Opinions please,if you have time! East coast trip.
 

We're holidaying for 3 weeks doing the East Coast Sydney to Queensland.We'd love to do a whole lot more but want to make sure of enjoying the whole experience and return another year.

We start in Sydney, 3 nights (2 days).

Burleigh Heads ,3 nights.

Noosa,4 nights.

Port Douglas,4 nights.

Hayman Island (wow),5 nights.

Sydney again,3 nights.

If anyone has a chance could you point out any *must sees* and *don't bothers* in any of these places? We're a mix of hyper fit and hyper lazy,so any places we can find a compromise would be great!

(brits abroad...who'd have'em?)

I forgot to ask,how big is Christmas in Oz? We'll be on Hayman for Christmas Day,are we going to be sick of the season of goodwill by then, or is it a bit less ott than in the UK?

You don't say how you are getting to these places which are 3,000 Klm from beginning to end so it makes it hard to answer your questions i.e. are you driving?????????
To answer your question about Christmas- in a way it is a big deal BUT those of us who live on the coast often celebrate Christmas at the beach, around the swimming pool and with a lot less Pomp and ceremony I think. It is though, whatever you want to make of it. There is always the Boxing Day sales in the shops, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race, and cricket test together with headaches and that "I've over-indulged and am going on a diet" feeling. Hayman for Christmas sounds wonderful.
So lets know how you are getting about which will give us some idea of the time available for you.

huli - if you are driving the following article from The Australian (national newspaper) gives the following beach information for Queensland:
"MOOLOOLABA, in the lee of Point Cartwright, is the safest beach on the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane. Facilities include a surf lifesaving club and shady foreshore. EMU PARK, on the central Queensland coast near Rockhampton, and FORREST BEACH, which serves Ingham in North Queensland also rate highly. Surf-wise, SNAPPER ROCKS,on the Gold Coast, CYLINDER BEACH,on North Stradbroke Island's northern tip, and LAMBERTS near Mackay (yes, you can surf inside the Great Barrier Reef) are recommended. For scenery, sweeping RAINBOW BEACH, on Wide Bay, north of the Sunshine Coast, CAPE HILLSBOROUGH, in national park north of Mackay, and ETTY BAY, serving Innisfail in North Queensland, are postcard perfect. Avoid NORTH GORGE, a narrow beach wedged into North Stradbroke's Point Lookout, with its fierce, draining rip."

Well of course one " must see " out of Port Douglas would be the Great Barrier Reef but I guess that goes without saying. Have fun !

Some of our personal favourites on this route (again, I'm assuming you are driving).
Eumundi Market (near Noosa/Tewantin) open Wednesday and Saturday.
Eungella National Park (near Mackay) - good spot to look for platypus and great views.
Yeppoon and Emu Park - you can divert from Rockhampton to Emu Park and then back onto the highway from Yeppoon.
Just south, turn off the highway at Babinda and make a brief stop at The Boulders - pretty scenery and a pleasant lunch stop.
The hinterland to the Sunshine Coast is worth visiting - Montville, Maleny etc.
Palm Cove (between Port Douglas and Cairns) - lovely beach and good place for coffee or lunch.
Mission Beach - our favourite beach - fringed by palm trees and really lovely.
Hope you have a great holiday.

Thanks Guys!

We're taking flights between all stops except Burleigh Heads to Noosa,which at the moment we're planning to drive.

Unless there is a good rail/coach link between them? I'm not having much luck finding any info on either.

Between Burleigh Heads and Noosa - the best way is to take a bus from the Gold Coast into Brisbane and then another to Noosa OR train the same way but get off at a station near Noosa and catch a cab. The Sunshine Coasters can tell you which station is best for that. Had you thought about talking to the people that you have booked with in Noosa for the information on how to get there. It is not easy without a car and there is no public transport to speak of when you are there except for tours to Rainbow Beach and Fraser Island which is certainly worth doing especially in summer.
Well taking into consideration that you are flying except from Burleigh - Noosa then the information that most of the other posters gave is not relevant to you so the best way to get information on all those places is to search on this forum at the top for:
Gold Coast and surrounds
Sunshine Coast
P.D.
Hayman
Sydney
There will be more information than you need doing that.
Enjoy

Huli, you say you will drive between Burleigh Heads and Noosa Heads, which is probably around 2.5 hr drive, without stops. Take the Gold Coast Motorway towards Brisbane, then take the Gateway Bridge, which will put you on the Bruce Highway going north, stay on the main highway, until you see a sign indicating the turnoff to Noosa Heads. If you turnoff too soon, say at Caloundra, then drive up the coastal road, or Sunshine Motorway, both of these roads take longer, and more traffic.
As LizF said, Fraser Island & Rainbow Beach/Double Island Point, are both worth seeing, as a organised day trip from Noosa. A pretty little village nearby, which I like is Pomona, with volcanic plug mountain at the rear of the village. A lot of people drive from Noosa out to Noosa National Park, park their car in the parking area, then walk to various bays/beaches within the Park. Just be careful, especially if are not a strong swimmer, as a boy drowned there the other day. I understand the family were from overseas, and not used to our rips & undertows.

Thanks Tropo,that's really helpful.

We'd usually just drive straight through,and ditch the car asap, but I'd hate to miss out!

Sad to hear about that little boy,advice duly noted.