We are going to Sydney March 25 - March 31 and then will be back again from April 13-14 leaving on the 15th. Our son will be studying there at the University of New South Wales. I have been reading posts on this site but still want to know what would be the best day trips using Sydney as our base. We do not want to stay over anywhere but Sydney because we are not sure when our son will be free or whether he will be free to accompany us because of his yet unknown class schedule. We are planning on going to the Blue Mountains and may want to take one more side trip. Our son is 21. Any suggestions? By the way, we are all very active people in great physical shape.

Blue mountains
Port Stephens
Hunter Valley (if you like wine)
Pittwater & Kuringai national park.
Canberra

My dgt will be studying at University of New South Wales this semester. She will be going over a week before her orientation begins. Are there any suggestions where her and her 7 friends could stay. Also since they will have a week before oreintation any suggestions for places they should go to before.

Analytic - do you mean places they should go outside Sydney because they may not get another chance? Or places to go in "Sydney" itself?

As for where to stay. When you say "this semester" what do you mean - like in a couple of weeks'time?

if yes - they've left it late - but no matter - I rather like that approach and it's not an issue now NYE is over and done with. Have they thought about a youth hostel?

Sydney Central YHA is pretty good, and there are loads more, assuming a dorm is OK. And if they all wanted to stay in the same room (or split between 2 rooms) that could have been arranged if they had booked far enough in advance. Even now might be possible. Sydney Central have dorms I think for 4, 6, 8 - not sure about the last, but you can check it out on the website.

www.yha.org.au

Wake up hostel gets good reviews though never stayed there myself so can't give a personal recco.

Do a google for them or try:
www.bugaustralia.com.au
www.hostelworld.com
www.hostelbookers.com

I would imagine the University would be the place to check for available student accommodation?

I want to thank fuzzylogic for the information about the hostels. My dgt is studying this comin semester in Sydney. She and her friends have a week before school starts to travel. They are planning to go to Cairns for a week from Sydney. They were too late in signing up to go with the planned trip from the university to the GBR. Any suggestions you can give to these college students will be very helpful. They will not have a car and will be dependent on buses etc. Thank you for any suggestions.

A great day trip from Sydney would be to drive south via Royal National Park along new Sea Cliff Bridge through northern suburbs to Wollongong. If you are active then head about 30 mins further south to Minnamurra Rinforest and do the walk to the waterfall. Lunch or afternoon tea in Kiama - famous for the blow hole and beautiful beaches. Easily a full day out.

Dear Analytic,

You are welcome to info about hostels. Australia is superbly set up for young people travelling on a budget. I am surprised your daughter and friends haven't found this out for themselves.

I still don't know what you mean by "this semester". When are they arriving?

As for going to Cairns for a week on the bus. Have any of them researched buses in Oz, or looked at a map? How far exactly do they think it is?

Answer: 2545 kms.
Time to drive in your own car: 29 hours
Time on the bus:

depart sydney 1400 friday, arrive Cairns 1310 Sunday. No date line to cross - that's just nearly 48 hours of solid travelling.

Not a practical proposition for a week, eh?

They could fly. Cheapies available on jetstar and virginblue, and qantas remain competitive.

But the early bird gets the bargains so - again - how long before they arrive?

Going to Cairns is not the only option - they could check out cheap flights to Rockhampton and go to Gt Keppel Island; or Townsville and go to Magnetic Island - or Townsville and bus it up to Cairns from there - a six hour trip.

google jetstar, virginblue, greyhound australia.

Wish them all the best, but they do need to get their act together!

Wallos:

Thank you for your reply. Sounds great. Analytic, I do not mean to sound mean but could you please post your questions on a separate post because your post has nothing to do with my post and it could be very confusing and I really am interested in getting info regarding my specific question. Thank you. I hope your daughter has a great time.

jwb, I am sorry for posting my question on your spot. Please Enjoy your trip. I was interested in your question especially since my dgt and her friends will be at the same school. I know this is not the area to chat about them studying abroad. There were many helpful suggestions especially since my dgt has a week between her orientation and classes beginning. Fuzzylogic in regards to semester I meant that my dgt is studying abroad for 5 months at University of New South Wales. She is a student at University of Maryland.

This is the last time I will post on this thread as Analytic still hasn't answered my question. I am beginning to think it is a troll.

Analytic - YOU MIGHT KNOW WHAT NEXT SEMESTER MEANS BUT I DON'T. Whose next semester exactly (and BTW I loathe that word). What makes you think I can read your mind?

When does this mythical semester start exactly?

And why am I bothering to answer your questions?

Analytic12:

Thank you for your very kind response. I will see if I can get some additional info for you because I know some girls who might be going a bit earlier, too. I pretty much have all the info I now need. I don't know if it is too late, but were there any programs offered through her specific abroad program that she might want to do? I know through my son's program (University of Michigan where he is a junior)some kids were doing something up at the Great Barrier Reef where they were going to receive 3 credits. My son did not want to do this (Lazy? -HA)