Hi, all.

I will have about two weeks and plan to attend a 4-day conference in Melbourne in July. I was originally thinking a trip from LA that was:

4 days/3 nights Sydney
4 days/5 nights Melbourne
5 days/4 nights between Hong Kong and Macau

and would permit me to use miles to fly in style on Qantas and Cathay Pacific to/from LAX.

However, I am starting to wonder if I should nix HK and opt to visit more of Australia? My interests are primarily cultural (i.e, museums) and I am not much of an outdoor or explorer person. Obviously I would visit some of the zoos and see the koalas and such.

Would you propose something else? Maybe Brisbane and the Gold Coast? Or Auckland? I just worry about the viability of beachy-outdoorsy places in the middle of winter (though HK probably won't be too pleasant in July either).

Thanks for your time.

It will be plenty warm in far north Queensland (Cairns, Port Douglas) to go to the beach in July with average highs around 77 degrees F. Would you consider a snorkeling trip to the Great Barrier Reef? How about a day trip (tour) exploring the Daintree National Park rainforest? Or a morning walking amongst the birds and animals at the Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas? These are all great things to do in far north Queensland, but if you are not an "outdoorsy" person, then you might want to give this area a pass.

Also, I definitely wouldn't recommend going to the Gold Coast since it will be too chilly there for the beach there (highs around 66 - 68 degrees F. in July) and you don't sound like an "amusement park-type person." Brisbane never interested me, but perhaps others can make recommendations for that city.

If you are a museum-lover, then I'd recommend going to Canberra. Some of the great museums of Australia are located there: The Australian War Museum, the National Museum of Australia, and the National Gallery of Australia (and they're all free). In addition, the government buildings such as Parliament House, Old Parliament House, and the National Library have tours and/or exhibitions which are well worth seeing. It may be a bit chilly in Canberra, but the days are generally gorgeous (clear with blue skies) in July.

Yeah, thanks. I'm sure it sounds crazy, but something like what you recommend in Canberra sounds more appealing to me than the first part. I guess the real question would something cultural in say Canberra or Auckland be more appealing to me than Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has a great museum, art gallery and science center. It has such a distinct culture because of its colonial past and asian population I'm sure you would find it fascinating. Though you are wise to consider the weather as it will likely be hot and humid, with not the best air quality.

It's a matter of personal preference of course, but I have been to all three places you are considering--Canberra, Auckland and Hong Kong and I prefer Canberra.

Hong Kong is clearly the most "unique" of the three because of its culture, but as Eliztravels points out, it will be hot and humid in July. Hong Kong is also a huge, crowded city with a population of around 7 million people. The weather, as noted, in Canberra will be cool but pleasant. It is a small city, with a population of around 350,000. It's a planned city around a man-made lake and surrounded by bushland, and I find it a very scenic city. Auckland's weather will be similar to Canberra's but, perhaps, a bit wetter. The city has a population over 1 million. It lies on a harbor which makes it scenic as well.

In Canberra, there are also good exhibitions at the National Library and the National Archives. The Drill Hall, Canberra Contemporary Art Centre, and the Canberra Museum are all worth visiting. As Longhorn said they are mostly free, except for the National Museum of Australia and Questacon.

Lanyon is also interesting for the Sidney Nolan collection

http://www.museumsandgalleries.act.g...yon/index.html

Is Brisbane worth a look, given my interests?

Canberra will be very cold in July. So if weather is an issue, then not Canberra. Sydney will be warmer and is of interest historically. Port Douglas and far North Queensland in July, great weather, not so,much in the way of museums but great natural beauty

Brisbane has Gallery of Modern Art and Queensland Gallery of Art (located near the river), Institute of Modern Art for contemporary art (Fortitude Valley), all of which have interesting exhibitions.

When we lived in Canberra, Australians were always telling us how cold it was there in winter (June, July, August). We were simply amazed because for us (residents in the Washington, D.C. area), we found the winter there quite pleasant. The low temperatures seldom got below freezing and the daytime temperatures averaged around 55 - 60 degrees F. And we never had to shovel snow like we did at our home in the U.S.!

I guess it all depends on what you are used to.

What about ideas for potential day-trips from Sydney or Melbourne, from someone who isn't very adventurous or outdoorsy (aka probably not a crazy Blue Mountain hike). Will probably have about 2.5 days in Melbourne (not counting conference time) and 4 in Sydney. Maybe there's not much time ...

There's enough to see in each city with that amount of time.

In Melbourne, visit Heide Museum of Modern Art just outside the city; the grounds, architecture, as well as the exhibitions are well worth seeing. There's a brilliant cafe run by a leading Melbourne chef out there.

http://www.heide.com.au/

I like visiting Jack the satin bowerbird at Museum Victoria:

http://museumvictoria.com.au/melbour...bowerbird-cam/

There's also ACCA, (Australian Centre of Contemporary Art), ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), Ian Potter Galley at University of Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria (two locations) and the Centre for Photography.

In Sydney, there's the Museum of Sydney, Carriageworks, Museum of Contemporary Art (great cafe on the roof with views of the harbour), Art Gallery of NSW, Artspace, the Sculpture Walk. In addition, for historical convict sites: The Hyde Park Barracks, Cockatoo Island. Rose Seidler House for modernist architecture.

So, after much thought, I am thinking about the following:

July 4th through 6th - visiting friends in Los Angeles
Leave late July 6th for Melbourne, arrive 8:30 am Tuesday, July 8th.

Melbourne sight-seeing: basically nearly 3 full days (from 8:30 am on Tuesday July 8th until conference begins evening of the 10th. Then will have half a day, after 1:30 pm, on Sunday July 13).

Leave Sydney Monday 7/14, depart again for Dallas 1:30 pm on Saturday 7/19. So, a little more than 5 full days.

I am still intrigued by the possibility of a long overnight in Canberra, but this would require more travel and possibly cutting Sydney too short.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

I love the Gold Coast. Anywhere South of the Gold Coast will be cold and North is the dry season which can still be quite warm but temperatures is very nice. On the Gold Coast if you are a little brave then you can still swim in the sea, Many people swim. We have some beautiful hotels here and many out door activities.

Without knowing what plans you have for Sydney, it's hard to say how much time you'd need there. For me, 3 days in Sydney has always been sufficient (4 days if you want to do a Blue Mountains day trip). Have you considered leaving Melbourne for Sydney late on Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening--that would give you 5 full days for the Sydney portion of your trip so that an overnight trip to Canberra might be more feasible.

Mostly just a ton of art/culture/museums in Sydney, as well as hopefully the Zoo and a trip to Bondi Beach. Maybe also a day trip like to Blue Mountains or somewhere else, but it will be cold then probably. I would like to stay in Melbourne Sunday night as I think it would be funded by the conference, as opposed to paying my own way, especially in a more expensive Sydney.

That certainly makes sense to stay over Sunday night in Melbourne.

With a day at the zoo (it's a big zoo), a day trip to the Blue Mountains and everything else you want to do, adding an overnight visit to Canberra would probably cut your time in Sydney too short. You'll just have to arrange to attend another conference in Australia so you can put a visit to Canberra into your plans.

How about you fly on Monday morning to Canberra, get wheels at the airport with a contract that lets you drop off the car in Sydney, and see Canberra with your own wheels? Stay the night, and if money is an object and the expense-account-boosted Canberra prices (fat-cat politicians and lobbyists!!!) are too much, drive a few km to nearby Queanbeyan and motels are much cheaper.

Then - if it's a nice clear day - drive to Sydney via the route that first takes you cross-country to Batemans Bay and then follow the coast. On a good winter's day that is stunning - clear air, blue skies, no beach-goer traffic (too cold), lots of nice towns along the way, like Berry that has excellent bakeries and other goodies.

By the end of Tuesday you'll be in Sydney, having seen a whole bunch more than just the big cities of Melbourne and Sydney.

Thanks for the thoughts. I have nearly everything set except for the last two nights:

July 5 through evening of 9th in Sydney - nearly 5 full days
July 9 through morning of 16th in Melbourne - including conference about 3.5 full days to explore

Then, for last two nights I was thinking of either:

1) Overnight in Canberra - fly out of Melbourne early Wednesday back again late Thursday. Stay in Melbourne then track to airport Friday morning for trip back to LAX.

2) Fly Wednesday morning to Gold Coast airport for two nights at either Marriott Surfer's Paradise or Sheraton Mirage. Fly Friday morning from Brisbane to LAX.

Canberra does seem more my scene with all the museums, but I am worried I may be a bit museumed out by that point. Award tickets are hard to come by and paid tickets are kind of pricey, especially if I want to avoid the last flight out Thursday night. Am also worried about weather delays - don't want to miss my flight back Friday.

Option 2 could be nice if I just want to relax at a resort. However, it will be July, so maybe not the best beach weather. And, I could do beachy things in Sydney or Melbourne.

Any final thoughts?

PS - don't want to drive, but thanks for the advice.

Just to follow-up, I'm booking the following:

July 5-9: Sydney
July 9 evening to morning of 15: Melbourne (though 2.5 days at conference)
July 15-16: 2 full days in Canberra
July 17-20: Melbourne to LAX, 3.5 days in LA

Separate posts on my three Australia cities will follow. So much to do in so little time!