Relaxing holiday in Australia

Old Jan 30th, 2006, 10:15 AM
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Relaxing holiday in Australia

A friend and I will be traveling to Australia mid March 2006 for a couple of weeks and need a little help planning our itinerary.

We've already purchased tickets to fly in and out of Sydney so, that is where our trip begins and ends.

We both love the water and are interested in staying at the beach for a few days when we first arrive - to just relax and recover from that long flight. Any suggestions for a great beach and hotel?

We also want to spend a fair amount of time in Sydney and take day trips to Blue Mts., and The Hunter Valley. Any suggestions on other drivable destinations? Also, which neighborhood in Sydney is the best to stay? We would love to be close to restaurants, shopping and the water, of course.

After that our trip is pretty much wide open.

We don't want to be traveling by plane too often but we're open to taking at least one round trip while we're there.We realize we can't see it all in 2 weeks so, should it be to Cairns to see the GBR? Adelaide to see the wineries? The GOR? Or Tasmania? Are we missing out by limiting ourselves to one flight?

We just want a very relaxing holiday and at the same time, a wonderful Australian experience. So any words of wisdom are appreciated!!

Thank you.
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Old Jan 30th, 2006, 11:10 AM
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Hi Mary
I'm going to Australia for 3 weeks in April, but the last adjective I would use to describe my itinerary would be 'relaxed' ;-) (you can read about it in 'Australian Itinerary in Progress' on this forum - best would be my post from 1:44PM 1/30/2006). Anyway I did a lot of research so far and what can I tell you for sure is that March is definitely still wet season in the north of Australia. I'm sure you'll get better advice here, but maybe you could consider visiting the Red Center as for your side trip from Sydney (2-3 days, check out airfare on http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn...fier-region-au ). Except that few days in Sydney + Blue Mountains and the next week drive up towards Brisbane and further (Sunshine Coast + maybe Fraser Island). Hope I gave you some ideas /Maria
 
Old Jan 30th, 2006, 03:07 PM
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Maria - thanks for your reply. Your itinerary is quite full!!

Having traveled to NZ and trying to do too much in too little time we've decided to take a more laid-back approach on this trip. Hopefully we'll get some more feedback from other travelers and/or locals to help us out.

Happy trip planning!

~Mary
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Old Jan 30th, 2006, 03:25 PM
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You could consider staying at Manly - good beach, nice atmosphere, some decent restaurants, ocean and harbour frontages and 30 minutes to the city by ferry, which is simply the best way to get from A to B in Sydney and the cheapest harbour cruise going. At Circular Quay you can get straight on the City Circle rail line, change at Central and you'll be in the Blue Mountains (Katoomba) 2 hours later, God and the State Transport Authority willing.

If you search www.wotif.com, even if you decide not to book through them, you can research hotels. We've stayed at the Manly Pacific a couple of times, right opposite the beach - at the moment the best price on wotif is AU$209, but you might do better in March. We certainly didn't pay that much.
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Old Jan 30th, 2006, 03:36 PM
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If relaxing is the keyword for your holiday, I'd settle for Sydney and one other place. At that time of year, Cairns will be at the tail end of the wet season and may be humid and wet, and the centre will be hot.
Adelaide, Tasmania or Melbourne would be good climate-wise and any would be a good choice for short sightseeing trips.
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Old Jan 30th, 2006, 06:11 PM
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try http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/

lord howe island????? it will cost you a bit but relaxing for sure. IN fact if you wanted a relaxed holiday near the beach then QLD is the place to be but skip gold coast and go anywhere from sunshine coast up
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Old Jan 30th, 2006, 06:31 PM
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Just checked out Lord Howe Island - sounds like my cup 'o tea!

So, a week in Sydney and 5 days on LHI? Any suggestions on accomodations?

Do you think LHI is worth skipping Tasmania, GOR, or Adelaide?

Thanks for your help. I look forward to your reply.

~Mary
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Old Feb 1st, 2006, 09:21 PM
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Lord Howe would be wonderful for relaxation, and it has wonderful scenery, coral and wildlife. March should be good weatherwise, and better than in N. Queensland, where it would still be the wet season. Water temperature should be good.

Tasmania would be nice then, but unless you want to stay in one spot, not so relaxing. Can't advise on Adelaide - only been there once and it rained the whole week - atypical. But the Hunter Valley wineries are only a couple of hours from Sydney.

For a city and harbour experience in Sydney, I suggest staying somewhere at the Rocks, which is under the southern end of the Harbour Bridge and close to ferries, trains and buses, and an easy walk to the Opera House etc. There's a range of accommodation there from budget to luxurious.
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Old Feb 1st, 2006, 10:07 PM
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I can highly recomend 5 nights on Lord Howe Island - stay at Somerset as it is inbetween Ned's Beach and the blue lagoon and very handy to the main shop on the island. It is extremely clean and well kept. We did our own breakfast then ate out for lunch and dinner. There are very few cars on the island so as long as you don't mind hireing push bikes to get around, you will have a fantastic time. If you go on a hike up the mountain near Ned's beach, make sure you leave early in the morning as it can get very hot....but extremely worth the effort. There is no night life of the island...just a few good restaurants,...make sure you go to the Blue Parrot for lunch.
Take a torch with you as there are no street lights. Enjoy and relax!
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