help for January trip
 

We are 4 couples -- active 50's - on first trip...we have a week in Sydney and Cairns before we board a 2-week cruise to New Zealand.
My questions: 1. need a recommendation for a great day tour to Blue Mountains - no candy shops and the like; no lengthy lunch stop; short hikes if possible. I gather some trips return to Sydney by boat -- is this a good option?
Second -- have decided to stay in Cairns since late January is so hot and humid in Port Douglas - is the Hilton (executive rooms) or the Shangrila (Horizon rooms) a better choice?
Also would welcome suggestions for a great day tour in Hobart - -private guide if possible -- probably to the prison and whatever else we can fit it.
Ditto for Melbourne, and would welcome suggestions for CHristchurch, Dunedin and Wellington.

Help with any of the above would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks!

I highly recommend Heather Henri at Let's Show You Tasmania tours for your tour out of Hobart. She was recommended by another poster on this forum and I contacted her for my 50th birthday trip in November. I did her Port Arthur day tour and greatly enjoyed it. She does the day tour and also the "Full Convict Experience" which includes the Ghost Tour at night (wish I had done that too!).

I also did her "City Sights Under Lights" which I wouldn't have normally selected, but it was also very fun and interesting. Heather is a great driver and guide and really loves Tasmania. Her web site is http://www.showyoutasmania.com.au/ and her email is [email protected] .

I took a day tour to the Blue Mts. about 4 years ago, but honestly couldn't recommend the guide. Don't get me wrong, the Blue Mountains are wonderful I just thought the guide was a little too cheesy. We did do the return by boat, which was nice and I think is fairly common with many of the tours. Try and book one that includes the morning visit to Featherdale Wildlife Park. I really enjoyed that.

Melbourne wasn't my favorite part of this trip, although I did a very interesting walking tour called the Golden Mile Heritage Trail. You can book it with a guide through the Tourist Information office, or do it yourself with a guidebook you can purchase. This is a tour that is about the founding of Melbourne and a lot of its history and the people that helped to establish the city. Information on this tour is at http://www.visitvictoria.com.

If you are into food, I also recommend the Foodie Tour at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne. I LOVED it! Very fun and a LOT of great nibbles throughout the whole tour. They also have cooking classes. Web site is http://www.qvm.com.au/home.php.

Have a great trip!

Thanks for some great suggestions -- I will certainly look into them all and really appreciate your help!

You don't need a tour for the Blue Mountains, just get wheels and drive yourselves. Get the map and little guide before you leave, or when you get up to Katoomba, and look around on your own.

If you can do it early enough in the day to make it to the Jenolan Caves (google them) - that will put the cherry on your day! Awesome! Some of the caves are easier to hike than others, so take the shorter and easier one and enjoy.

Posts which are numbers 12 and 34 at moment are about tours from ships and Blue Mountains trips amongst them so have a look at those for some info.

Re seconds: "Second -- have decided to stay in Cairns since late January is so hot and humid in Port Douglas" There'll barely be any difference between Cairns and PD seeing as they are not much more than 50km. apart.

Late January is still pretty warm in northern tropics, and really no difference between Cairns and Port Douglas.

Shangrila in Cairns is on waterfront and its front rooms look over harbour, Hilton is about a minute's walk from Shangrila and is set just a little back from waterfront, some rooms would have harbour views too. Both are very close to the main restaurants and eateries in Cairns. If booking at Hilton make sure your view isn't obstructed by the newish Sebel Harbour Lights building, which now dominates the Cairns waterfront in that part of town.

How is the Sofitel Reef Casino compared to the Shangri-La in Cairns??

I've been trying to imagine coming back from the Blue Mountains to Sydney by boat - never thought of it before. I think I've figured it out.
You won't need a tour.
If you are staying at the Marriott, College St, Sydney, where many US tourists stay before or after a NZ cruise, it is just across the road from Museum Station, then a stop or two to Central Railway, from where you can catch a train to Katoomba. From Katoomba, there is a hop on hop off bus to the scenic spots.
( For combination tickets, see thttp://www.cityrail.info/fares/link_tickets.jsphe) or look up "train bus Katoomba")
After viewing the Three Sisters at Echo Point, hike around the rim of the valley to the Scenic Railway, and take it or the Sceniscender to the bottom of the valley and do the boardwalk there, see the old mine entry and enjoy the myriads of plants and birds that are unique here. You can also walk down hundreds of steps and walk back along the valley floor to the Three Sisters, and up the Giants' Stairway, if you want.

Taxi or bus back to Katoomba Station, and train back to Sydney.

For the boat trip, get off the train at Parramatta, and catch the River Cat back to Sydney. But check that this is still running before the day, as its day are apparently numbered. It's a good trip. Allow about 2hours in the train all the way, or one hour ferry from Parramatta to Sydney. In public transport, you'll meet Aussies in their natural habitat! Take a picnic lunch and enjoy!

What are you doing in Cairns? If the weather is too hot for you there head up to the Atherton Tablelands.