4 weeks itinerary
#1
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4 weeks itinerary
Hi
My wife and I are planing a 25 days trip to Australia this September
here is the itinerary i came up with:
1. Landing in Sydney
2. Sydney - 3 days
3. Sydney to Brisbane by car - 3 days
4. Fly from Brisbane to Cairns
5. Cairns (3 to 4 days diving, 3 to 4 days by car to Port Douglas/Palm Cove) - 7 days
6. Fly from Cairns to Alison Springs/Ayers Rock
7. Alison Springs/Ayers Rock to Ulu u and back by car - 3 days
8. Fly from Alison Springs/Ayers Rock to Adelaide
9. Adelaide to Sydney (through Melbourne) by car - 9 days
10. Fly out from Sydney
I have a few questions:
is it worth the time and effort to drive all the way from Adelaide to Sydney?
is it better to fly from Alison Springs to Melbourne instead of Adelaide and drive from there to Sydney, but miss the west part of the ocean drive (Adelaide to Melbourne)?
i did not book the tickets yet so i can still change the plan and fly out from Melbourne back home and not from Sydney. is this a better idea?
we can fly from Cairns to Alison Springs and hire a car or fly straight to Ayers Rock. which is a better idea?
any other recommendations?
Thanks
My wife and I are planing a 25 days trip to Australia this September
here is the itinerary i came up with:
1. Landing in Sydney
2. Sydney - 3 days
3. Sydney to Brisbane by car - 3 days
4. Fly from Brisbane to Cairns
5. Cairns (3 to 4 days diving, 3 to 4 days by car to Port Douglas/Palm Cove) - 7 days
6. Fly from Cairns to Alison Springs/Ayers Rock
7. Alison Springs/Ayers Rock to Ulu u and back by car - 3 days
8. Fly from Alison Springs/Ayers Rock to Adelaide
9. Adelaide to Sydney (through Melbourne) by car - 9 days
10. Fly out from Sydney
I have a few questions:
is it worth the time and effort to drive all the way from Adelaide to Sydney?
is it better to fly from Alison Springs to Melbourne instead of Adelaide and drive from there to Sydney, but miss the west part of the ocean drive (Adelaide to Melbourne)?
i did not book the tickets yet so i can still change the plan and fly out from Melbourne back home and not from Sydney. is this a better idea?
we can fly from Cairns to Alison Springs and hire a car or fly straight to Ayers Rock. which is a better idea?
any other recommendations?
Thanks
#2
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I think you mean Alice Springs (not Alison Springs).
Driving from Adelaide to Sydney would give you the opportunity to drive the Great Ocean Road which is spectacular. You could also visit Ballarat en route to Melbourne. The drive from Melbourne to Sydney could include a stopover in Canberra, our capital. Floriade is on in Canberra mid-September to mid-October, plus lots of other things to see.
Driving from Adelaide to Sydney would give you the opportunity to drive the Great Ocean Road which is spectacular. You could also visit Ballarat en route to Melbourne. The drive from Melbourne to Sydney could include a stopover in Canberra, our capital. Floriade is on in Canberra mid-September to mid-October, plus lots of other things to see.
#3
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I wouldn't choose to drive Sydney to Brisbane, unless there was something particular you want to see on the way. The road doesn't travel along the coastline, so the scenery you would see is very similar to what you'd get on the outskirts of Sydney.
The way your itinerary looks now, you seem to be spending almost half your holiday time in a car.
I think you'd do better to fly between the two cities, and give yourselves more time at either end.
Unless you want to see more of Sydney, I'd choose to fly out of Australia from Melbourne - might give you a bit more time in that city. Di
The way your itinerary looks now, you seem to be spending almost half your holiday time in a car.
I think you'd do better to fly between the two cities, and give yourselves more time at either end.
Unless you want to see more of Sydney, I'd choose to fly out of Australia from Melbourne - might give you a bit more time in that city. Di
#4
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Di2315 has given good advice about your proposed itinerary.
The place you're probably most wanting to see between Sydney and Brisbane is Byron Bay, and it's interesting to visit, but the east coast drive on the Pacific Hwy is fairly gruelling due to roadworks, heavy interstate truck traffic, and a rather serious accident record.
We drive from Newcastle to Brisbane fairly often, stopping overnight at Coffs Harbour or Byron, but increasingly we now fly as it's only an hour and $95, minus the time and traffic.
Your Cairns/Port Douglas/Alice Springs/Uluru plans allow you plenty of time to see the reef, Daintree, the Red Centre, and I would definitely drive from Adelaide to Melbourne. en route you have wine country, some lovely little coastal fishing ports, the Otway range, the Great Ocean Road, and the gold rush towns of Bendigo/Ballarat closer to Melbourne.
Give the Melbourne/Sydney drive a miss. the Hume Hwy is boring, the coast road via Princes Hwy is pretty but takes 3-4 days and is like the Pacific Hwy undergoing progressive reconstruction.
Hope this helps, we have travelled all of these routes with numerous variations over the years.
The place you're probably most wanting to see between Sydney and Brisbane is Byron Bay, and it's interesting to visit, but the east coast drive on the Pacific Hwy is fairly gruelling due to roadworks, heavy interstate truck traffic, and a rather serious accident record.
We drive from Newcastle to Brisbane fairly often, stopping overnight at Coffs Harbour or Byron, but increasingly we now fly as it's only an hour and $95, minus the time and traffic.
Your Cairns/Port Douglas/Alice Springs/Uluru plans allow you plenty of time to see the reef, Daintree, the Red Centre, and I would definitely drive from Adelaide to Melbourne. en route you have wine country, some lovely little coastal fishing ports, the Otway range, the Great Ocean Road, and the gold rush towns of Bendigo/Ballarat closer to Melbourne.
Give the Melbourne/Sydney drive a miss. the Hume Hwy is boring, the coast road via Princes Hwy is pretty but takes 3-4 days and is like the Pacific Hwy undergoing progressive reconstruction.
Hope this helps, we have travelled all of these routes with numerous variations over the years.
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Thanks for all the recommendations.
before i book the flights i have a few additional questions:
we are planning a 4 days dive trip from Cairns to Cod Hole & Ribbon reefs. can you recommend a good and not so expensive liveaboard?
after we return from the dive trip, how many additional days should we stay in Cairns or Port Douglas? is there any day trips or nature walks recommended in that area?
before i book the flights i have a few additional questions:
we are planning a 4 days dive trip from Cairns to Cod Hole & Ribbon reefs. can you recommend a good and not so expensive liveaboard?
after we return from the dive trip, how many additional days should we stay in Cairns or Port Douglas? is there any day trips or nature walks recommended in that area?
#6
we had 5 nights in PD which was our first stop in OZ. one day was spent with DH diving so as you will already have done that you perhaps won't want to repeat it - but a day for Mossman Gorge, another for Daintree and the rainforest, and a 3rd for the beach/pootling about would not be too much as PD is a lovely place as we were sorry to leave.
rather than drive from Sydney to Brisbane, think about spending the time in the Atherton Tablelands between PD and Cairns - a wonderful area teeming with wildlife. we did a 1 ½ day tour with Alan Gillanders [a one-time fodorite and well known on this board as a very knowledgeable and well-respected guide] and saw a terrific amount with him including birds of paradise and a load of platypus. it was a real highlight of our whole trip.
rather than drive from Sydney to Brisbane, think about spending the time in the Atherton Tablelands between PD and Cairns - a wonderful area teeming with wildlife. we did a 1 ½ day tour with Alan Gillanders [a one-time fodorite and well known on this board as a very knowledgeable and well-respected guide] and saw a terrific amount with him including birds of paradise and a load of platypus. it was a real highlight of our whole trip.
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