first time to Australia and new Zealand
 

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meeting our son in Melbourne Jan 24, 2016 and then traveling up the coast to Sydney...going across to New Zealand Feb 3 and then flying home, Feb 13th..

need info on cheapest flights, booking a car and must see places...
thanks so much

Flights: Skyscanner.com to see flights, prices. Book direct with the airline.

You might join Qantas, Air New Zealand newsletters to get info on their specials.

Car rental: Airlines often have links with rental companies which give discounts. If you have airline loyalty club membership or status, that may give you discounts.

Check Vroomvroom.com.au for comparison vehicles & rates.

Make sure you read the T&CS carefully.

Things to see & do: No doubt your son will have some ideas.

Other resources : Australia.com; the destination pages here & on Trip Advisor. A good guide book ( I rather like DK Eyewitness)

There are myriad things to see & do to cater for all ages, interests, budgets, mobility levels & length of visits.

The resources above will give you an idea of what's available, so you can see what fits your criteria.

Come back when you have a rough itinerary & we'll be happy to help with specific queries & refining your plans.

thanks so much!!! a great start...
would it make sense to drive up the coast to Sydney or take a train?
or
plane from Melbourne to Brisbane and then drive to Syndey?

IMO you aren't giving yourselves very long in NZ. there are a lot of things to see and they are well spaced throughout NZ which is not a particularly easy place to get round.

You could see quite a lot of NI in 10 days, but rather less of SI, and really it's not long enough to see both.

Why not spend longer in Australia and leave NZ for another trip?

Thanks for your input Annhig,
due to time constraints and our son's schedule, we dont have more time and not sure when we'll be able to travel there again...so... arriving on Jan 24 in Melbourne (# of days ___?) then flying to Brisbane(# of days___?) then driving to Syndey (#number of days__?)then to Aukland Feb 3 - Feb 13

also- should we make all our flights through qantus or book the domestic flight and the flight from AU to NZ separately?

bz - we did HK - Brisbane with Cathay Pacific and booked Brisbane to Auckland - Sydney separately but when I looked at it more closely, I wasn't sure that we'd actually saved much money. This is the one time when perhaps using an agent may help as they are likely to know about the best deals, but the internet can also be quite good if you are prepared to put in the time.

Sydney [we were there for 5 nights] was great, and we didn't go to Melbourne but heard good things about it; Brisbane wasn't very exciting. I'd say to concentrate on Melbourne and Sydney where you could easily spend a week or so with perhaps a couple of nights in Brisbane just to say you've been.

Why are you driving from Brisbane to Sydney? have you checked whether locals think that's a good idea? I've a feeling that it may not be.

Ann-how would I check with locals?
also- our son thought he'd like to do Brisbane to Syndey..
originally I was thinking of traveling from Melbourne up to Syndey by car by the coast- what do you think?

i imagine he wants to do the gold coast and all that comes with that...

I'm curious about Brisbane, too. No mention of it originally & no indication of what the attraction of including it is.

With only 9 days, excluding arrival & departure, I'd have thought there would be plenty in, around & between Melbourne & Sydney, if the OP is looking for a road trip.

Are you flying to NZ from Sydney or Melbourne?

bztravel - have you looked at any of the linked resources I suggested?

We're not travel agents. Just fellow travellers & locals who like to help people plan their trips - with the emphasis on HELP, not plan entirely,
You need to do some research & decide what you want to see & do.

Assuming you want to spend some time with you son, that leaves about a week for sightseeing & other activities.

We don't know your interests, and the websites will give the same general information we would - with more detail, so you can make your own decisions on how to use that time.

If you are looking to do a road trip, consider driving Melbourne - Canberra - Sydney.

Rome2Rio is a useful app for routes, distances, travelling time & options.

You can also use google maps to gauge distances & travelling times between various places.

Domestic airline are Qantas & Virgin ( full service) and Jetstar & Tigerair (LCC).

Webjet to compare times & prices. Book direct with the airline.

Make sure you read the terms & conditions & adhere strictly to times, baggage weights & sizes.

If your son is travelling with you & wants to go to the Gold Coast, then you can fly Melbourne - Gold Coast.

Brisbane is 100kms north. Nothing at all wrong with it, but it's just an unnecessary stop on a time sensitive Itinerary if the GC is your focus.

Is your son accompanying you for the entire trip? If so, I misunderstood - thinking you were visiting him in Melbourne & then going touring on your own.

The coast road from Melbourne to Sydney doesn't actually hug the coast ( have a look at the map), but I quite like it.

I suggested going via Canberra to inject another interesting place midway.

Bokhara2 is a local, bzt. I suggest using his/her ideas as a basis for your further research.

BTW, I just looked up how we flew to NZ and back, and it was with Quantas who we found pretty good, all things considered.

Shame on you annhig for the use of that 'u':)

sorry, Mel, it's not being local you see. It means that I can('t) spell!

The drive to Sydney via the coast from Melbourne is lovely . We have driven it but stopped overnight on the way - it's probably 14 hours . You go through mountains and forests . We go often to Pambula on South Coast of NSW which is about 8 hours - with meal breaks.