Canberra
 

We are planning a 15 day trip to Oz with 7 days in Sydney, 3 in Cairns and 5 days in Melbourne. Was thinking of fitting in Canberra also into this schedule. What is the best way to see Canberra? Is it accessible from Sydney - ie, is a one day trip possible to take in the major sights? Can we do it on our own or take a tour bus (We dont want to drive). Or is it worth staying 2 days in Canberra?

With 7 days for Sydney you can certainly set aside 2 days for Canberra. I don't recommend a day tour - it's a 290 km/3:15-hour drive and you'd be too rushed (I think) to enjoy the city. Sites like the National Gallery, National Museum, Parliament House and War Memorial all deserve time to appreciate.

I don't know of specific tour operators but if you Google "Canberra bus tours" or similar you should find them - or go to www.canberratourism.com.au

Another option is to book a bus trip to Canberra - www.murrays.com.au - and use the hop-on/hop-off bus operated by the city bus service, ACTION. Murrays coaches depart from Sydney International Airport (around the corner from the arrivals hall entrance) and Eddy Avenue, City (alongside Central Station).

For accommodation you could try www.wotif.com, which will show you where the properties are located in Canberra.

Hi there,

Of course you can do Canberra on your own. But like Neil I wouldn't recommend it as a day trip.

You don't say in what order you will be visiting Sydney, Cairns, Melbourne.

If you want to include Canberra, and don't want to drive, then the logical order to do same would be:

Take Murrays bus from Sydney to Canberra late afternoon. Stay a couple of nights, giving you one full day there. Then fly to MLB. From there to Cairns and back to Sydney.

There are other possibilities but with only 15 days, and if you don't want to meander that would probably be best.

Cheers.

Just a question on scheduling. I will be landing in Sydney and had planned to leave for Dubai from Melbourne. I had planned to leave Sydney for Cairns and then fly to Melbourne from Cairns. How do I fit in Canberra since it is between Sydney and Melbourne? The flights from Cairns to Canberra seem to be very expensive also.

Why don't get go straight from Sydney to Cairns and start your vacation there. Then you can fly to Sydney, then fly to Canberra, then fly to Melbourne. You should be able to find plenty of flights for this routing. Also, I agree that you need at least 2 nights in Canberra (1 full day plus a partial day)