Oceania (Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific) - Auckland or Hobart?

We will be traveling to Sydney in February and we are trying to decide another city to visit. We have narrowed it down to Auckland or Hobart. Which would you choose and why?

how many days?....having been to both, i give the nod to akl for 3 days or so w/car...we have been to each twice, both worth doing....

how many days?....having been to both, i give the nod to akl for 3 days or so w/car...we have been to each twice, both worth doing....

The stay will be for 3 days. We will not be renting a car. Planning on staying somewhere pretty close to the airport and beach.

Thanks for your help!

Please follow as the thread moves to our forum dedicated to Travel "down under". Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

Auckland is bigger but, imho, Hobart is more interesting in terms of history and architecture –.and food.

To start the ball rolling, I'll say that both cities have exceptional settings, Auckland being on two harbours (which is unusual), and Hobart being on a beautiful and large river estuary that acts as a harbour, with a mountain of about 1270 metres (4200 feet) rising behind it out of sea level land and on the lower slopes of which many of the suburbs are built.

Auckland's weather is warmer (especially in the winter) but wetter.

Auckland is bigger but, imho, Hobart is more interesting in terms of history and architecture –.and food.

To start the ball rolling, I'll say that both cities have exceptional settings, Auckland being on two harbours (which is unusual), and Hobart being on a beautiful and large river estuary that acts as a harbour, with a mountain of about 1270 metres (4200 feet) rising behind it out of sea level land and on the lower slopes of which many of the suburbs are built.

Auckland's weather is warmer (especially in the winter) but wetter.

Great! Thank you for the information!

Auckland is bigger but, imho, Hobart is more interesting in terms of history and architecture –.and food.

To start the ball rolling, I'll say that both cities have exceptional settings, Auckland being on two harbours (which is unusual), and Hobart being on a beautiful and large river estuary that acts as a harbour, with a mountain of about 1270 metres (4200 feet) rising behind it out of sea level land and on the lower slopes of which many of the suburbs are built.

Auckland's weather is warmer (especially in the winter) but wetter.

Personally I agree, I much prefer Hobart for history and things to do. Just don't expect to get away with shorts and T Shirts the whole time. If you do get to Hobart and you like art try and visit MONA, its the most out there art I have seen. Also, it is not really worth staying near the Airport. If you just want a few days relaxing it is probably worth renting a car and driving up the east coast. Otherwise I would recommend staying in the city.

Personally I agree, I much prefer Hobart for history and things to do. Just don't expect to get away with shorts and T Shirts the whole time. If you do get to Hobart and you like art try and visit MONA, its the most out there art I have seen. Also, it is not really worth staying near the Airport. If you just want a few days relaxing it is probably worth renting a car and driving up the east coast. Otherwise I would recommend staying in the city.
I'd agree with both main comments here: MONA (Museum of New and Old Art) is well worth seeing – get the MONA ferry there and back, since the ferry trip itself is worthwhile anyway.

And yes, you definitely don't want to stay near the airport at Hobart – there's no point and there's absolutely nothing there. A taxi ride into the middle of the city on arrival will not be expensive and will take 20–30 minutes. Once you're in the city, many things are within easy walking distance and the public buses are good for things in Hobart that are a bit further out.

Huge difference between the 2; AKL is much bigger and a city (both good and bad) while Hobart is a small town that used to be very provincial, but has really come to the fore recently. So there are some nice restaurants and as mentioned, MONA (but all that is very new!). Much colder than AKL but that can be nice. 3 days might be stretching it, though.

What about making Melbourne an option?

What about making Melbourne an option?
Well, Melbourne is of course an option. A lot depends on what sort of things you want to do. Melbourne is a large city (a bit smaller than Sydney, but not by very much), and is often said be one of the world's most "European" cities outside Europe (whatever that may mean!). Certainly it is a product of Victorian town planning, with wide streets and boulevards (in marked contrast to Sydney, which predated all of that and is somewhat higgledy-piggledy), and there are indeed many fine high-Victorian buildings still dotted around the place, as well as good parks and much culture. The National Gallery of Victoria, for example, is especially worth visiting.

In terms of weather, its most obvious quality is that it is changeable. It is cooler than Sydney or Auckland in the winter, although generally warmer than Hobart. In the summer, although the average top temperatures would be about the same as Sydney's, or even a bit lower (around 26°C in central Melbourne and central Sydney), when there is a heatwave Melbourne is likely to be hotter, and hot for longer.

Melbourne has very good public transport (trains, trams, buses, but again I wouldn't (myself) stay at the airport.

Myself, of the three cities you have mentioned I'd still go for Hobart, but as I say it does rather depend on what your interests are and what sort of things you want to do.

Well, Melbourne is of course an option. A lot depends on what sort of things you want to do. Melbourne is a large city (a bit smaller than Sydney, but not by very much), and is often said be one of the world's most "European" cities outside Europe (whatever that may mean!). Certainly it is a product of Victorian town planning, with wide streets and boulevards (in marked contrast to Sydney, which predated all of that and is somewhat higgledy-piggledy), and there are indeed many fine high-Victorian buildings still dotted around the place, as well as good parks and much culture. The National Gallery of Victoria, for example, is especially worth visiting.

In terms of weather, its most obvious quality is that it is changeable. It is cooler than Sydney or Auckland in the winter, although generally warmer than Hobart. In the summer, although the average top temperatures would be about the same as Sydney's, or even a bit lower (around 26°C in central Melbourne and central Sydney), when there is a heatwave Melbourne is likely to be hotter, and hot for longer.

Melbourne has very good public transport (trains, trams, buses, but again I wouldn't (myself) stay at the airport.

Myself, of the three cities you have mentioned I'd still go for Hobart, but as I say it does rather depend on what your interests are and what sort of things you want to do.

Thank you for all the information! I feel more equiped now to make a smart choice for our travel plans.

Thank you for all the information! I feel more equiped now to make a smart choice for our travel plans.

When are you going? Looking at the first post again, I wonder now if you've already been! :(

Anyway, if not, keep the questions coming and let us know what you decide.

We are going in the beginning of Feb 2013. We have always wanted to go to Australia so we booked Award tickets early. We will be flying into Sydney. We will have 2 weeks and wanted to spend most of it in Sydney but we wanted to go to another spot for 2 or 3 days. Just from my own searching, Auckland, Hobart, and Melbourne seemed like good options but we are definitely open for other suggestions.

We appreciate all the help!

I grew up in Sydney, but now live in Hobart. February will be the height of Summer and is likely to be beautiful weather in Hobart (in stark contrast to Sydney, which will be hot and sticky). Don't bet on it being warm enough to swim in the ocean as the water will be quite chilly, but typically you can expect sunrise at 5am and twilight at 10pm, with top temperatures in the low 20s. Most mainlanders think that Tasmania's weather is a slightly milder version of Antarctica's, but in reality Hobart only gets one quarter of Sydney's rainfall. Tasmania sits under a hole in the ozone layer and Hobart usually isn't windy in Summer, so the indicated temperature can be very deceptive and visitors can be surprised by how easy it is to become sunburnt. Hobart has only 200,000 people so it is by far the smallest of Australia's capitals, so if you want a big city buzz, you won't find it here.
Auckland, on the other hand, is in many ways very similar to Sydney. It's not as pretty (certainly not ugly), but it doesn't have Sydney's "wow" factor. It has a lot more traffic than Hobart, and definitely feels busier, but I think it would be more interesting to contrast Sydney and Hobart than to visit its kiwi sister. I do actually count New Zealand as one of my favorite destinations in the world - but Auckland is more a stopover, rather than a destination.
Just my 2c worth....

Comparing Auckland, Hobart and Melbourne to each other is like comparing apples and oranges.

Assuming you will be flying in/out of SYD on your FF miles, have you priced airfares between SYD and the three places you're thinking of visiting? MEL and HBA won't be too expensive from SYD, AKL flights might cost more than you think.

Personally, I'd pick the sights around MEL (not for the city itself but the nearby sights such as the Great Ocean Road) or HBA. AKL isn't the real New Zealand, IMO, to appreciate the beauty of NZ you need to get away from Auckland and explore the country's natural attractions.

We will be flying into Sydney. We will have 2 weeks and wanted to spend most of it in Sydney but we wanted to go to another spot for 2 or 3 days. Just from my own searching, Auckland, Hobart, and Melbourne seemed like good options but we are definitely open for other suggestions.The thread resurrected after a few months!

When you write 'another spot for 2 or 3 days', choosing between Melbourne and Auckland from Sydney won't really provide much of a point of difference. They're all good sized coastal cities, with plenty of things to see and do. Hobart would be the most different.

However ...

We will not be renting a car. Planning on staying somewhere pretty close to the airport and beach.

Then choose Melbourne. It will be the warmest, and the public transport from airport to city, and city to beach, will be the easiest way to get around.

Thank you all for your help! We have decided to extend our trip a little and do Sydney, Hobart and Melbourne.

Australia sounds amazing and we are really looking forward to this trip. I am sure that this will not be our only time to AU, so maybe next time we will be able to head over to NZ for a bit.

Thanks again!