jhw0101

Hi everyone, been reading up on the many wonderful posts. I will be spending 8 days in Australia in early Feb. '08, wondering if we should spend the 8 days in Perth/Margaret River/Albany area or Melbourne/Victoria region? Any recommendation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Melnq8

Hi jhw0101 -

Hard choice there. We've really enjoyed our three visits to WA and also enjoyed our time visiting the Great Ocean Road in VIC, although
after the GOR we headed to TAS,
so barely scratched the surface of VIC.

One major factor might be the weather - it will be pretty hot in WA that time of year.

Eight days isn't much time in which to see Perth/MR/Albany. Albany is a 4-5 hour drive from Perth and the best of the sights are east and west of Albany. My point is that you'll need plenty of time to fully appreciate all that's on offer.

Perth/Fremantle/MR is certainly doable in 8 days (we've done just that in fact). You'd have sufficient time to also visit Augusta, Busselton, and Yallingup as they're not far from MR.

What are your interests?

Melnq8

You'll probably find that there's not a lot of activity on Fodor's when it comes to WA.

Looks like you bookmarked one of my WA trip reports. Here are the other two if you're interested -(beware, I'm long-winded)

Perth/Albany/Pemberton/MR

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...3&tid=34967476

Perth/Fremantle/MR

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...3&tid=34657096

Here's a link to some online WA photos:

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/332438/index.html

Good luck with your decision!

chimani

That's a hard one.

I once spent a week driving around south of Perth, going as far as Esperance and back in 7 days. Albany isn't quite as far - but how many days were you planning on reserving for the city (Perth) and must sees like Rottnest Island?

Victoria? Again, how many days for Melbourne itself? There's the GOR, and places in the hinterland like Bendigo, Bright, Echuca.

Wine in both regions.

Just in case it's of interest, the bi-annual Adelaide Festival runs from 29/02/08 till 19/03. Well worth checking out if you like that sort of thing (I do!).

http://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/

Food for thought.

Cheers.

baysidegirl

OK I'm biased for Melbourne but I have lived and worked in Perth for 5 months. February is our hottest month so expect some high temperatures. Perth will be hotter again (generally) but the do have the Freemantle Doctor in the afternoon (a fairly strong wind), which gives some relief. Down south from Perth is just lovely and should be great that time of year.

In Melbourne you obviously have the city centre and then there are the beaches, galleries, restaurants etc. A drive down the Great Ocean Road is terrific and would be lovely that time of year. Also the Yarra Valley - wine area and up around the Murray River - Echuca etc. The distances aren't so great in Vic as they are in WA.

Which ever you choose I'm sure you'll enjoy your trip.

baysidegirl

Just thought of 2 other great things to do in Melb - Phillip Island and see the penguins and a trip up into the Dandenong Ranges - really pretty.

jhw0101

Thanks everyone for the great advices. It was a struggle for sure, I would love to visit both places if only I had more time. At the end, I was able to secure a super deal on a ticket to Perth, so economics ruled!

Also, I was looking up on the best guide books on Australia, it suddenly dawned on me that who needs guidebooks when we have such a passionate group of travellers on this forum? You guys are just the greatest!

Melnq8

Have a good time in Perth!

travel4flowers

I think you will have a great time in the region. I really loved the area. Happy planning and have a wonderful trip.