An Alternative Guide To Brisbane And Its Best-Kept Secrets

If you’re looking to escape the crowds of tourists, or are just seeking a more memorable and unique day out, then you’ll relish our ultimate guide to off-piste Brisbane. Here are the day trips, night-time excursions and dining experiences guaranteed to give your holiday an alternative flavour.

1. Asian Food Tours, Sunnybank

Asian Food Tours, Sunnybank

Setting off from Sunnybank Plaza in both morning and evening instalments, experienced chef Tony Ching leads monthly food tours around some of the best places to eat and shop for fresh Asian food. Over the three-hour duration of the tour, Tony will dole out expert advice on choosing the best produce, advice on the key ingredients needed in your favourite dishes and how to actually prepare them. Along the way, you’ll taste test traditional Taiwanese desserts such as red beans and milk-crushed ice at Meet Fresh and sample Easyway’s milk bubble tea with chewy tapioca balls. Morning tours start at 10am and conclude with a yum cha lunch at Landmark restaurant, whilst the evening tours begin at 3.30pm and are structured as progressive dinners visiting several restaurants. Both tours, however, give each participant a bag of goodies valued at $25 to take home.

Price: $68 per person

Tour times: morning tour and lunch, 10am-1.30pm; afternoon tour and dinner, 3.30pm-7.00pm

Address: Sunnybank Plaza, 358 Mains Rd, Sunnybank QLD, Australia, +61 7 3345 7500

CityHoppers

If you’re looking for a more meandering and laidback way to cover the sights of Brisbane, skip the CityCat ferries and jump aboard a CityHopper. The service is completely free, and uses reconditioned Brisbane City Council ferries to cover a substantial swathe of the inner city, around the Kangaroo Point of the Brisbane River. The ferry is a hop-on, hop-off system, making stops at North Quay, South Bank 3, Maritime Museum, Thornton Street, Eagle Street Pier, Holman Street, Dockside and Sydney Street terminals. These rustic red ferries are an old-school delight.

Price: free

Times: every 30 minutes between 6am and midnight, seven days a week

For up-to-date timetable information, visit TransLink’s website.

2. Coochiemudlo Island

Coochiemudlo Island

Brisbane is neighbour to a host of easily accessible islands off the coast; and while Moreton and the Stradbrokes hoover up the majority of island-hoppers, it’s worth taking a ferry to the lesser-known Coochiemudlo Island. The island is small enough to explore entirely by foot (a necessity, given the total lack of public transport on Coochiemudlo) and there are several beach gear operators hiring out canoes, kayaks and aqua bikes for daytime beach dwellers. Off the sands, the island boasts several fine dining options for those seeking a tranquil and romantic supper. The ferry service is at 30-minute intervals daily from as early as 5am off the Coochie Jetty and as late as 11.30pm off the Victoria Point Jetty.

Check out the latest ferry and barge timetables and fees here.

Coochiemudlo Island, Brisbane, Australia

Coochiemudlo Island | © R3dph0enix/WikiCommons

Edible Brisbane

For a truly alternative lunch ritual, check out the free public garden beds along the riverfront at the northern end of South Bank. All the greenery and herbs are edible – so pick up some basil, parsley, mint or oregano, season permitting. Even further afield, you can employ the Brisbane Public Harvest Google Map to track public land plots, vegetable patches and herb gardens in, around and just outside the city. In these veritable fruitbowl spots, users can forage for avocados, mangoes, lillipilly, figs, guava, mulberries and tomatoes.

3. Rooftop Cinema

Cinema

From the top of the luxury, five-star Limes Hotel in swish Fortitude Valley, classic films and recent releases are screened on Thursday nights at 7.30pm. Moviegoers have the option to recline on pillows or couches or hop into one of the two plunge pools. The bar opens at 5pm serving drinks and tapas, and stays open after the movie ends until midnight. Beat the multiplex crowds to enjoy a truly unique starlit viewing experience. For a full list of current and future screenings, check the website.
Opening hours: 5pm to midnight, check the website for screening times

4. Cycle New Farm Riverwalk

Farmers' Market, Market

Cycle New Farm Riverwalk

Newly reopened after being devasted by the 2011 floods, the New Farm Riverwalk has been re-established as one of the best scenic routes in the city. The cycle path zigzags from Story Bridge all the way over to New Farm Park, a large, open parkland with picnic areas and spots for holding BBQs. It is a unique circuit for wanderers with wheels or without, and at the right opportunity can conclude with a stop-off at the Jan Powers Farmers’ Market or the Moonlight Cinema.

New Farm Riverwalk, New Farm, Queensland, Australia

New Farm Park | © Brisbane City Council/Flickr

Public Art Trails

Switch up Brisbane’s eclectic art collections, ideal sunny climate, and the locals’ love of outdoor activities by attempting one of the city’s four public art walking trails. The ‘Cultural Heritage Public Art Trail’ covers historic, heritage-listed and contemporary artworks and monuments, whilst ‘Art and the River’ spans 2km from South Bank’s Maritime Museum to the Kangaroo Point Cliffs. Perhaps the highlight of the four is the ‘World Expo ‘88 Trail’ looking at 11 of the 13 Brisbane-based artworks commissioned for the event.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.