overly touristy options such as generic hotels. Therefore, we recommend staying in a neighborhood that is just outside of Brisbane’s downtown. We stayed in Highgate Hill and were still able to walk to several of the best things to do in Brisbane; however, we were exhausted by the end of the day with all of the walking.
Brisbane is also an easy-to-drive city. So, if you have a car, there are even cheaper and unique accommodations outside of the city.
One Day In Brisbane
This one day Brisbane itinerary is filled with everything that we think the first time visitor should see and do. We also have additional Brisbane itinerary days below to add on to your trip if you have extra time.
Morning – Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Spend the morning at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Here you’ll get to feed kangaroos and wallabies and hold a koala. This is the best zoo we’ve ever been to and was our favorite thing to do in Brisbane. Admission into the Sanctuary is $49AUD/adult.
Afternoon – Downtown Brisbane
In the afternoon, explore downtown Brisbane. The Central Business District (CBD) and the Queen Street Mall is the heart of Brisbane and is a great place to shop, if that is something you’re interested in. Even if you’re not a shopper, it’s a great idea to still stroll through this area to people watch in the busiest streets. If you’d rather take a guided tour of the CBD, consider booking a free guided tour with a local Greeter. (PS: While the tours are free, tour guide always love tips.)
Next, just a few steps away from the CBD, you’ll find the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens. At the gardens, you’ll be able to wander the beautifully manicured areas and explore the different types of plant life in Queensland. You’ll also get some great views along the river of Brisbane.
Next, walk along the City Reach Boardwalk from the Gardens to Wilson Outlook Reserve. Grab dinner somewhere along this walk.
After dinner, travel from Wilson Outlook to Kangaroo Point Cliffs. These two parks have some of the best views of the city, including Brisbane’s iconic bridges. And if you walk between these two parks, you’ll even get to walk over the Story Bridge.
Want To Adjust The Itinerary
If you have an extra day, here are a few things to do in Brisbane to extend the one day Brisbane itinerary into a two, three, or four day Brisbane itinerary. Each day is a moderately paced day that you can add on to our classic one day Brisbane itinerary above.
2 Day Brisbane Itinerary
Morning – Museums
First, explore the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art and the Queensland Art Gallery. These are great free things to do in Brisbane. You can wander and explore the modern art in the building. While we’re not big fans of modern art, we were alright with this museum because it was free so we didn’t feel bad speeding through it. The Queensland Art Gallery was more our speed as it spanned a wider range of art periods. And the gallery has a lot of Aboriginal Art to explore as well!
It’s also right next to the State Library of Queensland, which is a beautiful building, even if you aren’t interested in checking out a book.
Afternoon – City Hall
Next, take a tour of the City Hall building. City Hall is beautiful from the outside, so make sure to snap some pictures in the courtyard. This building, built in the early 1900s is in the CBD is one of the most iconic buildings in town. And it is one of the best things to do in Brisbane for free! Inside City Hall, you’ll find the museum of Brisbane, which is also free to enter and explore.
However, the best thing to do is take a tour to the top of the clock tower. This is a free 15 minute tour that essentially just takes you up the tower for some great views of the city. However, be aware that these tours are limited and often book up. So make sure you book this ahead of time if you are interested.
There is also a longer tour of the larger City Hall building, However, there are only 2-3 tours daily (mostly mid-day) so if you want to do a tour, make sure to book that ahead of time as well and plan your day around it.
Lastly, take a river tour of the City. You can do an official river tour for $55AUD/person. Or you can take a ferry ride. There are low cost ferry tickets and even free CityHopper ferries that you can hop on to give yourself views of the city from the river. This is a great way to end your second night in Brisbane.
3 Day Brisbane Itinerary
First, take a trip to one of the outlying islands. There are several islands to choose from. We went to Bribie Island, but North Stradbroke Island is another popular option. Spend the morning exploring the island and wandering the beautiful beaches and their golden sands. You can take a rental car to the island and explore for free or consider taking one of the day trips below.
Next, spend the afternoon of your three day Brisbane itinerary exploring Southbank. This neighborhood across the river from the CBD is complete with a beautiful walk and a man made beach along the river. Consider spending time at the beach soaking in the sun while you watch the traffic on the river. There is also a great pool here that you can swim in if the river is too adventurous for you.
Lastly, don’t forget to stop at the Brisbane sign for the obligatory photo.
4 Day Brisbane Itinerary
You’ll need a car for this day. You’ll want to start your morning at Mt. Cootha. Here you can overlook all of the city.
Next, consider a day trip to the Australia Zoo. This zoo was made famous by Steve Irwin and is a sprawling zoo north of town. This is definitely a day trip and the zoo is large and takes quite a bit of time to explore. This combined with the drive time there makes this a full day trip. If you drive yourself there, you’ll want to budget $67 AUD/adult. Or you can take one of the tours below.
What To Budget For Brisbane
We thought Brisbane was the most affordable large city in Australia that we visited. It was much cheaper than both Sydney and Melbourne.
Also, there are tons of free things to do in Brisbane, which was not the case in other Australian destinations. We’ve included the cost of admission for activities in the itinerary above. So if you plan on following our Brisbane itinerary, you’ll want to budget for those activities.
Brisbane hotels and home stays average around $180 AUD/night. Plan on spending more if you are in the CBD. We paid $180 AUD/night for our hotel just outside of South Bank.
By some magic, we had amazingly fancy sit down meals for under $30 AUD/person. We visited in the off season so I’m sure we got some deals, like 50% off at one restaurant. However, we’d recommend budgeting about $50 AUD/person for mid-level meals each day. We saved on breakfast by getting a hotel with breakfast included.
You’ll either want to budget for taxis, ride shares and public transportation or a rental car. We think $15-20 AUD/day is good enough for taking public transport. If you would like a rental car, you’ll want to budget more and also ensure that your accommodations have free parking as many don’t.
Our Brisbane Budget
If we were to redo this trip in 2024, we would spend:
- Activities – $116AUD/adult
- Hotel – $140AUD/night
- Rental Car for 2 days – $100AUD
- Food – $400AUD/person
This brings our Total Brisbane Budget to $1036 AUD for two people to spend 4 days and 3 nights in Brisbane. At the time of writing this it equates to about $700 USD.
What To Pack For Brisbane
Brisbane is a very walkable city, which means your feet will be pretty sore by the end of the day. So make sure you have a good pair of shoes.
Australia uses the type I electric socket. So if you are traveling from outside of Australia, make sure you bring a travel adaptor.
For clothing, you’ll be visiting one of the sunniest cities. So generally, you can dress in warm weather clothing. However, if you’re visiting in the winter (June-August) make sure you pack some outer layers for cooler temperatures. And with all that sun, don’t forget your sun protection, like sunscreen, sunglasses and hats. Make sure your sunscreen is reef safe to protect the amazing life off of Australia’s shore. Also, we love our floating sunglasses which are great for the city and the beach.
Overall, we think Brisbane is a great starting point for your Australian vacation. The mild year-round weather and ease of getting around make it a great vacation destination. If you have any questions or comments about visiting Brisbane, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.
