zxcvbnm

Which areas in Australia and New Zealand are must sees for first time goers? What are really pretty national parks, other scenic places? Also if there is any must see city places or museums or other tours for first timers there?
Are there tour guides that offer one day trips in both australia and z to these places? Do we have to rent a car? or is there public transportation we can figure out?
Thanks

longhorn55

Unfortunately, your question is too broad for anyone to give you a useful answer. (We don't know your ages, interests, budget, time frame, etc.)

I recommend you start reading some guidebooks. (My favorites for Australia and NZ are the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet.) Most, if not all, of your questions will be answered there and you can focus on things that pertain specifically to you.

zxcvbnm

I'll look into the books.
If we had between 6-8 weeks, adults, and wanted to see the prettiest highlights of the two countries. plus must sees for other famous sites?

ElendilPickle

Six to eight weeks will give you time to visit both countries.

What time of year do you plan to travel? Besides scenery and cities, what are your interests?

Lee Ann

annhig

zxcvbnm,

we have a 5 week trip coming up, which we have divided up thus:

3 nights in HK, 6 nights in northern Queensland [to see the GBR and forests etc], 5 nights in Brisbane to see the cricket, 17 nights in NZ [4 nights in the NI, 13 in the SI] and 5 nights in Sydney.

if we had as long as 6-8 weeks, I think that we would spend longer in NZ - lengthening it to at least 3 weeks, we would have extended our time in Northern Queensland looking at the wild-life there, and have spent at least 2 weeks in/around Melbourne and the Blue Mountains near Sydney.

but even that doesn't really scratch the surface.

have fun planning.

Melnq8

General questions get general answers.

Australia is about the size of the United States...it's BIG, with LOTS of national parks, scenic areas, cities, and museums. It'd be impossible and pointless to name them all here, not knowing what specifically you're interested in or which part of the country you might want to visit.

Likewise, NZ consists of two separate islands and is home to countless scenic areas.

We'd all like to help zxcvbnm, but we need more info from you to even get started.

lauren_s_kahn

There are lots of things to see in both countries. You need to do your research and decide what YOU want to see.

eliztravels2

Unlike some other posters, I don't find guide books the best way to start. They are so detailed I find them bewildering and overwhelming. Get a map of the whole country, and then use google to find the distance between major cities. Then look into driving time and flight costs. Factor in the better part of a day for travelling by air between points. You will quickly understand the importance of limiting the # of destinations, even for a long trip. I think the advice most often offered on this forum, as least for Oz, is "don't try to do so much"

The time of year you plan to visit is a significant consideration. Many parts of Australia will be exceedingly hot during some months, very wet in others. That should help you narrow things down a bit.

What is it about the countries that has made you want to visit them? The outback, the kangaroos, the Sydney opera house, the wine districts? Your list of "must sees" will be different from some else's.

lauren_s_kahn

Actually, I am one of those who finds guidebooks very helpful. I generally rely on the Lonely Planet series for Australia & NZ (sorry Fodors). You get ideas from the guidebooks, then go to the web for reservations and logistics.

michelhuebeli

Get a few DVDs and when you see something that absolutely impresses you, then look to the web and to guidebooks for more details. I did a quick search on Netflix for "Australia travel" and a dozen came up just like that - probably more but I stopped scrolling...

zxcvbnm

-If you had a choice between going February or Late April, or May, or June- when would you go? I thought February would be late summer over there, but someone told me it's rainy?

-Any first time travelers that have been there that can recommend places that were beautiful and scenic that they really liked? I know there are a lot of places but just looking for ideas. thanks.

lauren_s_kahn

Definitely go to NZ summer not in June. New Zealand's name in Maori is Aotearoa. The translation is "land of the low hanging clouds". NZ gets a lot of precipitation.

In Australia, however, it can be very hot in summer--especially in Brisbane and north. During the summer Cairns will be very hot and humid and cyclones and bad weather can cause the boat trips to the Great Barrier Reef to close down. I will point out that last Dec.-Jan. I was in Sydney and had one day where the temperature reached over 100 degrees.

Melnq8

It gets bloody hot in Australia in February. We live in Perth; Jan-Feb are the months we want to hightail it out of this blast furnace, but we never seem able to.

April and May would be my choice for both Australia and NZ.

We personally like NZ in the winter months, but we've been twice in June and the weather can definitely be problematic.

Bokhara2

I would choose April/ May.
It's Autumn, pretty reliable and moderate weather in most places.

As others have said, Australia is quite a large island continent 7.7m km2, with a smallish (23m) population, mainly on the eastern seaboard. Distances are much greater than the majority of first time visitors are used to or have
encountered previously.

The usual route & itinerary covers " Bridge" (Sydney)," Reef" ( Great Barrier Reef) and "Rock" (Uluru - Ayers Rock).

The most time & cost efficient transport is to fly between major points and rent a car once there. Cars are neither requires nor desirable in capital cities, where there is excellent public transport.

Www.australia.com is a good place to start pinning down what's available, when & where.

Local domestic airlines are Qantas,
Virgin and Jetstar (budget subsidiary of Qantas). Sign up for their free email notifications for advance notice of bargains and to help cost your trips.

Accommodation: one of the useful sites is www.wotif.com.au. A popular option in major cities is self catering apartments.

That's a start for you.