gbs

We will be flying into and out of Sydney after 4 days in Hong Kong in early May. I have no idea where to start and what to do. Our daughter will be in school in Sydney so would like to spend a little time with her, then some travel time. What can we do in that time, what are some musts, and what would be drivable if we rented a car? Thanks for any help.

Judy_in_Calgary

Hello gbs,

I don’t quite understand the combination of your thread title and your message. I don’t know how the 4 days in Hong Kong relates to your overall trip. It isn’t clear to me if the 4 days in Hong Kong need to be subtracted from a 12 day trip or if you will have 12 days in Australia. For the moment I’ll assume you’ll have 12 days to spend in Australia.

I recommend you concentrate your time in two areas: (1) Sydney and its environs, and (2) Far North Queensland (the area around Cairns, Palm Cove, Port Douglas).

Over and above the fact that your daughter will be there, Sydney deserves at least 3 days, in my opinion. Then it's nice to do an overnight trip to the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains can be done as a looooong day trip from Sydney, but it's nice to go on an overnight trip and see them at a more leisurely pace.

I do not recommend renting a car in Sydney. Traffic is heavy, parking is expensive, and the public transportation system is good and reasonably priced.

As far as the Blue Mountains are concerned, you can drive, catch the train, or go on a guided tour. If you choose to drive, consider catching the train to Valley Heights to get clear of Sydney's traffic and renting a car from there.

Flying from Sydney to Cairns will take three quarters of a day (not just the flight, but the time from hotel to hotel).

Once you're in FNQ, the #1 priority is to go out to the Great Barrier Reef (essentially a full day's outing). The next best activity is a visit to the tropical rainforest between the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation (this also takes a full day). Next, it's fun to take the SkyRail up to Kuranda on the edge of the Atherton Tableland and the conventional train down again.

If you have the time, it's nice to go on an overnight trip to the Undara Lava Tubes, which are about a 4-hour drive from Cairns. (If you went to the Undara Lava Tubes, it would not be necessary to do a separate outing to Kuranda, as you could see Kuranda on your way to the Undara Lava Tubes.)

Having a car in FNQ is optional. The GBR, Daintree and Kuranda tours pick up passengers from their lodgings. The one activity that would require a car would be a trip to the Undara Lava Tubes.

If you choose not to rent a car in FNQ, be sure to arrange for a shuttle bus from the airport to your hotel.

It helps to be centrally located in your base town if you decide not to have a car in FNQ. For example, if you decide to base yourself in Port Douglas, you need to be close to the main street, Macrossan Street, if you do without a car. My husband and I did that, and we did not miss a car at all. However, opinions around here are somewhat divided on that point. Some posters have said they enjoyed having a car in FNQ, and some who didn’t have their own wheels said they missed them.

If you cannot devote 4 full days to FNQ (not counting flying time to and from the region), I don’t think you should go there. In that case consider Sydney + Hunter Valley and Port Stephens + Blue Mountains + Canberra.

If you do go the FNQ, schedule your GBR outing for your first full day there. This will give you an opportunity to re-schedule if weather doesn’t permit you to go out on your preferred day.

If you go to FNQ, compare the airfares of Virgin Blue, Jetstar and Qantas.

“Musts” in Sydney include a ferry ride across the harbour and a visit to Manly Beach (accessible by ferry). People who have climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge rave about the experience. I found the guided tour of the Sydney Opera House to be delightful.

Also read the Sydney and Great Barrier Reef entries in the Fodor’s Destinations section. (Click on the Destinations link at the top of the screen.)

Hope that helps.

Judy_in_Calgary

Postscript. See also LizF's thread entitled, "Great Barrier Reef Information - It's A Start"

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34555665

gbs

Sorry, it was late when I posted this. Yes, 12 days in Australia is correct. Do we need to arrange flights from Sydney to Cairns in advance? Any advice there, or for nice places to stay for reasonable rates in both Sydney and Cairns? Thanks for all your info. You've been very helpful.

Judy_in_Calgary

>>>Do we need to arrange flights from Sydney to Cairns in advance?<<<

Yes.

>>>nice places to stay for reasonable rates in both Sydney and Cairns<<<

When I've stayed in Sydney, it's usually been at the homes of friends. The one time I stayed in a hotel, it was out in the suburbs, close to where most of my friends lived.

However, for a visitor who has only a short time to spend in Sydney, the better option is a central location. Something close to Circular Quay is considered most convenient.

Alan is the resident expert on Sydney. On many occasions I've seen him recommend the Russell Hotel, the Old Sydney Holiday Inn, and the Lord Nelson.

As far as Far North Queensland is concerned, a place that receives many honourable mentions here at Fodors is Pat and Mike Woolford's B&B in a suburb of Cairns. It's called Lilybank, and a word search will bring up many previous threads in which it's mentioned. One of the advantages of staying with Pat and Mike is that they are familiar with all of the companies that operate day and evening tours (GBR, Daintree, Kuranda, wildlife viewing, etc., etc.). If you wish, you can leave your bookings for these things in Pat's hands, and it will make your life easier.

Hope that helps.

alice13

Agree generally that with 12 days sydney plus a visit to somewhere in QLD is a good combination. But it doesn't have to be Cairns. If I just post some keywords maybe you will be enthused enough to do some research of your own.
Heron Island; Whitsundays; Cape Tribulation; Outback.

Do you particularly want beach time? Do you dive/snorkel? Do you like just exploring?

If beach is good and exploring is good. OK - then I would spend 4 days in Sydney; rent a car and go driving up to Blue Mts/Hunter Valley taking the back roads. Return to Sydney and fly to Whitsundays. Stay in a resort for a few days or take a sailing trip.

Far NQ is wonderful but it is not the only option.

JulieMill1

Dear gbs: I also plan on visiting my daughter in Sydney (in August). Wondering what hotel would have good access to where she will be (Univ. of Sydney). It appears to be pretty far from major hotel areas. Thanks

margo_oz

The hotels around Sydney Unin are not very attractive (depends a lot on the standard you want and what yopu're prepared to pay. The Uni, however, is on the main western bus route from the city, and is really on the edge of the city, so it's only a 10 minute (give or take) trip. Lots of buses start at Circular Quay, and go up George Street to the Uni. The transport office at the Quay is quite helpful.

gbs

Our time in Australia is now 11 days. We have decided not to go to GBR, but rather to spend more time in and around sydney and environs, possibly doing 1-2 day trips in area. Blue Mountains for sure, but what other cities/areas would be good for seeing what Ausralia has to offer in limited time and within a limited area, perhaps just sticking to NSW. Am I being reasonable?

Neil_Oz

gbs, are you happy to drive? If so, you could manage some really nice 2-3 day trips out of Sydney. For example, there's more than one thread here dealing with the NSW South Coast and Canberra. A loop like that, staying say one night in Canberra and another somewhere on the Coast, will allow you to see a variety of Australian inland and coastal landscapes. Time permitting, one good option would be to drive as far south as say Merimbula, then roughly NW through Bega and Cooma to the national capital, returning to Sydney via the Hume Highway. A shorter version would involve driving not so far south - say Moruya - then doubling back to Batemans Bay and west to Canberra via Braidwood.

gbs

Yes, we are more than happy to drive, although from what I've read, we really don't want a car while we are in Sydney. So perhaps we can rent one for a couple of 2 or 3 day trips?