Ok, THE plan originally was a two-week+ trip to Southern South America in January 2009.

Suddenly, the husbear wants to go to Australia instead!!!

We've never been there..ever.

We like the beach and we also like cities.

I had thought of including Perth but that seems a little far out of the way.

Snorkeling (not diving) would be nice, too.

I am just beginning to research and would appreciate any suggestions as to ANYONE's idea of the so-called "highlights."

Budget is not much of an issue and we can afford to stay about anywhere.

I would sincerely appreciate any suggestions as to where even to begin.

Thanks

Hi Dukey,
I think perhaps your best starting point would be to buy a reliable travel guide (Personallly, I like Eyewitness - and there will no doubt be lots of recommendations for others) to give you a bit of an overview of Australia.

If you are planning on being here only 2 weeks, you'll need to concentrate on 2, possibly 3 areas; so it will be helpful to know what your interests are, apart from, or particular to, "Beach & Cities".
Are you interested in art/theatre/opera/live concerts etc?

The Sydney Festival is on each year in January and is an excellent opportunity to see a broad spectrum of performances, including free outdoor jazz, opera & symphony in the Domain.

Would you, for instance, like to see something of the inland/wine areas/country/mountains? Would you prefer to stay in small, individually owned accommodations, or the larger 5 star hotels & resorts?

Do you like to drive yourselves, or would you prefer to take day trips from a central city location?

We're a very large continent so travel times will almost certainly be a lot greater than you may imagine.

As you will be here in the height of our Summer, there will be lots of places for snorkelling; including, but not limited to, the Great Barrier Reef.

Lots of questions, I know; and your responses will assist us in giving some recommendations as to things/places you may enjoy.

Hey Dukey, we were where you are when we booked a 2+ week trip to Australia a little over a year ago. We went in winter (June/July), so we didn't expect to have great beach weather, but other than that we sought diverse experiences and ended up having a fabulous time. I've posted the link to our report below as we did talk a little about how we made some of our choices--hopefully some of this will be helpful:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35028342

Oh, thank you both, Bakhara2 and Ms. Go for your kind responses.

I will think on the questions and will check out that link and hopefully have some better responses very shortly.

You guys are great!

Dukey, this forum is rich in trip reports! You can do a search above for specific areas or just "trip report" and weed out the places you aren't going to. For two weeks in summer I'd concentrate on Sydney and surrounds and Cairns and surrounds, esp. the Atherton Tableland where it will be cooler than at the shore. Or you could get a Whitsundays boat and find your own beaches. For something unique, you could look at Lord Howe Island, a real getaway type of place. There's a good trip report in the archives. There are loads of possibilities, just don't try to go to lots of places in a short amount of time. Australia is a huge country and you'll spend your whole vacation travelling. A good book for planning IMO is AAA's spiral book Australia, it has highlights and "if you have three days" type of planning info. I've seen it at Barnes and Noble and at the local library so you don't have to be a member to buy/look at one. Bokhara's recc of the Eyewitness is also good, but is sort of overwhelming when you dont' know where to even start. (Hi, Bokhara!) It's great eye candy, though, with those color pics. The National Geographic one which has similar great pictures is what got us to go to Jenolan Caves, in the Blue Mountains, and it was great.
Happy planning!
Sally in Seattle

Dukey -

I love Western Australia, but it's not generally on a first timer's must see list due to the travel distance - especially if you're coming from the US.

Suggest you stick to the areas listed by the other posters and leave WA for next time, as you could easily spend several weeks in WA alone.

To avoid crowds, the very first thing you should do is check the dates of the school holidays in 2009. Australian families often take to the road when school is out, and dates vary from state to state. Here's a site with the 2008 dates (scroll down):

http://www.takeabreak.com.au/HolidayDates.htm">

Apparently, school is typically out most of the month of January, so if you can shift your visit until February, you may find fewer folks on vacation.

Ditto Betsy's suggestion to try for February as opposed to January. All the schools will be out for summer holidays in January so you will encounter more crowds, higher prices and fewer options for accomodations/flights unless you book early.

Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef is an unforgettable experience. Flights to Cairns are reasonable at January. It is the 'wet' season which means it is hot and humid but it is also much quiter and ideal for seeing the reef. We have been there twice and can recommend Quicksilver tours. Not the cheapest but certainly the best for reef visits. You can also see some great wildlife in Far North Queensland. Rick from Sydney