Hi,<BR><BR>I am planning a trip with my girlfriend to Australia around the third week of March for about two weeks. Planning to see Sydney, Melbourne, Great Barrier Reefs( Cairns), Gold Coast.<BR><BR>Is a train ride to these destinations worth the time? Is it scenic?<BR><BR>First of all, is it better to go the Great Barrier Reef and the islands early on due to weather or it doesn't matter? Thinking is that earlier would allow us to still catch some warm temps.<BR><BR>Secondly, we are vegetarian...is OZ a land of the meat eaters or does it have some good vegetarian places as well?? If so, a suggestion would be great of your fav restaurants.<BR><BR>What are some good accomodations on a budget?<BR>Maybe we will splash some in Resorts near the Great Barrier Reef...any idea what is the best one there?<BR><BR>Lastly, is there any good website with lots of info on Australia..besides Fodors..<BR><BR>Thanks for any help.<BR>Anand.

Web wombat is one of the Australian search sites but I just tried it to get the address and couldn't get through. <BR>Weather will be warm on the GBR whenever you go so not to worry there - probably the later you leave it the less likely you will have rain there. <BR>I was in Melbourne this week and it was dry and brown, I would seriously think about why you are going there at this time of year and what you want to do there as it is a long way from Sydney and when the countryside is brown it is less than interesting. <BR>You really are asking a too general a question and I think you have to be more specific in what and where you are asking about. We don't know what $$$ you are wanting to spend on accommodation so that makes it difficult and what is cheap for us may not be for you. Try looking on www.wotif.com for accommodation in the next couple of weeks and you will see what is available and at what price. also check the search facility on this site for other information that has been given about the places you are thinking of going and what was said about them. <BR>There is a vast variety of food in Australia and although there are not too many "just vegetarian" restaurants any good restaurant will have something that it appropriate for you or will make it without meat - just need to ask.

Hi, Anand!<BR><BR>If I were you, I would start with Melbourne while the weather is still warm there, and head north through Sydney, winding up at the Barrier Reef in early April (but try stretching your holiday to three weeks, as that's quite a journey). As LizF said, it's always warm there, so it won't matter if you leave that till last... in fact, it will probably be more pleasant by mid-April.<BR><BR>The train ride from Melbourne to Sydney is not very scenic at all.... but you can do it overnight, and thus save on a night's accommodation and get one extra day of sighseeing in Sydney or the Barrier Reef, where it IS scenic. You might save a bit of money by going by overnight coach -- try the McCafferty's website, or Firefly -- from Melbourne to Sydney, and then later from Sydney to Brisbane. Beyond that, I would imagine the daytime runs would be very colourful. An extra advantage of the coach is that you may be able to get a ticket which will allow you to hop off and on as the spirit takes you.<BR><BR>There are plenty of vegetarian restaurants in the main cities, but you might have to ask for a special meal at some of the intermediate stops. In Sydney, try Govinda's at Kings Cross (there is probably one in Melbourne and Brisbane, too... they seem to be everywhere). They are run by the Hare Krishna group, and the all-vegetarian food is fantastic, and amazing value for money.<BR><BR>You will need to spend at least three days in Sydney and two in Melbourne and Brisbane, so you can see that one of your two weeks is gone even if you don't count the travelling time between these cities. This doesn't leave you with much time to see the Barrier Reef! Maybe LizF's advice to leave Melbourne out of the equation should he heeded.... otherwise, surely you could leave out the Gold Coast, as it's tacky tourism at its worst, and there's nothing at all "Australian" about it. <BR><BR>I think it's probably a good idea to splash out on the Barrier Reef resorts, as I don't know if there's much in the budget line around such an all-tourist area. Save your money in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, where the difference between the deluxe hotels and the budget accommodation is just astonishing: you can get a good room in Sydney, for instance, for around $50 a night, close enough to walk to everything (the name of the hotel is the Criterion). There is also a good youth hostel right at Central Station. At the gold coast, the motel-keepers practically come out into the street and grab you as you go by, so desperate are they to fill rooms; there should be plenty of vacancy signs with really rock-bottom prices on display wherever you look, if you don't make the mistake of pre-booking (assuming that you absolutely must go there at all).

First of all, Thank you for replying and offering tips. I appreciate it. Once my journey is complete, I will for sure be a contributor to this forum to help out others. <BR><BR>Still, if someone else has more tips and possible suggestions, they would be helpful. <BR><BR>One question: My girlfriend is already in Melbourne, is it wise for her to search out hotel rates from there or would be cheaper from US? <BR><BR>Appreciate your help again.<BR><BR>Thanks.<BR>Anand

Definitely let her do the choosing.... all the best deals will be at hotels which do not advertise their wares on the internet, if the Sydney experience is anything to judge by! And, as well as being far cheaper than the major "chains", the little hotels which cater to locals rather than overseas tourists are the places to see the real Australia.. they have a character which the majors have sacrificed in return for their cosmopolitan "image".

A good website is travelmate.com.au - this will give you lots of information on travelling in Australia.<BR>You could also try www.cairns.aust.com.au<BR>www.citysearch - Sydney<BR>www.visitnsw.com.au<BR>www.global.australia.com

Ok. Thanks a lot for your help.<BR><BR>Now..after doing some reasearch, I have found these hotels that I could afford in my budget of AUD $100.<BR><BR>Park Regis<BR>Millenium Hotel<BR>North Sydney Harbourview Hotel<BR>Parkroyal Parramatta<BR>The Sydney Boulevard<BR><BR>Any opinions on any of these??<BR>Thanx again<BR>Anand

I have discounted most of those that you have listed - either they are in Kings Cross ( dubious area) or Parramatta ( long way out of town) but here are some that I checked on Wotif.com for you and are in or near your price range<BR><BR>Rushcutters Harbourside<BR>Quality Suites Pacific International<BR>Pacific International Hotel<BR>Stellars Suites on Wentworth<BR>The Altamont Boutique Hotel<BR><BR>Check these ones out on wotif and then do a search on the site for these hotels to see what others have said about them. <BR><BR>Cheers<BR>

Hi again, Anand!<BR><BR>Definitely forget about the one in Parramatta... it's at least a half-hour by train from the city, and Parramatta itself is good for nothing, as far as a tourist is concerned. The North Sydney one is also out of the city, although you are only looking at ten/fifteen minutes by train, and the area itself isn't all that bad (just over the Harbour Bridge, which you can walk across and see something interesting while you get into the city.) But, if you can get accommodation in the city for the same price, go for one of the others. The Millennium is NOT in a good area, but it's only a block from the vegetarian restaurant I recommended to you earlier.The Boulevard is a bit closer in... it has seen better days, but is rather famous as the hotel where Frank Sinatra stayed back in 1974, when all the unions went on strike against him and he couldn't get any room service. Back then it wasn't a bad hotel... don't know what it's like now... noisy, I would imagine, but okay.<BR>So that leaves the Park regis, which I can't tell you much about as far as its standard of accommodation, but it certainly beats the others hands down as far as position is concerned... it's just down the road from the one I always recommend to bargain hunters, the Criterion. <BR>As far as LizF's suggestions are concerned, the Altamont Boutique is a new one on me, and isn't in my Sydney phone book, so I have no idea where it is.... the Pacific International (the one I know about, anyway... maybe there are others) is in Bankstown, which is worse than Parramatta in every way, and the one with Wentworth in its name will probably be around Wentworth Ave, a pretty disreputable part of the city (but at least close to Central Station, from where you can get easy transport to anywhere you want, and not too far from the eateries of Chinatown.) The one in Rushcutters Bay is further out than Kings Cross (where the Millennium is) and means a bus ride every time you step out of your hotel. I don't know about you, but my experience when travelling is that I don't mind so much if the hotel is a real budget affair, because I only sleep there after all, but I don't like it when I am stuck so far away from the scene of the action that I have to spend an hour out of every day just getting from and to my hotel, even if when I do get there, the decor is just gorgeous. That's why I recommend the Criterion on Park and Pitt to whoever likes honest and cheap accommodation for around $50 a night. Another good one is the Strand on Hunter St, which charges around $70. If you want to stay up around Kings Cross (though I don't recommend it) there are any number of cheap places to stay, and you can just roll up there and look around when you arrive. <BR>However, if you are set on one of your five choices, the Park regis would get my first vote, with the Boulevard second, unless of course it was cheaper, in which case I would take it first and walk the extra 300 metres. Have fun choosing!

Hi Anand-<BR>We had 17 days in Australia last summer, and it was just barely long enough to sample Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns area. It sounds like you're planning to meet your girlfriend in Melbourne. Why not have her meet you in Sydney, then start your trip there? (of course, if she wants to show off her city with you, I wouldn't even suggest it!) Three cities will allow you 4 in each, plus the travel time. <BR>We flew between cities, so we'd have more time in the spots we really wanted to see. There were some good specials in conjunction with our Qantas ticket, and Virgin Blue airlines had some really cheap flights on certain days and times of the week.<BR><BR>I would bypass Brisbane in favor of GBR if Melbourne is a must do. The Reef would be more of a draw to me than Brisbane, although it is a really nice part of the country. There are lots of inexpensive places in Cairns...hostels and little places. <BR><BR>Port Douglas or Palm Cove are more pricey, but also much more resort feeling. the weather in June was warm, but rainy for us. It should be warm and even rainier now. don't let the rain stop you form heading to the reef...the weather can be different out there. <BR><BR>Where are you coming from?? Prices are really a bargain if you are using US dollars, not as much if you're using other currencies. <BR>Also- My husband and one child are vegetarians, My other child and I are not. We never had a problem with getting good food, even in the country. Australians were so nice about making whatever we wanted.

For LizF, Alan, Marg & Lcuy<BR> <BR>Thanks a bunch to all of you. You have taken time out of your busy schedules to help me out. If I can be of any help if you are planning a trip to Los Angeles or US for that matter, Europe, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Thailand (Bangkok or Pattaya) or India, let me know. Will be glad to help in any way possible.<BR><BR>Anand. <BR><BR><BR>

Thanks, Anand, your message above is appreciated. I'm sure I speak for the others when I say that the pleasure was all ours, and we really do hope that what we have said is of use to you. I hope you meant what you said about helping in return, because I, for one, am going to file your email address away for the future... my son tells me that India is the greatest destination in the world and that I should go there before I get too old, but that is one place where I feel I definitely would need help from an expert such as yourself!<BR><BR>Have a great trip to Oz!

Alan,<BR><BR>Not a problem. Will be glad to help when you are ready to go. One note of caution though for anyone trying to email me. I use the strictest form of filtering out junk mail. So if I do not reply right away, try again with a subject that is not "junk maily" type. <BR><BR>Regards,<BR>Anand