My husband and I and another couple will be spending 4 nights in Sydney, 4 in Brisbane and 6 at the GBR. Will be without a car first two legs of the trip. Would appreciate any suggestions of must-sees at each of the three locations. Thanks for your help!

Must sees for sydney and gbr places like cairns/palm cove/port douglas are widely discussed here.See trip reports sydney and port d below...do a text search.

Brisbane is not widely regarded as a top tourist destination.However within 2-3 hrs driving there are some excellent places for travellers.

Take 5 days for brisbane,get a car and potter around the coast from Byron Bay to Fraser Island.

Thanks for your help, John! I'm hoping there will be charter trips we can take from Brisbane. I have seen on this site that Brisbane isn't the top tourist site to see in Australia, however, the other couple we are going with wish to see the Gold Coast and the Australia Zoo. We will be in Sydney for New Year's Eve, so we are looking forward to it! Any additional information will be greatly appreciated!

I've stayed in Brisbane (Brissy) for 5 days once and also on Surfers Paradise (beach) for about 4 days once. I prefer Surfers. You can take public buses up and down the coast to shopping, a little zoo, etc. Brissy doesn't have a lot to see. It is hilly, so be ready for sore ankles if you do a lot of walking, in my experience.
I recommend staying on Darling Harbor in Sydney. I like the Novotel, harbor view. Good location, sky train runs right in front, and there is a shopping venue with restaurants there also.
I've not driven a car in Australia (except Tasmania) as I didn't find it necessary.
Love the GBR!
Have a great trip!

I just came back from my trip in June. . . see Trip Report 1 - Sydney and Trip Report 2 - Port Douglas ( a town up by GBR )

Lots of my "must-see's" plus what we liked/didn't like about each tour/trip etc.

Dawn

Don't sell Brisbane short. My husband and I used it as our base for 3 mos ( Jan-Apr'03) We loved the city.

There are wonderful walking/cycling paths by the river , great weekend markets and fabulous restaurants. We stayed at the Dockside Apt Hotel in Kangaroo point and found the location very good. We had arranged to rent a car but after one week cancelled it as we found public transit excellent.
As mentioned it is also a great place to take short trips from. We went to the Gold Coast, Stradbroke Island, Tambourine mountain, Tweeds head( did not make Byron bay but would highly recommend it as well as Fraser Is.)
Enjoy your time in OZ. We certainly did!

Thank you everyone for your help! Are there any restaurant recommendations for Brisbane? Dawn, your information was great! I enjoyed reading it. Got a lot of helpful information.

Restaurants in Brisbane. There are several at Eagle Street Pier..two that were memorable were Il Centro ( the seafood lasagna was out of this world) and Pier Nine(also for great seafood).
Savinis in Kangaroo Point was excellent. The chef would make anything you would like. Also Linda's Place in the Town Square at Dockside ( Kangaroo Point) had great food( more casual dining place) and super friendly service. Breakfast Creek Hotel for great steaks!!! ...you chose your own steak and have it cooked as you wait!

Enjoy!!

Thanks for the info on restaurants in Brisbane. They sound great! We are also interested in going to local hangouts for beers and fun in Sydney, Brisbane and Palm Cove (where we are staying at the GBR).

In Brisbane, we stayed at the Paddington Bed and Breakfast (babs.com.au for the link) and found it to be a great location. Shops and cafes withing walking distance and a fantastic public bus system with cabs always in the area. Don't miss seeing Mt. Cootha at night for the incredible view of the city and St. John's Cathedral downtown. have a wonderful stay!