Australia Itinerary Opinions:
Mar 19th, 2008, 09:35 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Australia Itinerary Opinions:
Can anyone familiar with the following please tell me if I am spending sufficient days in the right places. Please please let me know if I am missing any 'must-see's'.
Sydney- 4 full days
Ayers Rock- 2 1/2 days
Pt Douglas (w/ Cairns, etc)- 3 full days
Melbourne- 4 full days
With the itinerary above, I have about 3 days left in my trip.
Do you suggest going to Tasmania or Adelaide/Kangaroo Island?
Or, should I spend an extra day in Great Barrier Reef area and an extra day in Melbourne?
I am going Dec-Jan.
Thank you in advance!!!!
Sydney- 4 full days
Ayers Rock- 2 1/2 days
Pt Douglas (w/ Cairns, etc)- 3 full days
Melbourne- 4 full days
With the itinerary above, I have about 3 days left in my trip.
Do you suggest going to Tasmania or Adelaide/Kangaroo Island?
Or, should I spend an extra day in Great Barrier Reef area and an extra day in Melbourne?
I am going Dec-Jan.
Thank you in advance!!!!
Mar 19th, 2008, 10:39 PM
#2
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 784
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What are you intersted in seeing / doing / That will let everyone know whetehr more time in cities is better or not .
It is the wet season in Qld but nonetheless I think some extra time , at least another night , would be good if you want to go to the reef , Mosman Gorge , Daintree and the Tablelands which are all fabulous . Add the extra time at the end to see a little of Tasmania as it is a short flight from Melbourne .Too far to Kangaroo Island as far as travel time .
It is the wet season in Qld but nonetheless I think some extra time , at least another night , would be good if you want to go to the reef , Mosman Gorge , Daintree and the Tablelands which are all fabulous . Add the extra time at the end to see a little of Tasmania as it is a short flight from Melbourne .Too far to Kangaroo Island as far as travel time .
Mar 20th, 2008, 04:46 AM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thank you for your reply.
My now fiance and I are planning this trip as our honeymoon. Prior to Australia we are spending 5 days in Fiji and a week in South Island, New Zealand and then heading to Sydney, etc.
Neither one of us have ever been to Australia before so we are trying to plan our trip to just get a 'taste' of everything and see/understand what Australia has to offer (in our limited time).
Could a flight/trip to Hobart, Tasmania be done as a 1-day trip from Melbourne like Kangaroo Island is? Or do you need to sleep/spend time on the Island?
I LOVE tennis and therefore we are ending our trip in Melbourne so that I can get to experience at least one day and/or night at the Australian Open with a flight back to the US on Jan 22.
My now fiance and I are planning this trip as our honeymoon. Prior to Australia we are spending 5 days in Fiji and a week in South Island, New Zealand and then heading to Sydney, etc.
Neither one of us have ever been to Australia before so we are trying to plan our trip to just get a 'taste' of everything and see/understand what Australia has to offer (in our limited time).
Could a flight/trip to Hobart, Tasmania be done as a 1-day trip from Melbourne like Kangaroo Island is? Or do you need to sleep/spend time on the Island?
I LOVE tennis and therefore we are ending our trip in Melbourne so that I can get to experience at least one day and/or night at the Australian Open with a flight back to the US on Jan 22.
Mar 20th, 2008, 04:02 PM
#5
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 4,447
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi A,
For a 'taste of Australia' I think you are heading in the right direction. If you are into snorkelling/diving perhaps an extra day on the GBR could work or my other suggestion would be an extra day or two in Melbourne that would include a side tour of the Great Ocean Road.
As much as I love Tasmania it is a big place and deserves more attention than a couple of days, so maybe next time for that one!
Apart from that I think you will get a good taste of what we're about particularly as you have included Uluru for a real cultural experience.
With your time in Fiji and NZ it sounds like you are going to have an extremely memorable honeymoon.
For a 'taste of Australia' I think you are heading in the right direction. If you are into snorkelling/diving perhaps an extra day on the GBR could work or my other suggestion would be an extra day or two in Melbourne that would include a side tour of the Great Ocean Road.
As much as I love Tasmania it is a big place and deserves more attention than a couple of days, so maybe next time for that one!
Apart from that I think you will get a good taste of what we're about particularly as you have included Uluru for a real cultural experience.
With your time in Fiji and NZ it sounds like you are going to have an extremely memorable honeymoon.
Mar 20th, 2008, 09:57 PM
#6
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,126
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Moving from place to place really eats into your time, so much as I love Tassie too, I would leave it for another time.
Ditto Adelaide, KI.
If it were any other time of year I would say add time to Nth Qld and the Centre, but in Dec-Jan perhaps not. Hot and sticky up in FNQ and hot in the Centre.
If you don't mind dry heat, I would still look at spending more time in the Centre - there's more to it than the Rock, and, to be honest, imho, the best bits are "not the rock"!!
So add the days to Sydney and/or Melbourne. Not necessarily to be in the city but to explore the hinterand.
BTW - where are you going to be for New Year's Eve?
Ditto Adelaide, KI.
If it were any other time of year I would say add time to Nth Qld and the Centre, but in Dec-Jan perhaps not. Hot and sticky up in FNQ and hot in the Centre.
If you don't mind dry heat, I would still look at spending more time in the Centre - there's more to it than the Rock, and, to be honest, imho, the best bits are "not the rock"!!
So add the days to Sydney and/or Melbourne. Not necessarily to be in the city but to explore the hinterand.
BTW - where are you going to be for New Year's Eve?
Mar 21st, 2008, 08:04 AM
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
For New Years Eve I will be in Queenstown, New Zealand.
Any recommendations for there?
Also, I hear it is 'rainy season' by Cairns, etc. Will I still be able to get on a day trip to snorkel/dive the Reef?
Any recommendations for there?
Also, I hear it is 'rainy season' by Cairns, etc. Will I still be able to get on a day trip to snorkel/dive the Reef?
Mar 22nd, 2008, 03:15 AM
#8
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 784
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
As far as I know reef trips are on all year unless weather prevents them eg cyclones .
We used Synergy 11 out of Port Douglas .Just 12 passengers and lovely boat ,good food , well supervised etc .They go to smaller reefs which were beautiful.More expensive than the larger companies but worth it in our view .
We used Synergy 11 out of Port Douglas .Just 12 passengers and lovely boat ,good food , well supervised etc .They go to smaller reefs which were beautiful.More expensive than the larger companies but worth it in our view .
Mar 22nd, 2008, 04:53 AM
#9
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,680
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
That's true JohnF - it has to be atrocious weather for most reef trips not to go out, ie, cyclones or prolonged and extremely heavy rain as there was a couple of weeks ago when Port Douglas got 500mm in 24 hours. This was without any cyclonic activity and caused local flooding and road closures. But you should see the Barron Falls right now!
amsimon - heaviest rain periods in FNQ in recent years are Feb/March - no guarantees, but Dec/Jan should be fine for a reef trip. I live here and these are actually my favourite months for reef, usually calm seas with glass like surface, great underwater visibility. Its summer so it will be warm, but not as hot as some posts here would lead you to believe, anyway, who cares when you're in the water?
amsimon - heaviest rain periods in FNQ in recent years are Feb/March - no guarantees, but Dec/Jan should be fine for a reef trip. I live here and these are actually my favourite months for reef, usually calm seas with glass like surface, great underwater visibility. Its summer so it will be warm, but not as hot as some posts here would lead you to believe, anyway, who cares when you're in the water?
Mar 25th, 2008, 02:10 AM
#10
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 784
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Pat , I thought of FNQ'ers when I heard the weather reports as I sat in Melbourne during a bizarre heat wave and where until last night we had not seen rain for about 3 months .The Barron Falls must look extraordinairy as will be those in the Tablelands and Crystal Cascades .
I wish the sea had been calm when we went to the reef in June as I am not a strong swimmer or experienced snorkeller so had to keep surfacing and clearing my mask etc .But even then it was wonderful and we all said how much better it would have been on a calm overcast day - next time I hope .
I wish the sea had been calm when we went to the reef in June as I am not a strong swimmer or experienced snorkeller so had to keep surfacing and clearing my mask etc .But even then it was wonderful and we all said how much better it would have been on a calm overcast day - next time I hope .
Mar 25th, 2008, 07:15 AM
#11
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hello
I am not sure if Ayers Rock worth 2 plus days - see comments on this from others. Perhaps 1 plus day would suffice. I would certainly suggest going to Tasmania but it can be daunting to cover all the major areas within a couple of days. Also, in my view Melbourne deserves 2 days.. and unless you want to do the great ocean drive ( for which I think 2 days are not enough) then cut is short. Altough Melbourne is a great city , I think you would run out of sights/ things to do easily. However, you might find some cultural events going on at the time. When I was there last week the Comedy Festival was just kicking off which is good for the evenings.. other than this however, disappointgly nothing else was happening . It is possibly a place to enjoy and to live/be in but lacks major sights. Overall, decide what interest you ( walking in the mountains then visit Tasmania and why not go to the Blue Mounatains, beach and diving/snorkelling, then go to Kangaroo Island ..or cities.. then spend time in Melbourne and Sidney.
I am not sure if Ayers Rock worth 2 plus days - see comments on this from others. Perhaps 1 plus day would suffice. I would certainly suggest going to Tasmania but it can be daunting to cover all the major areas within a couple of days. Also, in my view Melbourne deserves 2 days.. and unless you want to do the great ocean drive ( for which I think 2 days are not enough) then cut is short. Altough Melbourne is a great city , I think you would run out of sights/ things to do easily. However, you might find some cultural events going on at the time. When I was there last week the Comedy Festival was just kicking off which is good for the evenings.. other than this however, disappointgly nothing else was happening . It is possibly a place to enjoy and to live/be in but lacks major sights. Overall, decide what interest you ( walking in the mountains then visit Tasmania and why not go to the Blue Mounatains, beach and diving/snorkelling, then go to Kangaroo Island ..or cities.. then spend time in Melbourne and Sidney.
