First Time to Australia
Sep 8th, 2018, 01:36 PM
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First Time to Australia
Hey everyone, I'm new to the site so I apologize if this has already been posted.
So my friend wants me to travel with her in the next year or two. She has never been out of the US, but she wants to go to Australia for her first trip. We've started looking at guided tours since that is all I have experience with, but we really want to explore all of our options before booking a trip. So, I guess my question to you guys would be what other options do we have for a budget vacation to Australia. We want to include as much as possible in our trip including the Australia Zoo, beaches, and maybe a day or two of hiking (still have to convince her about the hiking).
So my friend wants me to travel with her in the next year or two. She has never been out of the US, but she wants to go to Australia for her first trip. We've started looking at guided tours since that is all I have experience with, but we really want to explore all of our options before booking a trip. So, I guess my question to you guys would be what other options do we have for a budget vacation to Australia. We want to include as much as possible in our trip including the Australia Zoo, beaches, and maybe a day or two of hiking (still have to convince her about the hiking).
Sep 8th, 2018, 02:10 PM
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As a first time visitor with a possibly limited timeframe, I'd suggest that you choose two places to base yourselves and then do day trips. Perhaps Sydney (harbour trips, great city experiences, Blue Mountains etc) and Cairns (Great Barrier Reef, beautiful hinterland, beaches etc). You don't need to do a guided tour - decide when, how long and what your interests will be, and I'm people using this forum will be glad to give advice.
Sep 8th, 2018, 05:45 PM
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March/April is lovely weather in Australia . perfect for visiting Melbourne!
I suggest you read a few guide books eg Lonely Planet and decide what you want to see. There's great zoos in both Melbourne and Sydney besides the Australian zoo .
I wouldn't travel to Australia for less than a week and a half.
And definitely no more than 2 places .
I suggest you read a few guide books eg Lonely Planet and decide what you want to see. There's great zoos in both Melbourne and Sydney besides the Australian zoo .
I wouldn't travel to Australia for less than a week and a half.
And definitely no more than 2 places .
Sep 26th, 2018, 09:32 PM
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That's a really tight timeframe. Australia is roughly the same size as the US (excluding Alaska). For a week or two I would tick off one location (sorry Victorians Melbourne is not it). Suggest Sydney or Cairns. Sydney you could target the Blue Mountains, day trip to the Hunter Valley (Wineries, excellent Aboriginal rock art at Biames Cave, Barrington Tops), beaches, Royal NP, the harbour....plenty of options.
Cairns: the reef, crocodiles, over night trip to Mossman Gorge, rainforest hinterlands (including some nice coffee plantations). There are some hidden delights around Cairns....some secret swimming
locations in rainforest creeks.
Cairns: the reef, crocodiles, over night trip to Mossman Gorge, rainforest hinterlands (including some nice coffee plantations). There are some hidden delights around Cairns....some secret swimming
locations in rainforest creeks.
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