Queensland isn’t all sunshine and white sand beaches (although it has a lot of both). The state’s capital Brisbane is also going through a culinary boom, with a heap of new restaurants and bars opening in the past year. This includes two big ones from interstate heavy-hitters: Supernormal by Melbourne icon Andrew McConnell and Short Grain by Martin Boetz, who’s famed for his Sydney and Melbourne restaurants Longrain.

If you needed another excuse to fly north, here it is: Virgin Australia has just launched a massive seven-day sale to Queensland with half-a-million flights starting at just $45.

Running until midnight on September 22 (AEST), the sale lines up perfectly with the summer holiday and December/January school holiday periods with travel dates running from October 21, 2024 all the way through till June 30, 2025. With eight months of cheap flights available, why book one holiday when you can book two?

With discounted flights to cities all over the state, you can head on a taco tour of the state, or bar hop in Brisbane, relax (and digest) on a beach on the Sunshine coast – or shoot over to the Whitsundays or Hamilton Island for even more eating and soaking up sun.

Here are the hottest Virgin Australia tickets on sale right now (one-way Economy Lite fares, valid in both directions):

Sydney <> Gold Coast from $45
Sydney <> Sunshine Coast from $59
Melbourne <> Gold Coast from $59
Canberra <> Gold Coast from $59
Brisbane <> Proserpine (Whitsundays) from $69
Brisbane <> Cairns from $75
Newcastle <> Brisbane from $75
Adelaide <> Gold Coast from $85
Melbourne <> Sunshine Coast from $85
Brisbane <> Hamilton Island from $89
Sydney <> Cairns from $95
Sydney <> Hamilton Island from $99
Brisbane <> Townsville from $105
Melbourne <> Hamilton Island from $105
Canberra <> Brisbane from $105
Adelaide <> Brisbane from $119
Melbourne <> Cairns from $125

For more information or to book, visit specials.virginaustralia.com

Related story: Take it outside to Brisbane’s best outdoor bars