I'm planning to be in Sydney on 3rd of March 2006 and leave on the 15th to New Zealnd ,therfore I want to know where are the best places to stay and enjoy the beautiful land of Australia in those days .I know that there is a lot of drive but with few breaks in the middle on some cities I know I'll make it and get to Whitsunday Islands ,I want to stay in the Islands for 3 nights and then go back to Sydney as I mentioned before with plane because of lack of time .

Thanks

The drive Sydney to Whitsundays is as boring as batshit (not to mention a bit soggy towards the end - they are islands, you know!), and can be dodgy as well. I'd very strongly recommend anyone even thinking about it to think again, and promptly.

FLY to Hamilton Island or Proserpine - and actually enjoy your short stay here - rather than spend half your time grinding your teeth behind a semi-trailer on a narrow road! Highways here are not as in US, you know. We just don't have the population to support them.

Koby,
I like your itinerary and suggest you spend at least 4 nights in Sydney. When you head north, spend 1 - 2 nights in Coffs Harbour - there are plenty of nice resorts there (e.g. check out Pacific Bay Resort or Pelican Beach Resort). Then spend 2-4 nights at Noosa Heads which is about 100 km north of Brisbane.
With your short itinerary I suggest you avoid the Gold Coast bah ....you can see beach-front hi-rise full of retirees next time you go to Florida and I'd also avoid *yawn* Brisbane.
You could do a day trip to Fraser Island from Noosa.
I would then DROP THE CAR OFF at Brisbane Airport and FLY to Cairns (unless you like looking at sugar cane) - this is where Margo Oz has a point. Use Cairns (or Port Douglas) as your base to visit the reef, rainforest, but beware, you are going in 'jellyfish' season.
Cheers
Bob

I heeded all your advice.

I'm now flying from Canberra to Melbourne rather than drive and I'm now just driving from Cairns to Hamilton Island (with a night in Townsville inbetween) in the Whitsundays and then flying from Hamilton Is to Brisbane. Thanks, I now see how I'd be wasting my time.

I think I have the perfect trip. Feel free to rip it apart. I still got time to tinker.

Day 1: Depart Toronto for Los Angeles Day 2: Los Angeles
Day 3: Depart Los Angeles for Sydney
Day 4: Arrive Sydney
Day 5: Sydney
Day 6: Sydney
Day 7: Blue Mountains
Day 8: Canberra
Day 9: Fly to Melbourne
Day 10: Melbourne & Phillips Island
Day 11: Melbourne & Ballarat -> Geelong Day 12: Great Ocean Dr. -> Mt. Gambier, Day 13: Drive to and see Adelaide
Day 14: Adelaide (Barossa Valley)
Day 15: Fly to and see Alice Springs Day 16: Uluru Day Trip
Day 17: Fly to and see Darwin
Day 18: Kakadu National Park Day Trip Day 19: Fly to Cairns and to Pt Douglas
Day 20: Great Barrier Reef Day Trip
Day 21: Daintree Rainforest Day Trip
Day 22: Drive PD – Townsville
Day 23: Drive to Hamilton
Day 24: Hamilton Island
Day 25: Fly to Brisbane-Sunshine Coast Day 26: Australia Zoo
Day 27: WB Movie World
Day 28: Surfers Paradise
Day 29: Brisbane
Day 30: Depart Brisbane for Calgary
Day 31: Depart Calgary for Toronto

Thanks Bob for your advice but don't you think it's a good idea to reach Whitsunday Islands for 3 nights for relaxing and then fly back to Sydney and from there to New Zealand ?
Which place do you recommend me to stay in for relaxing and having a good time for Honeymoon ?

i'm a little confused. with the quanta pass I waas told that because you need to fly in and out of one of the gateway cities thoes don't count as part of your 3 domestic flights. Because nomatter where you are in the country the flight to the gateway city to catch your international flight is included. you may want to look into that. I'm just starting to plan my trip and that's what they said when I called today quanta today. anyone else have any information regarding this?

Sorry Koby, I skimmed over your post and thought for some reason that Cairns was your destination.
The Whitsundays ..YES!, great idea! - stay at CLUB MED, Lindeman Island.
You can break the dew on the golf course before breakfast then return to your bure and shag the rest of the day
...or, better still, hire a small motorised boat, take it to one of many deserted beaches on one of many deserted islands and shag there till you have friction burns.
You can grab a picnic hamper before you leave and DON'T FORGET YOUR SUNBLOCK!

Hi Bob,
Do you have any idea how much will it cost for a night in Club Med?
And how do I get to the Island ? with Ferry? if yes then I have to drop off my car in the Whidsunday coast ,right ?
If you have any other tips for me don't hesitate my friend to send me .

Koby.

Koby, I was there 15 years ago (on my honeymoon!) which was before the resort was taken over by Club Med. (my wife and I still remember it being the best holiday we've had).
The island has a small airstrip (for light aircraft only) but I think most guests would fly to Hamilton island and transfer by ferry. I suggest you check the Club Med website for all-inclusive prices which can include flights from anywhere in Oz if you like.
DON'T WASTE PRECIOUS TIME DRIVING UP!!
You'll be there in the off-season and there's likely to be a discounted rate for honeymooners. I'd estimate you'd be paying around $AU500 per night (i.e. $250 each all inclusive)

Both my trips to Australia have been longer than yours, and I didn't cover anywhere near the territory on your itinerary. You are trying to see practically the whole of eastern Australia in three weeks. In your case more will be less, because you will spend most of your time traveling, and not be able to enjoy the laid-back lifestyle of Australia.

Australia is about the size of continental US, and August is the time to go north. Recommend you do a major rethink. See Sydney and Uluru, but spend most of your trip in Far North Queensland, and that third icon of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef. Save Melbourne for another trip, preferably in the Aussie summer when it will be at its best.

Dear DasFX

I live in Brisbane, and grew up in Cairns, so I think I am well placed to give you advice.

I STRONGLY suggest that you do NOT do the drive. It will spoil an otherwise great trip ! Have you heard the saying "Penny wise, pound foolish" ? What you are suggesting will put undue stress on you, cut into time better spent elsewhere, and will be MORE expensive than flying. For example, an internal flight from Cairns to Brisbane will cost as little as $125 each. This would be cheaper than renting the car, and allow you to spend the 3-4 days in Cairns or Brisbane. (I suggest you look at www.virginblue.com.au & subscribe to their emails as they have regular sales).

The only thing of great interest between Cairns & Brisbane is the Whitsundays which are truly beautiful. Flight Brisbane Whitsunday Coast is $99 each way.

Also I may be biased but Cairns is fantastic for the tourist. I recommend that you stay in the city and do day trips and not bother about renting the car on those days. You can get some great deals using the YHA (www.yha.com.au) centres along the esplanade (dont forget to go to Barnacle Bills on the esplanade for seafood meal.

Cairns has a real vibe - for Gods sake allow at least 1 day to see the reef, preferably the outer reef & go snorkling or even better do a Scuba course during the trip- again YHA trips are cheaper.

Hope this helps - I would be happy to provide more info by email if you like

Len from Brisbane

Hi DasFX. Your itinerary has you flying into Alice Springs, then doing a day tour to Uluru. Are you aware that Alice Springs to Uluru is approx. 450 km? I have driven it twice and never again. It is vast and boring. It took over 4 hours one way. Unless you are flying in and out of Ayers Rock you will miss the best part of Uluru and the Olgas, sunrise and sunset. I have been to Uluru and Alice Springs twice. Skip Alice Springs, not worth the time.

Also, you will just skim the surface of Kakadu NP. We took a two day trip and thought it was beautiful but could have stayed a lot longer.

As for Melbourne, I have been there during their winter and during their summer. The winter (August) was cold and rainy. While out at Philip Island to see the Fairy Penquins, it poured rain (with wind) so hard you could barely see the animals. Most people ran for shelter. We stayed out in the rain because we had come to far not to experience it. During the summer, it is a beautiful city to explore.

We adored the Cairns area. We have visited twice and never get tired of it. Snorkling on the Great Barrier Reef is the fabulous. I have snorkled in Grand Cayman, Belize and Hawaii, but the Great Barrier Reef is by far the best. Daintree NP is beautiful. On our last visit we saw a wild cassowary!

I guess my point is that Austalia is vast. You will not be able to see everything. Slow down, try to spend a little less time moving around. I know whatever you decide to do, you will enjoy Oz.

BarbAnn

G'DAY, Hope you see this, the drive from Canberra to Melbourne can infact be a good highlight of your trip "IF" you take the Princess Hwy, here you will see some excellent coastal and bush sceenary, along the way are some great historic buildings ie-Hotel's and pubs, in some very friendly towns, I would head to Batemans Bay from Canberra (Quenbeyan) along the Kings Hwy then South from Batemans Bay along the Princess Hwy places such as Bermagui, Bega, Merimbula, and Eden on this drive are stand outs with Merimbula being a very nice place Eden has the whaling station Historic Site, and a wealth of information can be found at any tourist Information centre in these (bigger Towns) Winter can be particulary brutal and cold the further South you go, BUT non the less it is worth checking out the Southern states at any time of the year, from Eden I would keep heading South along the Princess Hwy through Orbost Bairnsdale (Lakes Entrance) to Traralgon there I would head to a place called Korumburra with the Coal Creek historical village being a worth while excersion, this drive from Canberra to Melbourne can be comfortably done in Two days (I Feel) with plenty to see and do no problem.

I'm sure whatever road you take and whatever trip you do in this great country, you'll have a magic time with experiances you and your wife will treasure for years to come heres to you both for a great trip, and you will injoy Australia, trust me

DasFX, you've had some very good advice here, and I hope you are beginning to realze that driving in Australia with so little time available is not a good idea.

There isn't much to see on the road between Cairns and the Whitsundays. Some interesting things off the road, yes, but you won't have time to stop and see them anyway. Townsville is really only useful as a jumping-off point for Magnetic Island, but you don't seem to be going there.

For the segment of you trip around Brisbane, give Surfers Paradise a miss, and spend an extra day on the Sunshine coast. Noosa Heads is a wonderful place to stay, and you can take a day trip from there to Fraser Island. Hastings Street in Noosa has some fine hotels and restaurants, and from there you can walk into Noosa National Park for koala spotting. Australia Zoo even sends a free courtesy bus to Noosa. The only price to pay is you have to listen to non-stop video clips of Steve both ways. Only go to the Gold coast if you REALLY like Miami Beach, and are willing to go half-way around the world to see its Aussie counterpart.

Well, my wife and I had a fantastic month in Australia. Everything was perfect and we managed to see a lot in the short time we had. I still cannot believe our luck with the weather, we had clear and sunny skies the whole month; we somehow managed to miss all the bad storms.

We kept to our plan:

Day 1: Depart Toronto for Los Angeles Day 2: Los Angeles
Day 3: Depart Los Angeles for Sydney
Day 4: Arrive Sydney
Day 5: Sydney
Day 6: Sydney
Day 7: Blue Mountains
Day 8: Canberra
Day 9: Fly to and see Melbourne
Day 10: Melbourne
Day 11: Melbourne & Ballarat -> Geelong Day 12: Great Ocean Dr. -> Mt. Gambier, Day 13: Drive to and see Adelaide
Day 14: Adelaide (Barossa Valley)
Day 15: Fly to and see Alice Springs Day 16: Uluru Day Trip
Day 17: Fly to and see Darwin
Day 18: Kakadu National Park Day Trip Day 19: Fly to Cairns and to Pt Douglas
Day 20: Great Barrier Reef Day Trip
Day 21: Daintree Rainforest Day Trip
Day 22: Drive PD – Townsville via Atherton Tablelands
Day 23: Drive to Airlie Beach and Ferry to Hamilton Island
Day 24: Hamilton Island
Day 25: Fly to Brisbane-Sunshine Coast Day 26: Australia Zoo
Day 27: Surfers Paradise
Day 28: Gold Coast to Brisbane
Day 29: Brisbane
Day 30: Depart Brisbane for Calgary
Day 31: Depart Calgary for Toronto

Everyday offered us something new and exciting to see. I really cannot pick a favourites place.

Sydney was fantastic, a real treat to finally see the Bridge and Opera House. The Blue Mountains were actually blue; Canberra was okay. One day was good enough to see the highlights.

Melbourne was great, nice place to walk around and the AFL game we saw was a lot of fun.

Ballarat and Geelong weren't spectacular, but it was good to see some of the real Australia.

Great Ocean Road was indeed great.

Adelaide did not compare to Sydney or Melbourne, although Barossa was quite nice.

Alice Springs was interesting, while Uluru and Kata Tjunta was amazing.

Darwin was neat and hot. Kakadu was good.

Port Douglas was interesting, very richy rich. The reef was great and so too was Daintree. The Atherton Tablelands was a nice drive. Townville was good, I like Castle Mountain.

The few days we stayed on Hamilton Island were phenomenal. Everything was so nice, so posh. I wish I was there now.

We went to Noosa which was like Port Douglas, and of course did the Australia Zoo. We actually really liked Surfer's Paradise. It was interesting and things actually stayed open past 5 PM. Brisbane was nice as well, a very pleasant city, but with lots of construction.

If anyone has specific questions, I'd be more than happy to add more details.