My Very First Trip to Australia--the Second Time Around
 

A couple of years back I was all prepared for an Oz trip with the help of many lovely people on this board--but as it turned out, my friend was unable to go and so I ended up in Chile and Easter Island. Well, I'm planning now for July of 2012, so I'd love your input on my revised itinerary: this one includes my 22 year old niece, so there have been a couple of changes!
It has to be in June or July, by the way; I know it's not the best weather for some spots. And I know I'm trying to fit a lot in a little over two weeks, but...that's what we have!

This is very tentative, but I'm looking at something like this:

Fly into Brisbane from Philadelphia; leaving Thurs 26 July will get us there on 28 July Saturday. Sunday would be spent at the Australia Zoo in Beerwah (train to zoo and courtesy bus from there?) Interesting and/or great location accommodation rec's in Brisbane?

Monday, 31 July fly to Cairns; stay at Daintree Wild www.daintreewild.com.au one or two nights and tour the area and then go into Cairns or Port Douglas for Great Barrier Reef excursion. (Seasickness prone--what's the best bet? Snorkeling would be nice...) Stay in Cairns/PD for two nights, then on to Alice Springs.

Friday, 03 August fly to Alice Springs from Cairns; join Wayoutback tour to Uluru on Saturday: http://www.wayoutback.com/Tours/3-Day-Uluru-Tour.aspx Bookend with stay at the YHA hostel, the one in an old movie theater.
Possibly a balloon ride from Alice Springs...

Wednesday, 08 August, fly Alice Springs to Sydney; use www.wotif.com for booking a hotel a week before we leave the US. Daytrip to Blue Mountains from Sydney maybe, and would love to do the bridge climb. (Thoughts on that?)

The budget is moderate; airfare alone will be in the $2500 area for international and domestic flights, and of course the exchange rate is no longer in our favor. :) Any suggestions for good places to save money are also appreciated; I enjoyed the "street foods" thread on here a bit ago.

Thanks for any help or even for blowing holes in the itinerary--it's so hard to know for sure, regardless of the reading, until one's in the middle of it! (I'm guessing it'll be easier than three weeks on my own in India, though.)

I generally recommend only 3 destinations in 2 weeks, but basically, I think you have a good itinerary. (Is Australia Zoo a "must" for you? If not, I would entire drop the Brisbane portion of your trip.)

In any event, I would recommend adding at least a day (preferably 2) to your time in Cairns/PD. You only have two full days there and that gives you one day for a tour to the GBR and one day for touring Daintree N.P. You'll miss out on beach time at Four Mile Beach in Port Douglas, the Rainforest Habitat in Port Douglas, Mossman Gorge, Kuranda Skyrail and/or attractions in Cairns. If it were me, I'd definitely drop a day from the Brisbane portion and add it to Cairns. You also might be able to drop a day from the Sydney portion, depending on how many days you have there (you don't say).

As for snorkeling on the GBR, it is not to be missed. I've made at least 7 or 8 snorkeling trips and the best by far is Wavelength out of Port Douglas (I've done 5 trips with them). They are a snorkel-only boat that carries a maximum of 30 passengers, so you get a lot of personal attention. I, too, suffer from seasickness and ginger tablets work the best for me. (They calm my stomach but don't make me drowsy). You can take whatever works for you with you or stop by a chemist's shop once you get to Australia and pick up something there. All of the boats will carry something (usually ginger tabs) on board if you forget.

While I have not done the Bridge Climb, my husband and daughter did it. They enjoyed it very much, but it was pricey. For a cheaper, but similar experience, you can walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge for free. Also, you can take your camera if you walk across the bridge, which you can't do if you do the Bridge Climb. I thought the views from the walk across the bridge were great!

BTW, you say you plan to go to Cairns on Monday, July 31st but Monday is July 30th. If you plan to leave on Monday, July 30th then no need to drop a day from Brisbane. If you are leaving on Tuesday, July 31st then I would definitely recommend dropping a day.

Thanks, longhorn55! Yup, it is Monday the 30th, so that's all good. The Australian Zoo is the biggest change in the itinerary, due to my niece having grown up with the Steve Irwin shows; it's her "must", and I'm happy to go along as I'm delighted she wants to travel with old auntie. Good idea about just doing the walk across the bridge,too, as I do like to get photos.

Like Longhorn says the itinerary is a bit rushed and if you are spending all that money just getting here and away again is it not possible for you to extend your stay a little. This way you could see a little more of the hinterland of each of the coastal places you are visiting.

As you seem happy enough to see 'wildlife' in a zoo then maybe you don't have the need to extend your trip for that but what about the scenery and getting a feel for the place?

Stay at Daintree Wild for 2 nights if possible because you will want to take everything in up that area and you will be staying with some real experts there. The train to Australia zoo goes fairly regularly BUT I would try and find the exact times OR you may find that there are busses which will be better.
I note that you have said that the additional flights would be $2500 but I think you can do better than that if you put your name down on the web site for domestic airlines in Australia to be notified when there are specials. For instance check out the specials which are coming on line Boxing Day ( Australia time) on www.jetstar.com.au - if that site does not work then take off the au as I cannot remember if it has one. Alternatively check on the US website for Qantas prices and include the " around Australia fares" and see if comes up cheaper. Also we now have Air Australia who posted cheap fares the other day. I do not know anything about the latter though as its a new airline and it does not come near where I live.

Actually the prices are up for Jetstar's Boxing Day sale. I know these are not in your time frame but as long as you are not here for school holidays these are the sort of prices you could be looking at and I am sure that there will be more specials posted in the coming months, so if you could book flights from Brisbane to Cairns at $79 p/p. Keep in mind though that anywhere to Alice Springs and back in expensive and although a lot of people say it is a "must" I think there are better places to experience similiar things, for instance check up on Lawn Hill in Queensland or it might come under something else and I will try and check that out for you. You could rent a car and drive there and experience the outback in its pristine condition without thousands of tourists. Personally I prefer the areas around Darwin like Kathrine Gorge and Kakadu National Park to Alice Springs etc but if you google them you can determine that for yourself.

Domestic routes Travel periods One-way Sale fare AUD^
Brisbane Newcastle 24 Jan - 28 Mar 2012 $45 Book now
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Newcastle 24 Jan - 28 Mar 2012 $45 Book now
Gold Coast Sydney 01 Feb - 28 Mar 2012 $45 Book now
Brisbane Hamilton Island 30 Jan - 26 Mar 2012 $49 Book now
Direct flights only
Brisbane Mackay 24 Jan - 28 Mar 2012 $49 Book now
Brisbane Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) 24 Jan - 28 Mar 2012 $49 Book now
Ballina - Byron Sydney 01 Feb - 28 Mar 2012 $49 Book now
Launceston Melbourne (Tullamarine) 15 Feb - 28 Mar 2012 $49 Book now
Sunshine Coast Sydney 24 Jan - 28 Mar 2012 $49 Book now
Brisbane Sydney 01 Feb - 28 Mar 2012 $55 Book now
Hobart Melbourne (Tullamarine) 29 Feb - 28 Mar 2012 $55 Book now
Adelaide Melbourne (Tullamarine) 01 Feb - 28 Mar 2012 $59 Book now
Melbourne (Avalon) Brisbane 01 Feb - 28 Mar 2012 $59 Book now
Newcastle Gold Coast 24 Jan - 28 Mar 2012 $59 Book now
Launceston Sydney 15 Feb - 28 Mar 2012 $69 Book now
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Gold Coast 24 Jan - 28 Mar 2012 $69 Book now
Brisbane Melbourne (Tullamarine) 24 Jan - 28 Mar 2012 $75 Book now
Brisbane Cairns 01 Feb - 28 Mar 2012 $79 Book now
Brisbane Townsville 24 Jan - 28 Mar 2012 $79 Book now
Ballina - Byron Melbourne (Tullamarine) 31 Jan - 27 Mar 2012 $79

Yep - its name is different:
http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au...park/index.cfm

Thanks, I was wondering about switching up from the Qantas pass to domestic airlines. The $2500 is both international and domestic, though--fare from Philadelphia to Brisbane and Sydney back to Philadelphia is included in that. The reason for Alice Springs is that the "Wayoutback" camping trip starts from there.
I don't drive and this will be my niece's first trip out of the country, so I'm thinking she probably won't want to be driving, so I realize that leaves out some options.

AlanJG, I'd love to have the option to spend more time--my usual mode is to go to perhaps two or three places in a 17 day period--but there is a limit to the amount of time that we can take off. I'd actually not be including the zoo if I were going alone (I prefer spending time in places like the Peruvian rainforest, Mkhaya in Swaziland, or the US national parks for wildlife viewing) but it's a must for my niece so I'm willing to go along.

When you come back, head for the Atherton Tablelands. Last night Steph_Haas(of Fodor's fame), her mum and my family saw seven species of mammals which we could identify to species level, three night birds, a leaf-tailed gecko and a carpet python.

Yes, I reluctantly had to leave the Atherton Tablelands out this time; it sounds like a great night of spotting for Steph and her family! I knew I wouldn't have the time that it deserves.

Some day I'd like to be independently wealthy and only work when I feel like it so I can travel the rest of the time; how do you suppose I'd go about doing that (legally)? :)

As long as you don't need to travel with anyone in particular or mind being away from home you could become a guide. I pass up a lot of work because I don't want to be away from my darling for too long. You probably wont get wealthy but then it is a bit like the fisherman lazing on the beach.

Amy, even though your time is limited, I think you will enjoy the zoo.

On my last trip to Australia, a visit to Australia Zoo was a 'must' for me; however, my travel friend was not that interested but agreed to go. By the end of our visit at the zoo, she was raving about it and said it was one of the nicest zoos she has ever visited.

The standard rate for the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb is $212, which seems a lot of money to me for what is really a tourist gimmick.

You get a fabulous view for the cost of a drink from the 24th floor of Australia Square. The bar in the restaurant called the Summit rotates so over the course of an hour you get a great view of the city.

And you can walk over the walkway of the Harbour Bridge for absolutely nothing ... and spend the $ on a great meal in Kirribilli or Milsons Point.

You can also walk up to the top of one of the pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. http://www.pylonlookout.com.au/ It's $11/pp and you get virtually the same views as from the top of the bridge, but you can take pictures and hang out for as long as you like. There's also a great museum inside on the building of the bridge. I've done both and would never recommend doing the bridge climb - waste of money.

Thanks, all! I rather wondered about the bridge walk's value, and I love the idea of the pylon lookout. I'm so looking forward to this trip; just waiting to hear from one more friend as to whether she's going or not before I start doing bookings.