Sydney & GBR Itinerary

Old May 30th, 2005, 07:05 PM
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Sydney & GBR Itinerary

I will be spending 10 days in Australia in June with my husband & kids (ages 8 & 11). The plan is to spend several days in Sydney then head up to the reef for several days. I'm pretty comfortable with what's available in Sydney, but have a few questions:

-Where to stay at the reef? We'd like to do some snorkeling & possible diving, but I don't know what else there is to see there.

-How long to stay at each location?

-I would like a day trip to the Blue Mtns. from Sydney. Are there any other day trips we should consider?

-Is it best to drive to the mtns. or take a train?

_we're a little leery of driving in AUS coming from the US. Do we even need to drive...or is everything just as easy using public transportation?

I need to get rooms reserved, so any quick replies would be greatly appreciated!
leodat is offline  
Old May 30th, 2005, 07:58 PM
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If I were you, I'd take the train and not even bother with driving. If you DO decide to drive (in which case take the train as far as Emu Plains and hire from Budget rent-a-Car there -- why drive through the city traffic?), then spend at least two days and a night on the Blue Mountains trip and go right through as far as Jenolan Caves, which is particularly good for kids, and also visit Euroka Clearing at Glenbrook, which is pretty good for anyone who likes seeing native animals in the wild. You can't get to these places easily by train (though there are tours to Euroka from Sydney and tours to Jenolan from Katoomba), but anything else can be done on the train. Leave Sydney terminal Station on the 9:02 train, arriving in Katoomba at around 11 a.m. You pay off-peak rates that way, and, as you probably already know, you pay for only one child. The second and subsequent children go free on all public transport.

At Katoomba Station you can get a trolley or a double-decker bus which allows you to get on and off when and where you like.... in four or five hours you can see a lot of the best sights. If you stay overnight, you can get a one-day tour from Katoomba Station by bus to Jenolan Caves on the second day... but in this case, since you're going back a day late, the benefits of off-peak do not apply).

One last (small) warning: while you CAN buy a combined train-and-sightseeing bus ticket in Sydney, from most railway stations, do not do this. Buy your bus ticket on the bus. They are two separate tickets, but many of the railway stations don't realise that and fail to issue the bus tickets, which are probably stashed away in a cupboard somewhere. When you get on the bus, it's no use saying "but we paid for a combined ticket, honest!" You'll have to pay again. The station master at Katoomba, who, of course, is not to blame for this situation, says that hardly a day goes by that he doesn't have some angry tourist come in to him complaining that they just got kicked off the bus and they paid for a double ticket and what is he going to do about it..... and, of course, he can do nothing. Play it safe and have a better day!
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Old May 31st, 2005, 01:21 AM
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Hi leodat,
I second Alans advice, we took the train on his recommendation at 9.02from Sydney and it was a great idea.
If you are up in the Cairns area there are plenty of snorkelling and other stuff to do up there.
I would stay in Palm Cove as it is so lovely but Cairns and Port Douglas are good options. Cairns being the major town around there and PD smaller but not as small as PC.

Kuranda is touristy but still worth a visit taking the lift over the rainforest is great.

I guess once you have decided where along the reef you want to stay then plenty of ideas for what to do will come flooding on to this post.

Good luck deciding

Muck
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Old May 31st, 2005, 06:50 PM
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Alan and Muck,

Thanks for the info. If I decide to stay at Palm Cove, can you recommend a particular resort/hotel?

leodat is offline  
Old May 31st, 2005, 07:58 PM
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I stayed at the Reef Retreat in Palm Cove and really enjoyed it. It's one block from the beach, has a very nice tree-filled courtyard with a pool.

As for time in Cairns...I took an evening flight to Cairns from Sydney (we'll call that day one), took the Sky buckets to the rainforest/Kuranda on day two with dinner at Trinity Beach, did the reef on day three, Tjabukai (aboriginal culture experience) and Cairns on day four, drove the Atherton Tablelands on day five. Took a morning flight out on day six.

I thought each of these were very interesting and would be great experiences for the kids. With children in mind, I'd rank them #1 the Reef, #2 Tjabukai, #3 rainforest/Kuranda, #4 Cairns, #5 Atherton Tablelands. I never made it to the Daintree Rainforest.

The paved roads in Australia are very good and wide, so I found it very easy to adjust to driving on the left (much easier than when traveling in Ireland).

In Sydney, I'd suggest trips to Tarronga zoo, Manly beach, a walk across the Harbour Bridge and grabbing a bite in Kirribilly (it's fun even if you don't do the big Bridge Climb...Luna Park is over there as well for old-fashioned amusement park lovers), and Watson's Bay (for a dramatic walk along the ocean cliffs).

I managed to do Cairns without a car, but driving wouldn't be too difficult there (just be careful in the roundabouts between the airport and Palm Cove). Cairns is more of a big town than a city.

Good luck.
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Old Jun 1st, 2005, 12:57 AM
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Hi leodat,
When we were there in 2001 we chose to stay at the Oasis at Palm Cove, these are apartments that were very new when we were there. They were perfect for us as they were set back just a little from the front and in fact they were buried in the woodlands.
There has been some building since we were there and there are plenty of resort hotels and apartments that all come recommended on this site that may be a prefered location for you i.e 20 seconds walk from the sandy beach, I guess it's down to personal preference.
Have a look at this site:
www.palmcove.net

Here you can see most of the accomodation and anything you want to know about PC is probably there.
If it's not, ask again there are plenty of regulars here to answer and some of the luckier ones live there too.

Good Luck

Muck
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Old Jun 1st, 2005, 03:14 PM
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Hi
I have only done a one day trip to the Blue Mountains with the Wonderbus. It had been recommended to my by some locals and it was great.

In regards to the reef, I would recommend to stay in Port Douglas, a small town 1 hour north of Cairns. You have all conveniences and facilities you need. There are lots and lots of accommodation options (from self-contained to 5-star hotels) available and all tours leave from there too. It is actually the closest point to the Outer Reef.
There are lots of cruises going to the reef. You can choose a smaller boat that goes to 2-3 different reefs throughout the day (see different kinds of reef) like Wavelength (up to 30 people, snorkelling only - best snorkel sites), Poseidon (up to 50 people, snorkelling and diving), Calypso (up to 50 people, snorkelling and diving) or Haba (up to 40 people, snorkelling and diving). These boats are great to see different reefs in one day, however you HAVE to go into the water to see it. If you prefer the option of glass-bottom boats and underwater observatories, you would have to go on the big Quicksilver (up to 450 people, snorkelling, glass-bottom boat, diving and helicopter flights). Quicksilver goes to a platform out on the reef and all activities happen from there.
Please also remember that during the Australian winter the winds can be a stronger, which might make your trip a little rougher, especially on the smaller boats (depending on the tides). You can actually check a day or two in advance with the operators directly, they are usually pretty honest and fair with their forecast (do not trust tour booking agents as they work on commission).
There are lots of other things to do in and around Port Douglas. One of the other attractions is the famous Daintree Nationalpark and Cape Tribulation. It is a great day trip into beautiful and pristine rainforest, so secluded beaches and crystal clear freshwater streams. There are lots of day tours, but with your two kids I would recommend a private charter (make your own itinerary). Pete Baxendell from Daintree-Specialised-Tours is a fantastic operator, especially with families.
There is also Kuranda (a little touristy) with the historic train and Skyrail. Hartley's Creek crocodile farm, The Rainforest Habitat animal park and lots more.
Port Douglas is located right on the famous and beautiful 4-mile-beach.
You can find info and links on
www.wonderfulaustralia.com

Hope this will help.
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Old Jun 1st, 2005, 05:15 PM
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I second myaustralia's recommendation for Pete Baxendell's personalised trips - Daintree Rainforest walks (pick-up in Port Douglas or Cairns, Palm Cove, etc) or 4WD Land Rover Safari choices - Daintree Rainforest, Atherton Tableland, Outback, Cooktown, Quinkan Country Aboriginal rock art.

Whilst Quicksilver is the only vessel out of Port Douglas with semi-submersible, (if this is of any importance) Great Adventures (just bought by Quicksilver), Ocean Spirit to Michaelmas Cay and Sunlover out of Cairns also have them.

Whilst its true that tour booking agents work on commission paid by the operator, a reasonable one is still able to read a weather forecast and will put you on a reef trip which suits you on best possible day. Whilst operators will mostly be happy to change day of reef trip, some are not too keen to refund if trip is aborted completely and will charge cancellation fee, sometimes up to 100%.
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Old Jun 7th, 2005, 04:49 PM
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I would also recommend Port Douglas as your GBR base. Although it is about an hour's drive north from the Cairns Airport, there are buses which you can book to transport you. (The one that we used, I believe, is called Sun Palm). Once you get to Port Douglas, you will probably be within walking distance of town and the beach, so you won't need a car. We've stayed at the Quest Serviced Apartments and At the Mango Tree Apartments and both were good choices for value and convenience. You can easily book trips to Daintree, Kuranda, etc. from Port Douglas and so you won't need a car for those trips either. (As a word of caution--think twice about riding the train to Kuranda. It's generally crowded with tourists and unless you are lucky enough to get a window seat, you won't see much. The Skyrail is a much better option. Your kids will love it and I'd use it going to and from Kuranda.) I can also highly recommend the Rainforest Habitat in Port Douglas and the "Breakfast with the Birds" is a lot of fun for kids and adults. For snorkel-only tours, I recommend Wavelength and I have gone out with them 4 times--always good!
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