hi - I'm looking to book an austrailian honeymoon in september 2002. We've been given a suggested itinerary but would like some impartial advice. It is currently:<BR><BR>Sydney - 3 nights Ana Harbour grand<BR>Sydney - 3 nights Westin Sydney<BR>Alice Springs - 1 night Rydges Plaza<BR>Ayers Rock - 2 nights Sails in the Desert<BR>Alice Springs - 1 night Rydges Plaza<BR>Cairns - 3 nights Colonial Club Resort<BR>Bloomfield Rainforest Lodge - 4 nights<BR>Cairns - 1 night Holiday Inn<BR>Bangkok - Sheraton Grand<BR><BR>Any thoughts about places/hotels would be really helpful. We haven't travelled much so this is likely to be the only time we get to visit Australia for a long time.<BR><BR>Thanks for helping!!

Too much time in Sydney. 3 days should be enough unless you like large cities. I would spend much more time up on the great barrier reef. Its a great time of year and shouldn't be boiling hot/humid, yet. Townsville, Port Douglas, Brisbane...Gold Coast. Get a car and drive inland if you really want to experience the outback. I would compare Sydney to any other major city in the US. It does have a few good tourist points, but is sooooooo busy.<BR>Depends on what you are after.

I have been studying a lot about Australia lately as I am working on becoming an Aussie specialist with Australia Tourism. I agree with the last post to spend more time in the Great Barrier Reef area. It all depends on what the two of you like in a vacation. You can do Cairns, also go to one of the Great Barrier Reef Islands. The Whitsunday Islands are quite popular. Depending on what activities you like you can find an island to match your interests-snorkeling, nature paradise, islands supported by reefs, etc. Hotels vary on each island. Have you considered going to one of their beautiful islands such as Tasmania or Kangaroo Island? One client said Tasmania was their favorite part of Australia. If you want to experience the real outback country, leaving from Darwin there is a company called Travel North and they will take you in the outback for 2-5 days. Alice Springs and Ayers Rock are popular. Sydney-do 3-4 days and do a bridge climb, take in the arts at the Sydney Opera House and stay in the historic Rocks area. You might want to consider a day trip out into the Blue Mountains area 65 miles west of Sydney with canyons, waterfalls and cliffs. I suggest you decide first on your locations and nice hotels, unique accommodations can be found in those areas. What a honeymoon! I would also suggest more time in Bangkok if time is available. A totally different cultural experience in Thailand. http://www.gosmartravel.com<BR>

Unless you like Japanese Hotels or rather Hotels that cater to mainly Japanese tourists then I would change your hotel in Sydney. <BR>I don't agree with the other writers either about Sydney. If its your first port of call then the first day will be spent getting over jetlag which leaves only 2 days - if you had only 3 days there. Why not take an each-way bet and make it four days and get a hotel that is near or on the Harbour/Circular Quay area?<BR>Hopefully Alan Jarman will answer this post with all his wisdom about Sydney or else you could do a search of this forum and see what is available. I agree that you should put the couple of extra days into the Reef though.

I loved Syndney and stayed there for a week during a very recent 3 1/2 week stay. Why do you need two hotels though? They're pretty close to each other. Choose one hotel. Look at the website for Saville Suites 2 Bond St (www.savillesuites.com.au) it might intrigue you. I stayed there and it was great. This itentiary has a lot of traveling days. It's a shame because each travel day uses up 1/2 to 3/4 of a day. <BR>Instead of Cairns consider Port Douglass- it is a 50 minute shuttle bus ride though from Cairns. Much smaller and nicer and most dive/snorkel boats leave from PD for the northern reefs that are too far from Cairns. I'd consider maybe two or three days at the Rainforest lodge instead of 4 unless you're really jungle enthusiasts. Also consider staying on an Island in the Great Barrier Reef instead of Cairns. Check out the Lonely Planet Guide to the Great Barrier Reef Islands at a library or research on the internet. Whatever you do you'll have great fun!

Hi<BR>How marvelous - a honeymoon in Australia! We spent a week in Sydney and loved every minute. The first three nights we were at the Quay West - it's truly an exceptional apartment overlooking both the bridge and Opera house. We visited the ANA and it is as Liz says "a Japanese hotel that caters to Japanese". We also went to Ayers Rock but we flew into Ayers Rock and did not spend any time at Alice Springs. We also went to the Great barrier Reef and stayed in Palm Cove - here I think I'd switch and go up to Port Douglas - I wish I'd had a week here. Hibiscus Lodge is talked of very favorably. <BR>I'm hopeful that Alan will join in as Sydney is a truly marvelous city and the people as well. We took the Matilda catarmaran cruise around the harbor, went to Manly beach for a day, saw a performance at the Opera House, did the Bridge Walk, Darling Harbor, the parks, the aquarium, what a great, great place!!!

Hi Chris-<BR>I just got back from my honeymoon in Australia and WOW was it fantastic! We stayed at the ANA. They have a wonderful breakfast buffet and the rooms are very nice but I would probably save some money and stay somewhere like the Russel which is in the same area. I really thought Sydney was a spectacular city but I also think you could see what you need to in 4 days (unless you want to shop). You could spend the extra time in the Blue Mountains or better yet, up north in Queensland. Cairns is not that nice of a place but I wasn't that thrilled with Port Douglas either. Port Douglas was just full of tourist shops and restaurants with average food and bad service (Salsa had terrible service). But the advantage to both cities is that you won't need a car to do whatever you like. I would recommend that instead, you get a car and stay at Trinity Beach or Palm Cove then drive to Cairns or Port Douglas for your trips. I think you will be much happier with the room you get at Trinity or Palm Cove and you will spend much less money (look at the website for Trinity on the Esplanade at Trinity Beach... it was wonderful!). As far as spending time in the rainforest, you will not regret 4 days! I loved the rainforest, the animals are spectacular. As for the "outback". We didn't want to spend our time traveling so we opted for going to Undara. It gave us a sense of what the outback might be like without spending a great deal of our vacation traveling there. We chartered a private plane (Reefwatch) to fly us over the ocean to see the reef and then inland to Undara. And I must say the Undara was one of my favorite spots. No matter what you decide, you will have a wonderful time. I can't think of anything I saw or did that I regretted. Oh, one more thing, if you stay in Port Douglas, try to do the breakfast with the birds at the Rainforest Habitat. The food was great and you will get to see birds that you might miss in the wild. I really enjoyed that. Have fun