dkw

My husband and I are in the process of planning a trip to Australia for Sept 2-17. We are fit and in our early 40's. Not much into nightlife, but love good food and wine. We would much rather be doing something than laying by a pool. We are open to any and all suggestions to enhance our trip. I hope you all have some great suggestions for us.

We have tentatively worked our the following:

Day 1 - Fly from LA

Day 2 - in transit

Day 3 - 7 Sydney....lots to do there
Bridge Climb, City Tour, Harbor Cruise, Cooking School at Fish Market

Day 7 - Fly to Adelaide (Haven't decided on a Hotel...Any Suggestions?)

Day 8 - Adelaide Day Trip to Barossa Valley

Day 9 - Ghan to Alice Springs

Day 10 - Arrive in Alice Springs Crown Plaza Resort. Looking at a Quad Adventure (4 wheelers)

Day 11 - Fly to Ayers Rock - Rent a car , visit the rock and the Olgas (Valley of the Winds Hike), and Sounds of Silence dinner. We still need accomodation suggestions...thinking about Lost Camel

Day 12-16 Fly to Cairns - Transfer to Palm Cove (Sebel Reef House)
Too much to do there...Reef tour, Rainforest tour, Kuranda Skyrail....

Day 17 Back to Sydney for flight to LA

The biggest question I have is how to book the internal airfares. Are they best done online from the U.S. well before we leave, or will we get the best rates if we wait till we are there.

I have been told that there are usually arifare sales for travel in September....does anyone know about when those typically start.

As for accomodations, we are having trouble deciding in Adelaide, Alice Springs. Any suggestions around 200AUD? It seems that everything is so expensive at the Ayers Rock Resort. Is there a great difference in the quality of the accomodations there? Has anyone stayed at the Lost Camel.

Thanks in advance....I've been religiously reading the board and really appreciate all the information you all so graciously share.


DKW

Judy_in_Calgary

Dkw, if it was my trip, I would give up Adelaide, and add a couple of days to Far North Queensland. If you do that, I'm sure you'll end up being happy you did. FNQ is such an amazing place, and you'll be going there at a good time of year. While the present draft of your itinerary does allow for the bare bones FNQ activities (GBR, rainforest, Kuranda), I think your experience would be so much richer if you had even another couple of days. For example, you could go on a 2 day trip to the Tableland / Highlands, and overnight at the Undara Lava Tubes.

Adelaide's weather is iffy in September, and you'd be going there for such a short time that you'd be short changing yourself there too, IMO.

It's good to see that you'll be spending Days 3 - 7 in Sydney, though. You won't regret a minute of that.

Hope you have a wonderful trip. I'm sure you will.

mrsfletcher

Your trip sounds fantastic to me, and well planned. Just a personal choice here - but I prefer the McLaren Vale region to the Barossa. IMO it is a bit less commercialized. However, if you already have your day trip planned DON'T CHANGE IT! The Barossa is also lovely (as are the wines...). Assuming the Ghan (love that idea too)would leave from the downtown Adl. train station, so the Hyatt is a good location. It is probably also the most expensive hotel in Adelaide, but they sometimes have deals. I have also heard good things about the Hotel Richmond, and the Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury. Both are right in the city as well. As for Alice Springs, I realize the Resort is pricey but from what I understand it has just gone under a recent facelift/reno which is supposed to be fantastic. I did a camping thing when I went so I can't really comment on any other places to stay... And finally, your airfare question...right now there are some fare wars going on between virgin blue (www.virginblue.com.au) & jetstar (www.jetstar.com.au) and fares are getting snapped up for really cheap. I'd take a look now, and if you get some good deals go ahead & book. Otherwise you might want to wait until shortly before you arrive. Have fun!

Graeme

What about Melbourne?

Alan

Hi. dkw!

That's a great itinerary! I wouldn't change a thing. Good time of year to do the desert, also. You have planned well.

About the airfares -- there are, as was said above, some great specials going on right now, but they are drying up as I write. What will next week's fares be like? It's like betting on the stock market. The new budget airline, Jetstar, starts actual flights in May, though they have already sold 100,000 seats. I think that, come the end of May, Virginblue will unleash some more of its big guns to try and steal their thunder. So, my advice is to wait a while. But I don't think I'd wait until I got here! Your itinerary is so good that it would be a shame if it all fell apart because the airlines were in the middle of another one of their price wars, and all the seats were full! I think you should have your tickets safely purchased before you leave home; you MAY pay more (who can tell?) but there will be no unpleasant surprises and hastily reorganised schedules.

dkw

Wow - Thanks for the great replies!!

Judy -I understand your concern for our lenght of time in FNQ. We are making the Ghan trip to Alice Springs a priority based on a personal recommendation. There just isn't enough time!!!!!

Mrsfletcher - I will most assuredly look into McLaren Vale for a day trip. It sounds like just the type of area we like to explore.

As soon as I get my Trans-Pacific flight i will make my internal flight reservations. Your posts confirmed my suspicion that it would be better to have those booked prior to arriving.

Thanks for the responses.....I'm sure I will come up with many more questions thru the planning process.

mrsfletcher

DKW - if you go to today's www.cnn.com, there is an article about the Ghan in the travel section. It says that the train leaves from Adelaide's Keswick station - I'm not sure that this is the downtown/central station after all.

simpsonc510

Cast my vote for McLaren Vale! It's lovely. I really enjoyed Adelaide and am sooo glad you included it. It's such a neat little "town" of 1.6 million people, give or take a few.

I've stayed at the Grosvenor Hotel on two trips to Adelaide. My room was small but comfortable. It was right across the street from the convention center, so very handy. Plus, it's an easy walk to the shopping street and the old tram.

Sounds like you won't have time to take the old tram ride to the beach at Glenelg... too bad. That trip is like a step back in time. And the beach has a nice street of shops to browse in (or should I say, have a sticky beak).

I also took the Ghan from Adelaide to Alice. Interesting scenery. It's a 24-hour ride, isn't it? Or did they speed it up a bit since my ride? Will that allow you time to do your quad adventure after arriving in Alice? I did hot air ballooning and LOVED it.

My Alice hotel WAS a lovely Sheraton. I have no idea what it is now, as that was in 1988 and I know things change.

I'm sure you will enjoy your itinerary. OZ is a great place to visit. I'm trying to get back there in 2004. Sydney is my favorite city (but in a very close tie with Bangkok right now).

Before I forget, be prepared for jet lag on about your second day in Sydney. I tried to attend an opera at the Opera House and ended up leaving at the intermission. I'd have been very embarrassed to be snoring in the audience there!!! LOL You should try to see the Sydney Symphony in the concert hall... it's FABULOUS!

Have a great trip!

Carol

dkw

Thanks again for the additional suggestions. It seems like McLaren Vale over Barossa Valley is a "yes"

Carol - the Ghan leaves Adelaide at 5:15pm and arrives in Alice Springs at around noon the next day. The Quad Adventure company shows a 2 hour trip starting at 4:00 pm. That should give us time to get settled and ready. Hot air ballooning sounds great!! I'm going to check into that to see if we can fit it in during our short time in Alice Springs.

MrsFletcher - thank for the tip on the Ghan article. I printed it off and added it to my ever growing pile of travel info.

I am considering the Pacific International Hotel in Adelaide. Does anyone have recent experience there? Rates are around $100USD....seems very reasonable. It is located on Hindmarsh Square. It that a good location?

Neil_Oz

Can't comment on the hotel, but Hindmarsh Square is definitely a good location. It's in the middle of the NE quadrant of the city, if that makes sense - close to Rundle Mall for shops and Rundle St for eats, also not too far from North Terrace (Art Gallery, Botanical Gardens) and the Festival Centre.

I found a map of the City and North Adelaide at http://www.southoz.com/newsletter_ar...laide_city_map in which Hindmarsh Square (mis-spelt) is shown prominently. The map's scale is shown in miles, suggesting that it may be a bit old - but nobody has moved any streets or squares in Adelaide for a long time.