Australia or New Zealand, where should you go for a holiday?

But with both countries at such a long distance from the UK, travellers are often left with the tricky choice of deciding between the destinations. So if you’re wondering if New Zealand or Australia is best for a holiday, we’ve looked at the highlights of both, from urban attractions to natural ones, food, weather and cost, to help you pick between the two – as well as one way to visit both in a single trip.

While neither Australia nor New Zealand are budget destinations, New Zealand tends to be cheaper in terms of eating out, travel and visiting attractions. Inevitably, visiting cities tends to be more costly than smaller towns, while high-profile attractions tend to have a higher price tag in both countries. Australia’s vast size means that you can also expect to spend more on getting around, unless you’re sticking to a small corner of the country, which can often push up costs.

Both countries have plenty to attract visitors, but New Zealand’s highlights tend to focus on the wonderful scenery and outdoor adventures so when it comes to sightseeing, especially in cities, Australia wins out.

From Sydney, with its famous opera house, harbour bridge and string of museums, galleries and world-class attractions to Melbourne’s thriving arts and culture scene, the city’s botanic gardens and historic sites like Old Melbourne Gaol, not to mention other cities including Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra, you’ll be spoiled for choice before you even leave the main urban centres.

Sydney's famous skyline

Add in unique sights such as Uluru, the UNESCO-listed red monolith that’s one of Australia’s iconic landmarks, quite apart from the country’s other natural sights such as the Great Barrier Reef, and Australia is hard to beat.

New Zealand certainly isn’t without its sights, or its own urban temptations, including cosmopolitan Auckland, the capital Wellington and captivating Christchurch, as well as Art Deco Napier.

The name of New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, translates from Māori to ‘container of treasures’ and that’s precisely what you can find with art, natural history, Māori culture and regular exhibitions, for example.

Both Australia and New Zealand are fantastic options for wildlife lovers, including Australia’s famously unusual creatures. Along with koalas, kangaroos and wombats, you can find quokkas, fairy penguins and platypus, as well as manta rays, turtles and fish galore around the Great Barrier Reef.

Australia is famous for its unusual mammal, such as the koala

Or marvel (at a safe distance) at the Australian Southern Cassowary and saltwater crocodile, hope to spot a rare echidna or head to Tasmania for a sight of an endangered Tasmanian Devil. If you’re a bird lover, it has to be New Zealand though, where you might see everything from the national bird, the kiwi, to the kakapo and kea, plus a string of rare penguins, including little blue penguins and yellow-eyed penguins. Off the coast, you’ll spy dolphins, whales and seals too – in fact, almost half of the planet's whale and dolphin species can be found in the waters off New Zealand.

New Zealand has unique birdlife, such as the kiwi

So animal lovers won’t be disappointed after a visit to either country; when it comes to mammals and the distinctly unusual, Australia has the upper hand, while New Zealand is ideal if you love birds or marine creatures.

Australia certainly isn’t short of eye-catching scenery, but the spectacular landscapes are one of the places where New Zealand truly shines. You’ll find some of the most dramatic on the South Island, home to majestic Milford Sound and the beautiful Fiordland National Park, as well as the Franz Josef glacier, surrounded by rainforest. You won’t be short of views in the North Island either, including the shimmering waters of the Bay of Islands.

Milford Sound in New Zealand is often regarded as one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world

But that’s only the start of New Zealand’s stunning landscapes. Discover the natural hot springs and bubbling mud pools heated by geothermal energy in Rotorua, the white sand beaches and clear bays of Abel Tasman National Park and the Coromandel Peninsula, or Lake Taupo, a lake the size of Singapore.

There are sights to see underground at the Waitomo Caves, where the cavern walls flicker in a luminous display of eerie blue lights thanks to the glow worms which live here.

Of course, Australia isn’t short of unforgettable scenery either – stretching for 3.3 million square miles, you’ll find everything from desert to lush countryside, mountains, coast and more. Even before you explore on land, you can marvel at one of the world’s greatest natural wonders, the Great Barrier Reef. From the white sand beaches and turquoise water around the islands, to the endless rainbow whirl of fish on the reefs, alongside turtles and other marine creatures, there’s simply nowhere else quite like it.

The Great Ocean Road in Australia is famously scenic

Drive some of the fantastic roads leading along the coast, most famously the Great Ocean Road, or travel up into the Blue Mountains not far from Sydney. Or discover the country’s vast vineyards, including those around lovely Margaret River in Western Australia, along with the wetlands of Kakadu National Park.

Perhaps the most memorable scenery in the country lies at its heart, in the desert landscape of the Red Centre, home to Uluru – this huge monolith, one of Australia’s most recognisable landmarks, is unmissable.

Bigger means more when it comes to Australia’s cities. The sheer size of the country means you’ll find far more urban centres to explore here than in New Zealand, with both Sydney and Melbourne among the world’s great cities – visit both to decide which you think deserves the accolade of Australia’s best.

Both are brimming with culture and lined with fantastic coast, as well as having their own individual attractions; Sydney’s opera house and bridge are iconic, while Melbourne’s arty and sporting sides set it apart.

Melbourne has a thriving arts and sports scene

But even if you visit both, that only scratches the surface. Head along the southern Australian coast and you’ll reach Adelaide, home to the world’s largest display of Aboriginal artefacts, with three major wine regions on the doorstep plus yet more coast.

In the far west, Perth is known as the world’s most isolated major city, the only big city for 2,000km and closer to the Indonesian capital Jakarta than Aussie capital Canberra, with a laid-back atmosphere, more great beaches and some fantastic food.

Back on the opposite coast, there’s subtropical Brisbane, where there’s as much to find in the museums and art galleries as its famous coast and green spaces. Not forgetting the often overlooked capital, Canberra and a string of smaller cities to explore across the country too.

At less than 1/30th the size of its huge neighbour, New Zealand’s cities are also comparatively smaller – Auckland, the largest, is smaller than all Australia’s major cities except Adelaide and Canberra, while Wellington and Christchurch are both smaller still and Dunedin and Napier are even more compact.

Auckland is known for its food, art and music scenes

But like the country itself, it’s a less overwhelming experience to explore here, with a more intimate vibe. Auckland’s multicultural feel is represented in its food, while there’s art and music galore. Capital Wellington is home to some of the country’s key museums, not to mention having a restaurant and bar scene to travel for – there are more places to eat and drink per head in Wellington than in New York City.

Or ‘Garden City’ Christchurch is a great location to get outdoors, famously walkable, and a perfect base to explore more widely, including on the TranzAlpine train.

You’ll eat well, whether you travel to New Zealand or Australia. Australia’s size and mix of cultures means you’ll find practically any cuisine you want in Australia’s cities, with fantastic fish and seafood along the coast too. And while an Aussie BBQ might seem like a cliché, you won’t be short of grilled meat either, whether you fancy a steak, sausages, or more seafood done on the barbecue.

For another classic Australian option, Vegemite divides people just like Marmite but it’s a chance to discover if you love or hate the yeast extract spread. More palatable are Lamingtons, squares of sponge cake coated in chocolate sauce and desiccated coconut.

You won’t be short of something to drink either, with a thriving coffee culture in Melbourne in particular, a city which boasts of having the best coffee in the world, not to mention award-winning Australian wines to enjoy.

New Zealand might be smaller but you won’t be short of a good meal here either. Wellington’s food and drink scene is impressive for a relatively small city, while Auckland’s diversity means you’ll find an equally diverse choice of restaurants. Beyond the cities, there’s a strong focus on local ingredients, with a mix of European and Māori influences.

The country is famous for its lamb, with more sheep than people in New Zealand, but you’ll also find plenty of fish and seafood, including salmon, scallops and crayfish.

Keep an eye out for rewena bread, a fermented potato bread, as well as hangi, food which is cooked using heated stones in an underground oven.

There’s more award-winning wine to try here too, while New Zealand also lays claim to having invented the flat white, so you won’t be short of excellent coffee either.

Australia is generally warmer and drier than New Zealand, but depending when and where you visit, you might prefer the milder climate of the smaller country as you decide whether to travel to Australia or New Zealand.

If you’re looking for sun, Australia wins out easily with more hours of sunshine and higher average temperatures, especially during the summer (the Northern hemisphere’s winter months). Average temperatures in Sydney and Melbourne are in the high 20Cs in January. Perth is hotter during summer, but not quite as cool as the other cities in winter – April/May and September/October are one of the best times to visit. Both Brisbane and Cairns also see high temperatures in summer, over 30C with high humidity, so it can be far more pleasant to visit during the winter months – in July, both cities have temperatures in the low to mid 20Cs.

The same goes if you’re planning to visit the Outback, where temperatures close to 40C aren’t unheard of in midsummer but where it’s around 21-24C in winter. If you’re looking for slightly cooler summer temperatures, head for Tasmania.

New Zealand’s temperatures tend to be cooler year-round, at around 23-24C in Auckland and Christchurch in January, and only slightly cooler in Wellington. The country’s west coast is also known to be wetter, especially in the South Island, so if you’re planning to visit Milford Sound or the Franz Josef glacier, it can be worth picking the slightly drier months of May and June if possible, with most rain falling in the summer.

With rain on around 182 days per year, it’s best to come prepared for wet weather whenever you visit though. And if you’re looking for snow, the ski season in the South Island runs from June to October, with temperatures dropping below zero in Queenstown in the height of winter.

With thousands of miles of coastline, Australia’s beaches are among the world’s best. From the white sand idylls of the Whitsundays to the long golden beaches of New South Wales, the chic coastal town of Byron Bay to the astonishingly long 90 Miles Beach in Gippsland, surf beaches, city beaches like Melbourne’s Brighton Beach, unspoiled beaches in national parks and on small islands, there is an endless choice, whatever type of beach you like.

Australia's Whitsunday Islands beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world

Australia’s sunny climate means the perfect temperatures to head to the coast too, whether you’re hoping for a swim, to relax on the sand or to head out and snorkel, plus some enjoyably warm water temperatures.

Do be aware of any flags or signs warning of dangers though, from strong currents to jellyfish, although many have lifeguards and measures in place to protect against jellyfish in season as well as sharks.

New Zealand’s waters are likely to be chillier if you’re planning a dip, so the country’s summer months are the best time to make the most of the coast. There are some spectacular places to hit the beach though; Abel Tasman National Park is one lovely corner after another, with lush forest at the back of the golden sands, while the Coromandel Peninsula is home to one gorgeous beach after another too.

Cathedral Cove in New Zealand is a good example of New Zealand's scenic rock formations

On the North Island, 90 Mile Beach is actually only around 55 miles long, but still more than enough wide open sand for anyone, while beautiful Maitai Bay, on the Karikari Peninsula, curves lazily around sparkling turquoise blue water.

If you’re looking for dramatic coastlines rather than gentle golden sand, you’ll be spoiled for choice with some fantastic rock formations dotted around New Zealand too – the rock stacks known as the 12 Apostles are the best-known alternative in Australia.

Absolutely. When you’re travelling half-way around the world, it makes sense to make the most of your time, and you can get a taste of the highlights of each country in our epic 40-day tour, the Best of Australia and New Zealand. Visiting Melbourne, Sydney, Uluru and Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef, you’ll see Australia’s two biggest cities and most memorable natural spots, as well as travelling around the North and South Island of New Zealand, passing through Auckland, the Bay of Islands and Rotorua, plus Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Milford Sound among other destinations.

You can also plan an independent visit to both countries, with multiple flights between Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, and Queenstown and the major cities in Australia. Unless you have a long time to spend exploring, the distances involved and the practicalities of getting around mean that a guided tour is often a much easier option.

There’s so much to tempt visitors to both Australia and New Zealand that you won’t be disappointed with a visit to either country. If you’ve only got time for one, it will depend partly on how long you have available to travel and what you’re looking for from your trip to the Southern Hemisphere. For city sightseeing or beach breaks, Australia has the edge over its smaller neighbour, with the incomparable Great Barrier Reef as well as the unique landscapes of the Outback. It’s also great if you’re hoping for sun or a chance to spot some of the world’s most unusual wildlife.

For scenery and active adventures, New Zealand is hard to beat, from the beautiful Bay of Islands to dramatic Milford Sound and the Franz Josef glacier. There’s marine wildlife and birdlife to appeal here, along with a more temperate climate, while the smaller size of the country means it’s possible to see more of New Zealand during a shorter trip.

Explore our range of holidays to Australasia and discover New Zealand or Australia for yourself, or combine a holiday to both countries in one incredible escorted tour