Help planning Australia trip in Aug. '08 for family of 4
 

We have just booked a long-awaited trip to Australia for Aug. 3-17 of '08. My husband, two children (aged 12 and 14), and I will be traveling to Brisbane (7 days), Melbourne (2 days), Hobart (2 days), and Sydney (3 days) with our Aussie Pass through Qantas. We are all pretty adventurous and avid travelers who like to go off the beaten path and really experience an area. We are looking for lodging that is reasonably priced and are having trouble finding accomodation for four in one room. Privacy would be nice, but we don't want to have to pay for two rooms. We also don't care for the typical holiday resort and don't need a lot of amenities--we won't be hanging out at our hotel much. I have checked out some holiday apartment rentals but many of them have a 3-5 night minimum. Any suggestions on this? We're also looking for day trip ideas. We will rent a car in each location. We're staying in Brisbane the longest because we plan to travel up the coast as far as Daintree. We definitely want to visit Fraser Island and snorkel somewhere on the GBR. I know some of you will think we're crazy to spend so much time traveling, but we want to fit in as much as we can and don't mind getting up early to drive or driving at night in order to make the most of our days. Any suggestions on places to visit, stay, day sails, etc. would be greatly appreciated!!:)

Well I think you are wasting time by driving from Brisbane to the Daintree because you are looking at just short of 2,000 Klms and we are not talking about 4 lane highways either. The driving itself will take you 4-5 days there and back at break-neck speed which only leaves you 2 days in North Queensland. Certainly not long enough. Also Hobart and Tasmania are worth more time as well particularly as you say you want to get off the beaten path so I think that you should get a map and get some distances and especially time associated distances for driving anad do some rethinking.

PS If you are looking at 4 people in a room then I suggest that you google Caravan Parks which may have cabins because most accommodation places do not have facilities for 4 people at cheap rates that you want and on a one night basis as well.

Yes a reality check on the driving distances and times is needed here. get back with more specific questions when you have sorted out the time a little better. You cannot do any justice to these areas in so little time. Even worse if your aim is to get off the beaten track. It is also worth remembering that a track becomes well used because that is where the best things are for most people.

As you have already booked the flights I suggest you skip the north Queensland part of the trip and even seriously reconsider how far north you'll go. Fraser Is. is possible but I do not think you should aim further north. come up this way when you have two weeks to spend in the Cairns, Tablelands and Daintree area.

In Sydney check the Oaks Goldsbrough Apartments at Darling Harbour-1 or 2 bedroom apts, short term stays, we have stayed 1 night stays when visiting the city, walk across pedestrian bridge to Darling Harbour. Darling Harbour has Monorail , ferries, and light rail transport systems.
In Queensland consider Sunshine Coast with trips to Fraser Island or stay further up the coast at Port Douglas to visit Great Barrier Reef and Daintree. Fly to these destinations and omit Brisbane.

You absolutely will not need a car in Sydney or Melbourne. For the length of time you have, I'd consider skipping Brisbane and the GBR this time around to enjoy Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmania. Remember you only have 12 days on the ground, so think about dividing your trip into four or five days in Sydney, two or three days in Melbourne, and five days in Tasmania.

Check out the Quest properties for lodging:

www.questapartments.com

OK, thanks for the needed wake-up call on the driving distance. We didn't realize just how far it was from Brisbane to Cairns. We'll set our sights for Fraser Island, and depending on how things go, see if we can make it to Airlie Beach. It looks as if this is the southernmost point to reach the GBR, right? I should also better explain what we're looking for. I suppose we're not looking so much for "off the beaten path" as a chance to experience Australian culture. We DON'T want to spend our time at a resort. Hiking, checking out some wineries, seeing as much nature/wildlife as we can is more up our alley. Thanks for the accomodation ideas. I'll check those out now. Lizzy, why do you recommend so long in Hobart? What are your suggestions for things to do here? Freycinet looks amazing!
Thanks again to all for your input.

Freycinet <i>is</i> amazing. Here's a wonderful place to stay right on the water. We loved it in late October 2006. We booked through wotif.com.

I doubt LizF meant five days just in Hobart, but as a starting point (perhaps 2 days) and then a drive either up the east coast towards Freycinet, perhaps even toward Cradle Mountain Park if you can squeeze it in timewise. However, August is winter in Tasmania, and b/c it's the furthest south, you will be coldest there. With the limited time you have and the size of the land mass (consider that Tasmania alone is the size of Arkansas) I'd skip Tasmania altogether and put more time into the Gold Coast and/or Sydney. With only 12 days you lose too much time with all those flights.

Quite right oliverandharry, I meant at least 5 days for Tasmania. I don't think though that the weather should be a turn off because most of the time in winter it is sunny and if you are out of the wind it is quite warm. You suggestion though of further north would be a better one. I still think that to miss the GBR would be a shame and I would forego most other places except Sydney to spend more time in the GBR area. Its really too cool for swimming on the Gold Coast then and it is neally as cold in the hinterland there as it would be in Tasmania.

How far north do we need to go to reach warm waters/weather for snorkeling?

Betsy,
What is the name of the hotel in Freycinet? Went to Wotif, but lots of options.

I would want to be around the Whitsundays for nice snorkling. Others may say further south but those of us who have lived in the area believe that the Whitsunday group is as south as you would want but better still around Cairns would be better.

fourwynns, by eliminating Brisbane and flying to Cairns, you'll have the best reef weather to be found in a Queensland winter. But lots of others have this idea too, July/August are busiest time of year in Cairns/Port Douglas/Daintree etc and high season rates will apply.

Its also dry season in tropics so less chance of rain and swimming is safe from beaches, August is well before stinger season starts. Expect maximum temperatures of about 80F, minimums of about 54F at night, about 10F higher than winter temps of Gold Coast and Fraser Island.

Sorry, that should have been avg minimum of 64F, not 54F.

Fourwynns, I hope that the people haven't deflated your balloon, but you really were trying to cram way too much into a short amount of time. Can you change your flights with the Qantas Pass or are you locked in? If you can change, two places in Australia in the amount of time you have would allow you to see the Biggies and then get off the beaten path a bit instead of spending all your time in transit. In Sydney the must sees include the zoo, the aquarium, Natural History Museum, etc. We also enjoyed a trip to Manly Beach, the Observatory, the art gallery, especially the Aboriginal area. You could take a driver or small tour that would take you to the Blue Mountains for nice hikes and lovely scenery (although it may be very cold--check temps.) Then head north and go to the Atherton Tableland and hire Alan Gillanders (do a google for him, I don't have his website on this computer) and he will give you a fantastic overview of the area and help you see animals and birds, and is inexpensive, comparatively. Then head out to the GBR or if you have the money, do a day trip to Lizard Island with Daintree Air (www.daintreeair.com). Then do a day trip to the Daintree with some group or hire a private driver since there are 4 of you. You can do a search on this site for trip reports that are very, very helpful. The problem with Australia is that everywhere sounds just so darn interesting and wonderful that it is really hard to leave anywhere out. But with only two weeks, I would aim for some great, memorable places and then plan to come back! If you have more flights on your pass, you could consider zipping into Uluru (the closest airport to it--also called Ayers Rock--is Yulara, but I think Qantas website calls it either Uluru or Ayers Rock. Winter is the best time to go there and you wouldn't &quot;waste&quot; your pass and you and your kids would see an iconic part of Australia. Other people might argue with me (see many discussions in the archives on this) and I wouldn't go there on your tight itinerary unless you'd be wasting part of your pass otherwise. A place to look for a 4 person room in Sydney is the Harbour Bridge B&amp;B. We stayed at the Lord Nelson and I think there might be 4 peson rooms there, too. The good thing about staying at either of these places is that you can walk to a lot of places, they are on bus routes, and Circular Quay is just around the corner. Happy planning!!
Sally in Seattle
p.s. a good website for travel distances and times is www.travelmate.com.au Scroll down to the Map Maker part and have fun.

Ooooh, fourwinds, I'm so sorry. Here's the link to the place we stayed. I recommended it to someone else on this board who loved it too.

The property is rustic, but very comfortable, self-contained cottages. Book through wotif.com if you can.

www.piermont.com.au/display.asp?entityid=1452

We had hoped to fly in to Cairns originally. The problem is simply the cost. Our Aussie pass came out to $1200 US for international flights from LA but only allow travel within one zone at that price. This is why we chose Brisbane because it is the furthest north in that zone. Flying to another zone means adding $300 to each ticket so $1200 more. We don't want to have to skip out on activities while we're there because we went over budget on flights. Some of you have said to hold off on some of our plans until next time, but the reality is we probably won't make it back--at least not with our kids. &quot;Next time&quot; will be NZ, Europe, or Africa with them. I do appreciate the input, but we'll make the best with the time and $ we have and know we'll have a great time. Thanks again and please keep accomodation, restaurant, and sites to visit coming!

LOL, maybe at some point I'll get it right: Fourwynns, <i>not</i> fourwinds (though fourwinds might also be appropriate). It was late when I posted!

There might be a minimum rental if you rent a car. Are you sure you cant consider extending your dates?

Here's a suggestion for you to help you out.

http://www.mydriveholiday.com/austra...ations-sights/