Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - 2 weeks in Australia

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)

- Australia & the Pacific (https://www.fodors.com/community/australia-and-the-pacific/)

- - 2 weeks in Australia (https://www.fodors.com/community/australia-and-the-pacific/2-weeks-in-australia-205830/)

2 weeks in Australia

We're thinking of a family (two adults and two teens) trip to Australia in December, 2003. We'll have two weeks and have received conflicting advice. Some friends who have been there have said two weeks (including travel time) isn't enough time; others say it is as long as we're smart about what we do. So... two questions for those of you who have been to Australia. 1. Is two week sufficient time? 2. If so, what are the recommendations for the highlights of the trip? Many thanks.

2 weeks is a minimum. You will need a couple of days to get over jet lag if coming from east coast US or Europe. Of course you cannot see the whole country in the time except in a very cursory way and you will be exhausted at the end. Distances remember are very long, so car journeys eat up time - speed limits are more like US than continental Europe, so no 200km per hr trips, and plane journeys are the way to go. I am originally from Perth (also lived in Melbourne and Sydney), and recommend people going for 2 weeks to split the time between Sydney and Great Barrier Reef. Sure lots of people come out with, West Australia has everything, or you must visit Melbourne etc etc, but on balance you will see more of my opinion than the others (partly because Sydney is the biggest city). Barrier Reef is simply one of the world'S great natural wonders, while Sydney ranks as one of the world's great seaside cities, with lots to see and do. If a third place is wanted given distance/time constraints, I suggest Tasmania for some beautiful scenery - e.g Port Arthur and Gordon River within relatively accessible distances in a state which is a bit stick in a time warp - can be charming, interesting or tedious depending on your view. Also Tasmania will be a little cooler than mainland which depending on where you are from may be a bit of a relief.

Must agree with Nick 100% Fly into Sydney and spend a bit of time there and then take yourself up to the GBR. Remember that December is our BIG LONG school holidays and it is summer so you and half of Australia will be on holiday. So depending on just when in Dec. you are coming then I would split it up like this Sydney 4 - 5 days fly to the GBR and the rest of the time there.

I've seen numerous requests for assistance with itineraries - such as this one. It occurs to me that one solution for those of us who have limited time and resources might be a cruise ship. In a two week time frame, there are several available cruise itineraries with a range of cruise lines varying from luxury to economy. Not only do they visit several ports of call in Australia, but New Zealand as well. Considering the fact that one would never have to pack/unpack for the next destination, it certainly seems like a reasonable option to me!

Unfortunately the cruise ship idea does not work for Australia. You havn't seen the country is you only get to sail into Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart for a day each. You spend most of your time with tourists and then hop of the ship for the day and travel around a city with more tourists seeing whatever canned tourists see.

2 weeks is just the tip of the icebergh so to speak but it is a great start! we did 2 weeks and were very happy with what we got out of the trip and our longing for the time when we can spend at least another 2 weeks. We split up like this- 4 nights Sydney CBD with 1 day in Canberra 3 nights Hobart Tassie 4 nights Palm Cove GBR 3 nights Sydney Darling Harbor I day in Blue Mtns We were gone a total of 16 days I believe....left on Monday evening from Pittsburgh, arrived on WEDNESDAY into Sydney (via LAX late Monday). Left 2 Wednesday's later and arrived back on the same Wednesday in Pittsburgh that evening. Hope you can follow that! Pick no more than 3 locations and you should be fine. Even with 7 nights in Sydney there was sooo much we still didn't see. But I saw the major attractions and that satisfied me. IF anything I would have added another day to Hobart. We kept the pace fairly relaxed and if we didn't feel like doing much that day then we just took our time getting up and going out. You might be able to find my original post from when I returned back in October. Search for Back from Honeymoon or something similar. Probably posted as Shannon. My husband and I loved Canberra. What interests do your Teens have?? Are they into the beach scene? Sports? or are they more artsy/history? We loved climbing the Harbor Bridge and my husband has a fear of heights. Some of our favorite time was spent crossing the harbor on the ferries. The fast jet boat that takes out of Manly Yacht Club was totally AWESOME! There were younger people on that trip with us (late teens/early 20's) We are 29/30 if that gives you any reference. IF you have more time...I say TAKE it...the most expensive part is the airfare and that price doesn't really change for 1 week or 4 weeks. IF you are coming from the US...then you can really get some good deals on hotel rooms with the exchange rate. Food can be quite cheap if you avoid dress up type restaurants. Good Luck! I would go NO MATTER WHAT!! in fact...take me with you! it probably wouldn't hurt to be based out the Syd Harbor area because we ended up there most of the time anyways to catch ferries! Tour's pick you up at your hotel....