Planning a tour

Most disappointing tours aren't bad tours. They're the wrong tour for the people on them: a long coach day for a family with toddlers, a rushed itinerary for someone who wanted time to explore, or an adventure activity that the traveller's insurance didn't cover. A little planning goes a long way. This section covers the decisions you make before you book, from comparing tours and reading terms to insurance and travelling with children. It's general information, based on official sources such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Moneysmart, not advice about your circumstances.

The guides in this section

• Choosing a day tour explains how to read an itinerary, compare time on the main activity, weigh group size and inclusions, check fitness requirements and ask the right questions before booking.
• Bookings, cancellations and refunds summarises what the ACCC says about consumer guarantees for tours, what happens when operators or third parties cancel, change-of-mind situations and how to raise a problem.
• Travel insurance for tours covers reading the product disclosure statement, activity exclusions, pre-existing medical conditions, credit card insurance, making a claim and complaining to AFCA.
• Tours with kids helps families choose tours with suitable pacing and age limits, and covers sun protection, water safety, motion sickness, snacks and keeping children engaged.

Start with what you want from the day

Before you compare tours, decide what matters most. Is it the place itself, such as the reef, the outback or a famous coastline? An activity, like snorkelling, walking or tasting? Learning from an expert guide? Or simply a relaxing day where someone else does the driving? Once you know your priority, the trade-offs become clearer. If you care most about the destination, look for time on the ground. If learning matters, look for small groups and specialist guides. If convenience is key, look at pick-up points and start times.

Compare like with like

Tour prices are hard to compare because tours include different things and spend time differently. A seven-hour tour might spend five hours at the destination, or two. One price might include lunch, park fees and equipment, while another adds them on the day. Our tour value comparer lets you enter up to three tours with their price, extras and the hours you'll actually spend on the activity, and shows the cost per person per activity hour and the total for your group. It's a simple way to see past headline prices.

Know your rights before you pay

The ACCC says consumer guarantees apply to travel services within Australia, including tours, and businesses can't exclude them. But those guarantees don't give you a refund if you change your mind or miss the tour for your own reasons. When a third party prevents a tour, such as a park authority closing a park because of fire danger, the ACCC says your rights depend largely on the booking terms. That's why it pays to read the terms before you book, especially the weather and cancellation policies. If you book through a platform or agent, the ACCC says both its terms and the operator's terms apply.

Insurance and health

Many tours involve the kinds of activities that insurers treat carefully. Moneysmart says exclusions often apply to "high risk" activities, and gives examples such as parachuting, abseiling and riding a motorbike. It also says you may need to disclose pre-existing physical and mental health conditions, which the insurer may cover, cover for an extra cost, or exclude. Read the product disclosure statement before you buy and check that the activities on your itinerary are covered.

Health matters for safety too. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland lists cardiac conditions among the factors that increase the risk while snorkelling. Always tell the tour crew about medical conditions before activities, and check fitness requirements before you book.

Planning with children

Family tours work best when they match children's ages and energy. Look for shorter travel times, hands-on activities, regular breaks and operators who welcome children. Check minimum ages and heights for activities, and plan around naps and meals. Sun protection is essential in Australia: Cancer Council recommends using all five steps whenever the UV index is 3 or above. In the water, children should be closely supervised and use flotation.

A simple planning checklist

1. Decide what you want most from the day.
2. Shortlist two or three tours and read their itineraries carefully.
3. Compare activity hours, inclusions and extras using our comparer.
4. Check group size, pick-up points, fitness and age requirements.
5. Read the cancellation and weather policies, and any agent's terms.
6. Check your travel insurance covers the activities.
7. Tell the operator about medical conditions, allergies and accessibility needs.
8. Book early in your trip, leaving a spare day in case of weather.

Where to go next

Once you've planned the basics, our reef and wildlife guides cover reef trips, snorkelling, marine stingers and whale watching, and our outdoors guides cover Uluṟu, sun and heat, wine and food tours and drone rules.

About these guides

Day Tour Guide is independent. We don't run tours or sell bookings, and we don't rank operators. Our guides summarise official advice and link to the sources so you can check the details, which can change. See our editorial policy for how we research and update guides.