7 day tour of Australia
 

My wife and I (late sixties and one has a slight disability) are planning to take a Princess cruise from Sydney, primarily to and around New Zealand. The pre-cruise tour offer of seven days is convenient but truly over-the-top expensive. The tour hits major points like; Ayers Rock, Cairns, Darwin, Kakadu National Park and Port Douglas. The cruise makes stops in Melbourne and Hobart on Tasmania.

My question is: Can someone recommend a tour company we can hire that will handle those sites (or others if interesting), handle our luggage and provide some interesting insights into the wonderful Australian people and sights? We understand that Australia is a very big place so air travel will be neccessary.

Thank you,

Marty

Sorry for the duplicate. Please read the one above.

Thanks

Somebody posted the itinerary for a pre-cruise tour offered by their cruise line (Princess?) on Cruise Critic and asked for comments. I was astounded by the amount of ground that the tour was proposing to cover in a short amount of time (as well as the cost). I told the CC poster that a tour like that would mean they would get a great chance to visit Australian airports, but they wouldn't see much of the country.

I see a similar problem with the tour that you are proposing to visit Uluru (Ayers Rock), Darwin, Kakadu, Cairns and Port Douglas in seven days. It just can't be done if you actually want to see anything. With seven days, I would choose no more than 2 destinations and I would choose those destinations based on the time of year.

If you are traveling anytime from November to May, that is considered The Wet in the Darwin/Kakadu region and it is not a particularly good time to be there. Not only is it hot and humid, but you run the risk of lots of rain and even cyclones.

From December to February, the weather in the Cairns/Port Douglas region is going to be pretty hot and humid as well, but lots of people travel there at that time of year anyway. It's do-able.

Finally, the weather at Uluru in December to February is dry, but exceedingly hot. All of your activities will have be done in the early or late hours of the day. There are also a ton of flies at that time of year which can be a big annoyance.

So, without knowing more about the time of year you are traveling or your interests (wildlife, photography, nature, history, etc.), I can't recommend specific places to visit. But, if you are traveling in the Australian summer months, consider spending your time in the southern part of the country. E.g. a visit to Adelaide and Kangaroo Island or a tour around the rest of Tasmania would both be great choices.

Or then again you could go to the Atherton Tablelands in the north where it is cooler than it is likely to be in the south of the country in the "temperate" zone.

Yes too much travel for too much money to see too little.

I cannot compare with the above two posters for advice but I offer this perspective on the logistics:

One word: simplify. You'll have a more relaxed time and what is more, you can easily arrange a simpler itinerary yourself and save a lot of money. (You can still use a travel agent to book the flights and hotels if you prefer.) Forget the Northern Territory (Darwin and Kakadu). I say that for logistical and not tourism reasons. Instead:

Instead, fly into Cairns where you would spend 4 nights. Have your travel agent book a hotel if you don't wish to do so yourself. The first 2 nights/first whole day you basically settle in after your long flight. The second day/third night you take a Kuranda rainforest tour which you can easily arrange yourself (or email your Cairns hotel to arrange it for you as this is a very popular day tour.) The third day/fourth night is a Great Barrier Reef day tour - again, very popular, can arrange yourself or get your hotel to do so.

Although you could squeeze in a 'side trip' to Uluru/Ayers Rock, the extra flight plus the nature of the location would make this an expensive option, not to mention it would be rushed. So instead, you could spend a fifth night in Cairns or fly to Sydney for 3 instead of 2 nights, making your pre-cruise excursion 7 nights in all. Trust me, there's lots to do in Sydney, lots of day tours.

This would only be a snippet of Australia, but it is doable in 7 days and does not involve self drive, which I gather you don't want to do.

This sounds like one of those Bill Peach or Captains Choice tours. They cover a vast territory ( briefly ) at very high prices. No, you need to restrict your time to one or two places to get any benefit. Good luck!

Many cruise ships have excellent and interesting food, really cool people, and it's simply a very relaxing vacations. Cruise ship vacations let you get a taste of several different places in a week

Ella - we're not talking about the cruise but the pre-cruise tour that the OP is considering.

Marty - I'm very new to australian tour planning - but i've done a lot in europe where the distances are much less. this tour looks extraordinary to me - when do you actually get to see anything?

Personally I would pick a max of 2 places where the cruise isn't going, preferably ones with decent weather for that time of year, and enjoy them at a reasonable pace.