So I was going to do a Trafalgar tour to Australia and New Zealand, but now I am thinking of doing it solo, still about 24 days. I was thinking of starting off in Melbourne (4 days), on to Alice Springs/Ayers Rock (3 days), Carins (3 days), Sydney (4 days), and then on to New Zealand. In New Zealand I was thinking of Auckland (2 days) Rotorua (1 day), Queenstown/Milford Sound (4 days), and then Christchurch (2 days). Is this possible to do alone?? I was thinking that it would just be easier to do the tour to get to see and do everything I wanted to do.

This sort of trip is DEFINITELY do-able on your own. I think you've got a pretty good itinerary, but you need to factor in travel time for each of your segments. You may want to drop a destination or two in order to spend more time in other places. With all the information available online, you'll be able to book everything you need well in advance of your trip. You'll find the Australians and Kiwis to be friendly folks and they'll be happy to help you out whenever needed.
(BTW, I don't know your age, but a friend of mine did a similar trip when she was in her 50's and had a blast. I imagine it's even easier if you are younger.)

Thanks for the feedback. I am 30 yrs old, but will be 31 when I actually take the trip (and my mom would much rather me take a tour than go alone). What destination would you leave out or spend less in to get everything in?? Is is pretty easy to do just day tours then to get to see the sights or what would you suggest? I did find some day tours through APT tours in Australia, but haven't found any in New Zealand...any suggestions for companies?

Being 31--you'll find Australia and New Zealand great fun and so easy to do.

I don't know what your interests are, so it's hard for me to suggest how you should apportion your time. For me, I think one big city in Australia is enough if your time is limited and that big city should be Sydney. So, if you skip Melbourne, you could add two days each to Cairns and Alice Springs/Uluru. I've read about some great camping/4WD trips that go from Alice Springs to Uluru, such as those on www.wayoutback.com.au. (I know nothing personally about this company, but the tours look interesting.) In Cairns, you should find it easy to arrange tours to the Great Barrier Reef, Kuranda, Daintree, Mossman Gorge, Port Douglas, etc. In Sydney, you can do a lot of city sightseeing on foot, but they also have a hop on/hop off sightseeing bus. If you want to do a day trip to the Blue Mountains, this can easily done by tour or on your own by train.
I don't know much about tours in NZ since all my trips have involved self-driving. I think you could get a lot of useful information about tours in both of these countries by reading the guidebooks by Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. They tend to be geared to independent/solo travelers and I really like them.
Finally, there's a wealth of information on these countries on Trip Advisor, if you haven't already looked there. (That's where first read about Way Outback Tours).

I went to Australia for a month alone and was in my 30s. I'd do it again in a heartbeat but now I'm married w/kids so might have to be nice and bring the family now.

People were friendly and I had *the best* time. In fact, of all the places I've done alone, this was the easiest. I'd give you specific advice but it was about 8yrs ago and I'm sure you can find more current info.

AlanJ had great walking tours of Sydney and gave wonderful advice for the Blue Mtns. There were other super-helpful posters whose advice made my trip. In fact, I did the majority of my trip planning right here. Do searches for the destinations you're considering. Lots of good stuff to be found.

This is a question only you can answer. Some people are fine with the adventure of experiencing a different culture and the ups and down that go with traveling. Others would prefer to have a companion and/or someone else making sure everything is good. I had a friend who went to Europe on one of those if it is Monday it must be Paris trips -- she did go with a tour that was geared to younger people and enjoyed it -- her feeling was she wanted to see the highlights and then go back and visit at a slower pace. And she did not want to travel alone and have to deal with currency differences and language differences etc. I would not do that.

I have never taken a large group tour but lots of others have and enjoyed them or they would not happen. However, most of the people on this forum are people who enjoy the process of planning and executing a trip that is tailored for them and their own interests so the opinions you will get here will be to do it yourself.

If I took a tour like that I would opt for a smaller more hands on tour -- and one that is more active -- there are several that would take groups of no more than 8-12 and include biking walking kayaking etc -- not one that involved 20-30 people getting on and off a bus -- but that is me. Backroads Bicycles and Classic Journeys are two companies that come to mind but I have not traveled with either of them -- just looked at brochures.

Also it may be more expensive to travel alone -- a tour can give you a roommate which cuts your costs and they have the economies of scale that you won't get on your own. However, I believe there are a lot of well kept hostels in both countries which would help with the cost. Additionally there are a lot of one day tours you can take with them

I am assuming this itinerary flies between locations -- otherwise it will be a lot of time spent on a bus as the distances are long -- Australia is a big continent and you don't want to see it from a bus. Also, the best time of year to go to some of these locations varies -- I would do Cairns and Ayers Rock around September- October -- since I am not into winter sports I would do New Zealand -- Queenstown in December - March. This tour is trying to hit all the highlights but not necessarily when it is the best time to do so -- if, however, you might not be able to get back easily then you may want to do that even if it is not the best time to visit.

You can do this on your own -- no question about it -- and you would be able to do what you want to do and spend the time that you want to at various places -- but you have to be comfortable with doing so.

24 days seems like a lot -- it is not! You will find so many things you want to do and so little time to do so. You will want to return several times because it is not possible to do it all.

You have a great think man. Really it will be unique. Really it can be done.

You could easily do it alone...no problems and save on the tour costs doing just what you find most interesting.
Sydney is super for young people...pacy, exciting and beautiful. Melbourne is cafe culture orientated and bit slower.New Zealand is fantastic...great changing scenery.i'd head for the South Island rather than the north as there is so much more to see of outstanding beauty in towns and cities like Queenstown and Christchurch and a great train trip of world class standard.but then all NZ is fantastic,,,depends where your interests lie.
moonrise