I will be going to Australia for 2 weeks in early March. I will be flying in and out of Sydney. I am just starting my research, getting to know the map, and what is reasonable to see in 2 weeks. Initially I had thought I would try to get up to the Great Barrier Reef, but now I am thinking that might be too much to do this trip. I will be staying the first 2 nights in Sydney.

I would appreciate any advice/suggestions on possible routes, don't miss sights, accommodations, and so on. I enjoy both cities and rural/off the beaten path places and would probably split my time 75/25 in favor of the non-city sights.

Also, any recommendations on the best guide book and driving map would be appreciated.

Thanks for your help.

This is plenty of time to see both the Sydney and GBR areas. We spent one week in Palm Cove and one in Sydney and found it plenty of time to enjoy both areas.We were in Aus for 3 weeks total, but used 6 days to visit family in Surfer's paradise. We did fly up to Cairns though...don't think you could do it if you drove the distance. what we did was fly into Syd then directly to Cairns. That was we got over our jet lag in a relaxing area, and finished up in Sydney, where we acquired a lot of stuff and only needed to carry it once to the airport.

Hi gr8travels, I personally think it's worth trying to see the GBR if at all possible. With only 2 weeks, you would have to fly between Sydney and the GBR, as lcuy said.

The problem with March is that it's part of Queensland's rainy season or, as they call it in Far North Queensland, The Wet.

If you were going to the GBR in July, then I would recommend going to Port Douglas, as we did, or Palm Cove, as lcuy did.

But in the month of March, Palm Cove gets 418 mm (16.5&quot of rain, which is too wet for my taste.

Luckily the GBR is very long, something like 2,000 km long. So you don't have to see it towards its northern extremity. You can go further south, where the weather, while still tropical, would be a bit more moderate.

For example, Airlee Beach is another place from which boats go out to the GBR. Airlee Beach's March rainfall is 314 mm (12.4&quot. Obviously it's still pretty wet, but not as wet as Palm Cove.

Airlee Beach also is the jumping off point for the gorgeous Whitsunday Islands. I could tell you about the wonderful time we had there one September, but I'll refrain because I think you would be advised to continue looking for a more southerly jumping off point for the GBR.

That more southerly jumping off point is Gladstone. By the time one gets as far down as Gladstone, March rainfall is down to a much more reasonable 92 mm (3.6&quot.

Gladstone also is the embarkation point for the much loved Heron Island.

From what I can tell Gladstone is the most southerly coastal town from which it's feasible to visit the GBR. We've already established that its March rainfall is much more tolerable (according to my tastes, anyway) than the March rainfall of Palm Cove or even of Airlee Beach.

Gladstone has an airport, so it would be feasible to fly there from Sydney, or alternatively you could fly from Sydney to Brisbane and then drive from Brisbane northwards to Gladstone.

Having seen the GBR, I believe a visitor to Australia should try his/her utmost to include it in his/her itinerary. I believe that, in your case, it's do-able.

Another neat place that is between Brisbane and Gladstone is Fraser Island (east of Hervey Bay). Fraser Island also is really worth seeing.

So, if you liked, you could spend 1 week in the Sydney area (with excursions into the counryside, e.g., the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley wineries). Then you could spend 1 week on the southern Queensland coast, seeing the GBR, Heron Island and Fraser Island. Well, that's what I would do if I were you.

You also asked about guidebooks. There probably are many good ones out there. I've always liked the Lonely Planet series for Australia.

Best of luck.

One can get quite a lot in during a 2-week period. While our total time was 16-days, we managed

SYD - 3-1/2 dys/ 4nts
GBR - 5 dys/ 4nts
ASP - 2 dys/ 2nts (with 1-dy fly to/fr
Ayers Rock)
MEL - 3 dys/ 4nts

flying between destinations. You can shorten stay at the GBR (and as Judy_in_calgary mentions, for March to stay further south at the Reef to avoid "the wet&quot. Likewise you can fly direct to Ayers for 1dy/1nt (you don't need more time), then onto MEL which is a completely different kind of city that SYD and which we liked very much. We obtained an "airpass" prior departing the States, for the in-country flights at a discount and was very reasonable. And like you arrived/departed out of SYD.

At no time were we rushed, or tired with these stops. We did rent a car one day in SYD to drive out to the Blue Mountains; likewise, rented a car in MEL to do a "fast" drive on the Great Ocean Road as far as the Twelve Apostles and back.

It's all doable, you just have to decide what your interests are and how you want to travel. Driving between these destinations in OZ for the period you mention is not recommended. Australia is a very big country.

I agree that you should get to see the GBR but I do not agree with the writer about Gladstone which is the gateway to Heron Island.
There is ONLY Heron Island from Gladstone which is an Industrial town of no note at all and getting there is about as costly as getting to the Whitsundays, more so I should think though it is further south.
March is the very taper off of the wet season and usually is rather wonderful. Fortunately this year the wet is early so I would expect that you should have good weather by then. However weather is always unpredictable at the best of times and if you leave getting your flights till you get to Australia then you can look at the weather charts and make a decision then.
Usually the difference between the weather in Gladstone and the Whitsundays is about the same because Queensland gets its very heavy rain from the Coral sea from depressions and therefore it will effect most of the Qld coast right down to the border. If its local rain then quite often the islands on the reef are not wet.
Divide your time between Sydney and the GBR and I am sure you will not regret it. If by chance the weather is rotten on the GBR then head for Tasmania and see some of its wonders instead.
PS I would be spending more than 2 nights in Sydney!

First off, I want to thank all of you for your advice and recommendations, it is much appreciated. After doing some research, I have decided not to head north from Sydney, it will be the end of Feb/beginning of March during 'The Wet' (as well as very hot and humid and not the clearest waters at the GBR) and not optimal time to head to the GBR, so I'll save that for another trip.

I am now thinking of an itinerary like this - first night in SYD, head to Blue Mountains for 2 nights, coastal drive toward Melbourne (spending 1 or 2 nights along the way), maybe a night or two in Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road area (Torquay to Peterborough) for 2 nights, back to SYD (possibly inland route to visit some of the National Parks along the way), final 4 nights in SYD.

Any suggestions or advice on these areas (or ones I haven't mentioned in the area)? Any places that you think are must sees in the area? Accommodation or dining recommendations? Also, how does this itinerary sound timewise? 4 nights enough for SYD? I still have 2 nights not in the above schedule, just not sure where to use them.

Thanks again for all of your helpful advice!

Gr8travels, I'm so pleased to hear you're leaning towards a "less is more" type of itinerary.

As far as Melbourne is concerned, it is worth driving through the Dandenong Ranges to the east of the city. If I had time to visit only one place in the Dandenong Ranges it would be the William Ricketts Sanctuary, where the evocative sculptures of the late William Ricketts are arranged amongst the trees and ferns of the temperate rainforest, with all kinds of parrots in the trees overhead.

http://homeandgarden.nzoom.com/cda/p...146208,00.html

and

http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1park_...y.cfm?park=216

Other possible things to do in the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley are a trip to Healesville Nature Sanctuary, where one can see native Australian animals

http://www.visitvictoria.com/display...0000/vvt.vhtml

or a ride on a cute steam train, Puffing Billy, which departs from Belgrave Station.

http://www.puffingbilly.com.au/

In downtown Melbourne, I recommend getting yourself oriented by riding the City Circle Tram. It's free, and it plays a pre-recorded message that tells you about the sights that you're passing. You can catch one that does the circuit clockwise, or one that does it counterclockwise. Although you can get on and off the City Circle Trams as often as you want, I recommend doing the full circuit once, so you know the full range of options, before deciding where to get off.

Something you might want to see is the Queen Victoria Market. There are stalls that sell food, clothes, and souvenirs. It's a good place to buy an Australian cowboy hat, if you'd like one of those.

Although you can stay in the city centre, there might be some merit in staying in St. Kilda, which is on the shoreline, a short distance from the city centre. I think you mentioned before that you didn't mind modest accommodation. (My apologies if I'm confusing you with another poster. I've lost track of all the people to whom I've replied.) Anyway, Melbourne has a few hostels, some of which are in St. Kilda. By doing a Google search for hostels you can get some idea of each one's "culture". For example, some of them have a party atmosphere (I imagine that would be true of the majority of them), but some maintain a quiet atmosphere.

St. Kilda has a wide variety of restaurants, bars, cafes, etc. There also is a nice promenade along the ocean where you can walk, or rent a bike or roller blades.

The merit of staying just outside of the city centre is that you could catch the tram (trolley car on rails) into the city centre, and you wouldn't have to find parking and try to figure out the unique traffic rules in downtown Melbourne. (Because of the trams, there is a weird system for turning, and some of the lanes are dedicated tram lanes.)

The Southbank area on the banks of the Yarra River, just at the south edge of the central business district (CBD), is a nice place for strolling (outdoor cafes, etc.).

Lygon Street is famous for its Greek and other ethnic restaurants. (Melbourne is the city with the largest Greek population outside of Athens. When I lived there between July 1997 and January 2000, it had five Greek radio stations.) Lygon Street is in Carlton, a neighbourhood at the north edge of the downtown core. There is no need to make a reservation. Just walk up and down Lygon Street till you see a restaurant that takes your fancy.

I would recommend devoting at least two full days to Melbourne (not counting your trip along the Great Ocean Road). If I were you I would spend one day exploring the CBD and the charming spots at the edge of the CBD and one day exploring the Dandenong Ranges and the Yarra Valley to the east of the city. If I had travelled across the world to reach Melbourne, that is the minimum amount of time I would allocate to it. (But Melbourne could keep a person interested for longer than that.)

As far as the Great Ocean Road is concerned, a nice place to stop for lunch on your first (outwardbound) day would be Lorne.

It's worth taking the time out, before or after lunch, to drive to the Erskine Falls in the temperate rainforest just behind Lorne. Walk down the steps to the bottom of the falls and walk along the bank of the Erskine River for a little way. Absolutely delightful.

If you don't already have one, get a copy of a Lonely Planet Guide.

I'll leave it to others to make Sydney recommendations.

Gr8travels, about the coastal drive from Sydney to Melbourne......

There are two particularly nice sections of coastline that I can think of.

One is the so called Sapphire Coast from Bermagui down through Merimbula to Eden. Lovely beaches, pleasant little coastal resorts.

A cute town a little inland from Bermagui is Tilba Tilba.

Another nice section of coast is Ninety Mile Beach (near Lakes Entrance).

Hi

We spent a month is Australia/New Zealand from the end of Fabruary through the end of March and very, very surprisingly (at least to this post) we had very little rain. Palm Cove and the barrier islands were marvelous. We could not have asked for better weather.

Actually Janese don't you live in Queensland? You should have a good handle on it.

Hi - those rainfall figures are monthly averages - it doesn't necessarily mean that it rains ever day and sometimes only rains at night. For instance, a few days ago in Cairns we were dumped with nearly 6" in one day - we're not complaining - the rainforest badly needed it - but since then there hasn't been a cloud in the sky - the reef is glorious with SE winds of only 10-15 knots - water certainly isn't murky on reef - visibility is great and water is warm. A really heavy tropical downpour is worth experiencing and we've had too few of them in the last 3 years - it cools the air and gets all the native animals and birds into action. Of course, when the sun comes out you have to expect humidity.

Price of food in Australian Cities - Yikes!
I found the food incredibly expensive in Melbourne and Sydney. (Was there Dec. 13 - Jan. 8/2004, which is the "high" season, but I think the prices do not change during the "low" season either.) The Christmas Day buffet at the Melbourne Grand was $200 per person. Ended up having a hamburger at a greasy spoon downtown called The Golden Tower, but that meal for my friend and I was still over $30 for a couple of burgers and brew. (Aussies also put beets and a fried on their burgers). Sydney was even higher. The so-called world famous Doyles across from the Opera House averaged over $30 per entree, and they didn't even offer fish 'n chips on their dinner menu. Fish 'n chips is what supposedly put them on the culinary map. The CBD hotels were also expensive for lodging and food, but we stayed at the Airport Holiday Inn which was only $117 Au/night. It was easy to get to the city centre as the Holiday Inn was only 2 blocks from the Mascot Station, then a short ride into Circular Quay (Opera House, harbour ferry, attractions). However, I'm glad I packed an over-the-shoulder portable cooler as the Holiday Inn is located in an Industrial area (most airline-Quantas headquarters is right across the street) and there was a very nice deli on the in the vacinity which offered great salads and sandwiches which we loaded our cooler up with on the way to Mascot station. They also offered an Oz Big breakfast for $6.99, compared to the usual $14 and up for the same breakfast in downtown cafes and hotels. The Airport Holiday Inn also offered a fairly reasonable bar/snack facility which was open until 10 p.m. We enjoyed a large and very good Caesar salad there for $12. Other restaurants/hotels wanted as much as $20 for a Caesar salad. Food aside, Australia is an enchanted land and I definitely will be returning so will be procuring some more advice in regards to some of the places I did not see such as the Gold Coast etc.

gr8travels. 2-3 hours north of Sydney there is a lovely area, Port Stephens. Nelson Bay being the main part. Beautiful beaches, nice outdoor restaurants, great people. I would definitely spend some time there, I make sure I go every trip to Australia.

Revisions, revisions, the fun of deciding on the itinerary! I am now leaning towards flying down and back to Melbourne rather than driving. This is just because of time constraints, if I had unlimited time I would enjoy doing a leisurely drive along the coast route. So, here is my current plan

SYD - 2 nights
Fly to Melbourne
Melbourne area - 7 nights, haven't decided how to split up the time here, stay in one location or maybe a few locations (would like to stay some outside the city), see the city, do Great Ocean Road, Grampians, Dandenong Ranges, etc.
Fly to SYD - 5 nights
2 nights in Blue Mountains
3 nights in SYD (possible day trips)

Does this seem like a good amount of time for each area? Would you split up the time differently? I also want to make sure that I get to see varied areas, don't want to see all the same type areas. I feel I have the coast covered, as well as a good amount of places to see inland. Any suggestions/changes to what I have in mind would be helpful.

"Judy in Calgary" - thanks for all of your advice, what is CBD?

CBD = central business district = downtown

In addition to calling it the CBD, many Melbournians will say "the city." If they say "the city," they don't mean Greater Melbourne, they mean downtown.

Hi Gr8travels,

At present, you're thinking of doing:

Sydney - 2 nights
Melbourne / Victoria - 7 nights
Blue Mountains - 2 nights
Sydney - 3 nights

I feel that you're reducing the usefulness of your time in Sydney by chopping it up like that. Arrive Sydney, go to Melbourne, return to Sydney.

Something you might consider is spending 7 nights in New South Wales (Sydney & Blue Mountains) upon your arrival in Australia. Then fly to Melbourne and spend 7 nights in Melbourne and the rest of Victoria.

Then, when you fly back home to the States, do it all in one long stretch : Melbourne, Sydney, Honolulu, San Francisco, home (or whatever your particular route is going to be).

For example, we have flown Melbourne, Sydney, Honolulu, Vancouver, Calgary. Yes, the trans-Pacific flight was long. But it's long no matter which way you slice it. We did not find that the extra 1.5 hour flight from Melbourne to Sydney made that much of a difference in the larger scheme of things. We checked our luggage all the way from Melbourne, so we didn't have to bother with it in Sydney. I think that perhaps the "sacrifice" of 1.5 extra hours of flying on your return journey will pay for itself by allowing you to have an unbroken stretch of 7 nights in New South Wales. Well, it's something to think about anyway.

I agree with Judy - take your time in Sydney in one chunk. You waste so much time getting to the airport, checking in etc. Do all your sightseeing around Sydney, then fly into Melbourne, and then connect through Sydney for your homeward flight. It would be a gamble going to Far North Queensland in early March as the weather could be hot, wet and humid.
Do the Great Ocean Road drive but take two or three days to do so. Visit Queenscliff on the way, have lunch at Lorne, drive through the Otway Ranges and stay overnight at Port Fairy (charming little old fishing port). From there take the road north to Mount Eccles National Park (about 50 km) where you should see koalas. From there drive east to Hamilton, then head north through the Grampians National Park. If time allows stay overnight here at Halls Gap. Ask at your motel for the best place to see kangeroos at dusk. Last time we were there, they were all over the place.
From the Grampians, head back to Melbourne but stop on the way at Ballarat and see Sovereign Hill (great folk museum, best in Australia) and the Gold Museum and have a look around Ballarat.
While you are in Melbourne, use the City Circle tram to get around town. Visit Queen Victoria market for souvenirs, clothes and food.
Take the ferry along the river to Williamstown and check out the shops and eating places.
Southbank has a great range of eating places.
Visit the just re-opened National Gallery and the Ian Potter Gallery at Federation Square.
The art and craft market on the St Kilda Esplanade on Sundays is good.
Melbourne Zoo is excellent. If you have time take a tour through the Yarra Valley (great wineries) to visit Healesville Sanctuary.
Good food is available at very reasonable prices if you ask around. If you like Chinese food, Little Bourke Street is the place to go. For Italian food, visit Lygon Street. If you like Vietnamese food, go to Victoria Street.
Hope you enjoy your stay in Australia.

I think the idea of not splitting up my time in Sydney makes a lot of sense. So it would go like this

Fly to Melbourne, spend 7 nights (some in city, some outside city), see the city and surrounds (Great Ocean Road, Grampians, Dandenong Ranges, etc.)

Fly to Sydney, rent car, head to Blue Mountains for 2 nights, back to airport to return car, and then to Sydney for 5 nights.

Thank you to all for your advice and to Judy, Janese, Marg for all of your suggestions of routes, sights to see, and so on. They are so helpful in planning my trip! Now that I have my route planned I'm sure I'll be back with a least a few more questions about places along the way.