We're planning a big trip to Australia for March 2009 (yep, we like to start early).

We would like to spend:
2 days in Sydney
2-3 days near Uluru on an outback camping safari type excursion
3-4 days in the Daintree Rainforest
4-5 days on the GBR (preferably staying on an island)

Here are my questions:
1) Any recommendations for a tour company that has a Uluru package?
2) We'd like to catch a rugby game or an Australian rules football game. Are either of those in season during March?
3) Any recommendations for a lodge or resort in Daintree. I prefer more intimate lodges. Between $100-200 USD per night would be good.
4) Same question for the GBR. We'd like to stay on an island where we can snorkel, dive, hike, and relax. Any recs? We cannot afford Lizard Island. Something between $100-200 USD would be good.
5) Any suggestions for where and when to find the best airfare deals to Australia? We're flying from SFO (California). The usual places I search are travelzoo.com, and then kayak.com. Airfare just seems to be so expensive to Aus from the USA.
6) Are there any areas that book up quickly? Should we be making reservations 1 year out (when March 2008 rolls around)...

Any other advice you can provide would be great. We're pretty active and will be looking to spend a lot of our trip hiking, walking, biking, etc.

Thank you,
RS

As far as Rugby is concerned the Super 14 Competition will be on in Sydney during March - games are on either Friday or Saturday nights.
The Waratahs (the Sydney team) will be hosting teams from NZ,Sth.Africa or other Australian states. The stadium is easily accessed from the CBD by bus or on foot.

Hi,

re island/GBR combination. There aren't that many to choose from. If you can't afford Lizard (neither can I) there's Green or Fitzroy up by Cairns. Never been tempted by either - too close to the shore; too overwhelmed by day trippers.

There is Hitchinbrook about which I know little, though it is a continental shelf island (as are Green and Fitzroy) but much less visited. A World Heritage Area.

Or you could check out islands further south. You know the GBR extends a LONG WAY down the coast.

There's Dunk Island off Mission Beach; there's the Whitsunday Islands; there's Heron Island; there's Lady Elliot Island.

See what you can find out about them on the web. Much better than my giving an opinion, and you have so much time to research.

Cheers,

Chimani is correct in saying there are only 3 islands off Cairns with tourist accommodation. Well, there is another at Double Island off Palm Cove but prices are astronomical.

Green Island is not a continental island, its a true coral cay, however resort is somewhat beyond your price range.

Fitzroy Island is closer to mainland than Green (about 45 mins) and is a continental island, much larger than Green with rainforest, good hiking, birdlife. Whilst not a coral cay, it has fringing coral, beaches and is serviced by boats to take you further out to GBR. Its always been considered a "budget" island for accommodation, however there's a brand new apartment style resort - can't seem to find a website for it yet but you have heaps of time to check.

Hinchinbrook Island is also continental about 2and a half hours drive south of Cairns; once again resort is out of your price range however it also has beachside cabins which are quite nice and not too pricey. But am not sure if its open in March, you'd need to check. Hinchinbrook is Australia's largest National Park island, fantastic stretches of beaches, rainforests, hiking (some very rugged) and often dugongs are spotted in Hinchinbrook Channel.

Hope this helps.

In Sept 2006, my husband and I went to Australia. We flew from LA to Sydney direct on Qantas. We called around and surfed the internet and the best we could find were directly with Qantas for 1 very particular reason - with the booking of the international flight, the 3 domestic flights we took (Sydney to Uluru, Uluru to Cairns, Cairns to Sydney)were only an extra $200 for each of us. We liked Qantas' service as well.

When you go to Uluru, consider doing the Sounds of Silence dinner. It was one of the most memorable evenings of our trip. You go by bus to an area in the desert where they have a champagne reception as you watch the sun set. There's a buffet dinner and then the southern hemisphere sky constellations were explained.

ruby_sage,

I second the Sounds of Silence dinner at Uluru.

as for Question 1, you might try AATKings:

http://www.aatkings.com/us/

(you can select from where you are if not US)