Hi All<BR><BR>I'm still planning my trip for Christmas and New Year next year. After doing Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, there seems to be so many beaches and Islands to visit on the way up to Cairns I'm a little perplexed. I have about 7 days to get from Sydney to Cairns. How do I decide on which ones are worth driving or flying to and which to leave out. I started looking at Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Fraser Island, Hamilton Island, Arlie Beach ... the list just goes on and on... Can anyone help?<BR><BR>Thanks

Sonia,<BR><BR>I live in one of those places you mentioned and of course think that its just beautiful. In all fairness though I must tell you that the East Coast, no matter what part,is beautiful and the only difference comes, I guess, with the kinds of things that are unique to each area. In other words the beaches are great and going north just gets hotter and busier, and you may get a few different things to do.<BR><BR>What I think that I would do would be hire a car (if you are coming shortly its off peak) and just stop off wherever you feel inclined. Now I am feeling stupid because (I have read so many travel sites) you say that you are coming Christmas and New year which is peak time........you would need to be booked........what a shame. Under these circumstances I think that I would toss a coin........ you will enjoy yourself no matter where you go.<BR><BR>Unravelau

I agree with the above writer that there are many wonderful areas that you could stop at en route to Cairns. <BR>Yes the answer is "what do you want to do"<BR>Coffs Harbour... nice quiet beach town with lots of swimming and fishing and some nice hinterland trips<BR>Byron Bay ..... Lovely place now inhabited with too many "ferrals" and a place to stay away from in holiday time - unless you are a hippie<BR>Gold Coast..... Plenty of Accommodation at all times of the year and very touristy, which means that there is heaps and heaps to see and do and the beaches are lovely as is the hinterland where I live ( I have to keep reminding Alan Jarman that I don't live in the middle of Surfer's Paradise in a highrise but on Tamborine Mountain in the middle of rain forest, a cooler climate and lots and lots of birds and animals)<BR>Sunshine Coast is similar to the Gold Coast in a smaller way with hinterland and wonderful beaches.<BR>Fraser Island .... largest sand Island in the world and is mostly a family place for fishing and NOT swimming in the ocean - it has some beautiful fresh water lakes though and eco-type tourism but will be swarming over the Christmas holidays.<BR>Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays - a tropical Island with everything that goes with that and access to the Barrier Reef - that is not their peak season at that time of year and accommodation would be reasonable. <BR>Airlie Beach ... is the mainland area and hop off point for the Whitsundays with loads of accommodation and day trips to any of the islands. <BR>Hope that helps a bit<BR>Liz

ok Sonia<BR>Option 1...stay in sydney and go to the new years ashes test match<BR><BR>Option 2<BR>Fly sydney brisbane.Rent a car for 7 days.<BR>Do a loop around brisbane...Fraser,Noosa,Gold coast,byron,rainforests,hinterland villages etc<BR>Fly brisbane cairns..visit a coral cay and larger island ex cairns.

At that time of year, the further north you go, the wetter and hotter it will be. The further south you are, the better the climate around New Year.

Hi, Sonia!<BR>All the beaches you mentioned are lovely, and I couldn't really recommend one over another, except to agree with Liz (who, by the way, lives in a high-rise in the middle of Surfer's Paradise)that Byron Bay has now been spoiled through invasion by people seeking an "alternative" lifestyle and is probably, therefore, not worth your consideration. I note that you're coming in December/January, which is the main holiday season for Australians, so you will probably find that wherever you choose, you will have to share your "idyllic" spot with thousands of other holidaymakers, and accommodation will not be that easy to find. This will be particularly true between Brisbane and Sydney, because that's where the population is. I think, therefore, that I would agree with John that you might use your time best by flying from Sydney to Brisbane (spend a couple of extra days in Sydney as your "reward" for this) and then hiring a car to head north towards Cairns. There will still be a lot of holidaymakers, but the crowds should thin out considerably the further you get from the two state capitals!

I think I would be inclined to do the driving from Sydney to Brisbane - if I were to drive at all but probably the best would be to fly Sydney - Brisbane or the Gold Coast and *do* that area which means that you could do Gold Coast/day trip to Byron Bay / Sunshine Coast / and back to Brisbane to fly to Cairns or the Whitsundays. Would take the hassle out of getting there and you would get a good overall look at a few very nice areas. Northern New South Wales from Byron Bay up into Queensland and around the border ranges is lovely and you would be able to do some lovely fresh water hole swimming with waterfalls and the like as well. Fly to Cairns as the drive is far too long.<BR>

WOW!<BR><BR>Once again I'm amazed at the amount of information you have all given me! This is exactly what I needed. Maybe now I can make a more accurate plan of that part of my trip.<BR><BR>Thank you so much for all your help!<BR><BR>Sonia