East Coast Australia
 

Grabbed some discounted March 1 fares to Sydney (return from Melbourne) and have no plans for two months. Would prefer not to rent a car but take train and bus. Our travel interests focus on culture, Nature, good food and beer, meeting people, art, and writing. Adventure for us could be a 4-mile daily walk, exploring new neighborhoods, hearing locals' stories, and finding god live music. We burn easily but love shady spots on beaches. Enjoy less time in cities.

Any advice?

Congratulations on giving this two months! We get so many requests for info on how to do impossible itineraries in this huge country in minimal time, it's great to read about your plans!

What's not so great is the wish to do this without a car. Just about impossible if you want to do what you say you want to do.

Look at this web page: http://www.seat61.com/Australia.htm

That's it for the train, and nowhere near the coast.

Ditto for the Greyhound - see https://www.greyhound.com.au/travel-...lbourne-sydney

Ditto for Firefly - see http://www.fireflyexpress.com.au/ffn...sp?timetable=5

You will need a car, and prices and conditions for the one-way drop-off rental have to be carefully researched, not all companies allow it, and the fees can be hefty.

Have you considered a camper? Lots of options in the big metropolis of Sydney, lot of information on many websites about people's experiences, good and bad, to learn from. You're going at an ideal time of the year, and the camper lets you do what you state - following mostly the coast and pulling in wherever it feels right.

Get your Visas & start researching distances between the various places you want to go.

I agree with michehubeli - a vehicle really is most useful to get out of the cities, and in many cases - essential. So, if you can drive, I would encourage you to do so.

In th major cities, you won't need one - but Australia's magic is not in the cities, I teresting though they are.

<<Would prefer not to rent a car but take train and bus. >>

Trains are equivalent to US trains - not fast, not convenient. Bus is bus.

Rent cars as needed. Fly from major city to major city - only Canberra and Sydney are within 4 hours of each other by car.

As mentioned if you rent a car, do your research on costs esp one ways. I had planned to do that and found it more efficient and not terribly more expensive to do circle drives and fly destination to destination. For example we are in Melbourne now without a car. We will pick one up and drive the Great Ocean Rd. We'll return to Melbourne and fly onwards to our next destination.

We just spent 12 days in Tasmania and I think you might like it. Check it out. We have an ongoing TR, Six Weeks Down Under, which you can find by clicking on my name.

Have a great trip.

Make sure you visit the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. Beautiful coastal walks, the amazing Point Nepean National Park, wineries, Breweries, Cheese makers, Oliver producers. Wine, food farmgate is a big thing here.We also have peninsula Hot Springs which is a huge drawcard, and lots of golf courses.
It is a walkers and foodies paradise.
The weather is still good in March and a great time to visit the peninsula.
www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org
We run a B&B here and get lots of international visitors all who say they wished they had spent longer here, so make sure you give it at least two nights if not three.. Please note you do need a car to tour this region.

<Nature, good food and beer, meeting people, art, and writing. Adventure for us could be a 4-mile daily walk, exploring new neighborhoods, hearing locals' stories, and finding god live music. We burn easily but love shady spots on beaches. Enjoy less time in cities.>

Maybe hang out in the Gold Coast which is east Australia. Starting at Brisbane then heading south are a number of quaint beach towns like Mermaid Beach, Surfers Paradise, etc. You can settle in and take walks on the neach, hang out at local coffee shops, etc to get to know the locals.

And the surf is always great, the water warm!

quaint beach towns - surfers Paradise - that's not what the rest of Australia would call it !

Agree - Surfers' "Paradise" = glass-and-concrete high rises behind the stretch of sand, more fast-food franchises than you'd ever want to see, not pretty.
For pretty, go north of Brisbane, Sunshine Coast.

We are at a house exchange on the Gold Coast now. If you are looking for a more populated "city" type beach experience, this is your place. It's got miles and miles of lovely beach with high rises as the back drop. Think Miami Beach. I imagine there is quite a busy social atmosphere as there are lots of restaurants, shops and the likes. There is a tram/train that runs to get you around without a car. About an hours drive inland are 2 beautiful national parks, Lamington and Mt. tambourine. You would need to drive to get to them.

What about the Great Ocean Rd? The eastern section was pretty deserted. Beautiful coastal area with a few towns along the way. Not sure how you get there without a car though.

It's true that Australia's regional train and bus network is limited. But it's not impossible to visit some places using public transport. For example, we live in Melbourne and have journeyed to Beechworth a couple of times on the train. Beechworth is a great town and it's possible to cycle the Mountains to the Murray rail trail. We've also taken the train to Adelaide, the train and bus to Daylesford, the train to Castlemaine and Bendigo, stayed in Palm Cove Queensland without a car (and with kids). There are buses in much of Australia (e.g. the Sunshine coast, the Great Ocean Road). I'm sure that seat61 will refer you to the relevant websites. But there are also many places where there is no transport or simply more convenient to have a car.

Australia is so big that you need to restrict your travel. Certainly the east coast has a lot to offer. You really need a good guidebook but some of my personal favourites are the area around Coffs Harbour and the coast south from there; north east Victoria; the Clare and Barossa valleys; Wilson's Prom; the area from Anglesea to Port Fairy; the Grampians; the hinterland behind the Sunshine coast. Melbourne is my favourite city, but I'm biased as I live here.