1st trip to Australia and Fiji - a few questions please...
 

Hi everyone,

I am just starting research for a vacation either in June or August of 2009. The trip will be for my husband and myself, although we may decide to bring our teens (if we don't this will be our 1st vacation by ourselves in years!). If we keep the airline reservation we have on hold it will be 5 nights in Fiji and 13 nights in Australia (~4-5 in Sydney and 8-9 around the Great Barrier Reef).

Questions:

(1) We are debating between the following dates in 2009:
- mid-June to 1st week in July
or
- 1st 3 weeks in August

Is one set of dates better for weather and for diving in Fiji and the GBR? I hear it's windy in August, but I've also read the diving may be slightly better? But minke whales are more likely to be seen in June? What about water temps? Hubby prefers to dive where water is fairly warm... likes the Caribbean... won't dive where we live (So. California).

(2) We are considering doing one ~4 day liveaboard or cruise (either Fiji or Australia, but not both) if we can find one that is not over-the-top expensive and one that has interesting things to do for someone who only snorkels (me!). Would we be better off doing this in Fiji or in Australia? I am looking at Blue Lagoon Cruises and Tui Tai in Fiji (they both have activities on the various islands that make them a good option for a non-diver). We are considering Coral Princess Cruises and Captain Cook Cruises for the GBR. We will also consider a liveaboard if we can find one that is more than eating, sleeping, diving and repeat!

(3) We have a fair amount of Starwood Preferred Guest points and would like to use them to help pay for the trip... but would you recommend any of the Starwood properties in Fiji or Australia? We don't want to stay in large business type hotels if there are options that have a local flavor not to be missed.

In Fiji, we're looking at the Sheraton or Westin Denaru (using points). I guess we'd take day trips for diving if we stay there (South Sea Cruises?). We’re also looking at these resorts that are geared for divers:
- Garden Island Resort, Taveuni
- Beqa Lagoon Resort, Pacific Harbour
- Wananavu Beach Resort, Rakiraki
- Octopus Resort , Waya Island

In Australia, we could do the Sheraton on the Park or the Westin in Sydney (but are the locations of these where we want to be?) and the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas (using points). Someone recommended Coconut Beach Resort at Cape Tribulation), as well, so we might head up there for a couple of nights.

I have June flights on hold for a couple of days, but need to decide if we really want June, or if we should go in August.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Carole

If you have heaps of Starwood points then I would use them. I've stayed at both the Sheraton on the Park and the Westin in Sydney. My preference is for the Westin as it's part of a beautiful heritage building and it's right smack in the middle of the CBD. It's about a 15 min walk to the Opera House. The Sheraton is just slightly furher south but not much.
I've also stayed in the Sheraton Villas and the Westin in Fiji. When I was there in June the Sheraton Hotel was still closed for renovations. They are next to each other so you can use the facilities of either. The Villas were quieter while the Westin is buzzier with a mini Fijian market and the nightly fire ritual. I like them both. The Westin spa was recently voted best in Fiji from memory.

BTW I was in Fiji in June and stayed in the Taveuni area and it rained all 4 days I was there. Though the locals told me that it had been very dry earlier. It's not much fun stuck in a tropical resort with wet weather. Nadi however during that time was wet for only 1 day.

We stayed at the Four Points Sheraton in Darling Harbour in 2004 and it was a very fine hotel (they even had fireworks over the harbour just for us the day we arrived!! LOL) The Harbour view rooms are the best of course, the higher the better. Smallish but well appointed and the room service food was good. We found out after the fact that there were breakfast places nearby that were way cheaper than the Sheraton, BTW. The good thing about this location is that you can walk across the street to the aquarium, and go at a non-busy hour (like dinnertime, they stay open late) and also up the street to the Queen Victoria Building for some nice shopping. The restaurants in Darling Harbour are all outside and have gas heaters, and we were not cold in July. some are quite spendy but the ones we ate in were not too bad. I think you can catch a bus to Circular Quay and it isn't far by taxi.

We are non-divers but loved the liveaboard Spirit of Freedom out of Cairns because of the frequency of the snorkel opportunities. It wouldn't have been so fun without a partner who also snorkeled, though. Many people on this site have raved about Captain Cook cruises (do a search) but we wanted all snorkeling all the time so went for the liveaboard. Nice flight home from Lizard Island also. Don't know how the weather would be in your months, we went in October. From what I have read here, especially from local expert and fantastic bed & breakfast owner (Lilybank B&B) Pat W., the weather has been very atypical in FNQ in the past years, so it is hard to predict. Normally there is quite a bit of wind there in July (and also June and August) which we experienced in 2004, but it has varied the last few years. October is supposed to be the very, very best and we were lucky to get a window of non-wind in a very windy month last year!

I have read raves about the Blue Lagoon cruise (do another search) in Fiji and it is something on my to do list.

Happy planning!
Sally in Seattle

I think you would find the Westin and Sheraton on the Park on a much higher level than the Four Points.

Thanks Cilla_Tey - Very interesting about the rainy days on Taveuni, Fiji. We would really prefer to be out on the islands but maybe if we can book decent excursions (scuba, etc.) we would be OK @ Denaru? I heard that the Westin and/or Sheraton has a Rosie's Travel Service desk so I'm trying to look and see what they offer but it appears their website... rosiefiji.com... is down at the moment.

Sally - So you liked the Four Points in Darling Harbour... it must have the best location of the Sydney Starwood properties?

Also, thanks for the Spirit of Freedom info. I did read good reviews on that liveaboard, but from divers, so that's good to hear it's a good option for snorkelers. I'll check it out.

I'd like to look into some liveaboard / cruise options that leave from Port Douglas. Any recommendations?

As far as Blue Lagoon Cruises (Fiji) all the reviews I've seen are for the "Luxury Gold Club Cruise". Has anyone done the (standard) "Club Cruise"? It's ~$1000 less for the two of us on the 4 day cruise. I know the vessel is much nicer on the Gold Cruise... but are the sites visited the same? If the accommodations are still good, I'd just as soon save the $1000 (the BLC rep. seemed to indicate that there is quite a difference in overall experience, however).

prue - Thanks... seems I've heard the same thing you're saying a few times.

Keep the advice coming... and thanks for your help!

Carole

Oh, and for the liveaboard / cruise... we do want our own in-room bathroom, in case anyone is wondering! We'd like to save a few bucks... but not that many bucks as to not have one!!

I had to stay in Denarau because of my flight times as I could not connect to the island resorts, not by choice. You should try to stay in one of the island resorts as that's where you will experience the Fijian warmth and hospitality. Also the beach is almost non-existent in Westin/Sheraton. Taveuni is wetter than some islands but then you may be lucky and it'll be dry when you visit. The Yasawa islands are supposed to be the driest and have the most beautiful beaches. There are so many beautiful resorts in Fiji and it's not easy to decide which one.
I have also stayed at Four Points. I would not say that the location is the best of all the Starwood properties. If I had to choose I'd pick the Westin but then I love to be near shops!

We did the Blue Lagoon Cruise back in 2002 with our 3 kids...while we did do the Gold Cruise, there were a couple of different price levels on the boat. That said, the cruise was just great! We did the Yasawa Islands (I am not sure if the Club Cruise goes the same route)..lots of snorkeling that in many areas was better than anything we saw the few times we went to GBR. Only drawback of the cruise (from our kids view) was there were only a couple other kids on Board (maybe you'd want that if you travel without kids!!)..but I think it's hit or miss..the week before there were alot of kids on board. As for places to stay...we stayed at Castaway Beach Resort....would go back there in a minute. We stayed near the airport for an early morning flight out (it was a nothing of a hotel) and I think we stayed at a Sheraton by the Boat dock the night before we went out to Castaway (nice hotel, but beach was nothing). I don't know about the mainland hotels, but I think the island resorts are the way to go. Blue Lagoon Cruises picked us up from the dock at Castaway.

Thanks Cilla_Tey. I just looked at a Sydney map. You're right... the Four Points isn't best Starwood location! We do want to be close the the harbour, good restaurants, nice walking areas, etc.

peterl43 - Thanks for the comparison on the snorkel sites for Blue Lagoon Cruises vs. Great Barrier Reef. Where did you snorkel at the GBR?

Since we only want to spend the $$ for one cruise / liveaboard, I'm trying to figure out which location (Fiji or GBR) will yield the most unique places that we won't see with a land stay. We're pretty much set on June (over August) and are now looking into the 3 night Spirit of Freedom liveaboard trip to Cod Hole and the Ribbon Reefs. Still considering the 4 night BLC in Fiji.

I'm sure I'll have lots more questions. Thanks, everyone, for the replies thus far!

Carole

Oh, also peterl43... we are looking at the Castaway Resort in Fiji, as well (if we don't do BLC). I see it has good ratings and a dive center on site.

We snorkeled with Wavelength out of Port Douglas on GBR (it's a snorkel only boat...3 reefs in one day...no pontoons, just right off the boat). Then we did Quicksilver, but that was too commercial for what we were looking for. Cataway does have a dive center which always seemed to be busy. Casatway has a great swimming beach with some reef within easy swimming distance (we did see some small sharks on it, plus alot of great fish). They have some different accomodations...we stayed at a beach front Bure which was just great....literally right on the beach. They have a nice smallish pool too. The island is small (it's the only resort on the island) and you can sea kayak around the island in an hour or a little longer. The ocean is very calm and the water is beautiful. The reef on the BLC was more vibrant in places than the GBR. We saw alot of sea turtles, lion fish and other creatures in Fiji that we did not see on GBR.

Thanks peterl43 - One more important question I forgot to ask. At each of the stops on Blue Lagoon Cruises, did they offer the option of diving instead of snorkeling?

Thanks!

Carole

Oh, and one last question for peterl43 - For a 1st time visit, would you recommend the BLC over an island stay? We'll be there only 5 days and probably won't be back for long time.

Thanks again.

Carole

cawhite....I guess it depends on what you are interested in....with the BLC, you end up at a different location every day....the boats are comfortable, the food is good and the snorkeling was great (I don't remember if the BLC that we were on accomodated divers). But, if I were to go back to Fiji....I would stay on the island....you can enjoy dives from the dive shop, great walks on the beach, parasailing, kayaking, snorkeling from the beach, lay in the sand and read a book, go to another island for a day to explore...I think there are more options (at least for us there were)....will you bring your kids?? Ours were 7,10, 13 back then and they still remember Fiji as one of their favorite vacations..both the resort and BLC

Thanks, again, peterl43 - we are leaning toward a stay on land at the moment. I've got some other options I'm now looking into, in addition to the ones listed above, so I may come back with a new post on resort options.

I also checked into a 5 night Tui Tai cruise. It's more expensive but has specific dive opportunites listed for each stop, so maybe they are more dive oriented than BLC.

Not sure if the kids are coming or not yet. They are 13 and 17. We've taken them a number of places in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Europe, and Mexico... this would be our first trip without them. My 17 year-old daughter is a diver, as well, so I kind of hate to have her miss Fiji... we'll see.

Cawhite, what are your other choices for Sydney accommodation? Darling Harbour is well located in terms of transport, but it's a very ugly built-up area, a tourist trap in fact, with at best mediocre restaurants. The Rocks or the CBD would be preferable in my view to Darling Harbour for walking and food, or slightly further afield Potts Point, or around Hyde Park.

Hi Susan7 -

I haven't really researched the Sydney maps, but we're now considering the following (I'm doing a best guess on the location):

- the Sheraton at the Park (Hyde Park area?)
- the Westin (CBD?)
- the Park Hyatt (Rocks area?)

I'm sure everyone will say that the Hyatt is our best option. If we don't do the Hyatt, we're still struggling over 2nd choice.

Carole

Hi Cawhite,

For Sydney: All of the 3 you mention are excellent, international hotels. None will give you the "small local flavour" element.

You mention Starwood points - what hotels are affilitated with Starwood apart from (assumingly) the Hyatt, Sheraton & Westin?

Would you prefer a small hotel, a B & B, or an apartment?

I endorse the others' views that Darling Harbour is tourist alley & to be avoided. It's perfectly safe, just has the charm of ... Starbucks ...

Starwood brands are Sheraton, Westin, St Regis, W, Four Points, Le Meridien and I think there are a couple of others. Hyatt is not affiliated with Starwood.

FWIW I stayed at the Park Hyatt last month and loved the hotel and location.