Luxury coach the new way to travel

With international travel grounded, 2021 will be the year to see Australia – by caravan, camper, short getaway or, as increasingly likely, the easy way – luxury coach.

Air-conditioned coaches are easy to get on and off, have generous seating with plenty of legroom and an onboard toilet.

They also have huge panoramic windows so that nothing of the passing landscape is missed.

CT Travel is back to business with a Covid-safe plan, and has come up with itineraries to inspire, fascinate and enjoy.

Owner and expert tour guide Paul Brockhurst incorporates the best tours, attractions and experiences in the country into every itinerary, from the Outback to the coast and the Great Barrier Reef.

“Bespoke group tours offer the camaraderie of travelling with like-minded individuals,” he says. “Quality coach tours provide a comfortable way to experience the magic that lies in our own backyard.”

It’s also easy, as accommodation, breakfasts, dinners, and most lunches, tours and admissions are included.

Leaving next July, is a 12-day Country Tales and Tropical Visions tour, from the central west to the tropical coast.

The tour heads off through Chinchilla to Roma, visiting the area’s first settlement, heritage-listed Mt Abundance Homestead, and the Big Rig outdoor museum.

In Charleville, the centre of a rich pastoral district, see the Cosmos Centre, an audio-visual journey unravelling the mysteries of our night sky. Learn how the Charleville airport came to be a top-secret site during World War II.

See the Tambo Teddies then travel on to  Barcaldine, a town steeped in the history of pioneer struggles building the nation, and then Longreach for three nights.

Visit the School of Distance Education, a classroom more than twice the size of Victoria, the Qantas Founders Outback Museum, and the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame.

Meet the owners of Strathmore Station and travel in back in time in a stagecoach before taking a sunset cruise down the Thomson River to land for a traditional stockman’s campfire dinner complete with entertainment.

The bush is illuminated by the Starlight’s Spectacular Sound and Light Picture Show, a big-screen presentation featuring the adventures of the cattle rustler who inspired Captain Starlight.

Experience the freedom of the vast open plains and see the “jump up” rugged mesa plateau formation, enroute to Winton .

Be guided through the largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils and visit the newly re-built Waltzing Matilda Centre, a world class museum and art gallery that is the pride of Winton.

The tour then goes on to the gold mining city of Charters Towers before heading east to Airlie Beach for cruises to Hamilton Island and Whitehaven Beach and a Proserpine River eco tour.

Take a crocodile safari, and an open-air wagon train to see the wildlife of the Googanga Plains, before boarding a flight back to Brisbane.

Tours are filling fast, so getting in early is recommended.

For bookings made before the end of the month, deposits will not be required until January next year.

 Visit cttravel.com.au