Doc Holiday: Where are Australia's best winter holiday destinations?

Forget escaping to the other side of the world - Australia's loaded with unsung winter holiday destinations where the weather's warm and the crowds are non existent. 

Escape's Doc Holiday, Dilvin Yasa, answers your travel-related questions.

The nature of my work means I can only take annual leave in the winter months. Could you suggest a few destinations around Australia? I’m looking for something warm.

You write that you’ve already enjoyed many wonderful destinations – most of our capital cities, not to mention Cairns, Gold Coast and Fiji – so I suggest looking a little further afield. I recently travelled to Tiwi Islands, 80km north of Darwin and accessible by ferry (or flight) – and it was heavenly. You could create the ultimate Top End adventure by visiting Kakadu and/or Litchfield before heading to the islands; winter is the perfect time of year to explore the area as the weather is hot and dry (great for waterhole exploration).

The coastline of Melville Island in the Tiwi Islands.

If you fancy something a little more “snorkelling in pristine waters” and “lazing on white-sand beaches”, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, is well worth a look – particularly if you enjoy watersports. Virgin Australia flies to the islands twice a week from Perth.

Jetty at Direction Island in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

One of my favourite domestic holidays of all time is an outback Queensland road trip, taking in Longreach, Winton and Tambo as you make your way to Birdsville. Think cattle station stays, chicken-racing events and fossil hiking adventures.

Visit outbackqueensland.com.au which lists a wide range of self-drive itineraries you could look at for inspiration, from a three-day Hot Springs trail, to a 15-day Outback Legends adventure. I just hope you like chicken parmigiana because there will be a fair few of those served up around these parts.

You mentioned you’d like to keep things domestic, but on the off-chance you could be persuaded to travel a little further afield, Rarotonga (the Cook Islands) is only a five-hour direct flight from Sydney with Jetstar.

It’s spectacular in the winter months when the island enjoys warmer, sunnier and drier weather, and well worth a look.

Got a question for Doc Holiday? Email [e-mail] or keep up with Doc at escape.com.au/doc-holiday. Personal replies are unfortunately not possible.

Originally published as Doc Holiday: Where are Australia's best winter holiday destinations?