anitas

Just started planning a 2 week trip to Australia in July 2006. I have read a lot of the previous posts on tours, self- driving, etc. Not even sure where to start. It's such a big place. We already have our airfare from LAX. We would like to concentrate on 3 or maybe 4 places the most. We can fly into one airport and out of another since we are FF miles. We are active and in our 50's. Just a side note: Going to Egypt in December for 3 weeks. So you can see we like adventure. Is it better to fly city to city because of the long distances? Would like to see Syndey, Carins, Ayers Rock, Melbourne or any other suggestions you may have. We really don't have a budget in mind. Thanks for help.

lizF

I would suggest that you only do 2 areas and my choice would be Sydney where you can branch out to places like the Hunter Valley Wine area, The Blue Mountains and do a trip to Canberra. That would take up one of your weeks. Then the second week I would suggest flying to Cairns and going out to the reef, perhaps one of the islands, doing a trip to the Daintree, another to Atherton Tablelands and also take the Savannaland train and also go out to the Lava tubes. That takes care of another week.
If you were to fly from Sydney to Cairns it would take neally the whole day from one hotel to the other and so if you are factoring in several trips you are losing too many days. Do not rush your trip else you will need a holiday to get over it. There is plenty around Sydney which is diverse to well and truely entertain. Spend a couple of days perhaps in Canberra and take the train from Sydney to Canberra.

Pumblechook

I'd agree with lizF - of the places you've nominated, I'd say concentrate on Sydney and Cairns. If you wanted to squeeze one more in, I'd nominate Melbourne. I would definitely put Melbourne ahead of Canberra.

Yes the cities are a long way apart but if you wanted to do some driving, you could take 2-3 days and do the coast road from Sydney to Melbourne, then fly from Melbourne to Cairns (takes 4 hours from Mel, 3 from Syd).

Whatever you do, don't miss the Great Barrier Reef. IMHO Port Douglas is a much nicer place to stay than Cairns.

Have a great trip.

oliverandharry

Agree with replies thus far - only two weeks really limits your choices. Fly Virgin Blue, which you can book online, has reasonable prices and enough flights to various destinations. FYI, the flight time Sydney to Cairns alone is 3/12 hours.

anitas

Thanks for the suggestions. Would staying in Port Douglas for 7 nights be to long. Or would you suggest staying 3 nights in one place like Port Douglas and 4 Nights somewhere else. Can you do day trips from Port Douglas? We would be interested in staying at a condo so we could cook our own meals. Any suggestions?

With a week in Sydney what would you suggest? 3 days in Sydney and maybe 4 days in the Blue Mountains. How long would you spend in Canberra? Thanks for all the help.

Paul_H

Agree with just about everything the other guys have said - although if you have a choice between Canberra and some unnecessary dental treatment I'd opt for the latter.

Peteralan

Paul H....Neil will be after you!!

Neil_Oz

A not particularly helpful contribution, Paul, and seemingly not well-informed either. I suggest you refer to a recent thread dealing with the negative impressions created by sprays about other Australian cities.

anitas, I suggest you make up your own mind, based on how well our capital's attractions suit your interests and inclinations. www.canberratourism.com.au is a good start.

Paul_H

Sorry, Neil, my mistake.
Ayer's Rock, The Great Barrier Reef, Sydney's Harbour and beaches, Victoria's Great Ocean Road, the rugged coast and wine district of WA's Margaret River or the unbelievable beauty of Tasmania have nothing on Lake Burley Griffin.
Are you sure you're not just trying to make youreslf feel better about living there yourself?

Neil_Oz

I don't mind fair criticism, but negative sniping doesn't help anyone and conveys a poor image of Australians.

And believe me, I and 310,000 other Canberrans don't need any help to feel good about living here.

To the point:

If you're solely interested in seeing natural wonders, nothing else, I probably wouldn't recommend Canberra either, notwithstanding the physical beauty of its setting and the nearby national park areas.

In several years of posting to this forum I've encouraged people to see Far North Queensland, Sydney and numerous other places around Australia - including, where appropriate, Canberra. You may have missed those posts, Paul.

If - like many visitors - you're also interested in learning something about the history and culture of the host country, you should try to get to Canberra. A short list, not exhaustive by any means: the Australian War Memorial (which alone gets almost a million visits a year), Parliament House, Old Parliament House, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum, National Gallery, National Archives, the Sidney Nolan Gallery, Lanyon and other historic homesteads, Screensound Australia, the all-natives National Botanic Gardens (where indigenous flora from all over Australia are cultivated) and a great deal more.

However ... anitas, on balance I think Liz's advice is pretty good. You could squeeze in a 2-day Sydney-Canberra-Melbourne drive, but on balance I think a week in an around Sydney and another week in Far North Queensland would make for a less rushed visit.

If you visit the Blue Mountains, just make it one day and a night - 4 is overkill, and Sydney deserves more than 3 days. If you make a side trip to Canberra (3 hours away) you should make that an overnight too.

Personally I'd opt for Palm Cove, maybe Cairns city, over Port Douglas - if you use the search facility you'll find previous threads that will help you decide.

pat_woolford

anitas, yes, you can take day trips from Port Douglas, as well as Palm Cove, any of Cairns' other northern beaches and Cairns city itself. PD is about an hour's drive closer to Daintree than Cairns, Cairns is closer to Kuranda for scenic train, Skyrail, Tjakupai; whitewater rafting; sea kayaking; hot air ballooning; access to Atherton Tableland; and the magnificent if somewhat tourist-neglected World Heritage rainforests south of Cairns city. Reef trips leave from Cairns Harbour and Port Douglas - there is a larger choice out of Cairns and trips pick up from accommodation.

Mission Beach, south of Cairns is without doubt the loveliest beach in area with easy access to Dunk Island, further south is Hinchinbrook Island with rainforest, beaches, birdlife and best of all, hardly any people!

johstonfamilyby5

Hi Anitas
For what it's worth we did a reef tour to Lizard Island with Daintree Air.

It was one of the most memorable experiences any of us have ever had.

Can't wait to get back to do an extended tour across the top of northern Australia with Greg.

He is loaded with information about beautiful remote untouched places in Australia.

I'm sure he or one of his staff would be more than happy to help out with any info you may want.

Contact them on www.daintreeair.com.au

anitas

Thanks you all for all the great information. Now I can start planning my trip.

Galah

July is the time of year to enjoy the northerm parts of Australia. Canberra in July can be very cold.
Darwin, Kakadu World Heritage Area and Katherine are one option for about a week. North Queensland has some wonderful sites and sights.

Neil_Oz

Just a word on Canberra in July - I think we should bear in mind that "cold" is a relative measure. Most North Americans and Europeans would consider a Canberra midwinter pretty easy to take, although of course it's cooler than Southern California in January.

For the record, the average range in July is 0-11C (32-52F); the city is 570m (1873 ft) ASL and inland, which means typically frosty nights and still, clear, sunny days.

If you're indoors, you'll be heated; if you go outdoors you throw on a sweater, or at worst a sweater and coat. Short of swimming (or for football tragics, attending a night game) I can't think of anything a visitor would want to do that would be at all uncomfortable.