sykesm

Hi me and my partner are going to visit Australia next summer holidays for around a month. We are flying to Melbourne to stay with my brother for a week then moving along the coast to Sydney Brisbane and Cairns. Any ideas of how long we should stay in each place or advice on where to visit along the route of Brisbane to Cairns would be appreciated

Thanks

Melnq8

Northern hemisphere summer holidays or southern hemisphere summer holidays?

BigRuss

To put Melnq8's question in perspective: Seasons in Australia are REVERSED from those in the Northern Hemisphere. Something to do with geophysics and axis of the earth . . .

michelhuebeli

As your brother will tell you, the days are short in Melbourne when it is summer in the northern hemisphere, the temps are on the chilly side, so expect to chill out with your brother while living the big-city life: Restaurants, museums, concerts (especially if you're classically minded), but not so much outdoorsy nature pleasures or beach life. For the latter, you'll have to go way way north, past Sydney that also has short days and rarely hot temps.

"Moving along the coast" is an ambitious undertaking - the distances are vast, and the driving not all that pleasant at that time of the year since vegetation etc. is wintery, beaches not inviting until you get way up north, and your time better spent flying.

There are cheap flights to be had from Melbourne to Sydney, or to Canberra which is certainly worth a look - then it's a short flight or, better, a three-hour drive or bus ride to Sydney.

Sydney is great, but know what you want out of a city.

Brisbane is a fine city also, but - again - what do you expect from a city in winter? It may have what you're looking for, or not.

Cairns has the Great Barrier Reef and more to offer, and it gets subtropical so winter is a relative term up that way.

Check with your brother, he is likely to have a good feel for the rest of the country now that he lives in Melbourne.

sykesm

Sorry i mean August 2017 so your winter. We have no choice to visit your gorgeous country in your winter as i work in a school and that's when I can get a lump amount of time off unfortunately.

michelhuebeli

Exactly - so read again what I wrote with that in mind - short days in Sydney and Melborne etc. etc. Had an email from a friend in Sydney this morning, she signed off with "greetings from cold Sydneytown..."

KayF

Just a quick thought - if you fly into Melbourne and fly out of Sydney you will save a lot of travelling. The trip could be something like - fly into Melb for a week, fly to Brisbane, drive to Cairns (take two weeks?), fly to Sydney for a few days or a week, fly home.

As others have said, in August Melbourne will be cold but Queensland will be a lot warmer, especially as you head north to Cairns.

Kay

RalphR

Have visited Australia many times during the austral winter, including August. "Cold" is relative and even as far south as Melbourne, there's zero chance of freezing (0 C) temperatures, unless you drive up into the mountains. Not beach weather, but will be mostly fine for walks, etc. North from Sydney, you'll find the days progressively warmer and pleasant as you move up the coast. Weather around Brisbane at that time will be lovely, though for some still a little cool for the beach. Cairns will be warm and tropical, not particularly hot.

As others have mentioned, I wouldn't recommend driving all the way from Melbourne to Sydney to Cairns in the time you have. Most of the major sights will be off the main highways and will require extra time to see. Probably the least interesting sector on the coast road will be mid-Queensland, roughly between Rockhampton and Mackay - you'll get very tired of sugar cane mile after mile!