Is it a sin to .....?
 

We will be in Oz in August for 24 nights.
5 Sydney
3 Adelaide
4 Darwin
5 Silky Oaks
4 Hayman
1 Melborne (To fly out)
Originally we were thinking of 2 nights in Ayres Rock but because of cost and time we are thinking of not doing Ayres Rock and instead doing 5 in Darwin so we can do the 3-night Kakadu and add one night somewhere else-not sure where yet.
Do you think it will be a sin!!to leave out Ayres Rock?
Thank You.

I don't think it's a sin to skip Ayres Rock.

>>>>>>add one night somewhere else-not sure where yet<<<<<<

Originally I disagreed with your stopping in Melbourne, but then I think you said you were obliged to depart Australia from Melbourne (I forget the details).

So, if you have to go to Melbourne anyway, then I would say there would be merit in spending 2 nights there. I always like ending a vacation on a high note, spending the last night in a nice hotel and having the last dinner in a nice restaurant. So I think there would be merit in your staying in one of Melbourne's nicer downtown hotels.

See if you can book dinner on the restaurant tram for one night in Melbourne, and have dinner in a restaurant on Lygon Street on another night there. There is no need to reserve on Lygon Street. Just walk up the street looking at the numerous restaurants and stopping when you see one that particularly appeals to you.

This plan would give you a full day in Melbourne. Use the free Circular Tram to do a little tour of the downtown area.

You may want to visit the Queen Victoria Market (and you could use the Circular Tram to reach it). It would be a good place to get souvenirs. In fact you could hold off buying souvenirs until you reached the Vic Market, and that would save you from carrying them around the rest of Australia.

But the Vic Market is not open every day, so just check what day you would have in Melbourne against the Vic Market's opening schedule:

OPEN: Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun

CLOSED: Mon, Wed

If I were you, I would go on the Circle Tram and go to the Vic Market in the morning. Then I would cross the Yarra River and have lunch in a riverside restaurant in Southbank.

After that I would walk or tram a little way down St. Kilda Road to the National Gallery of Victoria and get a guided tour that would explain the evolution of Australian art from the time that white people first arrived to the present day. This provides a very interesting insight into the development of Australian's colonial and post-colonial society.

There are many other things to do and see in downtown Melbourne, but if I had only one day there, that is how I would spend it.

adeleh:
For the expense? Having been there I'd say skip it. There are lots of things and places that you will never see in your lifetime. Ayers Rock is just but one of them if you skip it. No big loss.
You'll survive.
John

We chose to include Ayers Rock and Alice Springs in our three week trip to Australia last August. For me, a trip to Australia was not complete without seeing the outback. But that's just me --- many people feel differently. And yes, I did really enjoy the Red Center (especially exploring the outback country near Alice Springs). But out of all the things I did in the area, I can't honestly say the rock itself was a high point.

Many, many people visit the country without seeing the rock and many locals have never been there. So if it's not high on your list, then sure, skip it.

I note you are planning four nights at Hayman. Last year, Hayman routinely offered a fifth night free, so keep that possible promotion in mind if you end up revising your itinerary. At the rates they charge, a free night is meaningful assuming you can fit in the time.

Of course you don't have to go if it doesn't appeal. But to be honest Adelaide is a nice enought city - and am visiting it for the second time myself in two weeks' time (Virgin sale;need a break from work; festival will be on) - but for a first time visitor (I assume) it is JUST A CITY. Uluru and surrounds are unlike anywhere else.

Maybe you have reasons for going to ADL - family, friends? But if it's to visit the wine areas you could always go to the Hunter instead. But then maybe wine areas are an important part of your trip. If it was me, I wd fly f,