Eating and drinking your way around Mudgee is made easy due to the compact nature of the town. Agrotourism is on the rise in NSW’s Central West where there are a number of great wineries with restaurants with refined offerings. There’s Lowe Family Wine Co’s acclaimed zin food + wine house, Robert Stein Winery’s Pipeclay Pumphouse and the Cellar by Gilbert Family Wines. The Barn at Blue Wren Farm and Roth’s Wine Bar should also be on your radar. Pick up a bottle of wine to take back to your adults-only glamping tent at Sierra Escape.

Just 90 minutes from Sydney, Bowral is home to some of the best places to eat and drink in the Southern Highlands. In nearby Burradoo, Three Blue Ducks delivers elevated farm-to-table dining inside an 1823 farmhouse. Back in town, Paris-born chef Guillaume Dubois plates French bistro classics at Lucette. For a luxurious stay, check into Ardour Milton Park Bowral, home to elegant Horderns Restaurant, one of the best places for a bite in Bowral. Book the Berida Hotel for the October long weekend and enjoy dinner in Bistro Sociale.

Epicurean delights await at every turn in Kingscliff, in The Tweed. It’s one of the best NSW coastal towns for eating and drinking. Start at FINS, where chef Steven Snow has been celebrating Australian seafood for nearly three decades. Try Taverna, on the beachfront, for Greek-inspired fare, and give Spice Den a spin for bold, pan-Asian flavours. Kick up your heels at Lolita’s Cantina in Casuarina over cocktails and tacos. Nearby, in Cabarita Beach, Paper Daisy also champions local produce in a pretty-as-a-picture setting.

Those embarking on the ultimate Tassie road trip will find many of Richmond’s most characterful Georgian buildings reimagined as cafes and restaurants. Grab a loaf of woodfired bread from Richmond Bakery, one of Tassie’s best bakeries. Sample a glass of pinot noir at picturesque Pooley Wines. And sip on a handcrafted single malt whisky from Killara Distillery. The charming town of Richmond also offers easy access to cellar doors such as Riversdale Estate and the bountiful Coal River Valley Farm. Coal River Valley is one of Australia’s ultimate foodie regions.

Orange will always squeeze in to a list of best towns in Australia for eating and drinking. Pull on your Blundstones to look the part at Ferment, where local wines are available in DIY dispensers. Visit Philip Shaw for a traditional tasting flight, then nab a table at the raucous Mr Lim. Head off the highway to Printhie Wines in nearby Nashvale for hyperlocal eats. And take an hour-long detour to enjoy lunch at Rockley Pub revived by celebrity chef Matt Moran. It’s one of the best country pubs in Australia. Schedule a return visit during Orange F.O.O.D. Week, one of Australia’s best food and wine festivals.

It may be touristy but who cares? It’s 100 per cent compulsory to get your claws into a lobster roll at Lobster Shack Tasmania, one of the best stops to make on a road trip along Tassie’s East Coast. You’ll feel a sense of camaraderie in the car park where locals and visitors queue for the coveted delicacy stuffed with fresh-off-the-boat lobster, chives and lettuce on a milk bun slathered with sauce. Stop by the Waubs Harbour Distillery to sample whiskey with ocean views and Farm Shed East Coast Wine Centre to enjoy wines from 24 local vineyards Tailor a charcuterie board to your taste.

Don’t worry about the jitters from caffeine withdrawal when burning down the highway toward Bright. Fuel your alpine adventures with coffee and cake at The Riverdeck Kitchen on a crook of the Ovens River. Hire a bike and ride the length of the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail to Bright so you can enjoy the food, fire, ferment philosophy that underpins the dining experience at Koji Bird by Reed & Co. Distillery, one of the best places to eat and drink in Victoria’s HIgh Country. Unwind by the fire at the end of the day at The Alpine Hotel.

Dunkeld is one of the fairest of them all when it comes to regional towns for eating and drinking in Australia. Take your time over dinner at Wickens at the Royal Mail Hotel where chef Robin Wickens designs a degustation menu using produce grown in the kitchen garden. Hike the Grampians at dawn before indulging in a low-key lunch at Parker St Project, the hotel’s more casual bistro. Drop it down another gear with a pie from Dunkeld Old Bakery, one of the best bakeries in regional Victoria. Stay at Deluxe Mt Sturgeon One Bedroom Cottages at the foot of Mt Sturgeon or in a deluxe Royal Mail Hotel room.

Consume your body weight in brie from Milawa Cheese Company before expending some more energy along the Pedal to Produce trail. Join the dots between pioneering producers such as Sam Miranda Wines, Milawa Mustards and the iconic Brown Brothers. The Pedal to Produce trail also loops in Lancemore Milawa, a luxury boutique hotel that helped put Milawa on the map in Victoria’s High Country. Ava should also be on your itinerary as the family-run restaurant is one of the bona fide hidden gems in the region, one of the most beautiful towns in Australia.

The best regional foodie towns in Australia look a little bit like the heritage town of Heathcote in Victoria’s Goldfields. Pop into cellar doors like Three Dams Estate, Sanguine Estate and Heathcote Winery for a cheeky vino. Or opt for a proper sit-down lunch at a contemporary cellar door like Silver Spoon Estate, one of the best wineries in regional Victoria. The hallmark of great eating and drinking experiences in regional Australia might be about approaching lunch time with a bit of spontaneity. But we recommend you don’t chance a booking at Chauncy. Stay at Hill House or Halo at Heathcote.

You’ve probably heard of Hahndorf, the charming South Australian village straight out of the pages of a fairy tale. Stirling is a mere bratwurst’s lob away in the Adelaide Hills and one of the cosiest Australian towns to visit in winter. Settled in 1854, the town has long attracted artisans, makers and growers drawn by the grand buildings and wide, open spaces. Visit Red Cacao, the chocolate shop we all wish we lived around the corner from as kids. Then there’s Sticky Rice Cooking School, a favourite with foodies. The Stirling Hotel is one of the best regional pubs in South Australia for eating and drinking.

All roads lead to the Barossa when curating an itinerary for oenophiles in South Australia. Marananga is one of the best regional towns in Australia for eating and drinking as it is situated in the heart of the celebrated wine region. Start with a table for two at Appellation Restaurant at The Louise. The degustation bears influence from the bounty of the Barossa with a menu that pushes the boundaries of what contemporary Australian cuisine can be. staġuni (which means seasons in Maltese) is a rustic restaurant housed in a 1922 schoolhouse. Bunker down at The Louise or Kingsford at the Barossa.

Daylesford is not exactly under the radar when it comes to the best regional towns in Australia for eating and drinking. In fact, Alla Wolf-Tasker established the Lake House three decades ago. Sample small-batch wines from nearby cellar doors. The bustling Sunday markets are also a must in the Macedon Ranges. Divert to the ‘DH’ (Daylesford Hotel) at midday to enjoy elevated pub grub. Coffee and cake at Cliffy’s Emporium is also a thing. Stay at Wolf-Tasker’s Dairy Flat Farm, where the children can milk a cow and you can enjoy lunch amid the gardens. It’s one of the best farm stays for foodies in Australia.

Be the friend who books a girlie weekend away in Port Douglas. Get a dose of vitamin D around the pool, then enjoy the warm ambience at Harrison’s at the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort. A trip to Port Douglas in winter is one to cherish during the annual Taste Port Douglas festival. Jungle Fowl is another place you’ll want to squawk about with its share-plate philosophy and seasonal produce. There’s also the feel-good factor of perching on a stool at the Courtie (The Court House Hotel) shooting the breeze with a few salty old sea dogs. It’s the nexus point of town and will do nothing to quell your sea change fantasies. Here’s our full guide to the seaside town.

Learning to cook with ingredients readily available in Australia enhances the experience of dining at Spirit House in Yandina on the Sunshine Coast. Visit the cooking school attached to the jungle-clad eatery before settling down for lunch overlooking a lotus-filled pond where you will have a new-found appreciation for Thai-style crispy whole fish. Head to Gun Cotton Coffee bright and early the next day for a specialty brew ahead of the Saturday morning markets. Go to The Ginger Factory for a tour and tasting and stay at Spicers Clovelly Estate in nearby Montville.