I'VE GOT 11 DAYS ON THE GROUND IN OZ(JAN 20-31) SO I'M TRYING TO PUT TOGETHER A PLAN.I'M 31,TRAVELING SOLO,LIKE THE OUTDOORS AND A GOOD DRINKING HOLE AT NIGHT.ANY FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED.

SYDNEY 2 NIGHTS
KATOOMBA 2 NIGHTS
BYRON BAY 2 NIGHTS
SURFERS PARADISE 3 NIGHTS
SYDNEY 3 NIGHTS

Hi Chicagofireman,

When you say you have 11 days "on the ground," how literal is that? By which I mean, do you intend to get everywhere by ground transportation, or are you willing to fly from one destination to another?

You are being pretty realistic in the sense that you're sticking to, or at least close to, the east coast. Still, Katoomba to Byron Bay, while it's do-able on the ground, is a fair hike, and that's true also of the return trip from Surfers Paradise to Sydney.

If you're interested in specific advice about accommodation, etc., I think it would help people to share their opinions if they knew your budget range.

Your stay will overlap with the tail end of Australian schools' summer vacations. Students of public (government) schools in New South Wales and Queensland will return to school on January 27th according to this website:

http://www.dest.gov.au/schools/dates.htm

Australia has quite a few private schools as well. Their dates typically vary a bit from those of public schools, but I don' know what they are.

University students continue to be on summer vacation through February, and return to classes near the beginning of March.

http://www.usyd.edu.au/fstudent/unde...tes_2004.shtml

While those young people may be clogging up accommodation at a place like Surfers Paradise, I imagine that would be a good thing from your point of view. I wouldn't expect you to be the only lonely soul on the beach, put it that way.

Australia's reputation for good drinking holes is well earned, and its beer is great. Queenslanders tend to like their local brand, XXXX (pronounced Four Ex). It will endear you to them if they see you taking to THEIR beer. It also will endear you to them if you steer clear of Melbourne's beer, Victoria Bitter (VB for short). (If you were going to Melbourne the protocol would be reversed.)

The weather, especially in Queensland, will be hot. Remember to Slip - Slop - Slap. Slip on a shirt, slop on sun screen, and slap on a hat.

If you don't already have one, get hold of a guidebook. Lonely Planet is a good one.

Your arrival date in Australia is close, so you don't have much time left for planning. On the other hand, being on your own gives you more flexibility than if you have a bunch of travel companions in tow.

Hope you have a great time.

THANKS FOR THE INFO.IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT I'D TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ANY FLIGHTS I COULD GET ON THE RUN.

CHEAP ACCOMODATION IS A PLUS, SOMEWHERE TO CRASH IS ALL I NEED, I DON'T SEE MYSELF GOING SO FAR TO SIT IN A HOTEL ROOM.

Yeah...get a car in sydney and potter through the mountains and up the coast.

stay at pubs
Good pubs at
urunga
south west rocks
yamba
byron

maybe take in the tamworth country music festival

get to a one day cricket game at the sydney cricket ground...do a pub crawl from central station up to the ground.