Need help deciding between these two tours during our upcoming October Oz trip, including a four night stay in Sidney.

One is a full day 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. tour to Canberra. I have been reading about the area and thought it would be interesting. Includes tour through Parliament House and the National Museum. Also will travel to the summit of Mt Ainslie and tour "picturesque Mittagong"????

The other tour leaves the same time and returns two hours earlier. Travel to Port Stephens over Hawkesbury River and "pass through" the town of Newcastle on the way. Can choose an additional activity like the Dolphin Cruise or just relax and wander through township of Nelson Bay.

Okay, which would you do? Both by APT tours. Any help would be appreciated, read good things on these board about both areas but due to time restraints, can't do both. Thanks so much for your help!!!

Canberra.The only downside is your time restraints, as the city is worth a couple of days, at least. There's a fast-growing thread on Canberra on this forum at the moment, and you may find it worthwhile to peruse this. It's about half-a-dozen threads below this one.

cincytraveler, Canberra is a beautiful city and if you have a desire to learn more about Australian culture and government the National Museum and Parliament House will be of interest. Otherwise, I'd opt for Port Stephens. Driving to the top of Mt Ainslie takes maybe 5 minutes - its dimensions are not exactly alpine, but it offers a nice view over the city. Mittagong is a pleasant town in the New South Wales southern highlands en route to Canberra but in my opinion the word "picturesque" may raise expectations just a little too far.

Canberra is roughly 3 hrs from Sydney, Port Stephens about the same from memory (happy to be corrected on that).

By the way, the capital of NSW is spelt SYdney (helps no end with web searches!)

Hi cincytraveler,

Well they are both worthy locations to go and see. It depends on what you like to experience, Canberra for a day is probably too short so I would go for Port Stephens which is a beautiful area known as the blue water wonderland. Lots too see and do apart from the dolphine cruises and the weather in October should be perfect for the area. The Port is twice the size of Sydney Harbour and provides an enviable lifestyle to those people who call the area home.

Cheers

Paul_S

Thanks so much for the info. Still have time to decide, my husband is a history buff and I love the water, so....we shall see. I have been saving and planning for over six years for this trip. It's just so exciting to finally get the details settled.

This travel board is invaluable! Thanks to all of you who are willing to share!