May is my favorite month here in Perth - warm, sunny days, cool nights and very little rain.

Something tells me you're not coming to Western Australia though.

Hi dutyfree,

Our winter proper starts in June, and May will be end of Autumn (Fall). You'll get some nice sunny days, cool but not cold except perhaps at nights and early mornings.

Shouldn't be a problem traveling around at that time. If you're up towards New South Wales north coast and Queensland, you'll be warm still. Down south towards Victoria it will be cooler.

If you state your exact destination we can be more helpful, the eastern coast of Australia is BIG.

Thanks so much! I need to book our FF mile tickets pretty soon so we were thinking of going into Sydney,doing Melbourne and up to Brisbane? I would like to go to Canberra and also go down to Kangaroo island but haven't gotten the itinerary figured out yet.

Book that trip! May is a great time to go, especially Queensland, and northern New South Wales. And even in the south, winters are much milder than those in Chicago.

Are you intentionally skipping the Great Barrier Reef? Most people, myself included, think it's a "must see" if you go to Australia.

BTW, I'm glad to see that you are thinking of including Canberra as a destination. We lived there for several years and loved it. You will find a lot to see and do there.

As already stated, the weather won't be cold yet although Victoria can put up some surprises.
It's going to take you some time to see the east coast, but a few places you might like to visit would be; Dandenongs (Vic), Wilsons Promontory (Vic), Eden (NSW), Canberra (ACT), Jindabine (alpine country near ACT), Blue Mountains (west of Sydney), Myall lakes (mid north coast NSW),
Coffs Harbour and Bellingen + Dorrigo (far north coast NSW), Byron Bay (up the coast a bit further) Tamborine Mountain (south of Brisbane QLD) and the Gold Coast nearby, Sunshine Coast (north of Brisbane).
Hope this helps.

Agree with longhorn ... Don't miss North Queensland and the Barrier Reef.

quite often ill remark to noone in particular how nice itd be if you were visiting aus in the winter....lol
now ill have to pay attention to may...
i do recall visiting byron bay in may and it was glorious
but syd weather is so strange nowadays so i wont really comment

come with laden with all the usual layers..check the seven day forecast before you depart and just be prepared
if youre used to the chill then youll be fine and will probably be wearing short sleeves

I was planning on the Barrier Reef as my daughter is an oceanographer so that is definitely on the list. I need to figure out an itinerary that would allow us to start in the north or south and do a semi circle tour?

Semi-circle itinerary will get you to all the places mentioned in the posts above BUT it will be long distances to travel. It also depends on which city you're planning to arrive into, and flying out of so you don't back-track. If you post here your arrival and departure cities, I can suggest an itinerary for your consideration.

Due to the distances involved and your intended destinations, you may have to think about a combination of flying and driving to get the best use of time and locations.

If you are planning to see the GBR from Brisbane, you've got a long haul. Cairns, where most people go to experience the Reef, is about 1000 miles from there.

I'll be following your planning Dutyfree. We booked FF tickets on United for May, flying in and out of Sydney. We are probably going north to Port Douglas for the Tablelands, Reef and rainforest.

Also considering Alice Springs to Uluru except the airfare from Cairns to the center is about $400 AUD one way.

How many days does Sydney deserve? I'm considering 2-3 on arrival and another 2 before departure.

Lots to plan!

I just got back from a trip to Australia in July/Aug of this year. Weather in SYD was about 60F and sunny, GBR and Red Centre was 70-75. Overall the weather was good, I actually preferred it being a bit cooler, esp. in the Red Centre. Only time I was cold was visit to the Blue Mountains and dinner at night at Uluru, but just bring some sweaters and a light jacket. I suspect in May it might be a little warmer than July.

Also, if you're booking internal AUS flights on Qantas, I'd suggest checking out their website directly. There were sale fares I was able get from their website that didn't show up in Expedia or Orbitz. Def. enjoyed their flights compared to flying domestic in the US. Security isn't as intrusive and still get to watch movies and eat a full free meal in coach plus free checked luggage.

I spent 3 days (incl. arrival) on the front end of my trip and then the last 2.5 days of the trip in Sydney and that was definitely enough time to hit the highlights - Manly, Taronga Zoo, city tour, Blue Mountains, Sydney Harbour, Darling Harbour, CBD, etc.

Sydney is pretty good weather in May although some days will be starting to be cool. I'd think temperatures between 16 - 20C. Bring a jacket or short-line coat, a light sweater and a mix of t-shirts / long sleeve shirts so you can do layers. You'll probably want the jacket for night. This is the month that I usually start heating the house (our house gets cold even when it's not so cold outside). You might like a folding umbrella for the luggage but it's not a particularly rainy month.

Lavandula