Planning a somewhat last-minute trip to Australia. Have begun putting together a rough itinerary, and would like some advice.
The details: Will arrive in SYD on Sunday, Jan. 15, and depart SYD Saturday, Jan. 28. Since it's our first time in Australia, we want to hit the major cities/attractions, and also get to the reef for some diving, as well as a few days to relax and chill.

Here's what I'm thinking so far, which I know is a very packed agenda:
- Arrive Sunday in Sydney (7:30am) and spend full day/night
- Monday, train to Canberra (1 night)
- Tuesday, fly to Melbourne (2 nights)
- Thursday, fly to Hobart (2 nights)
- Saturday, fly to Cairns/Port Douglas (4 nights)
- Wednesday, fly back to Sydney (3 nights)
- Saturday, depart for USA

I know this is a LOT of travel, but of course we're hoping to see as much as we can in a short period of time.
Interested in some thoughts about the itinerary, or anything that I'm missing out on a first trip to OZ that I should consider.
Thanks.

Hi Dave,
You definitely need to cut some things out. If I were you, I would stick to Sydney and Cairns and maybe include Melbourne.
Liz

You will be in Sydney for Australia day which can be fun. Lots happening around the Rocks and the Harbours check...

http://www.australiaday.com.au/

Just in case you do not know, January in Cairns maybe very humid (probably will be) and also stinger season.

If you could handle it I would suggest getting to Canberra on your first night. Saving packing and unpacking and maybe adding a night in Tasmania.

Have fun!

Tassietwister - its very humid in Cairns right now - it just suddenly happened - hot too. There's a heavy wet predicted for this year, but the old-time locals tell me that its too early to tell yet - have to wait a bit to see what the ants are doing!

dave - it certainly will be humid in January, but excluding the slight chance of a cyclone its a great time for reef, usually calm seas and great underwater visibility.

Pat

It was a bit muggy here yesterday and 32...hope it doesn't mean a hot summer here or Dave may find Cairns cool compared to Sydney! Today is nice

Actually Tassietwister, the official max here today is only 31C, but the reading is taken at Cairns airport, in the shade, with a bit of a sea breeze. Had to go only a few kms inland today and the car thermometer was reading 34C at midday. But sometimes, as you say, its a lot hotter in a Sydney summer than in Cairns but often in a Sydney heatwave you get that good "southerly buster" at night. Here it only drops about 5 or 6 degrees at night at this time of year, perfect for outdoor dining where there's a breeze but can get a bit muggy for sleeping.

Having said that, I've scraped as much mould and mildew from furniture, shoes, walls etc in a Sydney February as I have in a Cairns one.

And Canberra is sunny, warm (low 20s) with light breezes, and the city and surounding countryside is looking incredibly green. Of course, it won't look that way in January.

dave_261, if you want to see as much of Australia as possible and you're happy with a whistlestop tour, your itinerary is OK, although it looks pretty tiring to me. But Tassietwister's idea isn't bad - fly to Canberra on Day 1 and add a day to Sydney on the way out. The train trip is slow (half a precious day) and isn't anything to write home about anyway. If you use your time in Canberra judiciously you'll learn a good deal about what makes the country tick (I suggest the Australian War Memorial, the somewhat quirky National Museum and Parliament House - and if you have time the National Gallery). This should help put into perspective what you see of Australia during the rest of your trip.

If I can use an analogy, a year ago we visited China. My knowledge of Chinese history and culture was (and is) sadly rudimentary, but I didn't know how rudimentary until I recently picked up an old Penguin copy of "The Birth of Communist China" by C. P. Fitzgerald, a former professor at the Australian National University, Canberra. This slim volume shone so much light on why the Chinese are as they are - their maddening as well as admirable traits -that I wished badly that I'd read it before I went. I also learned something about the titanic struggles that within my lifetime had swept back and forth over places that I'd stood in, blissfully unaware of what it had taken to create the New China we found. Well, it depends whether you want to understand the societies you visit, of course - a lot of travellers are happy with the "sights" - but it's made me more determined to bone up on other countries I'm planning to visit.

Yes, sadly it looks a bit manic to me too. But interesting that you have considered Canberra for a first time visit.

And if you are curious about the "how and why" of another country, rather than just taking in the sights, then a visit to the capital makes a big contribution to that. Canberra is not everyone's cup of tea - it doesn't have that bright lights, big city feel - but the museums and galleries are definitely worth the trip.

Flying there straight up also sound like a good idea.

But if you want to go to Tassie - go for longer, as Hobart, nice as it is, is not the reason most people fall in love with the state. It's the countryside rather than the "city".

If it were me I'd skip Melbourne altogether, and I'd shuffle your itinerary a bit, but the order is dependent above all on what internal flight are available/practical.

Don't stop in Sydney on your way in.
Fly SYD - CAIRNS - CANBERRA - HOBART.
Then you could take the ferry from Hobart to Sydney and arrive in this city for the first time (I don't count the airport) by sea.

If you hate sea-travel forget I mentioned it. If you like the idea of sailing in through the Heads and down the harbour ..

Just a thought.