First trip to Australia, need advice.
 

I have two weeks off starting the second week in December. I was thinking of booking my first Australian trip through tripmasters.com. Does anyone have experience with this agency? Fodor’s forums have given me so many ideas on how to plan my itinerary that I think I have gone from information overload to analysis paralysis. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My interests are isolated beaches, swimming, kayaking, adventure activities like zip lines, long hikes, museums, brewery tours, nature, and “other-worldly” scenery. I would like to do group tours, but not multiple day group tours. I like going off by myself at times.

Melbourne. Would like to fly into Melbourne and book a hotel in the city, ride public transportation and explore. Check out pubs, museums; take tours, maybe a cruise during the day. I would like to try adventure activities like bungee jumping or zip lines. Maybe take a cruise. Basically I would like to thoroughly explore one (or two, if you have recommendations) Australian city and meet the Australian people. I was in the U.S. Navy on the East coast, so I never got to see Australia. I want to walk into a few pubs and debunk that recruiting myth that the ratio of females to males in Australian pubs is 5 to 1!

Tasmania. Would like to fly into Hobart or Launceston, rent a car, and drive around to state parks. Would like to walk nature trails solo, or do group tours, but not multiple day group trips. Can you drive in Australia with a U.S. driver's license? Would you recommend renting a car to see Tasmania, or would you advise against it?. I would like to pick from a few of the following locations: Cradle Mountain, Strahan, Freycinet, Wineglass Bay. Is it easy to find lodging out in the country in the 2nd and 3rd weeks in December? I might book a ½ day trip through the Pure Tasmania website.

Auckland. I thought about adding a third destination and to the itinerary. If I did I would add the following from PTTravels trip summary: Spa Park in Taupo, Huka Falls, Wai-o-tapu Thermal Area. Is it easy to ride a bus from Auckland to these destinations? This destination might be a bit much for only having two weeks off.

Any advice would be greatly apprecitated. Thanks in advance!

1. I have no knowledge of Tripmasters. It's so easy to plan and book a trip to Australia on your own that I generally don't see the need for a travel agent. However, since you are making a very last-minute trip, you might need some help if you don't have time to plan this on your own.
2. With only 2 weeks for travel, I recommend that you visit either Australia or New Zealand. If you try to cram both destinations into a 2-week trip, you will short-change both countries.
3. While I think it would be a shame to skip Sydney, I think you could easily find enough to see and do in Melbourne and Tasmania for a 2-week trip. I would suggest devoting a week to each.
4. For Melbourne, I would spend 2-3 days in the city and then rent a car to go exploring. You could do a multi-day trip along the Great Ocean Road, stopping in various coastal towns. Or you could explore some of the small, historical towns in interior Victoria such as Ballarat, Bendigo and Beechworth. If you prefer to take these trips as tours, I am sure you can find tours to these places. (AAT Kings and APT are two tour companies in Australia that come to mind.)
5. We were in Tasmania for 5 days and barely scratched the surface of that state, so I would recommend a minimum of 7 days there to see what you want to see. I would recommend renting a car there and you can do so with a U.S. driver's license.
6. School holidays will begin anywhere from Dec. 10th to Dec. 17th (depending on the state), so your trip falls right in the midst of that. Flights and accommodations will be more expensive and harder to get during the holidays. It would not be a bad idea to arrange accommodations as much as you can before you leave so that you are not scrambling for a place to sleep or spending precious time looking for accommodations rather than sightseeing.

I second longhorn's advise!
Concentrate on AUS, get your rental car and explore after a city stay!

You will definitely love the destination and the people! Australians are great folks - pleasant, easy going - hang loose....

Don't make it a rushy thing. Dedicate time to each destination and absorb the landscape people and nature!

You really don't need any TA! You can do it yourself!

Enjoy the anticipation!

((@))

If you do the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne then you should stop off at the Otway Fly (a bit out of Apollo Bay) and do the zip-lines there. See www.otwayfly.com/

There are certainly plenty of isolated beaches that you can stop off at on the way and go for a walk. At Anglesea, which is at the beginning of the GOR there are several companies which offer adventure activities for the day. Go Ride A Wave has been around for years. My kids learnt to surf with them. See http://www.gorideawave.com.au/ I just looked at their website and they operate out of Lorne as well now days.

I would recommend hiring a car - have no idea if Australia insists on getting an International Drivers Permit - as it will give you much more freedom. It would be easy to spend several days doing the GOR and you could come back via the Grampians if you had the time to add another day or two. See http://www.grampiansadventure.com.au/ for abseiling.

I also have to agree with the others. With only two weeks

<Can you drive in Australia with a U.S. driver's license?>

Absolutely. Same for NZ.

<Would you recommend renting a car to see Tasmania, or would you advise against it?.>

I would highly recommend it.

<Is it easy to find lodging out in the country in the 2nd and 3rd weeks in December?>

Not that time of year. You'd be wise to book accommodtion in advance.

Pick either Australia or NZ, you don't have near enough time to do both. You'll barely scratch the surface of one as it is.

Fantastic recommendations! Thank you all for taking the time to give advice. I tried booking flights on my own, and tripmasters seems to be cheaper when they factor in the rooms with the price. Based on everyone's advice, I am leaning toward skipping Auckland and saving it for another time. Cool adventure sites, thanks Shandy. Longhorn, you give really good advice, thanks again. I like the idea of exploring inland historical cities.

I was thinking about renting the car in Melbourne and then taking the ferry to Tasmania. However, I thought I read somewhere that car rental agencies on the mainland will not let you take their cars into Tasmania. Anyone have experience with this?

I looked at totaltravel.yahoo and it looks like there is a fair amount of lodging on Tasmania during my desired dates. Im sure they won't last long.

All of you seasoned travel veterans are kind to help out this neophyte.

Why pay to transport the car when you can hire another at the other end?