First time visitor. Planning to spend 10-14 days in Australia following 2-week work project in New Zealand this February -- yes, next month. For Australia, do you recommend joining a Tour Group to optimize experience or going solo? 52 year old male traveling alone. Want to visit Great Barrier Reef & Rain Forest, Alice Spring/Ayers Rock with a few days in Sydney/Melbourne.

I assume you are from north america...I would think you would have no trouble travelling on your own.Even on your own i think you would have little trouble meeting people and enjoying yourself.You have greater flexilbility and can avoid the regimentation of an organised tour.<BR><BR>You will get no end of amateur advice here on itinerary,flights places to go.<BR>You may want to give melbourne the flick as your time is limited.It is also very hot at the rock in feb.<BR>

Jointing a tour group would not optimise your experience but decrease it in Australia. I doubt you have the time to do what you would like actually because 10 - 14 days is a very little time frame in which to do what you want. Sydney takes 4 days, you would need about one day to fly from Sydney to Cairns and get to Port Douglas for your reef experience and rain forest etc, you need at least 5 days up there, Ayers Rock and Alice Springs takes up another day to get to and for that distance you really need 3 days there, then you have to get to Melbourne and a few days there. I am afraid that you will need to adjust your wants to fit the time frame. Even if you went from Sydney to Melbourne and Melbourne to Cairns the latter is a 4 hour flight and then you have the time you have to be at the airport and the time at the other end so there goes a full day. Pick what you really MUST do and we will help further. I would just be doing Sydney and the GBR etc and nothing else.

Rich,<BR><BR>Please see &quot;Touring Australia and New Zealand,&quot; currently number 43 on this site for a discussion of this topic. <BR><BR>Most experienced travelers disdain tour groups, but they can sometimes be advantageous, particularly if you have limited time and are a first-time visitor. Granted, the regimentation of tour groups is a turn-off, you don't get much opportunity to mingle with locals, and you are stuck with an itinerary that may include things you are not particularly interested in. On the other hand, you don't have to worry about logistics, you don't wander around lost trying to make your own way, and you get the chance to see and enjoy things you might not otherwise have considered. Also, if you are traveling solo, a group tour gives you mates with whom you can enjoy your trip.<BR><BR>Traveling solo can be very rewarding, but it takes much more initiative, research,and planning than an escorted tour. For some travelers, the research, planning, and wandering around is a fun part of the travel experience. For others, it's intimidating and a pain in the rear. <BR><BR>I suggest you check out some tour companies to see if one has an itinerary that suits you. Posters on this website have recommended some and there are many others. Also consider a fly/drive package which may be cheaper than booking airfare and hotel separately. <BR><BR>10-14 days is not enough time to do all of Australia, but it is enough time to do a quick visit to Sydney and Melbourne. Since you are a first-time visitor, it might be good to get a flavor of both (It's akin to checking out San Francisco and Los Angeles, Bejing and Shanghai, Madrid and Barcelona...well, you get the idea!) You can also squeeze in the Great Barrier Reef and the rain forest in two weeks time (I did). Whichever option you choose, tour or solo, I'm sure you will have a wonderful time.

Rich,<BR>I was in Australia for 19 days 2 yrs ago with my college age son We did not do Alice Springs but did Kangaroo Island (not necessary) but did the other places you want to see. It's an ambitious goal but can be done with flying and scheduling well. Recommend that you do not do a complete tour, rather some group day trips such as Great Ocean Road while in Melbourne and another while at Great Barrier Reef which is what we did. That provided a nice balance and will be what I do when I travel solo to NZ in May. Enjoy!

I recommend doing it on your own but if you want to relax every now and then allow someone else to drive and get you to your destination then mix it up with day tours. <BR><BR>We did a bit of both. It was nice not having to deal with parking a rental car and not knowing where we were going on several of our trips--Blue Mtns and Canberra but otherwise we did our own thing.<BR><BR>It was quite easy to get around. We never felt lost and even took a few chances with back roads successfully in Tasmania! Figured it wasn't big enough for us to get lost for too long ;-)<BR><BR>If you want to have companionship...then I would recommend group tours however unless you get with friendly people--that might backfire and you have to ride for 3 hrs with no conversations.<BR><BR>TRY to find smaller tour groups if possible. I found that people were more willing to talk and mingle with the other tourists that way versus the big buses. <BR><BR>In Sydney we used the trains/ferries to get around by ourself. Rented a car in Palm Cove (GBR) and Hobart, Tas.<BR><BR>Less traffic/less populated areas and felt more comfortable driving there versus Sydney!<BR><BR>