Please help with Australia Itinerary in June!
 

I plan on going to Australia for 2 weeks in June and would appreciate any feedback on the following itinerary. It's my first time in Australia and I realize I won't get to see everything by a longshot but I'm interested in seeing some highlights. Thanks!

Day 1: Fly to Sydney
Day 2: Cross date line
Day 3: Arrive in Sydney (land early in the morning)
Day 4: Sydney-Bridgeclimb
Day 5: Sydney-Trip to Blue Mountains
Day 6: Ayers Rock
Day 7: Ayers Rock-Sunrise/Sunset tours of Ayers Rock and Olgas
Day 8: Palm Cove
Day 9: Palm Cove-Trip to Kuranda via train and skyrail
Day 10: Lizard Island
Day 11: Lizard Island
Day 12: Lizard Island
Day 13: Back in Sydney
Day 14: Depart Sydney

It is a shame you need to backtrack to Sydney. What airline are you using? Qantas flies from LAX to Brisbane, and Melbourne, too.

I was thinking of using Qantas. Why would it be better to fly to Brisbane or Melbourne over Sydney?

Thanks!

Sydney will be cold or cool. When I was there in July, the high was 49 and the low was 41. It never freezes in Sydney, but the sun will go down at 5:00 p.m. I would avoid Melbourne for that reason, too.

You could fly from Cairns to Brisbane. When I was there it was 70 degrees and Brisbane is a great city.

Consider booking your flight from LAX to Sydney and Brisbane to LAX. Later you can purchase a flight from Sydney to Ayers Rock and Ayers Rock to Cairns.

BTW, if the flight into Ayers Rock arrives early and leaves late, one night could be long enough.

You can check for prices using the Multiple Destinations Option. I try to avoid backtracking when I travel.

BTW, the Bridge Climb was $150 USD during Christmas time or $200 AUD. The rides at the top of the Stratisphere Tower in Las Vegas are more thrilling.

Is one night in Ayers Rock enough time?

I was there in 1992 and the accommodations were very expensive unless one stayed in the hostel. The flies were terrible. It depends on what time the flight arrives and departs.

When I was there I took the afternoon tour where we drove around the rock and they showed paintings in the area. I climbed the rock (not encouraged today) the next morning in just 45 minutes. I flew out of Ayers Rock to Cairns around 2:30 p.m.

At night it will get down to around 40 degrees. What do you plan to do there? I didn't take a tour of the Olgas.

Watching the rock turn color at sunset seems to be the big event.

I would suggest that if you arrive at Ayers Rock early and depart late, one night will be enough.

wally, you really are a wally.

it never snows in sydney but because of this tourists tend to feel the cold a lot more. I remember scraping half an inch of ice off my windscreen because it was that cold.

i don't think the idea of doing a bridge climb is for the thrills. is it? if so then just go to a themepark instead. much cheaper. Sydney has a most beautiful harbour. seeing it from the top of the bridge is a wonderful memmory.

Let me remind you that Ayers rock is near nothing. It is actually quite a way from the Alice so maybe that part of your trip is a little pushed.

Its a whirlwind tour thats for sure but sounds exciting if you have the energy and temperament for it but something will have to give I'm afraid.

Thanks for your responses.
bhuty: What would you suggest that I change in the itinerary?

chilleyi, wouldn't change your itinerary at all, you've obviously decided where you want to go and you're not trying to hit too many destinations in 2 weeks.

Difference between flight time between Cairns-Brisbane and Cairns-Sydney is only an hour, so very little "backtracking".

Pat,

Thanks for your response. Some friends of mine mentioned that my trip might be too hectic. I'm glad you think I'm not trying to hit too many destinations in 2 weeks.

CHILL, if thats the trip you want and you;re happy to push past a few things then go for it! When you get back you will be wowed out of your head and just you'll be buzzing so thats a good thing and it'll make your mates jealous (haha does that sound superficial, its not meant to be).
Sometimes its exciting to have a trip where you can rattle off "we did this, then saw that and oh my this was excellent .... blah blah blah" and then sometimes you want a trip where it feels like a holiday and not a "trip" if you get my meaning.

If you want to have some holidaying in amongst the tripping then I'd drop uluru or palm cove and whatever is left behind give an extra day to that plus sydney. Just a thought.

Sorry to make you doubt your idea.

OH and when i said "something will ahve to give" i wasn't really refering to one of the locations. You might need to give up the "holidaying part" where you stroll through markets, sit quietly in a park enjoying a picnic or spending extra time appreciating the history and culture of the environment etc etc

Not so much a matter of back-tracking Pat if going back to Sydney but because Qantas flies direct to LA from Brisbane it makes for a better flight with no stopovers. O/w I see no problem in your plans chillyeli.

chillyeli
saw your post & wanted to suggest u switch to 1 night in ULURU - Ayer's.
i see u've already considered it.
U need one afternoon tour and one morning tour & fly afterwards.
Don't miss Kata Djuta ("Olga's")
aby

For the record, in Sydney the average June high is 17C, low 8C. That's 63 and 47 on the old (fahrenheit) scale.

I think Wally the woolie woofter got his numbers mixed up Neil. I cannot ever remember Sydney ever getting down near 49F as a max temp during the day - probably mixed it up with Canberra or Thredbo.
Won't it be great when the US comes into line with the rest of the world with celcius temps? I cannot even remember how to translate it now.

Liz, I just ran it through my converter, which tells me that and 49F is 9.4C. The lowest recorded June temperature ever in Sydney was 34F (1.1C). I certainly don't remember a maximum that low during my years in Sydney.

Of course, temperatures quoted for Sydney are taken near the coast (Observatory Hill, I think) and are quite a bit milder than in the outer western suburbs, where it can certainly get down to freezing.

Incidentally, the average low-high in brisk old Canberra in June is 1-12 (34-54F).

When I was in Sydney, the man on the radio said, "It is the coldest day in two years in Sydney, it is so cold, the macadamia trees are freezing their nuts off." I will never forget it. That was back in 1992.

I'm glad a few people are agreeing with me that one night at Ayers Rock and flying out of Brisbane is a good option. However, it is your trip, Chillyeli, and if you want to go back to Sydney instead of visiting a new city like Brisbane, it is certainly your call.

I should mention that this is for my honeymoon. That's why I'm concerned with hopping around too much. But I'm also torn about not being able to see everything I want to see. My fiance wants to visit Ayers Rock so I didn't want to drop that from our trip.

Thanks!

Back in 1992 I did a tour like yours. Three days in Sydney, one night at Ayers Rock, one week in Cairns and two nights in Brisbane.

If you don't mind an early morning flight from Sydney to Ayers Rock, then one night should be good. Otherwise, stay two nights at Ayers Rock. Check prices at www.qantas.com.au to see if it will be cheaper to fly out of Brisbane or Sydney. Sometimes Brisbane is cheaper.