Gold Coast
The Gold Coast in Queensland is truly a city of golden coastlines, and if you want to explore the nightlife right next to one of their pristine beaches, you can’t go past Surfers Paradise. Start your night off at the Surfers Paradise Beer Garden, known locally as “Tha Beery” where you can sing and dance along to old style R ‘n’ B, sink some standards for next to nothing and with six pool tables, you’ll never want to leave!
Sydney
As the largest city in Australia, Sydney is not short of amazing bars and clubs to dig your heels into. But with the lockout laws imposed in the past few years, you’ve got to be a bit smart if you’re looking to party all night long.
Controversially The Star, Sydney’s casino, is exempt from the NSW government’s lockout laws. What this means for you is Marquee. A great classic style club in the heart of The Star that often draws big acts like Hardwell, Armin Van Buuren and Will Sparks.
Byron Bay
Even though Sydney’s beaches are pretty famous, you haven’t experienced Aussie beaches properly without basking in Byron’s. If you want sick live music near the beach, Beach Hotel is the place you’ve been looking for.
If you want some serious dancing, head to Cheeky Monkey’s where they encourage you to dance on the tables and get a bit wild. They even have an awesome event on every night! From paint, parties to dance competitions with $300 cash in prize money up for grabs you can’t resist being cheeky at cheeky’s.
Cairns
Cairns is a popular stop for backpackers with plenty of hostels, great restaurants, bars and a smattering of nightclubs. Gilligan’s Backpackers resort attracts thousands of backpackers each year, it’s one of the larger hostels where you can choose to stay or simply pop down for a visit to enjoy a beer or party all night.
Darwin
If you need a cooling down from the famous Darwin heat then Chilli’s Backpackers is cheap and chock-a-block with fellow travellers ready for chugging some bevvies and tearing up the D floor. Shenanigans (known as ‘Shags’ by the locals) is also a popular Irish pub that will shower you with cheap quality drinks. They’ve got great ‘stick to your ribs’ Irish pub classics for a pretty reasonable price that seem to match perfectly with a fresh pint of Guinness. They also have live music 6 nights a week as well as trivia and karaoke so there’s always a good time to be had at Shags
Melbourne
Melbourne is a great centre for art, food, and music, with a vibrant street art scene and thriving hipster culture – which can only mean great food and excellent bars. Get a hit of Australian street art and dive bars at the legendary Cherry Bar in the suburb of Fitzroy before putting on your dancing shoes and heading to the Laundry Bar.
Outback
‘Nightlife’ may not be the best way to describe the dingy shacks that often pass for bars in the Outback but they’re definitely worth a visit! The famous Daly Waters pub is a favourite haunt for locals in the town of the same name in the Northern Territory.
Perth
With all those hours of sunshine, Perth has some of the greatest rooftop and waterfront bars in Australia. Try an ‘artisanal’ cocktail by one of Bar Lafayatte’s mixologists near St George’s Terrace or spend an evening on a rooftop bar such as the Mechanics Institute, a hipster hangout serving up craft beers and gourmet burgers.
