Help In Planning Australian Trip
Sep 3rd, 2003, 06:50 AM
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Help In Planning Australian Trip
Planning on visiting Australia November 2004. Any suggestions on web sites to get good travel information. Wanting to do Sydney, Wine Country and the Great Barrier Reef. Any suggestions would be helpful. Already talked to travel agent, would like to be able to tell her exactly what we want to go and see.
Sep 3rd, 2003, 09:23 AM
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Hi
Its not such a long way off as you think.
Our trip for Dec 2003 begun planning last Nov !
First thing we did was
decide roughly know how long we would stay. And which basic areas we wanted.
Have a look at http://www.travelmate.com.au
This should enable you to get some kind of ideas of where to go.
Start there and any questions you have ask on this site or search.
Have fun planning
Muck
Its not such a long way off as you think.
Our trip for Dec 2003 begun planning last Nov !
First thing we did was
decide roughly know how long we would stay. And which basic areas we wanted.
Have a look at http://www.travelmate.com.au
This should enable you to get some kind of ideas of where to go.
Start there and any questions you have ask on this site or search.
Have fun planning
Muck
Sep 3rd, 2003, 12:53 PM
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When I planned our trip, I started out at AAA. I got a few pamphlets from different tour companies. I checked out their iteneraries. That way I knew what diretion they started out in (ie Sydney>Adelaide>Cairns).
Then I looked at how many days they spent in each city. That way I knew an approximation of how much time to allocate for each place. At this time I also looked at the activities/sights that were included.
Next, I checked out what hotels they stayed at.
Through the internet I would do a search for the hotel/activities/sights. Then I booked them on my own.
By doing things this way..I saved a ton of money!
Then I looked at how many days they spent in each city. That way I knew an approximation of how much time to allocate for each place. At this time I also looked at the activities/sights that were included.
Next, I checked out what hotels they stayed at.
Through the internet I would do a search for the hotel/activities/sights. Then I booked them on my own.
By doing things this way..I saved a ton of money!
Sep 3rd, 2003, 05:00 PM
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Hi, obrien641!
You have chosen a great time of year to come.... the east coast will be sunny but not too glaringly hot. If your 3 weeks goes into mid-December, remember that this is the beginning of the summer holidays in Australia, and the top tourist sites (the Barrier Reef is one) will start to get tight for accommodation. It may be advisable for you to do the northern part of the trip first; maybe fly into Brisbane or Cairns (or, if that's not possible, fly up to Cairns from Sydney immediately on arrival) and then, from the Reef, work your way southwards, climaxing the trip in Sydney, which has GREAT weather and a real holiday feel at the beginning of December. The major cities in Australia are fairly small, really, and you won't need more than a couple of days to see Brisbane (maybe four for Sydney). Since you will be so close, I would recommend a two-day, one-night trip from Sydney to Canberra... overlooked by most tourists, but the source of some fine buildings, museums, and the National Art Gallery. Have a great time!
You have chosen a great time of year to come.... the east coast will be sunny but not too glaringly hot. If your 3 weeks goes into mid-December, remember that this is the beginning of the summer holidays in Australia, and the top tourist sites (the Barrier Reef is one) will start to get tight for accommodation. It may be advisable for you to do the northern part of the trip first; maybe fly into Brisbane or Cairns (or, if that's not possible, fly up to Cairns from Sydney immediately on arrival) and then, from the Reef, work your way southwards, climaxing the trip in Sydney, which has GREAT weather and a real holiday feel at the beginning of December. The major cities in Australia are fairly small, really, and you won't need more than a couple of days to see Brisbane (maybe four for Sydney). Since you will be so close, I would recommend a two-day, one-night trip from Sydney to Canberra... overlooked by most tourists, but the source of some fine buildings, museums, and the National Art Gallery. Have a great time!
Sep 3rd, 2003, 05:34 PM
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I like the above idea about going straight to GBR 1st. Maybe your TA could get you something like Syd-Cairns-Adelaide-Sydney?
As many many other posters will say, fly into Cairns but stay in Pt. Douglas - which is a great reef base. Lots of other things to see & do around that area as well.
For wine country, I prefer Sth Australia - but most of the wines here are excellent in general. Adelaide seems to have the most (if you're into quantity as well as quality). You could see the Barossa, McLaren Vale, &
Clare all within an hour of Adelaide (maybe 1 1/2 hrs??). Further out is the Coonawarra, which is my personal favorite, but that is sort of remote.
3 weeks should give you enough time for a fantastic vacation. You could spend a week up in Queensland, a week of tasting, and a week in & around Sydney. Lots to do there as well - city itself; Blue Mountains; Hunter Valley (if you want more wine); local beaches; bridge climb; harbour cruise; ...
As many many other posters will say, fly into Cairns but stay in Pt. Douglas - which is a great reef base. Lots of other things to see & do around that area as well.
For wine country, I prefer Sth Australia - but most of the wines here are excellent in general. Adelaide seems to have the most (if you're into quantity as well as quality). You could see the Barossa, McLaren Vale, &
Clare all within an hour of Adelaide (maybe 1 1/2 hrs??). Further out is the Coonawarra, which is my personal favorite, but that is sort of remote.
3 weeks should give you enough time for a fantastic vacation. You could spend a week up in Queensland, a week of tasting, and a week in & around Sydney. Lots to do there as well - city itself; Blue Mountains; Hunter Valley (if you want more wine); local beaches; bridge climb; harbour cruise; ...
Sep 4th, 2003, 06:23 AM
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Hi,
It's been a while since we were there but a couple ideas... We ended up allowing some time to visit NZ and we were very happy for that decision - loved NZ too!
Another thing was we had Sydney on the last leg of our vacation and I wished I had done that differently. Sydney is like a BIG cosmopolitan city; not as quaint as some of the other places we stayed. I would put it towards the front of my itin. next time. If you're prepared for a big city then you should be fine. While there, check out the Bondi beach area - nice boardwalk and transport is by ferry or "jetboats".
We stayed in an awesome boutique hotel in Port Douglas... I'd have to look it up if you're interested.
As for the GBR - we stayed on an island (Lizard Island) in the reef. It was quite a $ splurge but worth every penny but I don't know your budget.
Absolutely loved Australia and NZ - I'm sure you'll have a great time.
Leslee
It's been a while since we were there but a couple ideas... We ended up allowing some time to visit NZ and we were very happy for that decision - loved NZ too!
Another thing was we had Sydney on the last leg of our vacation and I wished I had done that differently. Sydney is like a BIG cosmopolitan city; not as quaint as some of the other places we stayed. I would put it towards the front of my itin. next time. If you're prepared for a big city then you should be fine. While there, check out the Bondi beach area - nice boardwalk and transport is by ferry or "jetboats".
We stayed in an awesome boutique hotel in Port Douglas... I'd have to look it up if you're interested.
As for the GBR - we stayed on an island (Lizard Island) in the reef. It was quite a $ splurge but worth every penny but I don't know your budget.
Absolutely loved Australia and NZ - I'm sure you'll have a great time.
Leslee
Sep 6th, 2003, 06:12 PM
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Read "Oz Trip Report" by Stachi here on this board to see a 3 1/2 week trip to Sydney, Blue Mountains, Melbourne, Great Ocean Road, Adelaide & SA (wine country), Red Centre, Cairns, GBR. (click my name to see my posts and you'll find it in there). Then I'd be happy to answer any questions.
Sep 7th, 2003, 03:07 AM
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Regarding websites, for Sydney I recommend sydney.visitorsbureau.com.au, sydneysights.com.au., sydney.citysearch.com and timeout.com/sydney. The latter two also include info on current activities such as festivals and cultural events.
For general info, try the website for the Australia Tourist Commission, australia.com. For weather, the Bureau of Meteorology website is www.bom.gov.au.
For general info, try the website for the Australia Tourist Commission, australia.com. For weather, the Bureau of Meteorology website is www.bom.gov.au.
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