Hello,

I have 10 days Dec 11 - 21st off which I want to take vacation and there are 2 places on my bucket list: Australia and Taiwan/HK.

I would have 8 nights in total in Australia. 9 nights in Taiwan/HK due to the travel times.

I booked my plane ticket to Australia but can change it without any fees for another destination. Been having last minute reservations and debating changing my trip to do Taiwan/HK instead.

Ive been trying to plan and I realized I would need way more time in Aus.

These are two sample itineraries I came up with for Australia:

- 4 nights Sydney
- 4 nights Melbourne

When I travel I really enjoy cities, food, and nature (although the nature part scares me a little about Australia since I don’t like snakes/lizards). For Australia the main draw for me were the cities and also the beautiful beaches. However I realized that the Whitsundays it’s less ideal to swim this time of the year.

The other option I was considering was Taipei and Hong Kong as a trip. However, I did a Tokyo trip this year and feel Taipei would just feel like a smaller Tokyo. I do love skylines though, and Hong Kong looked amazing.

I guess lately I’m having last minute “buyer’s remorse” about choosing Australia over Taiwan/HK trip. But I feel anything I choose I’ll have regret for not choosing the other place. I also have more time in the spring as well if I wanted to dedicate it to a bigger trip so I could either do Australia rn or have 2 weeks to do HK + Taiwan + another city or vice versa.

Basically could just use advice if I’m making the right decision or should change my plans

Where are you traveling from?

Eight nights (which is only three full days in each location you've picked) in Australia if traveling from the US or Europe wouldn't be nearly enough for me, especially as I'd just be recovering from jet lag by the time I had to turn around and go back. Asia presents similar issues - the travel distance alone can be daunting.

I used to live in Australia and I wouldn't bother going to the US for a visit unless I had at least three weeks, but that's just me.

It doesn't give you much time in Australia. You'd also have to allow half a day at least for the flight between Sydney and Melbourne. The flight itself is not that long but you'll have to check out of the hotel, travel to the airport, waiting time etc etc. Hopefully your international flights go into one city and out of another, to save backtracking.

There are nice beaches within easy reach of the centre of Sydney. You could get the ferry to Manly or the bus/train to Bondi. I don't know Sydney that well so others might have better ideas. If you stick to the city centres of Sydney and Melbourne it's unlikely you'll see any snakes or lizards. I guess you know that the Whitsundays is a long way from Sydney. It would involve another flight. Also note the main school holidays for the year are over the Christmas period, roughly mid Dec to end Jan, so things will be busier and more expensive.

If this is the only time you could see Australia, then go for it. But if you can come another time and spend longer, that might work better for you.

I’ve been to Australia twice, both for 3-4 weeks at a time. I agree 8 nights split between Sydney and Melbourne isn’t enough unless you consider it a city break. I loved Sydney, and stayed at Cooge Beach rather than somewhere more central. As best I recall it was about 45 minutes by bus to the CBD, where you could sightsee in the city and take ferries from Circular Quay. One day I took the Coastal Footpath from Cooge to Bondi, which passed through several other beaches (eg Clovelly, Bronte and Tamarama).

I decided just to do it since it will be a nice break from the super dark winters we have in the PNW. I know I won’t see everything Australia has to offer but at least it will give me a good taste!

Hope you have a great time on your trip. If you are not used to hot weather, make sure to wear a hat, put on high factor sunscreen and be careful about how long you are in the sun. Sunburn can be painful (high incidence of skin cancer in Australia).

Coming from England, I love a winter break in the southern hemisphere. I suspect your weather in PNW is not unlike what we have here. Have a great trip, and try to get some sleep on the plane so you can hit the ground running!

Hi Friendly Traveler5, did you post this on Trip Advisor under a different posting name?
Cheers,
Bokhara