We just booked our trip to Australia, flying into Melbourne and out of Sydney. We would like some suggestions on the best way to see and travel around the Great Ocean Road and Uluru/Olga areas.

Also, any suggestions for accommodations in Melbourne, Great Ocean Road area, Uluru area, Cairns, Sydney, Blue Mountains, and Canberra are welcomed. We are in our mid-twenty's and looking for places that will be budget to mid range, fairly quiet and clean (we are not opposed to hostels).

Thank you for any help that you can give!

alyssa,
In Cairns we stayed at the very comfortable Lilybank B&B. Pat and Mike Woolford who un it know everything about most things in far N. QSLD. It's also adjacent to the fabulous Garden Room, our favorite restaurant of 5 weeks down under.

At Uluru we stayed at the Pioneer Outback Hotel in the cheapest double w/ private bath. The 4 bed rooms ( I think you can get a whole to yourselves, like we sometimes did at hostels) w/ o en suite might be a cheaper alternative as the shower and toilet blocks were spotless.

Andrew David

Alyssa - in regard to the Great Ocean Road, I have driven this wonderful scenic road by car, however, I do remember seeing a segment on the TV show "Getaway" where a commentator travelled, on a small bus which take young people to & from Melbourne/Adelaide via the GOR, stopping at all the best sights. Can anyone help out with the name of the tour operator?

Canberra: Alyssa, if you're happy with hostels the Canberra Youth Hostel in Dryandra Street, O'Connor, is very pleasantly situated, backing onto bushland but only 3.5 km from the city centre. They have only 7 x 2-bed rooms, as well as dorms, so you might have to book early. Go to www.hihostels.com/openHome.sma and follow the links, which will also turn up hostels in other Australian cities. I believe that it's a good idea to join the YHA before you travel. I'm told the big plus from hostels (apart from the price) is the ability to network with other travellers and quickly figure out the best things to do and see. There would also be some relatively cheap motels in Canberra, but as far as I know not too close to the city centre, so transport may be an issue. Canberra is very much a car-dependent city and public transport is so far limited to buses. Roll on light rail!
To help plan your activities in Canberra check www.canberratourism.com.au

tropo, you may be thinking of The Wayward Bus. I know they have been featured on Getaway in the past. They specialise in taking small groups and is a lot more low key than some of the other tour operators. They seem to have a bit of a name within the backpacker market so might suit alyssa. You can check out their site at www.waywardbus.com.au. I have Dutch relatives who did the GOR tour with them several years ago and were very pleased.

Alyssa, suggest you also post at www.lonelyplanet.com's Thorntree forum if you haven't already done so.

Thanks everyone for the advice! Will definately have to look into all of these places/things to do!

Shandy, that's the bus company I was thinking of. The TV show gave it the thumbs up. Small number of passengers, and all the major sights were included, and yes I think a lot of backpackers used this bus service.

Just drove the ocean road with my son in a rental. Drove Melbourne to Port Fairy and stayed at an inn there. Check out www.greatoceanroad.org for lodging options. Rebecca in Port Fairy for dinner. Consider a circuit up through the Grampians to Halls Gap and then back to Melbourne.