haly

Hi everyone

I am planning my first trip in Australia (surprise for my husband birthday) in February with our kids who will be almost 3 years (for the oldest) and 6 months old ( for the youngest) at that time.

I am struggling to decide our itinerary for those two weeks given that I want to choose nice spots adapted for our family but want to avoid travelling too much so that we can still enjoy and relax during our holidays. After many researches on internet, I am thinking of the following possible itineraries:

1) Sydney ( +blue mountains) -> Brisbane->Gold coast->Byron Bay->Sydney(where we take our flight to go home)

2)Sydney ( +blue mountains) >Gold coast->Byron Bay->Sydney(where we take our flight to go home)

3)Sydney ( +blue mountains) -> Melbourne->(drive via Great ocean road to) Adelaide->Kangooro island

But I think I will remove the third choice as it's seems more trouble some with young kids if we need to find accommodation on the road from Melbourne to Adelaide,and the trip to Kangoroo island is one more "difficulty" ( even though not impossible) , I am afraid to do all this for an island which might not be so special , maybe i am wrong ?

If you agree with me on 3), then I will need to choose between 1 and 2, going to Brisbane or not.. I am not sure if it worth visiting Brisbane (maybe just spend 2 nights), and especially what will be the best way to go from Brisbane to GC , Byron bay and come back to Sydney, I know that GC to Byron Bay is easily feasible by car ( 1h30?) but what about Byron Bay to Sydney, should we do it by car ( how many hours or how many days is it ?) and stop at some nice spots? I heard of Port Macquarie, Coff harbours ? Are there any other spots to stay ? Is it easy to rent a car but pick it up at destination 1 and drop off at destination 2> I tried to check whether there is flight from byron bay to sydney but I didn't find .

I also would like to offer tandem skydinving to my husband , I saw that website skydivethebeach.com.au/testimonials/… , they do tandem skydiving in sydney or byron bay, apparently the spot for skydiving in sydney is a bit far away , so I may prefer byron bay. Has anyone tried this experience ?

About the accomodations in Australia, do you have any website to recommend or family friendly hotels ?
No specific budget constraints for now.

Any suggestion, advices are welcome . Thanks !!

Patty

Try www.wotif.com or www.stayz.com.au for accommodations. The latter is good for vacation rentals. There are lots of apartment and self catered options in Australia that may work well for a family. Can't help with the itinerary as of the places you listed, I've only been to Sydney, Adelaide and KI. We really liked KI but it does require a ferry or plane ride.

longhorn55

We made our first trip to Australia, a 2-week vacation, when our kids were 3 years old and 6 months old--just like yours.

My strongest recommendation would be to choose no more than 3 destinations, so that would eliminate #1. I would also re-think the GOR drive. That really needs to be done over 3 days, at least, and the kids will not enjoy being stuck in the car for so long. While you may enjoy the scenery, they won't appreciate it at all.

Our first trip included Sydney (and the Blue Mountains), Uluru and Adelaide/Kangaroo Island. KI was not a problem with the little ones--we flew over from Adelaide. It was actually one of the highlights of our trip and we returned there for a longer stay when the kids were older.

haly

Hi everyone

thanks for your inputs !
@longhorn55k you confirm what I was thinking for GOR, might be a big risk with such young kids, I would prefer an easier itinerary for now then
Regarding your itinerary Sydney-Uluru-Adelaide-KI, how did you find Uluru, I gave up Uluru cause I was told We would not really be able to do much like hiking given we have the kids and it's very very hot, so basically we would only be able to see the rock at sunset or sunrise, is that correct ? or did you manage to do more with your kids? How many nights did you spent there ?
About Kangoroo island, I just don't know what to expect actually, what did you do there ? Is the beach really nice ? Is it family friendly and how many nights did you stay there ? any advice on the accomodation ?

Thanks a lot

longhorn55

I would not recommend Uluru in February for anyone because it is beastly hot. (We were there in the month of July when it was quite pleasant during the day.)

As for Kangaroo Island, you might want to pick up a guidebook at your local library to read about what there is to see and do. Here's a good website with info on KI: http://www.southaustralia.com/en/pla...angaroo-island

We did not spend any time on the beaches on KI. The big attraction of KI is the wildlife and scenery. It's a very family-friendly place and kids like it because they can see animals in the wild. In addition to wildlife viewing, kids can have fun climbing around or toboggoning on the dunes at Little Sahara and our 3-year-old enjoyed exploring the rock formations at Remarkable Rocks. We spent two nights in Kingscote, but I don't remember the name of the place where we stayed. The link I provided has information about accommodations.

haly

Thanks a lot!

Bokhara2

Where are you coming from Haly?
I ask this in an attempt to judge your tolerance for possibly the hottest & most humid month in Australia.

In terms of timing & distance, it's roughly 2 hours drive from Brisbane to Byron Bay & 45 mins from Gold Coast airport ( Coolangatta).

It would be interesting to have some insight into what your interests are & why you chose the locations that you did.

February is quite good for family accommodation because the school holidays are over & you will have the benefit of both greater choice & off-peak rates.

If you decide to drive from Qld to Sydney, one really nice place I would happily recommend is the White Albatross holiday park at Nambucca Heads. They have very good on-site cabins to rent; there is a lovely breakwater which is ideal for little kids; boardwalks and a better than average bistro footsteps away from the cabins.

And a kids club if you want a couple of Adults hours for a meal.

You might like to have a look at Rome2Rio or google maps' "Get directions " to get an idea of distances & driving times.

I wouldn't go to Uluru in February. Too hot, too many flies. In cooler months, I love it.

haly

Thanks again everyone! Good to know that february is not the peak season !

I am French but we are living in HK , as it's also hot and very humid we are quite used to that weather but I will have a 6 months old so I would like to go to convenient places for young kids.
We are interested in beaches, places where we can also find nice activites for kids and anywhere very interesting to see for us ( the adults ) too if do-able with kids as it's our first time to Australia. I think we will come back but I would still want to see nice must-see places for our first trip as much as possible.

Given all the feedbacks I have so far, I think more and more that a good itinerary for us would be:

1) Sydney + blue mountains ( 4 nights)

2) Flight from Sydney to Gold Coast ( 4 nights)

3) Drive from GC to Byron Bay ( 4 nights in BB)

4) Drive from BB to Ballina and flight from Ballina to Sydney and go back home the next day

I think it's not too many trips and we will still see nice places in 2 weeks��

Any comment on the distribution of the number of nights we spent in each location?

Will also need to check the price to rent a car and pickup in GC with drop off in Ballina.Is it something i could easily have you think ( pick up and drop off in different places) ?

Anyone has experienced or know someone who has experienced skydiving in byron bay?

And lastly if you have some recommendations on where to stay in GC and Byron Bay, don't hesitate ? I was told by my french friend living in Australia that for Sydney I should stay in Bondi beach area.
Thanks!

Bokhara2

Honestly, I wouldn't bother driving to Ballina to fly back to Sydney.

It's only 45 mins drive from Byron Bay to the GC airport, from which you will get a better selection of flights at cheaper rates than from Ballina. It's about 25-30 mins drive BB to Ballina.

Driving back to the GC also avoids any possible hassle with rental car pick up in Qld & drop off in NSW.

There is a good range of accommodation in Byron Bay & the Gold Coast - just depends on your budget & preference, really. Have a look at booking.com; Stayz.com.au & Airbnb

haly

Ah ok thanks Bokhara2 for the advice, indeed with a change of state from GC to Balina, it might be easier to go back to GC for the car stuff.
thanks everyone !