My husband and I will be traveling to Australia with his parents in October. They are in their early 70's and have never done any foreign travel. Australia has been the one place they've always wanted to see. We'd like to make this to be a trip of a lifetime for them - as it probably very well be. We've got 21 days and are planning to see Sydney, Melbourne or Tasmania, Adelaide and/or a Murray River cruise, the outback in Alice Springs and Cairns. Do you think this is a good itinerary? Too busy? Do you have recommendations for lodging or transportation or other activities? They are in reasonably good health but will tire easily. Please advise. JoAnn V.

JoAnn, <BR> <BR>My wife and I visited Australia in September '98. We flew to most points of interest and then rented a car. Foder's doesn't accept long posts, so if you would like information and thoughts for your visit with your husband's folks, send me an E-mail. <BR> <BR>Dick

JoAnn, <BR> <BR>My wife and I visited Australia in September '98. We flew to most points of interest and then rented a car. Foder's doesn't accept long posts, so if you would like information and thoughts for your visit with your husband's folks, send me an E-mail. <BR> <BR>Dick

Hi Joanne, <BR>As an Aussie who has travelled a lot with my very elderly(82)mother I would suggest the following - Sydney - big,beautiful,frantic but well worth seeing. I would choose Tasmania over Melbourne. Melbourne is just another big city.Tasmania is small,relaxed and very beautiful.Lovely place to hire a car and have a pleasant quiet few days. Skip Adelaide and do the cruise on the Murray. Alice Springs itself is not great but if you can get outside of it then you will very rapidly see some real outback - however, you should bear in mind that the north of Australia is very hot by October - around 100 degrees every day. This can be hard on older people. email me for more info if you wish. Sally

Dear JoAnn, <BR>I agree with the above post regarding the weather in October for the Northern parts of Australia but in turn this makes the weather in Melbourne and Tasmania lovely. Sydney is a great place, but make sure you travel out of Sydney and spend time in places like The Blue Mountains. Also the time of year you are travelling, in both Melbourne and Tasmania is lovely. From Melbourne you can drive to places like the Dandenong Ranges, Bright, The Mornington and Bellarine Penninsulas and the magnificent Great Ocean Road. <BR>Because of the distances involved when travelling around Australia it is best to fly between states otherwise you could spend a lot of time behind the wheel. <BR>As I live in Victoria I'm probably biased towards Melbourne. <BR> <BR>If you need any information e-mail me. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip Janet <BR>

I agree with the above post. Melbourne is the most cosmopolitan of Australian cities. I have lived there, Sydney and am currently in Brisbane.I think the best advise is to simply make sure you get out of the cities and see the real Australia. As lovely as Tasmania, the eastern seaboard and the south coast are, if thats all you see you will not gain a feeling for the vastness and emptyness of the outback. Yes, October in the outback will be hot, but if you feel your in laws can handle it...do it. <BR>