i and a friend (both 34, male, and from new york city) will be travelling to sydney, adelaide, melbourne and auckland for christmas and new years. the trip will be for some 14 - 17 days in total. <BR> <BR>any advice as to the amount of time that we should spend in each city? we are looking to stay in cities while in australia, with only a few one-day side trips to the 'country.' for example, is there enough to do and see in, say, melbourne, that would warrant several days there? <BR> <BR>thanks for your help.

I hope you are not planning on spending all your time in NZ in Auckland? That would be a total waste! As NZ is so tiny compared to the US or Australia, you could get off the plane and be in one of our fabulous beach towns within a couple of hours (you would take that long to drive across town in New York wouldn't you?)- take your pick: <BR>- Bay of Islands up North <BR>- Whitianga, Cooks Beach, Whangamata on the coromadel. <BR>- Mt Maunganui which is about 2.5 hours east of Auckland and in my opinion, the best New Zealand has to offer at this time of year. <BR> <BR>Be warned tho', that a vast majority of Kiwi's take their holidays around Christmas/New Year and the places I have mentioned above are humming. Unless you book now, it is unlikely you will find even a campsite for a small tent when you get here if you plan to wing it. <BR> <BR>

Joe, <BR>I would say 3 days minimum in Melbourne and Sydney, and longer if you can spare the time. In Melbourne you can ride the free City Circle Tram, visit the Queen Victoria Market, go up the Rialto Tower for spectacular views of Melbourne, wander along Southbank and the Crown Casino area and have coffee outside in the sun. About 15 min ride (tram or taxi) out of town, you might enjoy St Kilda, a beach suburb which is really jumping on warm weekends, Chapel St, Prahran, full of cafes and restaurants and Brunswick St, Fitzroy, a bit alternative. There are lots of day trips, visit the Dandenongs to see wildlife and have 'tea and scones', the Great Ocean Road is well worth a day trip, drive down the coast to Sorrento and the Portsea pub for the day, visit the Yarra Valley on a winery tour. <BR>Christmas is a busy time here with lots of people and kids on holidays so book ahead where you can. <BR>Hope you have a wonderful stay. Kay

<BR>I would agree that 4 nights in Sydney & 2 or 3 in Melbourne seems about right. You could always get a downtown hotel in Melbourne for the first couple of nights & then switch to one of the cities southern beach suburbs for another 2. <BR> <BR>You don't say how you are traveling between Melbourne and Adelaide, but renting a car & driving the Great Coast Highway can be fun, even though it is not cities -- but beach towns.

The first reply to your post is correct: don't even consider flying all the way to NZ if you're only planning to visit Auckland. It's a pleasant but fairly plain city that doesn't merit a long visit. The rest of the country, however, is amazing, particularly the south island. You'd be much better off flying straight down to Queenstown on the south island and using it as a base for outdoor activities and daytrips. <BR> <BR>Melbourne is also good as a daytrip-base, although I'd strongly recommend doing an overnight or two along the Great Ocean Road to the west of the city. The coastal scenery here is the best I've ever seen anywhere, and the towns are charming and have good bistros and cafes. I'd recommend Port Fairy in particular; the last time we visited, we stayed in a great little 19th-century cottage that's part of the Seacombe House inn-and-restaurant there. <BR> <BR>Finally, unless you're really into tea-and-crumpets faux-olde-England mode, the Dandenongs (outside Melbourne) are highly overrated. Lukewarm scenery and lots of tour buses, and not worth the time, especially given the glories of the Great Ocean Road that lie in the other direction out of town. <BR> <BR>

Joe, <BR>I also recommend the Yarra Valley - some great wineries and restaurants (try Domain Chandon and Oakridge Estate amongst others). Why not stay 2 nights downtown, one night in the Yarra Valley then head off back round Melbourne, past Geelong via Bells Beach to Lorne (do-able in one day). Stay at Lorne then drive the Great Ocean Road if time permits. If not, the drive into Lorne will give you a great taste of it before returning to airport via Melbourne's ringroad. <BR> <BR>Assume you're flying between cities. <BR> <BR>What about a balloon flight - over the city of Melbourne or the Yarra Valley? These need to be booked in advance. <BR> <BR>Certainly ditto recommendations re:booking accomodation. Christmas/New Year is busiest time. <BR>