willit

My wife has a chance to go to a scientific conference in Cairns in September, and I feel it is too goo an opportunity to miss, but I really don't know where to start. This is embarassing as I often post on the European board, and occassionally find myself lacking patience with people who write things like "Going to Italy , What should I see?"

I vaguely planned to travel to Cairns towards the end of the conference, stay there for five days to a week, then fly on to Sydney for another week. Other than that I have no plans.

I need to find out a couple of things - When I holiday in mainland Europe (I am UK based) , I tend to rent an apartment for a week, but the sites I usually use don't have much for Australia - ca anybody suggest any ? I am looking at September, which I believe is high season - could anybody give me an indication of what a weeks rental might cost for a small 1-2 bedroom apartment?

On an initial search, I found several "serviced apartments" in Sydney - sort of part hotel, part apartment - Is this a common form of rental in Australia and does anybody have any experience of any.

Finally, apart from this board, does anybody have any suggestions for websites that might give me some idea of what is available to see in the Sydney and Cairns regions?

Sorry to be so vague - any suggestions welcome - any comments about idiocy and ignoranc3e on my part will be understood !

johhj_au

the standard cooks tour to oz would include...
sydney
great barrier reef (usually cairns)
outback (usually ayers rock)

You would appear to have two bases covered..perhaps you might include a couple of days in the outback.There are flights cairns-rock-sydney.

in each location there is a well worn tourist trail that you can cover pretty quickly by reading the posts here.

there has been a spate of apartments built in sydney over recent years...this leads to a reasonable range of good value serviced apartments being available.Meriton and Waldorf are two main brands.By getting a public transport pass and staying a little out of downtown you can get good value.
meriton cameo comes to mind.
also have a look at
www.harboursideapartments.com.au

Remember sydney is very much a new world city/probably the best of them.

Melnq8

I've found these sites helpful in locating accommodation within Australia:

www.greatplacestostay.com.au

www.totaltravel.com.au

www.travelmate.com.au

www.cottages.com.au

www.stayz.com.au

www.allstays.com/australia

You might also want to check out www.wotif.com, a booking site that takes bookings up to 28 days in advance. I've used Wotif several times and have had very good luck.

Seld-contained accommodation and serviced apartments are fairly common in Australia and personally, I prefer them to a standard hotel room. I've had good experiences with both, but can't make any specific recommendations for Sydney or Cairns.

Of the sites listed above, TravelMate and TotalTravel also provide good info on things to see and do.

pat_woolford

Cairns and its northern beaches (Holloways, Yorkeys, Trinity, Kewarra, Clifton, Palm Cove) has a multitude of serviced and unserviced apartments, and many are part of resorts. Accom Cairns is the biggest holiday rental operator in area - www.holidaycairns.com.au/
Other websites in FNQ to get you started are:
www.barrierreefaustralia.com
www.daintreevillage.asn.au
www.greatgreenwaytourism.com
www.athertontableland.com

Where you see reference to Cairns Highlands on Atherton website just ignore it. The term "Cairns Highlands" is the idea of some marketing guru, all locals refer to area as Atherton Tableland, or just Tableland.

Enjoy your trip, September should be lovely.

willit

I will start by using the links below, and branch from there.

I had always contemplated "doing" Australia over 2 or 3 months, but the thought remains little more than a pipe dream (Earning a living and paying the mortgage can be such an inconvenience!). The unexpectedness of this possible short trip has left me very unprepared.

Thanks for all your help