Is 7 days in Australia enough? and other questions
 

I just started looking into my vacation in Australia and wondering, is 7 nights enough? I was thinking 3 nights in sydney, and 4 nights in port douglas. From port douglas, we'll go to the gbr and the rain forest. Is this too short or enough?

We are going in April and we know there that there is box jelly fish can possibly be around during this time. Does this mean no swimming on the beaches?

One last question, if we don't rent a car, how do you get to port douglas without a car? is there buses or easy ways to get there?

Well, the short answer is that seven days certainly isn't long enough but if that is all you have...... Unfortunately you'll still be getting over jet lag when it's time to board the plane again.
There are buses from Cairns to Port Douglas. You may also find that your hotel will arrange pick-ups from the airport.

I've known people who have done week-long trips down under, which would never be my choice, but if it's all you've got - go for it. We had 3 1/2 wks split between Sydney, Melbourne, Great Barrier Reef (Whitsundays), the Grampians and Great Ocean Road - of course, we were on the go the whole time.

Depending on where you are coming from, the jet lag can be a bear. Marg is right - a week and you'll just be feeling great again. The trick is to stay up the first day, no matter how tired you are. That worked great for us! Slept nearly 12 hours the first night and hit the ground running!

Our first trip to Oz nearly 25 years ago was nearly 3 months ... ah, to be young again ;)

Thank you for all your replies! I travel internally a lot so we aren't worried about jet lag so much.

Swiggle,

The short answer...no, it's not enough tiime if you're flying internationally from the US. A week travel time really means 5 days. That's a looong way to travel for a mere 5 days in Oz!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist