lynda726

We are traveling to Australia from November 18 to December 1. Any special places to explore that you can recommend? We want to see the sites, go hiking, botanical gardens,etc. Should we stick with Sydney & Melbourne or head to Auckland? We want to make the most of our 2-weeks in Australia!! Thanks~

longhorn55

If you have two weeks for travel, I would not throw Auckland into the mix, but I would also add more to your Australian visit than just Sydney and Melbourne. While both cities are nice destinations, you won't get a real taste of Australia unless you get out of the big cities. You can easily add another Australian destination for a two-week vacation and not be rushed.

lynda726

thanks for the reply, longhorn55. there are so many places to see in Australia and it's been terribly hard what to pick / where to go.
Want to see Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns Adelaide, Tasmania, Kangaroo Is, others but not sure if this is too much or not enough. we will be heading on our honeymoon - early 30's. love to hike through a rainforest, walk through a botanical garden, taste wines, listen / see an opera, etc. i guess i want to get feedback as to where to go w/in our timeframe. also, saw lots of interesting places in NZ so should i switch my travel plans??

Neil_Oz

Lynda, if your time includes travelling to and from Australia you only have 12 days, and realistically I think that means no more than three destinations. As you no doubt realise, Australia is a very big place and internal flights have to be factored in. I think you need to get up to speed on what the main destinations offer - start with say the Lonely Planet, or Fodors, or Frommers, guide to Australia, and visit the official tourism site www.australia.com. You could try focusing on Sydney, Far North Queensland (Great Barrier Reef etc) and Tasmania, taking note of distances and travel times - three very different destinations. In Tasmania a car is a very good idea, if you're comfortable driving on the left.

Same for NZ, but this has to be an alternative rather than add-on to Australia or you have no hope of doing any justice at all to either country. I don't think anyone here can give you a definitive position on which is best for you, though. You certainly wouldn't regret visiting either (but at the risk of repeating myself, not both!)

You can also find many past threads on speific destinations if you use the search box on this page.

I'd like to be more help, but it's a bit like me asking where I should go in the USA in 2 weeks. There are many, many options and no ideal solution.

LizzyF

Goodness me - two weeks is short as it is without throwing another country into the mix. You do not say where you are from Lynda so it is hard for us to make suggestions that would perhaps be different from what you are used to. I would certainly see the GBR, Sydney and perhaps the border areas of S.E. Queensland and Northern NSW which would give you are good cross section of things to see and things to do. Alternatively there is the Northern Territory which is really the last frontier in many ways and on the other end of the scale there is Tasmania which you cannot see in less than one week even though it is small. So there you are - if it were me then perhaps I would do the following: 4 nights in Sydney - 5 nights in GBR 5 nights in Tassie and then you are still on the short side of things.

lynda726

Thanks Neil Oz & LizzyF! I am reading lots on fodors & tripadvisor. I also have gone to a few travel agents to get their thoughts. I do realize that Australia is very large hence getting your feedback also puts me in ck. LizzyF, we are flying from Philadelphia so it's a 17 hrs difference. I will continue to search & read. Thanks again~

wlzmatilida

Hi Lynda!

ACK...flying from Philly (where I'm from originally) to Oz is going to be a very long flight, and you're going to be very tired, that's for sure.

It is do-able, but as everyone has posted, notably Neil and Liz, your Wish List is waaay to ambitious!

I know, I know, you think you're only going to be there once in your life (trust me, I'll bet you'll be back!) and you're trying to fit everything in...but sadly you can't.

And of course, there's no way that you can fit in both Australia and New Zealand!

Think of it this way to put it in perspective: Australia's roughly the size of the US - that's like trying to fly from Philly to Florida and then San Francisco and spend time in each place! (or for what you listed, even more)!

On top of that, it's your honeymoon, and you'll no doubt be EXHAUSTED from your wedding (yes, I know, you can sleep on the plane)!

You mention that you've talked to a few travel agents - have you gone onto Australia.com, the official tourism site of Australia? There you'll find a Premier agent in your area that can help you plan the trip.

They've been monkeying around and changing the site, but if you go and click on "holidays and deals" and then drop down to the Aussie Premier Specialist banner, you'll be directed to an area where you can put in your zipcode and find a Premier Specialist in your area.

Hope this is helpful!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Premier Specialist