My husband and I are taking our two children ages 12 and 18 to Aus. Fly into Sydney. We travel a lot and are not fond of the average tourist tours but want to see all animals inc marine life, best beaches, opera house, gardens, blue mountains, outback and we hear pristine beaches south of sydney. Pls help with best places to stay, proposed itinerary, and best method of transportation (train?).

THANK YOU

sph, your wish-list will potentially involve great distances, and there are several good reasons to include North Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef for a start. How many days will you have?

I don't recommend trains, except perhaps the short trip from Sydney to the Blue Mountains, unless you're real devotees of the slow life, or rail fanatics. For most travellers the distances involved in getting around Australia mandate flying.

thanks for the reply - we have 10 days - can you recommend the best places to go in that timeframe - we will rent a car or rv if needed

If I'd been awake and read the title of your post I wouldn't have asked that question, would I?

With only 10 days, and bearing in mind that Australia is as big as the lower 48 states of the US, I'd be inclined to split my time between Sydney and Far North Queensland (FNQ). Sydney-Cairns is about 3 hours by air, so the return flights will chew up one of your days.

If you run searches on this forum you'll find heaps of threads canvassing the attractions of Sydney, the Blue Mountains and FNQ - I think it would be best to start by reviewing these, and definitely invest in a good guide book ASAP. You could also browse www.australia.com. Once you have an idea of what appeals to you, I'm sure the helpful posters here will be happy to answer detailed questions.

FNQ, including the Daintree Rain Forest, Atherton Tabelands and Great Barrier Reef, offers all the native animal and marine life viewing you can handle - and a visit to Taronga Zoo in Sydney (by ferry) is a nice outing. Sydney itself has excellent beaches. There are certainly more pristine beaches on the New South Wales south coast, at Jervis Bay in particular, which you could fit in within a day's drive, but there's so much to do in Sydney in your limited time that it may be advisable to sacrifice this.

Try searching on "outback" too - nobody quite knows where it starts and finishes, but I think North Queensland, west of the coastal mountain chain, can give you a taste of that too.

(On a lighter note, I read that cinemas in Townsville and Rockhampton, two Queensland coastal cities, won't be screening "Brokeback Mountain". This sounds pretty Outback to me. Maybe talk of gay cowboys makes the hard-bitten folk in those areas nervous.)

A car is a positive disadvantage in Sydney, and depending on your itinerary may not be much of an advantage in FNQ either.

THANK YOU - I believe that I have an itinerary for us thanks to your help and this incredible web site.

Now I have to get the lingo right - that may be harder than planning the trip!

sph, I've only been to Aus for a few weeks (and going again in April) so my opinion is only worth 2 cents compared to Neil_Oz but unless you are planning to go again soon I really think you could make it to Alice Springs/Ayers Rock (clearly "outback&quot. At least 4 nights in Sydney (3 full days + the day you land and you can see the sights you mentioned [a full day to the blue mtns.- I'd include Jenolan caves] . Taronga zoo: ferry (buy r.t. ticket including zoo admission) . Beaches: ferry to Manly, or Bondi is easy to get to by bus. A day in the rain forrest and a day out on the GBR is a minimum of 3 nights in Cairns (although 4 would be better); which does leave 2 or 3 nights in Alice(0-1) and Ayers Rock(1-2). (?? I don't know from where you return, so may have to fly back to Sydney if there is no connection from the red center.??) But I don't think you would be disappointed with those 3 cities and in my limited opinion I think you can say you've "seen" Australia. Plus you get months after you return cleaning off the red powder from your shoes.

and yes, you could use a good guidebook. I think there's a company called Foder's or something that has one!?

tampatramp, I hear what you're saying, but to me that seems a bit too rushed to do justice to any of the three locations. Having said that a visitor's opinion is usually worth more than a local's, one person's rush is another's leisure, and I've never been to the Red Centre anyway.

I think there are direct flights ASP-CNS but the frequency would have to be looked at.

Time of year is a big factor - we're talking about three hugely different climatic zones, and I'm told that Alice Springs/Uluru in summer is for the masochists. (sph - when do you expect to arrive?)

For the record, the three major domestic airlines are Qantas, Jetstar (Qantas' budget subsidiary) and Virgin Blue (budget).

I agree with Neil's suggestion but depending on what time of year sph is coming.Also I hear the Rockie gay cowboys are furious they won't be able to see " Brokeback Mountain "!LOL

Neil_Oz, yes it may be a bit too rushed-of course it's up to sph and their traveling philosophy to decide-I noted that they are well traveled and felt that the red center would meet their desire to see the outback. There are daily flights Cairns-Ayers Rock-Sydney on Qantas. Alice weather is not the worst mid March as the avg. high is 91 (as compared to Cairns 88 or Alice Nov-Feb at 93-97 deg F -as I'm assuming sph is in the US and this is for their benefit).

I'm sure we agree, 10 days is not enough time to do justice just to Sydney, much less 2 or 3 cities, nor to do justice to the entire country. Your point is well taken; maybe I'm just biased, but every time we in the US see a picture of Australia it's either the opera house or Uluru-I like to see things in person. I loved climbing the rock, my wife loved the guided tour around it, and we both enjoyed the sunrise and sunset on/over the rock.

Thanks everyone. We arrive at 8:00 a.m. on Mar 10 and depart on Mar 20 to and from Sydney. Another question that I have is that we do not dive (I know, I know) so should we still get to the GBR? Also, I have the Fodor's book but this is easier!

I looked into flights from Syd to Cairns and there are choices $240RT PP. I think that we will limit ourselves to two major areas....I still have not booked anything so any additional advice is appreciated.

You don't have to be an actual diver to enjoy the GBR. If you can stay afloat you can snorkle ( they provide the equipment ) and you can see an amazing underwater show of beautifully coloured fish and coral..

sph, are you asking whether you should (a) go to Far North Queensland at all, or (b) once there, should you see the Reef? FNQ holds many attractions - the Reef being the foremost perhaps but only one of them.

Neil - I was asking whether to go at all based on the other suggestion of the outback. We do snorkel and like the water ... since we only have time for two hops I am trying to decide between GBR and Alice Springs per the other suggestion. thanks again

Also everyone, we are an active family and like adventure if that makes any difference to the suggestions.

Neil or others:

Can you give me your advice on this itinerary summary before I book?
Day 1 - Syd Opera House, Bridge, Gardens
Day 2 - Coastal walk Coogee to Bondi
Day 3 - Nature Walk to Manly
Day 4 - Blue Mountains - walk to bottom
Day 5 - Taronga Zoo
Day 6 - Fly to Cairns, drive to Daintree? stay at Silky Oaks lodge
Day 7 - Rainforest safari
Day 8 - GBR
Day 9 ?
Day 10 back to Syd