Sydney + Which other destination?
 

Hi, all.

We are travelling to Sydney for 5 days and will have a maybe 3 days to spend somewhere else between Sydney and the U.S.

Our choices are Great Barrier Reef, New Zealand, Bora Bora, or Kauai/Maui.

Which would you recommend and why?

Thank you.

When are you travelling?
I would recommend Cairns and the GBR. There is so much to do there you will want to stay longer. I guess it would also be less stressful staying in the same country - no time wasted sitting round international lounges, etc.
Not enough time to see anything in NZ.
Can't comment on Bora Bora or Kauai/Maui as I have not been there.

ditto to Dotti. NZ is fantastic but your entry port would doubtless be Auckland and where you can go and what you can see there in 3 days is in no way comparable to the reef. Unless - cos we are all different!! - you don't like boats; you don't swim; and you hate humidity. In which case, if you have never seen the sort of thermal stuff on offer in Rorotua, you might prefer NZ.
Never been to the other 2.

Cannot sleep tonight for some reason so I will take a stab at answering your question since I have been to all of your possible choices. I would eliminate Hawaii as this is a easy destination from the mainland US for another trip. I would also probably eliminate NZ as you really do not have enough time to even taste this country with 3 days. If you will be in OZ during their winter I would pick the GBR as it is rather unique in many ways and you are already relatively close in Sydney. Bora Bora is not a bad choice and the best time for the south pacific also tends to be in the OZ winter time. It is also probably on the way to/from the US and Sydney so you would waste less time getting to/from there. GBR would be alot less expensive than Bora Bora and if you wanted to explore Tahiti you could do so on another trip more easily than going to the GBR.
If you are going down under during the Oz summer I might consider Queenstown NZ if you could do an easy no stop RT from Sydney.

In mid- to late-March.

We are probably not going back for years, so we want something special.

I vote for the Great Barrier Reef. It is certainly what you think of when you think of Australia.

But as far as WOW factor is concerned, do you think the GBR can give as much of that as, say, Bora Bora, or South Island? Thanks.

We have been to all of the above mentioned. For only 3 days, stay in the same country.

If you want a WOW factor, go to the GBR. We stayed one night in Cairns (saw hundreds of thousands of bats at dusk traveling to the island just off the beach for their night feeding) and 3 nights on Lizard Island. Lizard island was very expensive but worth every dime! Many have posted about it on this site. The island is actually out on the reef. We walked right out our door, put on our snorkle gear and saw sea turtles and giant clams (3 feet across)that were neon colors. The food and hospitality were exceptional.

I really liked the south island of New Zealand. Mount Cook is spectacular (if the sky is clear ) and the countryside is really beautiful all the way from there south to Queenstown. If you fancy adventure of the white water variety or flying through the air in all kinds of contraptions Queenstown seems to be the place to be.

Last year when we visited Syndney, we had also the same Qs and ended up with two other side trips: Gold Coast and Great Barrier Reef/Hayman Island. Both are great places to see if you don't plan to go back to Australia soon.

We stayed at the Palazo Versace Hotel in Gold Coast and the Hayman Resort on Hayman Island. Both would be highly recommended and very memorable. We booked thru an Australian agent (found from Australia's Tourism website) and they gave us a great deal using New Zealand Airline's holiday package (US agents couldn't compare in prices or knowledge).

For NZ, from US, you can fly directly to Auckland on a separate trip; also, when I last check the flight schedule, it's actually far and not too desirable to/from Sydney.

Hawaii, as others have mentioned, could be an entirely separate trip.

Good luck with your trip!

Which travel agent did you use? I'm looking to book a trip to Hayman and Lizard as well.

Thanks.