I need help figuring out my itinerary to Oz this October for my honeymoon. We have 15 nights and would like to sample all that Australia has to offer. I know that 15 nights is going to be tight but we want a "diversified" experience.

Here is what I have so far

Sidney- 3 nights- we live in NYC so we don't feel we need to take in too much of the city life. Bridge climb, opera house, trip to mountains.

Port Douglas- 4-5 nights- trip to reef, daintree, etc.

Kangaroo Island- 3nights

Darwin- 4nights

Should we go to Kangaroo Island or Darwin? Do you think we have time to do both? Weather in each places? Should we forget both of these places and go somewhere else?

Any other suggestions for our first time to Oz and probably won't have an opportunity to go back.

Thanks!

Hello blsgirl
October is a great time to visit certain parts of australia- great for East Coast, however Darwin is far too hot & humid at that time of year.
Same goes for Uluru, Kimberleys etc.
We are a vast country and you do not want to spend all your time travelling
Port Douglas is wonderfull base as well to visit the reef & daintree.BE prepared again for humidity and hot days-not as high as Darwin.
We live 1.5hrs south of Brisbane and at that time of year we would not travel any further north then Whitsunday- daily flights from Sydney to Airlie Beach area,where you can base yourself to explore the wonderfull Whitsunday group of islands, snorkel, scuba dive, sea kayak etc.
If you wish to visit mountains you may wish to consider Tasmania-purest air in the world, Cradle Mountain,Coles Bay, Wine Glass Bay, Franklin River- these are just some of the few attractions.
We would be very happy to provide you with more details if you wish , our email address is : [email protected]
We love our country and have travelled extensively through it.

I think you've got a great itinerary provided you can get good connections so that you aren't spending a lot of time in airports. (The flights in and out of Darwin can be particularly wonky.) I have been to all of the places you mention multiple times and I love them all. While I have only been in Darwin in August, a quick look on the internet at the weather for Darwin in October shows rainfall at 4 inches for the month and temperatures ranging from 70 - 90 degrees F. I imagine you are used to temperatures like that in NYC in the summer. Anyway, a Darwin local may have another viewpoint, but I think it would be fine to go to Darwin in October.

Hi blsgirl!

Wow, that's alot of travelling in a short amount of time! When you say you have 15 nights, is that 15 days/nights IN Australia, or your total honeymoon time?

As you're coming from NYC, I'm assuming you're also not staying over in either San Francisco or LA prior?

Sooo, arriving in Sydney in the early morning, spending 3.5 days there, and then, for example, flying to Cairns, getting to hotel, checking in - that's a half day + 4 days there, and then flying to Darwin - if you get the direct flight 2.5 hrs, with one stop 3.5, so another half day....as you can see, your valuable time is getting eaten up quickly. Hate it when that happens!

I think you need to narrow your focus a bit and make the most of your time. Perhaps you could tell us what your interests are.

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

15 nights is the total honeymoon time (not including travel to/from Oz). Should we do either Darwin or Kangaroo Island? Which would you suggest and why?

You can't, of course, sample all that Australia has to offer, any more than you could sample all that the US has to offer, in 15 days, but I guess you didn't mean to be taken so literally.

I would opt for Darwin, mainly for the sake of Kakadu National Park, providing weather is not a problem - I'm assuming that the wet season proper won't have arrived by that time, but I could be wrong - perhaps someone could please confirm that? I think that would give you a much richer experience than Kangaroo Island, especially with regard to indigenous Australians. KI is OK, but sometimes I wonder if it's the name as much as anything that attracts so many people. They have their charms, but I wouldn't include Adelaide (unavoidable en route to KI) and KI in such a brief visit.

Have you bought a good guide book, e.g. Lonely Planet? If not, I strongly recommend you do so.

I have never really understood why Kangaroo Island features so prominently in everyones itinerary. (and I was born in South Australia). I guess with the name Kangaroo in it you feel sure you will see some Kangaroos. Allthough it is a nice place, it is expensive to get to and believe me there are plenty of other places to see Kangaroos in the wild. The Grampians in Victoria for instance. I would suggest that you include Darwin, and I don't mean Darwin as a destination, but as a means of accessing Kakadu where you should spend a couple of nights. This is the land of the Aboriginal "Dreamtime" with marvellous wildlife (you may see some Kangaroos and certainly some Crocodiles) great scenery and an Outback feel that makes it worth the long trip from NYC.
www.travelnt.com

Recently flew from Singapore to Darwin (2nd visit) and would suggest 2-3 days in Darwin. Litchfield National Park is just as interesting as Kakadu & much closer & easier to get to from Darwin. Darwin is a compact city and I can't see how you'd need 4 days to see what the area has to offer. Canberra is worth a day trip from Sydney as it's our nation's capital. I would not have missed Washington DC.

Ok, how is this for a revised skeleton itinerary..
4 night in Sidney (blue mountains, bridge climb, opera house, possible trip to Caneberra)
5 nights in Port Douglas (reef, rainforest, etc.)
3nights Darwin

Is it the rainy season in Darwin the begining of October? Are the trips to Litchfield and Kakandu daytrips our would you suggest staying overnight? If we stay overnight is it a camping situation? I don't know if we really want to go camping on our honeymoon considering we have never gone camping before.

I have 3-4 extra nights that I can use somewhere. Any suggestions?

blsgirl, in case you mean to do any web searches, make sure you get the spellings right -
Sydney, not Sidney
Canberra, not Caneberra
Kakadu, not Kakandu

I'd have thought that the wet season kicks in somewhat later than early October, but you could contact the Northern Territory Tourist Bureau to be sure. It would be a good idea to check their website anyway.

You can certainly do day trips to Kakadu from Darwin but there are also hotels in the Kakadu area. It has become a well developed area for tourists with all sorts of options. I think 3 nights in Darwin with day trips would be ideal. For the spare days you might as well experience all "the biggies" while you are downunder and include Uluru. Fly there from Darwin and then back to Sydney. I am not sure what airline you have chosen, but if you are flying Qantas, the Aussie Pass may be worth checking out.
try www.travelnorth.com.au and www.qantas.com.au

blsgirl, I've lived in Cairns/Port Douglas area for 15 years and can assure you that October is one of the best months to visit - maximum daily temps are about 29C and October is one of the least humid months of year. One of our kids has lived in Darwin and Jabiru for about the same amount of time and say the same about there. Right now roads to Kakadu are under water from wet season deluges, but October's a long way from March.

Like Neil and Downunder (I was also born in South Australia) have no idea, unless its the name, why Kangaroo Island features so highly with tourists. Yes, it has a huge koala population, too many in fact, which is why there's a sterilisation programme in place.

When in Far North Queensland don't forget Atherton Tablelands for unique wildlife you won't see anywhere else in country.

Oops, sorry for the typos. Guess that's what happens when I don't proof read
Thank you for the all your advise. I will look into everyone's suggestions.