For tourists this is the most popular state in Australia. Most backpackers are going to see the East Coast between Sydney and Cairns. Firstly winter is much warmer than in New South Wales or Victoria, and secondly there are expensive hotels or cheap backpackers, beach, sun, relax and coral reef.
If this is the only thing they see in Australia, what a pity. It is true that the coast is nice, but touristy and wild beaches can be found on every inhabited continent. While the Australian outback is unique. I agree with saying: “you have not seen Australia if you have not seen the outback”. Nevertheless, let's focus on the beautiful coast, and leave decision to see the outback to travellers.
By working in travel agency in Sydney, part of trips described below I managed to do for free. Often it was return to the places that I’ve visited before by car or hitchhike. Personally, I'm not a fan of organized tourism, and below I give example costs to people who have less time to explore Australia.
Gold Coast is popular with wealthier tourists. There are skyscrapers hotels next to the ocean. The wide beach, cafes and restaurants near them. It is also family destination, because there are a few theme parks - Wet 'n' Wild, Dreamworld, Movie World, Sea World, Australian outback, etc. Entry fee for a single park is from 60 to 100 AUD. In the evening Gold Coast turns into party town, where young people drink and having a fun till morning. In Surfers Paradise (the most popular backpackers district in Gold Coast) on Wednesdays and Saturdays pub crawling is held, price from 35 AUD includes admission fee and drinks at several nightclubs.
Brisbane, the capital of the state, in my opinion does not have a similar atmosphere to Sydney, Melbourne or Perth. It's a little without character, they don’t have even nice beaches. However, passing through the city, you can stop for a few hours and stroll at city centre along the riverbank.
Two nearby islands are worth visiting from Brisbane - North Stradbroke and Moreton. Not the same as Fraser Island, but have a similar landscape. This first one we hiked on, sleeping in the wild, and sometimes 
hitchhiking. There is a calmness and nature. Moreton main attraction is feeding wild dolphins, but officially you must be resort overnight guest. Overall, Moreton was more expensive and more difficult to organize, and we did not want to take the official tour (1-day trip to Moreton around 100 AUD, Stradbroke 65 AUD).
When it comes to hitchhike out of Brisbane, it is not so easy. This follows from a well-developed highway network. Going south I decided to take the long distance bus (30 AUD) and get after two hours to Coolangatta. There I walked for one hour to reach the south end of town where I had to climb highway uphill. There is a bus stop bay, which is perfect spot.
South from Brisbane is Gold Coast, while to the north Sunshine Coast. There is the most popular place called Noosa Heads, not as much nightlife like in Gold Coast, but still with a very developed tourism. It is surrounded by national parks, beautiful beaches for surfers, and for children and adults very popular attraction is the Australian Zoo (58 AUD). It also held crocodile show. Personally I am against commercial animal shows and zoo’s because it’s a pain for wildlife. And how you explain the presence of Siberian tiger in Australian ZOO?
Fraser Island
is the largest sand island in the world. For me, along with the Whitsunday Islands and Great Barrier Reef in Cairns are the hits of the East Coast. The island is truly unique, I visited it already twice. Ferries run from Hervey Bay and from Rainbow Beach. Personally I prefer the atmosphere of the latter little town, but in Hervey Bay from mid-July to October you can see many whales (trips from 110 AUD).
To see the island peacefully, it is best to rent a jeep (2WD can’t ride on the island) and ride whenever you wish. The problem is that it is expensive - a car from 100 AUD per day, island permit 40 AUD, return ferry ticket about 100 AUD, camping 5 AUD per person, plus fuel. The first time we rented a car on the island for 24 hours. After sightseeing far located attractions I left Ewelina in a tent on the eastern beach (the beaches have designated areas where wild camping is permitted), and drove on other side to drop off the car and back hitchhiking.
Hitchhiking also works here, it is true that I covered a lot of distance before some privet and not filled to maximum passed me, but thanks to it I’ve seen the island a more thoroughly. To walk all distance on foot would be a bit too hard - loose sandy surface on 120 km long and 24 km wide island.
An alternative could be organized trip. One day (from 175 AUD) is too short to feel the atmosphere of the island, a two-day (most for $ 300 AUD) simply enough to see the major attractions, but still we go by car as passive passengers. The advantage of a three-day trip (from 389 AUD), in addition of course to have more time to explore the island, it’s the possibility of driving on the sandy forest tracks and on the beaches. During my second visit I had a famil trip, as I worked as travel agent in Sydney. We were swapping to drive our Toyota Land Cruiser with other tourists, following our guide. Swimming in the clear lakes, fun to drive on the sand, relax on the beach – three days of peace. Cooking together at evenings and then fun talking and drinking beers. British and Irish shock with their drunkenness, but everyone has its own vision of travelling. This option of course included sleeping in tents (accommodation, equipment, admission fees and food included), because if you want to sleep in the resorts, you have to pay more.
From many lakes there the most I liked McKenzie - pure crystalline warm fresh water. Here you can swim (in the ocean are dangerous currents and sharks), lie on the beach without passing cars around. Although Wabby Lake was also quite nice, you have to hike 40 minutes to reach the lake, crossing on the way huge sand dune, but it’s not so crowded over there.
Going farther north we have Eli Creek, where we can walk 400 meters in the middle of this shallow and a picturesque stream. A little further is the Maheno ship wreck, especially good for photo shooting at low tide and by late afternoon sun.
I wouldn’t bother to see Pinnacles, because these rock formations are not unique. Good view of the island we have from the Indian Head. It worth to climb to the top and look – in the water we have a good chance to see sharks too.
On the other side of this lookout Champagne Pools can be found, waterholes surrounded by rocks - sufficient for bath but not for swimming.
I decided also for an additional attraction - scenic flight over the island (70 AUD). In addition to fantastic views, I’ve seen from the plane a group of six whales below us - a revelation! Pilot gave us a little extra adrenaline and made “zero gravity" - the plane was falling down. Inside the cabin everything hung in the air. Later he gave us a feel of "2G", by doing a fast sharp turn. It was an interesting experience, but after landing on the beach I came out sweaty from the plane.
The island is also famous for dingo dogs residing there. They are often encountered near the campgrounds, where they look for leftover food. One evening I went for a jog on the beach. At one point I heard the approaching steps behind me. I turned around and saw a dingo chasing me. Upss, I had nothing to defend, I was in shorts only. I stood and faced him with strong, low, but calm voice. Dingo stood and did not know what to do. 
It still was a big dog, and running object for a wild animal is an instinctive reason for the attack. Learning from Alaska how to behave when encounter a bear, also passed the examination with a dog here.
In Bundaberg surfing availability ends, because here coral reef begins. Near this town is Mon Repos Beach, where turtles laid their eggs on the beach - at night between November and March (entry 10 AUD).
Eungella NP is located near Mackay. If you at early morning, patiently, in silence, look down at the river from Broken Bridge, then you have a good chance to see a very strange creature - platypus.
Beautiful bay with white sands above the surface - it's Whitehaven Beach at low tide. Not only this beach is sensational, virtually all 74 Whitsunday Islands are charming and unique.
To see them, however, you must buy a boat trip (unless you own a yacht). One day trip (120 AUD) is not recommended, because most of the time you waste on getting there, and you might reach the spot at high tide and interesting sand formations might be under water. The most popular is three-day trip, but some companies depart in the afternoon and returning in the morning (then called 2 days 2 nights, from 340 AUD), others depart in the morning and returning in the evening (3 days 2 nights, from 400 AUD). But don’t forget that buying Whitsunday and Fraser package, quite often we can get a discount, even up to 30%. Sleeping is on the board, the food is included, it is possible scuba diving and snorkelling in most interesting places.
If you have a lot of time and not much money, you could just arrange transportation by boat to the island where camping is allowed. You can also talk to the agency and go on one day trip and stay on the island, coming back with the same company a few days later.
Airlie Beach is a base town, popular with tourists, but in itself isn’t offering anything interesting, there isn’t even a decent beach.
I decided to see Whitsunday coral archipelago from slightly different perspective. I went to Airlie Beach and enrolled on diving course on the Great Barrier Reef. There is a lot of diving courses variants, but the most attractive seems to be a 5-day open water. For the first 2 days we learn the theory in class and practice in the pool, to get used to the underwater environment and equipment. The next 3 days and nights we spend on the boat anchored on the reef and the price includes accommodation and meals, 8-10 dives with an instructor, and after the exam few more. Open water PADI gives you the right to self diving around the world to a depth of 18 meters. Such a course can be done anywhere on the reef, but the most popular ones are in Cairns.
In Australia there are many schools, but during high season (holidays and public holidays), better book a place. The cost of this course is around 750 AUD (you can do course for around 200-300 AUD cheaper, but faster and without sleeping on the boat). Medical certificate is required for physical fitness (the opportunity to do it on the spot for 60 AUD). You still can dive during the summer, because staff knows where there are no danger of deadly jellyfish. Unfortunately, the visibility during the rainy season is not the best. Better visibility is guaranteed in period June-September. Accommodation in Airlie Beach is fairly cheap, from 15 AUD in the dormitory. Luggage storage for trip duration cost around 5 AUD. There is no cheap supermarket there.
We also decided to see the islands from the air. So we hired a plane. When we were sufficiently high, we jumped out through open door. Fortunately, I had an instructor attached to my back. After 20 seconds of freefall at speed around 200 km/h he finally opened our parachute. This was sharp brake and the transition from noise and whistling world to the quiet peace while hanging in the air. Words are not enough, you should experience it. However, tandem skydives are not the cheapest. In Australia, the highest jumps cost from 275 AUD in Sydney, up to 394 AUD in Airlie Beach. We can also choose a lower high (14.000, 12.000 or 9.000 feet, the higher the longer we go with the gravity) and the ability to record it on photos or DVD (additional approximately 125 AUD).
Near Townsville (what’s a name! Town-village) is a tropical island called Magnetic Island. It is only 8 km apart from shore connected by cheap regular ferry. Half of the island is national park with lots of hiking trails, lookout view points and resting under the palm trees on empty beaches (if you go away far enough away from the hotel).
Mission Beach is famous for extreme sports, so you can try skydive on the beach, white water rafting on the Tully River with fourth grade rapids. Besides, you can go trekking in the rainforest or snorkel or kayak on the reef. Of course, you can arrange all that from Cairns, but you will waste two hours in a one way.
Next stop Cairns, and for most travellers this is the end of the journey. The town itself is not worth much, doesn’t even have a nice beach, but it's a base to the nearby attractions. North Queensland offers a lot of sun, beaches, ocean, reef, wildlife, rainforest, etc. Anything you wish can be organized, from family trips to extreme sports, from relaxation to the crazy party in nightclubs.
I don’t think you can be in Queensland and don’t see the Great Barrier Reef. You can sail to the nearest reefs which are more damaged, but the trips are cheaper (from 139 AUD). If you care about quality, then go to the most outer reef. Since I worked in an office selling these trips, I could use them for free. So I chose expensive but good
Silversonic. Same like
QuickSilver, they are professional and have big boats, so you lose a friendly atmosphere of small groups. Quicksilver has additional attractions for those people who don’t like swimming much - glass bottom boat, a platform where you can disembark, special underwater uniforms etc. Day snorkel trip cost 180 AUD (one dive 210 AUD, three dives 242 AUD). Virtually all dive trips can be done even if you haven’t done the open water course. Then the introductory dive (about 70 AUD) is just a quick half-hour basic course, followed by 30 minute shallow dive with the instructor. Because it is a short and shallow diving, there is no greater danger for your life.
However, colourful underwater world is amazing. I had a feeling that I fly above the sea bed, watching the strange shape of the reef from top, side, or if I wanted, even from the bottom perspective. Accompanying fish hide in burrows and watch me from a safe distance. Reef shark, although not dangerous, looked like the king of the skies. Humphead wrasse (called Napoleon) is 1.5 meters long bluish fish that entertained us. Getting close to divers and played like a pet. Ewelina was snorkelling and watching the reef from the surface and she was lucky enough to see the sea turtles. Beautiful colours, but still reef in Belize is my number one.
A popular attraction is the train trip to Kuranda, and on the spot using the cable car. In Kuranda you can watch birds, butterflies, bats, gardens, etc. This is however very touristy place and it looks as if it were built only for business. The journey from Cairns using a railway, cable car and the bus will cost 94 AUD.
One of the best trip I was there was
Uncle Brian (109 AUD). We visited waterfalls in the Atherton Tableland, tropical rainforest, we were swimming, eating good food, but above all we had great fun. In addition, we saw platypuses and cassowary in the wild (bird as dinosaur descendant). The role of the guide is indispensable - our guide-driver entertained the group so much, that at the end of the trip all coach was full of people singing, dancing and yelling loud. And all this without a gram of alcohol. I highly recommend this tour.
Port Douglas seemed much more enjoyable place then Cairns. It also has a nice wide beach. From there we went on a trip to Cape Tribulation (from Cairns from 99 AUD), which is the only place in the world where rainforest meets the reef. On the trip you see a lot - an interesting rainforest guided walk, lookouts, waterfalls, beaches, etc, but everything in a hurry. 
I liked Daintree River cruise the most, because that's when I could watch wild snakes and saltwater crocodiles. I love these reptiles, their pride, peace, together with full alert and lack of scruples while attacking. Respect.
Cape York Peninsula is not available for everyone. There are no paved roads, so good 4WD vehicle is needed (with 2 WD you can get, depending on conditions, to Coen or Weipa). Professional trips are organized, but these are usually beyond the backpacker budget (at least 6 days, starts from 1900 AUD, one way driving, returning by plane). Season for this trip last only between May and November.
Greyhound hop-on hop-off bus ticket Sydney - Cairns costs 367 AUD (student 330 AUD). Slightly cheaper is Primer Motor, but not as many daily services can offer as competition. In high season it may be important.
Well, and remains the Queensland outback. It is huge and has so many places to visit. The guarantee is that you won’t see many tourists there. Even the locals are not common. If going just make sure you have good equipment and a sufficient amount of water.
I like the whole outback, but one place in particular. The town of Birdsville is very strange and specific. The famous Birdsville
Hotel where the locals are coming by their little planes, then lead them on a leash to tie to the fence. After a few drinks they fly away! It’s worth to see also the local private museum run by a guy who collects all sorts of old things. However, in the first weekend in September Birdsville hosts a camel race. We can get there even by small by car (depending on the road condition), or fly from Brisbane.
But the most beautiful in Birdsville is that it lies on the edge of the most beautiful Australian desert - Simpson (Arunta is Aboriginal name). Reportage from my hiking trip can be seen here.