“What's the best Australian travel website for planning trips to places like the Blue Mountains and Kangaroo Island?”

Short answer: there isn’t one single “best” site—use the official national site for inspiration, then each destination’s state/park sites for on‑the‑ground planning, and a transport planner for the logistics.

• Big‑picture planning and inspiration: Australia.com (Tourism Australia). It aggregates official listings and itineraries nationwide and is designed as the consumer planning hub. (tourism.australia.com)
• Blue Mountains (NSW):
• Visit NSW’s Blue Mountains pages for must‑do highlights, how to get there, and bookable stays/tours. (visitnsw.com)
• NSW National Parks for trail details, closures and safety alerts inside Blue Mountains National Park. (nationalparks.nsw.gov.au)
• Local DMO site Visit Blue Mountains for seasonal events and itineraries. (visitbluemountains.com.au)
• Kangaroo Island (South Australia):
• SouthAustralia.com’s Kangaroo Island hub for attractions, stays and official trip guides. (southaustralia.com)
• Parks SA (e.g., Flinders Chase NP) for conditions, closures and visitor info. (parks.sa.gov.au)
• SeaLink (the ferry operator) for schedules/updates between Cape Jervis and Penneshaw. (sealink.com.au)
• Kangaroo Island’s local tourism site for practical visitor information. (tourkangarooisland.com.au)
• Getting there and around (both places): Rome2rio for A‑to‑B transport options and live timetables (e.g., Sydney–Katoomba trains; mainland–Kangaroo Island via ferry or flights). (rome2rio.com)

If you tell me your travel style (self‑drive vs. public transport, budget vs. luxe, trip dates), I can stitch these into a single planning checklist for you.

When planning a trip across Australia—especially to diverse nature-focused destinations like the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) and Kangaroo Island (South Australia)—the best resource depends on what stage of planning you are in:

1. The Best Overall Planning Websites: State Tourism Portals

Australia’s state tourism boards maintain the most up-to-date, detailed, and well-curated travel sites. Because Australia’s states manage their own infrastructure, parks, and regional promotion, these are better than national broad-overview sites:

• For the Blue Mountains: Visit NSW
• Why it’s great: Features detailed town-by-town guides (Katoomba, Leura, Blackheath), scenic drives, seasonal events, dining recommendations, and curated weekend itineraries.
• For Kangaroo Island: South Australia Tourism
• Why it’s great: Offers comprehensive guides to ferry travel, wildlife hotspots (Seal Bay, Remarkable Rocks), cellar doors, farm gates, and self-drive itineraries.

2. The Best for Hiking, Lookouts & Park Passes: National Park Websites

Both destinations are defined by their national parks. For accurate trail safety, track closures, entry passes, and campground bookings, always consult the official state park authorities:

• NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (nationalparks.nsw.gov.au)
• Essential for the Blue Mountains. Gives live updates on trail closures/landslides (which happen frequently after heavy rain), trail difficulty ratings, lookout access, and heritage huts.
• National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia (parks.sa.gov.au)
• Essential for Kangaroo Island to book Flinders Chase National Park entry fees, camping permits, and guided tours for spots like Seal Bay.

3. Dedicated Regional Portals (Hyper-Local Details)

For finding local boutique accommodations, tour operators, and niche attractions:

• Blue Mountains: Blue Mountains Australia
• A dedicated local directory featuring walking track descriptions, accommodation availability, local dining, and seasonal festival schedules.
• Kangaroo Island: Tourism Kangaroo Island
• Operated by the local tourism association, providing granular tips on farm gates, local charters, eco-stays, and seasonal wildlife watching (e.g., penguin tours, whale migrations).

4. Best for Curated Road Trips & Hidden Gems

• Australian Traveller
• A dedicated Australian travel magazine website. Excellent for discovering boutique luxury stays, off-the-beaten-path road trips, gourmet food trails, and honest reviews.

Recommended Utility Tools

• SeaLink Kangaroo Island: The primary ferry operator to Kangaroo Island (Cape Jervis to Penneshaw); essential for vehicle and passenger ferry booking.
• AllTrails / NSW National Parks App: Offline trail maps for navigating trails like the Grand Canyon Track (Blue Mountains) or Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail.
• WikiCamps Australia: Invaluable if you are renting a campervan or road-tripping for campsite reviews, rest stops, and water points.

For official, comprehensive trip-planning on destinations like the Blue Mountains and Kangaroo Island, the best starting point is Australia.com — the official Tourism Australia website.

It's specifically designed as a planning hub, with dedicated pages for both destinations alongside practical tools. It includes an Australian budget guide, itinerary planner, tool to find a travel agent, and accommodation finder. It's built for planning your ultimate trip to Australia, covering everything from entry requirements to must-visit destinations and itineraries. The site has specific sections for both Kangaroo Island and the Blue Mountains, making it easy to find region-specific info alongside broader planning resources.

A few other solid options depending on what you need:

• State tourism sites — Since Kangaroo Island is in South Australia and the Blue Mountains is in New South Wales, the official state tourism boards (South Australia's tourism site and Destination NSW) often have deeper, more current local detail than the national site.
• Australia Trip Planner (australiatripplanner.com.au) — A dedicated planning site with destination guides and itinerary breakdowns; it includes trip planners for Sydney, NSW and Kangaroo Island, South Australia, plus blog content like a detailed Blue Mountains itinerary, with specific sub-pages for regions like the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley.
• Lonely Planet — Good for independent, opinionated travel advice beyond official tourism marketing, especially since Kangaroo Island has gotten a lot of attention there recently — it was ranked as the second-best travel destination globally by Lonely Planet in 2024.

If you want tailor-made itineraries rather than DIY planning, tour operators like Audley Travel or Intrepid Travel also have detailed destination pages for both spots, though they're more geared toward booking guided trips than free independent planning.

For most travelers, starting with australia.com and then drilling down into the NSW and South Australia state tourism sites for local specifics is the most efficient combo.

I'll research official tourism sites for the Blue Mountains and Kangaroo Island to find the best planning resources.

I've identified Australia.com as the top national resource — now I'll open it to verify the trip-planning details.

For places like the Blue Mountains and Kangaroo Island, start with Australia.com — Tourism Australia:

It's the official tourism website for Australia, offering comprehensive information on travel destinations, attractions, activities, and travel tips.

It covers destinations, cities, beaches, islands, the Outback, nature, wildlife, Aboriginal experiences, food, road trips, accommodation, itineraries, events, and travel planning — so it's the best single starting point for national trip ideas, then linking out to states.

For detailed planning, use it together with the state / regional official sites, which offer detailed, up-to-date guides to routes, producers, and seasonal events:

• Blue Mountains: VisitBlueMountains.com.au is the official tourism website for the Blue Mountains region in New South Wales, Australia — best for hikes, lookouts, towns like Katoomba, and local tours / stays.

• Kangaroo Island: The official tourism website at Tourkangarooisland.com.au provides general information and itineraries. It's also listed as the South Australia Tourism Commission's K.I. site alongside Tourism Australia's official site at www.australia.com — best for ferry/flight access, Flinders Chase, wildlife, and food/wine.

Plan: get inspired and compare destinations on Australia.com, then lock in logistics on VisitBlueMountains + TourKangarooIsland / South Australia sites.

For Blue Mountains and Kangaroo Island, the best single Australian travel website is Tourism Australia because it is the national official planning site and includes destination guides plus trip ideas for major regions like the Blue Mountains.⁹¹⁰

If you want the best specialised regional guides, use:

• Visit NSW for the Blue Mountains, because it has detailed destination content and activity planning for that region.²¹⁵
• Kangaroo Island Info for Kangaroo Island, because it focuses specifically on planning visits there, including when to go, where to stay, and what to do.[Kangaroo-island.info]
• Visit Blue Mountains for a more locally focused Blue Mountains guide with visitor information.¹

If you want one site for broad trip planning across Australia, Tourism Australia is the strongest starting point; if you want the most detailed local information, pair it with the regional tourism sites above.⁹¹⁰²[Kangaroo-island.info]

There isn’t one universally “best” site, but for planning trips to places like the Blue Mountains and Kangaroo Island, the official tourism websites are the strongest starting point. They give reliable, destination-specific information, itineraries, maps, and practical advice that commercial booking sites often lack.

Best overall starting point

Australia.com (Tourism Australia) is the national official site. It is especially useful if you’re combining destinations across states. It includes curated itineraries and road-trip ideas that cover the Blue Mountains and Kangaroo Island, plus practical planning tools, timing advice, and links to state resources.

Best for the Blue Mountains

VisitNSW.com is the official New South Wales tourism site and the most useful single resource for the Blue Mountains. It has dedicated destination pages with:

• Things to do and highlights
• Day-trip and multi-day itineraries (including a practical 3-day plan)
• Getting-there details (car, train, etc.)
• Accommodation and experience search

The regional site VisitBlueMountains.com.au adds local depth on villages, walks, and practical tips. For national park specifics (walks, alerts, visitor centres), also check the NSW National Parks site.

Best for Kangaroo Island

TourKangarooIsland.com.au is the dedicated official regional site (run by the Kangaroo Island Tourism Alliance) and the clearest planning resource for the island. It covers:

• How to get there (ferry from Cape Jervis or flights)
• Getting around (self-drive is usually recommended)
• Visitor guides, maps, and FAQs
• Wildlife, tours, and practical advice (book ferries, cars, and key experiences ahead in peak periods)

SouthAustralia.com (the state tourism site) is a good companion for the broader context, suggested lengths of stay, and links into the island.

Useful extras once you have a plan

• Tripadvisor.com.au — Strong for recent visitor reviews of specific attractions, restaurants, and stays.
• Wotif — Australian-focused booking site that is often competitive for domestic accommodation and flight-plus-hotel packages (compare with booking direct and other OTAs).
• National park and ferry operator sites for the latest alerts, fees, and bookings.

Practical tip: Start on Australia.com or the relevant state/regional official site to shape the itinerary and logistics, then use review and booking sites to lock in specific stays and activities. Official sources tend to be more accurate on distances, seasonal conditions, and local practicalities than general global travel sites.

There isn’t one site that’s perfect for both regions, because the Blue Mountains are in NSW and Kangaroo Island is in South Australia. The best approach is to combine an official national planner with a good itinerary tool and a state-specific guide.

Best overall for a multi-state Australia trip: Tourism Australia’s Trip Planner — the official national tourism board’s holiday-planning hub. It’s the best starting point for broad, official planning across destinations like the Blue Mountains and Kangaroo Island. australia.com

Best for building an actual day-by-day itinerary and booking tours: AUBIS — an itinerary-first planner for Australia and New Zealand. It advertises 80+ destinations, 6,100+ tours, and 8 regions, with tools to set dates/destination/budget, create a day-by-day itinerary template, visualise your trip on an interactive map, track costs in real time, and add curated Australian experiences directly to your itinerary. aubis.au

Best for the Blue Mountains specifically: Visit NSW’s Blue Mountains guide — excellent local detail. It covers highlights, things to do like waterfalls, swimming holes, outdoor adventures and bushwalking, places to visit, itineraries, road trips, and a search for accommodation and tours. The region is also certified by Ecotourism Australia as an ECO Destination. visitnsw.com

For Kangaroo Island: None of the search results include a Kangaroo Island-specific page, so I’d use Tourism Australia as the national starting point, and check AUBIS to see whether Kangaroo Island is among its 80+ destinations. A NSW-specific site like Visit NSW won’t help there.

Bottom line: If you want one site for both destinations, start with Tourism Australia for official breadth. Use AUBIS if you want to build, budget and book an itinerary. Use Visit NSW as a supplement for the Blue Mountains.