Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney & GBR in 3 weeks
Feb 2nd, 2011, 07:57 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney & GBR in 3 weeks
My husband, mother-in-law, two twenty year old daughters and I want to visit Brisbane, GC, Sydney & GBR for 3 weeks in March/April. We enjoy sightseeing, a little adventure, shopping, beaches and snorkelling. Suggestions welcome re: flying between cities vs. driving; what to see and do; accomodations; length of time in each city; temperature; car rental or not; train?
Feb 2nd, 2011, 08:13 PM
#2
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 462
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Not driving because the distance is too much and the cost of one way is expensive.
I would do a Sydney to Gold Coast then rent a car and visit the hinterland and surrounds. Train to Brisbane and see whatever it is you want to see there and then fly from there to the GBR returning then to Sydney.
Temps will be lovely everywhere and so I would look at say 5 days in Sydney, 5 days on Gold Coast - depending on what in Brisbane you want will depend on the time there, GBR I would spend one week and get a rental car there too. You will find lots to do in the GBR and very varied as well so if you strip time off somewhere else then add it to there.
I would do a Sydney to Gold Coast then rent a car and visit the hinterland and surrounds. Train to Brisbane and see whatever it is you want to see there and then fly from there to the GBR returning then to Sydney.
Temps will be lovely everywhere and so I would look at say 5 days in Sydney, 5 days on Gold Coast - depending on what in Brisbane you want will depend on the time there, GBR I would spend one week and get a rental car there too. You will find lots to do in the GBR and very varied as well so if you strip time off somewhere else then add it to there.
Feb 3rd, 2011, 02:14 PM
#4
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 391
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you want shopping, you should be coming to Melbourne - it's the shopping/sporting/cultural/food capital of Australia. Sydney may have the "glitz and the glamor" but Melbourne has everything else.
I'm not sure what the attraction of the GC is but, as ivennotbeeneverywhere suggests, get a car and visit the hinterland - perhaps stay at Binna Burra or O'Reilly's. As for the GC itself, it's just an overbuilt concrete jungle of high-rise apartments with some beaches. If you're going to the GBR, you'll get the beaches there.
As for Brisbane, it's a nice city but not a lot for the tourist.
If you rent a car, I would do so only for getting around the local area (GC hinterland, maybe parts of Brisbane, maybe up in FNQ) but I wouldn't drive between any of your major destinations - distances are great and roads not that great so it's much easier to fly.
The GC is an easy hour's drive south of Brisbane or, as suggested, you can take the train. However, unless you just want to stay in the concrete jungle of Surfers Paradise, you'll need a car to get around so it maybe easier just to rent one in Brisbane, drive down and then drive back. You can fly in and out of the GC airport at Coolangatta (OOL) but there'll be more flights in/out of Brisbane.
I live in Melbourne so I'm biased but if you don't come here, you'll be missing one of the world's great cities (particularly if most of the party like shopping) .... http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/Pla...dArcades.aspx]
http://www.visitvictoria.com/display...080C476A903B7/
As for the GBR, I would stay in Palm Cove or Port Douglas, rather than Cairns. Most of the reef trips depart from Cairns but they all pick up/drop off from the hotels in Palm Cove etc. Most visitors to the GBR probably also do the day trip to Kuranda - take the train up and the Skyrail back.
In Brisbane, take a ride on the CityCat, visit the Lone Pine Sanctuary and take a drive up to the Mt. Coot-tha lookout.
I'm not sure what the attraction of the GC is but, as ivennotbeeneverywhere suggests, get a car and visit the hinterland - perhaps stay at Binna Burra or O'Reilly's. As for the GC itself, it's just an overbuilt concrete jungle of high-rise apartments with some beaches. If you're going to the GBR, you'll get the beaches there.
As for Brisbane, it's a nice city but not a lot for the tourist.
If you rent a car, I would do so only for getting around the local area (GC hinterland, maybe parts of Brisbane, maybe up in FNQ) but I wouldn't drive between any of your major destinations - distances are great and roads not that great so it's much easier to fly.
The GC is an easy hour's drive south of Brisbane or, as suggested, you can take the train. However, unless you just want to stay in the concrete jungle of Surfers Paradise, you'll need a car to get around so it maybe easier just to rent one in Brisbane, drive down and then drive back. You can fly in and out of the GC airport at Coolangatta (OOL) but there'll be more flights in/out of Brisbane.
I live in Melbourne so I'm biased but if you don't come here, you'll be missing one of the world's great cities (particularly if most of the party like shopping) .... http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/Pla...dArcades.aspx]
http://www.visitvictoria.com/display...080C476A903B7/
As for the GBR, I would stay in Palm Cove or Port Douglas, rather than Cairns. Most of the reef trips depart from Cairns but they all pick up/drop off from the hotels in Palm Cove etc. Most visitors to the GBR probably also do the day trip to Kuranda - take the train up and the Skyrail back.
In Brisbane, take a ride on the CityCat, visit the Lone Pine Sanctuary and take a drive up to the Mt. Coot-tha lookout.
Feb 3rd, 2011, 03:13 PM
#5
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hopefully the weather will be agreeable. We just got back over the holidays and found unusually cool and wet weather for their December summer. Personally, I would not rent a car as someone suggested. It's a hassle and nerve wracking just to get around. We did it and I just got 2 stupid speeding tickets while outside of Melbourne. They supposedly have cameras which I didn't know about and we were only a couple of miles over. They are really strict there. Your best bet is to fly between places. If you book it with your air to australia you might get a better discount with partner domestic airlines. We flew V australia and probably should have booked for the trip from Melbourne to sydney at the time but ended up paying more for doing it later.
The distances are pretty far and you don't want to waste so much time travelling by car or train.
Also, we are from Us. and it was our first trip there and to be honest, I was a little disappointed. We travelled with our two teenage daughters. While the beaches in Sydney were nice, they weren't any better than southern california. Melbourne was interesting and good restaurants but way overrated. Melbourne people are so full of themselves. You will hear them always trashing Sydney. Personally, I liked Sydney much better and the people were friendlier. While in victoria, the license plates all read, Victoria, the place to be. See, the arrogance. I got bored after about 3 days. Plus the food is really expensive. Just to have a casual lunch will put you back about $120. Coming from the US, it wasn't a big cultural difference and the history is pretty simple and repeated over and over that it was borne as a place to put convicts. How uninteresting. The oldest buildings date back to the 1800"s. That't not that exciting. I would never go back. Not worth the money. YOu should try South America. Went to Argentina a couple of years ago and it was so much better.
The distances are pretty far and you don't want to waste so much time travelling by car or train.
Also, we are from Us. and it was our first trip there and to be honest, I was a little disappointed. We travelled with our two teenage daughters. While the beaches in Sydney were nice, they weren't any better than southern california. Melbourne was interesting and good restaurants but way overrated. Melbourne people are so full of themselves. You will hear them always trashing Sydney. Personally, I liked Sydney much better and the people were friendlier. While in victoria, the license plates all read, Victoria, the place to be. See, the arrogance. I got bored after about 3 days. Plus the food is really expensive. Just to have a casual lunch will put you back about $120. Coming from the US, it wasn't a big cultural difference and the history is pretty simple and repeated over and over that it was borne as a place to put convicts. How uninteresting. The oldest buildings date back to the 1800"s. That't not that exciting. I would never go back. Not worth the money. YOu should try South America. Went to Argentina a couple of years ago and it was so much better.
Feb 3rd, 2011, 04:36 PM
#6
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 462
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I guess that mmandavis found that Melbourne is not that culturally different from some places in the USA - suprise, surprise!!!!! If you want to see Australia going to any city is not the way to go about it. Actually I have been to South America about 7 times and I find that Melbourne is a lot like Buenos Aires or Santiago but without the corruption, poverty and political sculdugery.
If you really want to see beaches do not rely on those in Sydney because although they are nice and they are not the beaches that Australia is noted for. As for people being nice, Australians very much react to people as they react to them and it seems to me that mm is the type of person who would bring out the worst in us.
I will say that I do NOT believe mm when she says that a casual lunch coast $120 because she is obviously not going to restaurants in Melbourne that I have eaten in but this argument goes on and on and on on this forum because no one seems to take any of the suggestions that we Fodor people make when it comes to food. You can get good quality lunches in any of the pubs and clubs in Melbourne and throughout Australia for $15 each - less if you have the roast for the day.
For the original poster:
Sydney is a beautiful city with lots of things to do and see. However Australia is NOT Sydney and if you wish to discover the things in Australia that are worthwhile then you have to go outside the cities - just like you would have to do in any city in the USA. That is why you obviously have done some homework and decided to see other areas.
The Gold Coast is Australian's top tourist destination and seeing that you have 2 x20 year old girls it will be a wonderful destination to go both for them and for yourself. Sure it has highrise construction but then it also has about 500 restaurants, entertainment for everyone, great markets on the weekend, beautiful scenery and wonderful flora and fauna. Stay at Broadbeach 1/ be out of the main tourist strip, close to the beach, close to the bus terminal, close to the shopping centre, and everything else.
I disagree with a previous poster who said that Melbourne is the main shopping place in Australia. I think the Gold Coast is the best for shopping but then that is not your main requirement.
You would be able to drive there and on the GBR areas because the traffic is not too bad and the road systems are much better than in Melbourne. Be aware that if you speed you will get a fine just as I would if I was caught speeding in the USA. Follow the rules and you will be OK.
No one will be bored on the Gold Coast or on the GBR because there is something for everyone. If you do have a car then make sure you go up to Tamborine Mountain and have a look around there.
By the way Australia's history goes back 40,000 years + if you are interested to find out about it.
You can fly into the Gold Coast from Sydney but to get to Cairns you will fly out of Brisbane.
If you really want to see beaches do not rely on those in Sydney because although they are nice and they are not the beaches that Australia is noted for. As for people being nice, Australians very much react to people as they react to them and it seems to me that mm is the type of person who would bring out the worst in us.
I will say that I do NOT believe mm when she says that a casual lunch coast $120 because she is obviously not going to restaurants in Melbourne that I have eaten in but this argument goes on and on and on on this forum because no one seems to take any of the suggestions that we Fodor people make when it comes to food. You can get good quality lunches in any of the pubs and clubs in Melbourne and throughout Australia for $15 each - less if you have the roast for the day.
For the original poster:
Sydney is a beautiful city with lots of things to do and see. However Australia is NOT Sydney and if you wish to discover the things in Australia that are worthwhile then you have to go outside the cities - just like you would have to do in any city in the USA. That is why you obviously have done some homework and decided to see other areas.
The Gold Coast is Australian's top tourist destination and seeing that you have 2 x20 year old girls it will be a wonderful destination to go both for them and for yourself. Sure it has highrise construction but then it also has about 500 restaurants, entertainment for everyone, great markets on the weekend, beautiful scenery and wonderful flora and fauna. Stay at Broadbeach 1/ be out of the main tourist strip, close to the beach, close to the bus terminal, close to the shopping centre, and everything else.
I disagree with a previous poster who said that Melbourne is the main shopping place in Australia. I think the Gold Coast is the best for shopping but then that is not your main requirement.
You would be able to drive there and on the GBR areas because the traffic is not too bad and the road systems are much better than in Melbourne. Be aware that if you speed you will get a fine just as I would if I was caught speeding in the USA. Follow the rules and you will be OK.
No one will be bored on the Gold Coast or on the GBR because there is something for everyone. If you do have a car then make sure you go up to Tamborine Mountain and have a look around there.
By the way Australia's history goes back 40,000 years + if you are interested to find out about it.
You can fly into the Gold Coast from Sydney but to get to Cairns you will fly out of Brisbane.
Feb 4th, 2011, 03:13 AM
#7
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,691
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you want a little adventure while on the Atherton Tablelands west of Cairns then you might try Tableland Adventure Guides, http://www.tablelandadventureguides.com.au/
Of course the Tablelands is where I live but it is also the place where one finds the endemic wildlife of north Queensland including tree-kangaroos and birds.
I would fly and hire cars. With five of you in a people mover it would pay you to hire a step aboard guide. You'll get just the tour you want, it will cost you less but you'll probably have another person to add to your Christmas card list!
Of course the Tablelands is where I live but it is also the place where one finds the endemic wildlife of north Queensland including tree-kangaroos and birds.
I would fly and hire cars. With five of you in a people mover it would pay you to hire a step aboard guide. You'll get just the tour you want, it will cost you less but you'll probably have another person to add to your Christmas card list!
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Sonia
Australia & the Pacific
8
Aug 13th, 2002 11:08 PM
