Where in Australia and New Zealand for the entire month of February?
Jun 20th, 2011, 06:37 AM
#21
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I will be going to Australia at the end of November, arriving in Sydney the 24th. I will have until the 30th to explore Sydney and environs (suggestions and recommendations welcome) while my daughter finishes her studies. We then have two weeks to travel together, returning to the US from Sydney 14 December.
I would like to see Melbourne and Great Ocean Road, go to Uluru, GBR. Not sure whether we should go to Cairns/Port Douglas/Daintree area for diving and snorkeling that time of year or whether we would be better off at Whitsundays (which one?) and taking trips to GBR and relaxing.
This is all so overwhelming; any help with itinerary, transportation and lodging would be fabulous. I am thinking I should rent a flat in Sydney, which might be cheaper than a hotel for seven nights.
What say you all? Thank you in advance!
I would like to see Melbourne and Great Ocean Road, go to Uluru, GBR. Not sure whether we should go to Cairns/Port Douglas/Daintree area for diving and snorkeling that time of year or whether we would be better off at Whitsundays (which one?) and taking trips to GBR and relaxing.
This is all so overwhelming; any help with itinerary, transportation and lodging would be fabulous. I am thinking I should rent a flat in Sydney, which might be cheaper than a hotel for seven nights.
What say you all? Thank you in advance!
Jun 23rd, 2011, 07:10 AM
#23
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Greetings Steve
I understand your yearning to see a bit of each.
Full disclosure: there are many wise posters hailing from both countries; to them I leave the detailed advice. Me, I offer the perspective of one who had limited time (only 23 nights soup to nuts, including the flights, plus a night home after our return for 24 nights total) and who wanted to sample both countries. A sample is all we expected, so we weren't disappointed.
I hope to soon finish a trip report; meanwhile, consider the following:
If you are flying from the east coast, consider a couple nights in LA or SF each way - this helps keep flight from NA to either NZ or Aus to manageable length.
The monograms tour attempts 13 stops, exclusive of any LA stopover or Fiji, in 22 nights. These include 3 Australia stops in 9 nights: Cairns, Sydney, Melbourne.
We had but 9 nights for a first glimpse of Oz - and stuck to Sydney and 'Melbourne plus'. There's a lot of stuff in the vicinity of Melbourne that is 'iconic' Australia - places to see kangaroos, koalas, echina, penguins, and even a platypus if you're lucky (we managed 4 out of 5.) We could easily have added another couple nights in the area south of Melbourne. But be aware that while you can reduce the driving/commuting, there is no way you can hope to even sample either country without moving around a bit. Note also that my brother and his wife did NZ in 3 weeks completely by bus (plus one inter-island flight.)
If you're looking for 'bases' I'd choose Sydney (you can do some of the surrounds, such as the Blue Mountains, easily and cheaply by local train); Melbourne and surrounds (car is probably best to explore those surrounds; relocating to 2 or 3 places in those surrounds will likely be necessary); the Queenstown area in south Island, New Zealand, and - you'd probably have to pick a couple places at least in the North Island. Point being, it will be hard to avoid moving around.
Of course, plenty of people fill a month in either country, but if you've a yen to sample both, this is one way of doing it. A warning: your budget could be a bit tight if you are talking $10000 - $12000 for the two of you for a month, including airfare, and that's if you make all the arrangements yourself.
I understand your yearning to see a bit of each.
Full disclosure: there are many wise posters hailing from both countries; to them I leave the detailed advice. Me, I offer the perspective of one who had limited time (only 23 nights soup to nuts, including the flights, plus a night home after our return for 24 nights total) and who wanted to sample both countries. A sample is all we expected, so we weren't disappointed.
I hope to soon finish a trip report; meanwhile, consider the following:
If you are flying from the east coast, consider a couple nights in LA or SF each way - this helps keep flight from NA to either NZ or Aus to manageable length.
The monograms tour attempts 13 stops, exclusive of any LA stopover or Fiji, in 22 nights. These include 3 Australia stops in 9 nights: Cairns, Sydney, Melbourne.
We had but 9 nights for a first glimpse of Oz - and stuck to Sydney and 'Melbourne plus'. There's a lot of stuff in the vicinity of Melbourne that is 'iconic' Australia - places to see kangaroos, koalas, echina, penguins, and even a platypus if you're lucky (we managed 4 out of 5.) We could easily have added another couple nights in the area south of Melbourne. But be aware that while you can reduce the driving/commuting, there is no way you can hope to even sample either country without moving around a bit. Note also that my brother and his wife did NZ in 3 weeks completely by bus (plus one inter-island flight.)
If you're looking for 'bases' I'd choose Sydney (you can do some of the surrounds, such as the Blue Mountains, easily and cheaply by local train); Melbourne and surrounds (car is probably best to explore those surrounds; relocating to 2 or 3 places in those surrounds will likely be necessary); the Queenstown area in south Island, New Zealand, and - you'd probably have to pick a couple places at least in the North Island. Point being, it will be hard to avoid moving around.
Of course, plenty of people fill a month in either country, but if you've a yen to sample both, this is one way of doing it. A warning: your budget could be a bit tight if you are talking $10000 - $12000 for the two of you for a month, including airfare, and that's if you make all the arrangements yourself.
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