We are planing a 2-week trip to Australia in mid. Feb 2005. It will be
our first time to travel to the other side of this planet. Our tentative
itinerary is as following and we look forward to any advice. Basically,
we are that kind of people who enjoy natural beauties mostly but do
not resist urban life at the same time :-) Our objective for this trip
mainly is that we two can enjoy the time of being together.. we have
been travelled together for about 2 years.
Feb. 10:
Arriave Sydney in the morning.. stay in the airport waiting to the flight
to Cairns. Should arrive Cairns on the same day.
Feb. 11, 12:
Cairns. We want to experience the great barrier reef and the rainforest, butterfly sanctuary there.
Feb. 13:
Fly to Brisbane in the morning. Here we'd like to take a 2-day tour to Fraser island.
Feb. 14, 15: Fraser island.
Feb. 16: Fly to Melbourne.
Feb. 17, 18: Melbourne (not sure what to do there yet)
Feb. 19: Fly to Sydney and stay there till the end.
Feb. 22: Fly back to the States.
It seems that we will spend quite some time in airports and on planes. But this is the best route that I can think of. I really want to visit Tasamania but maybe we do not have enough time this year. I thought about to fly to Hobart on Feb. 16 instead of Melbourne and spend several days in Tasamania. But I am afraid that 2-3 days is not enough for Tasamania. What do you guys think about this?
We are looking forward to any suggestions and advice on the itinerary
and what to do at each stop...
Thanks in advance!
--Didar
RightD
Dec 10, 04, 12:20 am
Welcome to FT, didar. :)
As far as activities and schedule recommendations go, you may want to search in this forum as this is a topic that comes up quite frequently.
Lots of good stuff to be found.
Regards,
- RightD
jazzhou
Dec 10, 04, 1:45 am
... Basically, we are that kind of people who enjoy natural beauties mostly but do not resist urban life at the same time :-) Our objective for this trip mainly is that we two can enjoy the time of being together..
Feb. 19: Fly to Sydney and stay there till the end.
Feb. 22: Fly back to the States.
These are my suggestions while in Sydney for urban lovers of natural beauty.
Blue Mountains for natural beauty.
Hunter Valley for country scenery with good wine tasting.
If there's time, do the beaches - Palm Beach, Manly, Bondi, Coogee, for ocean beauty. There're good hiking trails along these beaches. If you can only do one, go to Palm Beach and hike up to the lighthouse on Barrenjoey Head.
If there's time still to squeeze in your tight schedule, take the ferrie and go to Watson's Bay for lunch and a different perspective view of Sydney.
Try to sit on the port-side (left-hand-side - seats A/B/C) in the plane for the flight in to Sydney. Very likely to get a spectacular view of Sydney on approach to Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport. On the way out, sit on the starboard side (right-hand-side - seats H/J/K) for another very likely bird's-eye-view of Sydney. I say "very likely" because the direction of approach to and departure from an airport are dependent on the wind direction. I cannot guarantee it, but can only suggest it with the best of my intentions.
Have a good time and enjoy your trip. Australia is beautiful.
bdjohns1
Dec 12, 04, 12:31 am
Dear all,
We are planing a 2-week trip to Australia in mid. Feb 2005. It will be
our first time to travel to the other side of this planet. Our tentative
itinerary is as following and we look forward to any advice. Basically,
we are that kind of people who enjoy natural beauties mostly but do
not resist urban life at the same time :-) Our objective for this trip
mainly is that we two can enjoy the time of being together.. we have
been travelled together for about 2 years.
Feb. 16: Fly to Melbourne.
Feb. 17, 18: Melbourne (not sure what to do there yet)
If you've got a full day, drive the Great Ocean Road (B100 on the maps) west of Melbourne...there's some really stunning ocean scenery along there. Check out www.greatoceanroad.org for some info. Most of the best scenery can be seen by only driving to Port Campbell and a few km beyond.
Sime
Dec 19, 04, 7:18 am
Feb. 17, 18: Melbourne (not sure what to do there yet)
Just a suggestion ... if you are into zoos at all - Melbourne has some fantastic zoos. Melbourne Zoo is a short tram ride from downtown Melbourne and a really great zoo. Even better is Werribee Open Range Zoo - about 27km south west of Melbourne (easy drive), where they have large herd animals and a safari bus that takes you around them. Well worth the trip. A great place to ask questions about these zoos is our local ZooBeat discussion forums - http://www.zoobeat.org/forums
MrAOK
Dec 20, 04, 4:06 pm
well I'd offer several suggestions.
First don't stay in cairns. stay in port douglas. And you are pushing it doing only two days there. Basically the reef is a day, the combination of kuranda http://www.tjapukai.com.au/packages.html and the aboriginee heritage park is another day and you could easily spend another day just to see cape tribulation or to relax assuming you weren't jet lagged. You will be jet lagged which exaggerates effects. And you will really want to enjoy it.
Second, you are underestimating melbourne and the amount of time that you need there and will regret it. It's a wonderful city with lots to do and that doesn't count the things outside of melbourne which take some time to see. (There is an area where penguins come in at night, a beautiful drive of the Great Ocean Road), some fantastic museums, wonderful architecture and great restaurants and great parks.
i did australia in just over two weeks last year and felt unhappy i didn't have enough time and i just did melbourne/sydney/cairns-port douglas. You are pushing it to do Brisbane and Frasier Island as well, really pushing it.
I'd think about limiting it to three of the four, but my three wouldn't include brisbane and frasier island. You will find it's pretty difficult to do all four in two weeks and would be far better off limiting to three
dddc
Dec 20, 04, 5:14 pm
If you plan to do a reef dive, we were advised to allow 24 hours from flying in and a minimum of 24 hours after before flying again. Can't remember if it was for ear pressure or blood/oxygen mix!!
Sydney isn't my favourite. I found the harbour nice, but I didn't like the fact that when you got off the ferry at Circular Quay you end up in a business district for a number of blocks. At night and on the weekend these were fairly deserted. I went to Sydney 5 times over the course of 1 year and found this the same whatever the season. If you've visited other international cities then you'll find Sydney more of the same, plus a harbour, bridge and opera house!
Melbourne I think has more charm and character and Brisbane is compact and colourful and provides a good base for the Gold Coast beaches and the hinterland area.
ranles
Dec 20, 04, 9:00 pm
Didar
Welcome to FT
To get the most our of responses, it would be helpful to add "thiings you like to do when you travel". It is also helpful to know where you are from and the people in your party (alone, wife, children, etc)
We spent several days in Cairnes Arrival day is of questionable value. One day on the reef. Two days tours (See Australia Pacific Tours, or Kings, or similar)
To see the butterflies is great, but the visit to Kuranda is not done until you have ridden the gondola up the mountain and the train down. Also the tjapukai dancers are well worth the visit (on a stage show when we visited, not a major attraction that it is today). Per Mraok.
Tasmania is great. We spent 2 weeks there. Save it for a time when you have more time.
We always visit the zoos. The Hamilton zoo is smallish, but a wonderful 4 hours visiting the place of loving care. Two week is not a lot of time. I would pick one or two places after Cairns at most.
If you may not get back again, I woud drive back down the coast. A very long drive filled with things to see, places to visit. Spending some time in Brisbane.
If you are to continue flying, then consider Canberra, the capital. The War Memorial is a two day visit, with the grounds included. Much more too see. Check out some trip reports. We have made 5 trips of 20 days each and filed on each.
SAVE Melbourne for when you come back another time. It pairs best with Tasmania weather wise!! We found 5-6 days for Melbourne enough.
It is a wonderful country, but often underestimated in size, scope and things to see and do. Have a great trip and don't forget to file a trip report when you get back for others to benefit from.
thadocta
Dec 21, 04, 11:21 am
If you are to continue flying, then consider Canberra, the capital. The War Memorial is a two day visit, with the grounds included. Much more too see.
And the rest. Depending on personal interests of course, you can spend far longer than that at the Australian War Memorial (http://www.awm.gov.au/).
Having been to the Imperial War Museum in London, as well as other war musweums around the world, the Canberra facilities are second to none. I have spent several DAYS in there, and am still unsatisified. (Although having said that, my fathers and great-grandfathers names are on the honour wall).