I will be spending about 3 weeks+ in Sydney in July and am expected in Melbourne around Aug. 1st. I will have about 5 days between the 2 cities and am having a hard time deciding how to use them. Any suggestions?

Myriad. However, if you would care to give us some idea of:
1. Your interests.
2. Whether you want to spend the majority of the 5 days "meandering" to Melbourne, or prefer to have a base or two for local exploring; or
3. Whether you prefer to spend your "between" days in (a) Sydney & surrounds(b) Melbourne & surrounds or (c) split between the two

......... it will make it easier for people to give you some meaningful advice.

Thanks for your speedy reply. I will already have been in Sydney for over 3 weeks and expect to be in Melbourne about the same, so would like to either meander from one to the other (car, train, etc.) or pick a place between the 2 and stay for a few days. I like country (scenery, mountains, lakes, rivers) and/or cities. Am a good sightseer - enjoy almost anything.

A trip to Cairns and the GBR would be a wonderful way to use up the five days, alternatively hire a car and drive to Melbourne via Canberra and the coast road, or via Canberra and the Alpine way to Bright or Beechworth, or via the Blue Mountains through Bathurst to Bright or Beechworth and then on to Melbourne.
There are really many things you can do.

With respect, the Great Barrier Reef and Cairns aren't between Sydney and Melbourne - not last time I looked.

You could try a trip that takes in Canberra and the Snowy Mountains - it will be ski season (hopefully with some snow) or you could go further west than that and try a bit of the Riverina. Not spectacular scenery, but a trip through the food bowl of the nation.

Wines? Try Griffith (four hours from Sydney and four hours from Melbourne) with reasonable public transport. It's thriving community with lots of places to stay and good places to eat.

Do a google on Griffith, and also have a look at griffithgateway.com

Hi,
You say car, train etc. so assume you are open minded on the question of whether you need/want your own wheels.

And that really is the big decision.

With a car you could travel the long way via the coast. Without one, that would be pushing it with only 5 days as there is no train - only (infrequent) buses.

I've never done that trip cos I've never had a car! But I have done MLB-Syd on public transport and here's the way I went. I had loads of time for Trip One so it took longer than 5 days (you can adjust to suit). Trip two was with finite time and you must factor in that I had already been to Canberra.

And I was doing both these in reverse order, ie leaving from MLB.

Trip One.
Train to Bendigo. Train/Bus combination to Bright via Wangaratta. Bus to Echuca. Bus to Canberra with overnight stop in Albury. Bus to Sydney.

Trip Two
Train to Bairnsdale, connecting bus to Lakes Entrance; bus to Canberra. Bus to Sydney.

Of the two I would probably go for Trip One (though you might want to skip Bright as it's at its best in the Autumn when all the non-indigenous trees are changing colour).

Echuca is on the Murray River and is definitely worth a stop.

Albury was just me, having lots of time, stopping for a look. You could travel straight thru on the bus to Canberra.

Canberra is the nation's capital and there are loads of great museums and galleries. It's not the greatest capital city in the world - but still worth a look.

Third alternative is to go via Thredbo - July is snow season in the 'Australian Alps' if that appeals. Was also do-able without wheels last year on a loosely organised trip.

Check out www.waywardbus.com.au

(might be just .com without the "au". Great company to travel with.

Thanks for your great suggestions. Will look at all of them seriously and make a decision soon. I have been to Cairns and GBR a few years ago, and while I loved it, will skip it this time because it's a bit out of the way. The other suggestions are all good - will be tough to choose! Thanks again.

I took the Oz Experience bus from Sydney to Melbourne. It took four days. We went hiking in the Snowy Mountains, had a choice of our own room or share a dorm, went to the beaches, spent an afternoon in Canbera and saw the capital. I was quite happy with the tour. Mostly Europeans. I was the only person from the U.S.

Driving yourself is much the best option if you can manage it. Here's another option: head south from Sydney on the Princes Highway; stop off at Jervis Bay, which is a little way off the highway, then continue south to Batemans Bay, a good place to spend a night. Turn inland to Canberra, via Braidwood and Bungendore (the woodworks gallery there is well worth a visit) - a 2-hour drive. Spend two days in Canberra, then head back to the coast via Cooma and Bega and continue on the Princes Hwy to Melbourne, spending another night at a convenient mid-point. You could as an alternative take up one of the preceding inland route suggestions and head SW from Canberra on the Hume Hwy. I wouldn't recommend the Hume all the way though, as it's a pretty boring road. If there's enough to interest you in these rural areas you could cut Canberra back to one night.

Don't forget to uye the Search box above for previous threads once you've made a tentative decision as to your route. Local tourist websites are also useful and easily located with a search.