Areas to stay in.. highly appreciate ur help...
 

Hi,

me and my wife are doing a 14 day trip to Australia with the following itinerary in November. we need help with recommendations on the areas to stay so that we can look for hotels and B&B's accordingly. our budget will be in the range of AUD 125-AUD 200. Our preference is where public transport is easily accessible since we will be only using that. any help with this will be highly appreciated. many thanks in advance:

Itinerary:

Melbourne 2 days

Sydney 4 nights including a trip to blue mountains. Also, should we spend a night at blue mountains (katoomba) or do a day tour.

Cairns: 2 nights

Brisbane: 1 night Brisbane and 2 nights gold coast

Adelaide: 1 night then a drive to melbourne with 2 nights on the way

Cheers

Gaurav

Last time I was in Melbourne I stayed at the Crossley Hotel, it's basic but good, if you look on Wotif you can see the rates for November. I think it was around $150 AUD. It's located near Chinatown. There isn't a train from the airport in Melbourne but once you are in Melbourne there's a very good tram system for getting around. Also Melbourne is great on foot. I often use the Thousands app to find out of the way bars and cafes, there's lots to explore in the laneways in Melbourne. There's also a website http://thethousands.com.au/melbourne

In Brisbane, try to get somewhere near to the railway, then you can get the Skytrain from the airport direct to the city. I've stayed at Miro Apartments in the Valley, also well placed is Incholm, then if you are getting the train to the Gold Coast that will be easy.

http://inchcolm.com.au/

In Sydney there are often very good deals on Vibe hotel in Goulbourn st, that's also quite located for public transport. A friend stayed there recently and he like it. It's not far from Central Station (again that makes it easy to get from the airport by train), but it's also close to Surry Hills where a lot of the interesting restaurants are located.

That's a LOT of flying around for a 14-day visit! It's sure going to eat into your sightseeing time. If you haven't already booked all those flights, I'd recommend paring down your trip to a maximum of 3 destinations.

I would agree with that so that you will enjoy things more. I suggest Cairns and Sydney ( including Blue Mountains ) and one only of the other places.

We know. But we have booked our flights very early in the mornings ensuring it eats into our sleeping time rather than sightseeing time :)

Any opinions on whether we should stay in blue mountains or do a day trip?

Thanks!

Cheers!

We went to Katoomba by train on a Multipass (Sydney transit pass) and stayed three nights, returning to Sydney on the day of our departure from Oz. We got around on the hop-on hop-off bus which took us to the major highlights . We did a nature hike with a guide one day and then some hiking on our own the next. I would recommend an overnight stay if you want some flexibility and time to explore a bit on your own. Leura is nice too, and on the hop-on hop-off route.

I would definitely go to the Blue Mountains, the real draw card for international visitors to Australia is the countryside and the bush. The cities are all pleasant but they are not why you would travel all this way.

As Longhorn says your itinerary is very hectic, perhaps you could drop the Gold Coast? It will be very busy with school leavers at the end of the year, also it's a very built up area. If it's a beach experience you want, you might like to visit beaches in Sydney or Adelaide.

I think it's a good idea to drop the Gold Coast, there are much nicer beach areas in Australia. Plus it's a huge beach and often has rips etc which isn't good. One night in Adelaide is hardly worth the trouble so perhaps you could spend some beach time there and then get a cheap light to Melbourne for your flighs home.

I know you've already booked flights but maybe ou can change the Gold Coast flights to Adelaide?

My adult daughter and I just got back yesterday from a 3 week trip to Australia. I think that your two week itinerary is very full for traveling.
Our schedule included flying from the US so we lost two days just getting there.We flew into Sydney and then up to Cairns where we spent one night before going to Port Douglas which (in my opinion) is so much nicer than Cairns for snorkeling,going to Daintree Rain Forest,Cape Tribulation, Mossman Gorge,etc. as daytrips from there.
After 5 nights up in PD,we flew down to Melbourne to start the drive on the Great Ocean Road.We spent 4 nights on the Ocean Road which we LOVED then back to Melbourne for 3 nights.
After that we flew to Sydney to do 6 nights there.
Keep in mind that every time you change cities you lose alot of time being at the airport.
Its about 3 -3 1/2 hours out to the Blue Mountains from Sydney so if you do a daytrip it is a very long day.
We knocked off time in Melbourne as the trip along the Great Ocean Road was so scenic and interesting-saw lots of koalas and kangaroos along with fabulous geology rising out of the water!
It is VERY expensive in Australia so bring lots of money! I work for the airlines and travel all over the world for work and the prices were up there with Switzerland.On the bright side,there is no tipping which was so refreshing.
The people of Australia are wonderful and so friendly.We had numerous invitations from folks for a drink at their house,meet them for dinner and being invited to join a birthday party at a restaurant.As my daughter said "everyone seems to be on happy pills" because they were all so nice and cheerful!
We rented a car in Cairns for Port Douglas and down in Melbourne for the Great Ocean road and the prices were decent and having the mobility was so nice.
Where are you flying from and when are you going?

To the original poster: If I were you, I'd spend the money to change your flight reservations and take some of the advice you've been given. Your itinerary is way too rushed.

Can you change your flight arrangements so that you fly to Cairns first (via a change in SYD or Brisbane), then skip Brisbane, meaning you fly Cairns to Sydney, Sydney to Adelaide, pick up your car and drive to Melbourne to fly home out of Melbourne?

If you have to stick to your current schedule, I suggest that you make the domestic flights as late in the day as possible, so you don't waste a day each time, but travel at the end of the day when you're tired and glad to arrive in time to fall into bed.

And still skip Brisbane and the Gold Coast - there is simply not enough interest there to include in your already rushed schedule.

Have you finalised your itinerary and things to do/see in Australia? We are eager to know. It might help us in our 15 days travel starting from 15th of this month.

Accommodation websites: www.wotif.com and www.stayz.com