Hi,

We are a young couple going to Singapore (3 days) & Australia (almost 5 weeks);-) We are going in late October and are coming home in early December.

Our budget is focusing on exploring unique attractions rather than expensive hotels & restaurants.
We have booked accommodation some places already... We are looking for budget hotels, motels, Bed & Breakfast + hostels with private shower & toilet facilities. We would like to get some advice on places to stay.

Here is our trip:

We will start in Singapore for 3 days, where we have booked accommodation in the area of Little India - no plans yet.... We are interested in great views, good food, culture and the unique attractions for Singapore! We would be happy for any advice on "must sees".

Next is Darwin, Australia. We have booked an organised trip lasting for 7 days down to Alice Springs (this includes Kakaduu national park & Uluru & other attractions...) We will spend a full day in Darwin before this trip. What would you recommend to see on a 1-days stay in Darwin?
Any good places to eat?

After our trip in the Northern Territory we will fly to Sydney... We are planning a day-trip to Hunter Valley and a day-trip to Blue Mountains.. We also have 2 days for exploring Sydney, have you got any advice on what to see?
We have not booked accommodation in Sydney yet, so we are open for any advice on where to stay? Any good and cheap places to eat?

Next we will go to Brisbane by plane. We have rented a car for the rest of the trip -19 days going up to Cairns. Our plans so far is a trip to Fraser Island (3 days) & a sail trip in the Whitsundays (2 days)...
We would like to get advice on where to stop at the East Coast? Places for Accomodation? Unique views, attractions and activities?
As our first part of the trip is quite hectic, we would like to calm down a bit more on this last part... Maybe some romantic places;-)

Well this was a summary of our trip;-)
We will be very happy for any advice we can get!

Hi - I could ask you what your budget is - but will probably get a better idea of what it is you want if I ask about the trip you have booked already.

Darwin to Alice - with whom have you booked?

Firstly although Fraser Island is a great place for families and people who want to fish it is NOT a holiday destination island like other islands in as much as there are a couple of lovely fresh water lakes there which are great to swim in and some rain forest but as you are going to Cairns you will see much more in quantity and much more lush rain forest around there than on Fraser Island. Go by all means but I think it really is a day trip.
You will have to tell us more about what your likes are for us to suggest things and also what you mean by inexpensive. Do a search on me and you will see more about cheap eating in Australia which I wrote a couple of months ago.
I think too that you have not enough time in Singapore and if possible I would add a couple of days more. There are trips over to Malaysia that are interesting and enjoyable and Singapore has a lot to offer. Best to sort out your sight seeing when you get there actually and the is a whole lot to choose from. Eating at Newtons Circus is a "must do" as its has hawker stalls and great food at a good price and seeing that Singapore is the cleanest city on earth you can afford to eat anywhere there.
Back in Australia: I would do a search on Eungulla National Park near Mackay for a stop over also Cape Hillsborough caravan Park to see if they have cabins as the setting is wonderful, its in a National Park and just north of Mackay. Everywhere around Australia in neally every park you will find bbqs where a lot of the time are either electric or have wood already cut. Just go to the Supermarkets get some bread rolls, steak, fish, chicken or whatever you fancy and you have your meal!
There is nothing particularly wonderful between say Fraser Island to Mackay with the exception of a side trip to Mt Morgan ( west of Rockhampton) which is an old gold mining town still living in the early 1900s and little changed. There are some islands you can visit off Rockhampton which are not expensive to get to and are the Kepple Group of islands.
If you like surfing however the town of 1770 north of Bundaberg is worth a visit.
I will leave the remainder of the state for those who are local and up-to-date.

Hello MogA -

Highly recommend the Botanic Gardens in Singapore - admission is free and you can get there by bus and/or MRT. The National Orchid Garden has some 20,000 orchid plants on display - pretty amazing.

Also suggest you visit Clarke Quay if you have time - lots of restaurants and shops in this area, and easy to get to via MRT, which will set you back about S$1.

Here's a helpful site for Singapore:

www.visitsingapore.com

Have fun!

We found the best way to explore Sydney itself is to do the Sydney Explorer bus. We went the entire loop first and then did the hop on hop off once we knew where we wanted to stop. Also in Sydney you HAVE to do a harbor cruise. I think it's a law ;-)! Finally, if you get a chance to see a show in the Sydney Opera House, that's a great way to experience it rather than just take a tour. Check out their website for what performances there will be while you are in town. We ordered our tickets on the website and just picked them up when we got there. Saw Mandy Patinkin - he was FABULOUS!

If you want a great place to stay in Sydney - try the Lord Nelson in the Rocks. Charming place, great breakfast, and lots of locals in the bar at night. The bar doesn't stay open super late, though, so it's also quiet at night for sleeping.

Melnq8,

Thanks a lot for your tips on the Botanic Gardens in Singapore. We love taking photographs so I guess this will be excellent for getting good shots. Is there any must see landmarks,buildings, temples, churches..? Do you have any tips for good sunset spots? We are also considering the night safari as we are both very fond of animal-life, what do you think?
Regards MogA

Hi fuzzylogic,

Thanks for your reply

Have not set a final budget, but we were thinking an average on 100 AUD a night for a double room on accommodation... (Sometimes less and sometimes more...)

As for food we don't normally go for the restaurant option every night. We often go for small dishes like hot dogs, pasta, pizza slices, Mc Donald’s or Sandwiches/Salads at super markets... However when we go to a restaurant we would like something special We like to try new and exotic dishes.

For attractions we have not set any budget yet. We love beautiful views and visiting old buildings rather than museums. We love Aquariums & Zoo’s (animal-life).
As we also are keen photographers we would like to visit any magic and beautiful places where we can get great pictures.

We have booked our trip from Darwin to Alice with Adventure Tours. In this trip we get both food and accommodation covered.
http://www.adventuretours.com.au/ind...ngs_to_darwin/

Regards
MogA

Jcasale,

Thanks for all your great tips on Sydney.

We have done bus tours before both in London & Paris with great sucess so this is something we would consider. A harbour cruise would perhaps also be a good option for getting good shots of the city... We are also considering doing the Bridge Climb, because we love great views. Do you know any other places worth seing with great views?

We have also considered a show in the Opera House. When we were in London it was possible to get last minute tickets in Piccadilly, any places in Sydney were we can get the same? We do not want to book anything in advance and are open to see any show that is on...

I check the Lord Nelson at the web and it seemed to be a great location & lovely place to stay.

Regards,
MogA

lizF,

Thank you very much for your great feedback & tips on our planned Australia trip.

Fraser Island we were planning an organised camping trip on 3 days and 2 nights. We did consider a day-trip as you are advising..,but figured that we would like to have some more time to explore the island.

It is not easy to define what is inexpensive. I guess that is very up to our expectations.. I don't know much on how the price level is in Australia and what is considered expensive. We normally balance our budget. We probably have an average on 20 AUD (pr person)for dinner, but we often go cheaper (sharing a pizza, kebabs, Burger at McDonalds, pasta etc etc). Sometimes we go to fancy "good value" restaurants for the whole package (serveral dishes including wine). We like also local dishes... (When we were in Greece - we loved gyros...;-))

I will check your previous posts for more tips on dining;-) See some of my other replys for more information on our likes.

Most of the people we spoken to think that 3 days was to long for a stop-over Singapore (We chose to stay an extra night in Singapore rather than an extra night in Darwin) I can see your point, though... I would definitively like to see Malaysia as well;-)
I don't think we will decide on everything before we go... right now I am just gathering some information & advice;-) I will also check what you have written before.

Thanks for the tips on doing barbeque... This is something we love to do and definitively would try We like eating outdoor!
We havn't thought of renting cabins, so this was a great idea which we will consider doing. Do caravan parks provide linen when renting cabins, or is it adviseble to bring sleeping bags?

We both loved your tip about Mt Morgan, this tip is a good example on places we are searching for as we like unique attractions.

I'll do a search on the Kepple Islands is it possible to bring car to the island?

Thanks again for your great tips. I am really exciting on getting more tips

Regards,
MogA

MogA -

Sri Mariamman Temple (244 South Bridge Road, Chinatown) is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore -

http://www.postcolonialweb.org/singa.../srimar/1.html

The Raffles Hotel is a national monument and home to the infamous Long Bar and the Singapore Sling -

http://www.raffleshotel.com

A harbor cruise might be a good spot for sunset.

Sorry I can't be more help - I go to Singapore often (I live nearby in Indonesia) but I'm usually there on personal business so I'm not that familiar with the tourist haunts. I think three days in Singpaore is a good choice - plenty of time to see the sights without having to rush about.

Melnq8,

Thank you. You have already given us al lot of great advice and we really appreciate your help

Would definitively go and see Sri Mariamman Temple. From the pictures on the webpage you sent I can see that this is a beautiful temple. We have also gotten the advice before on Raffles Hotel, so we would have to go there to try a Singapore Sling.

Regards,
MogA

Hopefully you will have found my suggestions on eating inexpensively in Australia. Any Golf Club or Bowls Club should have good meals and of course there are the football clubs etc etc. BUT do not forget some of our best eateries are fish and chip shops and the average price for a piece of fresh cooked fish and a serve of chips ( not french fries) is about $8 Au or about $6US you can take that to a park with a bottle of wine and your cost is about $20 Australia for 2.
I guess I have been to Singapore about 20 times over the years and for different lengths of time. I know that a lot of people say that you can see it in one day but I believe that there is much more to Singapore than that. You need a day just looking around Little India and you should get some fantastic bargains in sari material for instance there if you are looking for something different in either clothing or even curtains - the last time I was in Singapore I brought back about 8 saris and make up some beautiful curtains and matching cushions. Eating is another wonderful pass-time there too and as I said Newtons Circus is my favourite place, that or the Sate' Club. The bird gardens is a much as is the botanical gardens, and perhaps breakfast with the Urangatans ( cannot think of the spelling ) at the zoo which is a terrific one at that. It costs next to nothing to get a bus across the causeway into Malaysia ( just ask anywhere how to) and see Jahore Baru, the Prince's Palace and the beautiful Mosque there and not to mention having a wonderful lunch Malaysian style. There are temples, sites and plently to see and do in and around Singapore - do a google search for tours in Singapore and on Singapore itself.
As for cabins at Caravan parks - most supply all linen however if you have sleeping bags and perhaps a small 2 man tent and you want to cut your accommodation costs right down you will find the better caravan sites up and down the coast usually have bbqs so you can cook and nice sites for about $15 per night. The cabins can be any price depending on what they offer and where they are situated. Most caravan parks have swimming pools, bbq areas and are in nice areas - especially the ones around Cairns and other tourist areas.

If you love wildlife then take a VIP Gold Aussie tour of Taronga Zoo in Sydney. It lets you meet with the animals face to face. I highly recommend it. Also there is an aquarium in darling harbor. They have some great underwater tunnels.

Look at websites for rates

Budget Chain Motels
http://www.budgetmotelchain.com.au

Top Tourist Parks (for cabin rates)
www.toptouristparks.com.au

some will requre linen hire fee, so check. We only ever had sheets and it worked fine as too warm for blankets. Often they have a spread anyway.

I would recommend stopping in the Bundaberg region to see the town of Childers and also Mon Repos turtle rookery. We stayed at Kelly's Beach resort at Bargara for only $55 a night but that was a weekly rate and during off season but they may negotiate if they have plenty of vacancies.

http://www.kellysbeachresort.com.au/

Also we stayed at Don Pancho beach resort and it was $95 a night but a full size apartment.

Near Eungella we stayed at a small town of Finch Hatton. We rented an on site van for $40 a night but we did need our own linen and had no private bathroom facilities. However it was a great stay. Go to Finch Hatton Gorge and try the forest flying and do a bush walk. Beautiful.

Also go platypus viewing at Broken River.

Also eat the famous pie at The Pinnacle enroute.

If you do go to Eungella go well stocked on essentail items as not many shops.

http://www.forestflying.com/main.html

Finch Hatton Caravan Park
Zahmel St,Finch Hatton
QLD 4756
Telephone: (07) 4958 3222

Another great spot and my favourite verall in whole of Queensland is Mission Beach. If it has recovered from the cyclone it will be a treat. They have tourist parks with cabins available. Also we stayed there at quite a nice b&b run by british expats www.licualalodge.com.au

Also I reommend a stay in the Lake Eacham Hotel at Yungaburra and ask for an upstairs room. An experience! Also early morning pltypus viewing at the local creek only a short walk away. On Friday nights they have some music and fun at Nick's restuarant.

In Rockhampton check out all the cow statues, (not much else) and see if there is a rodeo planned at Le Kernighan's pub (he is fanous Aussie country singer). Not many places you see a rodeo in a pub! It is caled the Great Western. Some really nice old buildings along the riverfront

In Townsville there is very well located cheap acommodation on Flinders Street caled the Downtown Motel but you gt what you pay for. Better not stay there on a weeked night as it is surronded by nightclubs and can be noisy.

Around central queensland (rather boring) there is an acute accommodation shortage due to mining boom so book ahead and you also may find less value for money (so hurry through this bit)

Have fun.