mahjong99

Hi,
We have 20 days in Australia in end June/ July. Family travelling with 2 boys 7 and 11. So far we have 5 days for Sydney (flying in and out city) and 5 days for fort douglas. We also wanted to go to Uluru. I guess that would be a couple of days. That still leaves about a week. Any recommendations? The current order is Sydney > Fort Douglas > Uluru ... Is there an optimal order. We havent made domestic travel arrangements (except for hotels in Sydney followed by Fort Douglas). Kids like nature, beach, museums, cities...
We left a week out to see if we can do something in a neighboring island or NZ.
Thanks!

tripplanner001

Depending on how much walking you choose to do at Uluru and / or nearby Kata Tjuta, 2 nights may be enough or you may find yourself needing 3. June / July will be the best time of year to visit the interior.

Assuming this is your first visit to Australia, I would not advise going to NZ for a week, unless you are looking to ski or something like that. Instead, June / July is the perfect time to visit the Top End (Kakadu, Litchfield, Katherine Gorge). You can sandwich a visit there between Port Douglas and Uluru assuming you're flying.

BigRuss

Uh, is Fort Douglas really Port Douglas?

You could go to Adelaide and South Australia or Melbourne and vicinity. At least in the Adelaide Hills you can walk around and see koalas in the trees.

tasmangirl

Stick with Australia.
New Zealand is not that close (3 hour flight)and it's an international flight so you have to allow time. It will be much colder than Australia here in June/July.
Port Douglas not Fort Douglas!

mahjong99

Thanks for the tips. Yes, Port Douglas. Thanks for correcting.
So Syd->PortDouglas->TopEnd->Uluru->Sydney : all best to do by flying?

margo_oz

Flying is the only sensible way.

I have no idea where you're from, but the distances here are enormous.

tripplanner001

Yes, except you may want to do it in reverse if you want to end your trip with beach time. Darwin will be your airport for the Top End and Cairns for Port Douglas / GBR.

annhig

I have no idea where you're from, but the distances here are enormous>>

this was brought home to us when we realised that our flight from Cairns to Brisbane was going to take 2 ½ hours and we were still in the same state. In that time we could have flown from the UK over most to Europe to, say, Greece.

RonanWaetford10

Well, New Zealand's sweeping mountain vistas, pristine beaches, unique wildlife and fascinating Maori culture make it a dream destination for many travelers. But exploring the Land of the Long White Cloud doesn't come cheap. An expensive long-haul flight will take the first chomp out of your budget -- and once you arrive, you'll find high prices for gas, food and excursions.

mahjong99

Thanks all. Coming from the US. For Uluru, there doesnt seem to be a direct flight to Uluru it seems to go via Alice with a few hours lag. The flight from Alice to Uluru is short. I wonder if it is better to fly to Alice and go to Uluru by road?

mahjong99

Also, is 3 days too short for Darwin area? We were also thinking of adding Murramarang national park. SYD->Cairns->Darwin->Uluru->Sydney->Murramarang->SYD->out ?

tripplanner001

I've only done Alice to Uluru by air so I cannot speak to traveling between the two by road except that you would need to factor in whether or not you have the time.

If by three days you mean two nights in Darwin, it's short but I would suggest you skip the city and go straight to Kakadu.

margo_oz

Direct flights to Uluru (Ayers Rock airport) from Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns.

mahjong99

Thanks all. Appreciate the advice.

mahjong99

As I plan I could manage only one night accommodation in Uluru. Flying in from Darwin via Alice Springs with a 4-5 hour break there. Even with a 7AM flight we reach in the afternoon and then have a flight out next afternoon. I am wondering if we are going to miss a lost in a day.

mahjong99

I meant to say if we have just one day is it still makes sense to go to Uluru.

mahjong99

We are arriving late night in Darwin from Cairns. 3 full days in Darwin. Then we fly to Uluru via Alice Springs early in the morning. Since it is via Alice springs we reach around 2PM in Uluru. Have rest of the day in Uluru until next early afternoon. What would be the best use of this time? Since tickets are not confirmed should we skip Darwin (or Uluru) for the other? We are traveling with 2 kids (7 and 11). Will doing tours save time or not really?
Thanks!

tripplanner001

This is a lot of flying for one day and one night, especially with two young children. How much time do you have allocated for each destination the rest of your trip? As for which is better, it really depends on your interests.

mahjong99

Arrive in Sydney (about 8 days there including 3 days driving to murramurang) then port douglas (5 days there)then 3 nights Darwin, 1 night Uluru (only reason 1 night here is because I cannot find any accommodation)

tripplanner001

Not sure if you booked flights yet, but if not you can try going to Uluru straight from Sydney if rooms are available. You could also easily spend the extra night in Darwin or Port Douglas.