Tours

Canberra is a city scattered through beautiful parks and bushland, where modern national icons sit side by side with serene natural areas brimming with wildlife.

Ways to see Canberra are just as diverse as the attractions. You can choose walking and cycle tours, hire a limousine, go "outback" on a four-wheel driving tour, or see the sights from boat or plane. Organized tours such as Murray's Canberra Day Tours are available or you can see everything for yourself by car. Hire-a-guide caters for most itineraries with guides speaking all major languages.

Around the City One of the easiest ways to see the city is to take the City Sightseeing Canberra Tour bus. This is a double-decker, open-top bus (pictured) that tours the major attractions and allows you to hop on and off as you please at one of its 11 stops. Tickets are valid all day. Canberra City Sights and Tours operate a shuttle bus service that will pick you up from your hotel and take you to Lake Burley Griffin for an hour's cruise, followed by a guided bus tour of Canberra. Alternatively, hire a car and follow Tourist Drive 1 around the Parliamentary Triangle and major city attractions. Tourist Drives are well signposted—just follow the numbers on the brown road signs.

Tourist Drive 2 takes you around Lake Burley Griffin and includes the Australian National University, CSIRO, the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Telstra Tower, the National Museum, the National Aquarium & Wildlife Park, Scrivener Dam, Government House and the Royal Australian Mint.

For those interested in Australia's war history, follow Tourist Drive 3, the Anzac Memorial Tour. This features the Australian War Memorial, military memorials, the Australian Defence Force Academy, the Royal Military College and Duntroon House.

If you do not have a car, Action Buses operate regular buses daily to all of the city's most popular attractions and to Canberra's four suburban town centres.

By boat or bike See Canberra from a different perspective from the lake itself. A number of operators, such as Canberra Steamboats and Lakeside Ferry Services operate tours of Lake Burley Griffin. Enjoy a luncheon or dinner cruise aboard MV Southern Cross with Southern Cross Cruises. Alternatively, you can hire a boat or ride around the lakeshore on a hired bike. Umbrella Tours offer walking and cycling tours is a great way to see more than you would from a bus or car.

To the North There are regular buses traveling north to the Gold Creek Village Tourist complex—comprising Federation Square, the National Dinosaur Museum, Cockington Green and Ginninderra Village. Transborder Buses and Tours also operates a daily guided service to the complex.

If you have your own transport, follow Tourist Drive 4 beginning at All Saints Church, past the National Exhibition Centre and Gold Creek and out to historic Hall Village. Travel on to Ginninderra Falls and back to the city via Lake Ginninderra and Belconnen. The tour then passes the Australian Institute of Sport, the National Tennis and Squash Centre and the National Hockey Centre.

Seeing the South Discover Canberra's fascinating embassies by following Tourist Drive 6. Or go further afield into the beautiful Tuggeranong valley and beyond by following Tourist Drive 5 to the Murrumbidgee River Corridor. Travel via Mt Stromlo Observatory, Canberra Space Centre, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, Cuppacumbalong Craft Centre, Namadgi National Park, historic Lanyon Homestead and Rose Cottage. This tour returns to the city via the Monaro Highway. For those interested in history, follow one or both of the heritage tours of Tuggeranong produced by the National Trust of Australia (ACT).

If you do not have your own transport, there are tour operators, such as Lynn's Gallery and Gourmet Tours and Idol Moments, that specialize in tailor-made itineraries to places not accessible by public transport. Out of Canberra Queanbeyan is worth visiting for its historic buildings and natural surroundings. Explore Queanbeyan River and visit Googong Dam and Foreshores. Queanbeyan is the gateway out of Canberra to the Pacific coast at Batemans Bay—via the historic villages of Bungendore and Braidwood.

Many tour operators run half-day or full-day trips to the historic towns of Goulburn to the east and Yass to the south of Canberra. Motel Gunning Tours offers tours of the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales and of Canberra's regional attractions.

Tours with a Difference For a tour with a real difference, discover the activities of Canberra's secret service with Canberra's Top Secret Tour. Many operators will also show you Canberra at night (no, it is not like the joke postcard—all black!).

For those who are after a different angle, why not see Canberra from the air by helicopter, plane or even balloon? What about seeing the sights from the back of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle? Or go bush with one of the many eco-tour companies, such as Dirt-Traks Bush Tours. This company offers anything from half-day walking tours to a few days exploring the wild side of Canberra. Many similar tours include abseiling, caving, white-river rafting, mountain biking or trail riding.

For something a little more sedate, explore the region's cool climate wineries with National Capital Wine tours or Brindabella Wine Tours. If you are not a wine buff but are interested in fossils, try Gondwana Dreaming.

Classic Car Tours offers whole day experiences traveling in either a "woody wagon" or a "muscle car." A steam train ride with the Australian Railway Historical Society will ensure that your visit to Canberra will become a highlight in your memory. For a fine tour and a unique experience check out Worldwide Shopping Tours (http://www.worldwideshoppingtours.com.au). They offer an insiders guide to some of the best products in the region. Email them at: sales@worldwideshoppingtours.com.au.