Hi,

Have gone thru a few websites and plan to go to the following places for shopping:
1) Queen Victoria Mkt
2) Sunday Mkt at the Victorian Arts Centre
3) Camberwell Market
4) St Kilda Esplanade Art and Craft Market
5) Brand Smart Factory Mall
6) Bridge Road, Richmond

Due to lack of time and the coverage of so many places, would anyone advise how I should plan my itinerary to cover the above. I only have one sunday to cover the mkt.

Wow. My husband would hate to travel w/ you...

To be honest, I would skip the Camberwell Mkts altogether. I have found them to be like one big garage sale w/ people selling old clothes, etc. Queen Vic has more stalls than you could see in a day - but once you have done a few aisles it all starts to look the same. Souveniers, clothing, handbags, food stalls, plants, etc - that type of things. The Vic Arts Mkt (undercover for the most part) & St. Kilda (which is completely outdoors) are more artsy/crafty type stalls w/ artists showing their wares. Bridge Rd. is primarily clothing w/ good deals on last season's clothes - mainly. It's hard to plan an itinerary not knowing where you are staying but keep in mind that St. Kilda is the furthest away from the CBD and not worth the trip if it is raining (assuming you are only going for the markets). QVM opens at 9:00 on Sunday, and all the shops on Bridge Rd. would close around 5:00 pm. Maybe start at QVM, head over the the arts centre, and then catch a cab to Bridge Rd. Can't help you w/ the factory mall.

You really must love to shop.

Good info from Mrs Fletcher. I agree on skipping Camberwell market, it's full of stuff people are chucking out. The Brand Smart Factory Mall in in Nunawading, about 45 min drive from the city. Not really worth the trip in my opinion, it's like the outlet malls that are all over the USA, some people think there are bargains to be had but I've never found any there. Bridge Rd and Swan St in Richmond are excellent for clothes shopping, they have seconds and samples shops as well as normal shops. Start at Church St and work your way up Bridge Rd to Hoddle St.
Queen Vic Market is excellent too, and has just about everything you could ever want to buy, lots of atmosphere and some terrific buskers.
The Arts Centre market and St Kilda are mainly crafts, nice stuff. If you make it to the esplanade at St Kilda, walk a bit further on to Acland St and look in the cake shop windows - worth a photo!
Kay

Nope. Since all the way there so...buy something special back home.

Will be staying at a hotel along Bourke St. So I should start off at QVM, then to Vic Arts Centre, then to Richmond & St Kilda...

Can I take a tram to each destination?
When should I take tram and when should I take train. Confused!!!

You'll be really pushing to get around all of these in one day ! However it is do-able by tram. I'd walk to the QVmarket - the catch any tram running along Swanston St to the Arts Centre. From here to Bridge Rd is easy - walk back to the corner of Swanston & Flinders and catch either a number 48 or 75 to Bridge Rd. Bridge Rd to St Kilda is more time consuming. You'd need to get the tram back into the city and right down to Flinders St and then get a number 112 to St Kilda - on a Sunday when the services are not so frequent this could take quite some time. I'd recommend a cab!

We were staying in St. Kilda and the tram ride the morning we went to the QV took exaclty 7-minutes. Returning shortly after lunch, again 7-minutes. Returned after lunch and only 6-minutes to the Mall/Tower and when finally returning after dinner, the wait was a little longer but the trip was again only 6-minutes.

The one ticket, paid for once, was good for all day. Pretty good deal.

We just returned from Melbourne and we stayed downtown in the middle of the shopping district -- little bourke and swanston. Big dept stores of David Jones and Myers are open late (till 9) thur and friday nights. Take advantage of the late nights. Myers was even connected to our hotel (Mecure Welcome). It also had a great take-out food dept -- consider that if you want to save some $. Happy shopping!

I'll be staying in the same hotel too.
How's the weather now. Very cold? Do I have to wear a long john inside. How abt Mt Buller, did you go and how cold is it.

What time does the sunset.

Can share more about your trip.

Melbourne has a had a mild winter this year. Current temperature range is minimums of 6-10 Celsius to maximums of 13-18 celsius. Not freezing but quite cool if the wind's blowing. Mt Buller is a ski resort. There's currently lots of snow so you might want your longjohns if you head up there. Sun sets at about 5:30 pm.

I've got one more shopping suggestion for you. If you're going to do Bridge Rd, think about jumping in a taxi and doing Smith St Collingwood, 5 minutes away. Lots of outlet shops, mostly sports oriented. Brunswick St, which is parallel to Smith, is also a really interesting street. Not necessarily the best shopping but lots of cafes and great for people watching.

We have been back 1 week now -- the weather in Melbourne was quite comfortable -- we wore just a light weight jacket -- 50 to 55 degrees. We were lucky that the weather was clear most of the time. The RBG - Royal Botanic Gardens had just redone the displays -- planting pansies for a spring show. Go to the RBG and visit Fern Gully -- it really is amazing!

Remember -- if you spend more than $300 aus -- you can get the GST tax refunded. The staff at Myer's when I bought a cashmere coat -- took my other separate Myer purchases -- and returned them -- then I repurchased them thereby showing over a combined $300 purchase. This then qualifies for the tax refund. After passing through customs in the Melbourne airport -- I proceeded to the tax refund booth and had my refund processed.

The Mt. Buller is a popular tour -- since you are staying at the Welcome you can always pick up a tour right across the street. It gets dark abt 5:30 or so -- however, the streets are full of people till 10pm.

We did the Penquin Express 2hr drive there, 2hr at Phillip Island - 2 hr drive back. My daughter was disappointed that there weren't more of the little guys. I thought it interesting -- more and more penquins will come climaxing in summer. However, you can really see the stars on Phillip Island so be sure to bring a southern sky chart --

The highlight of our trip was our last day -- we took a private tour of the Great Ocean Road. I thought that we might be tired of the big bus tours and I found this co. through the internet - Kalinda Tours.

We saw tremendous scenery. The day started off heading SW out of Melbourne, many stops for photos, saw and walked by kangaroos in Anglesea, walked through and saw Koalas in the wild -- in a eucalyptus forest (the aroma was heavenly!), a short walk in a rainforest with incredible trees and spectacular ferns -- all this before lunch! Continued on to the 12 Apostles -- this must not be missed! We had fantastic weather and be sure to bring several rolls of film (36 exp). These limetone formations are breathtaking. We did opt for a short 15 min helicopter ride (since the weather was perfect - cost for 2 was 120 US. After the ride -- it was time to make a beeline home -- we were treated to a fantastic sunset -- an appropriate goodby from Australia.

I hope this helps.

website: kalindatours.com.au

Thks all for sharing. It's helps alot and with that I know I'm going to enjoy my trip in Mel.