Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Australia Itinerary Questions

My wife and I have a three-week trip to New Zealand and Australia coming up in February. After spending two weeks in New Zealand, we have a week in Australia. We're flying into and out of Sydney and plan to spend 3-4 days exploring in and around the city. A couple questions:

a) Is that enough time in Sydney? As of now, we're staying at the Grace Hotel so we can burn our Hilton points (this will be our last big vacation for a while). Do we need a rental car?

b) We're fans of the outdoors and wildlife and we're thinking of spending the remaining 3-4 days heading to Kangaroo Island. Is it worth the trip south? If so, any must-sees on KI? If not, any recommendations on what to do instead?

Thanks!

we have a week in Australia. We're flying into and out of Sydney and plan to spend 3-4 days exploring in and around the city. A couple questions:

a) Is that enough time in Sydney? As of now, we're staying at the Grace Hotel so we can burn our Hilton points (this will be our last big vacation for a while). Do we need a rental car?

b) We're fans of the outdoors and wildlife and we're thinking of spending the remaining 3-4 days heading to Kangaroo Island. Is it worth the trip south? If so, any must-sees on KI? If not, any recommendations on what to do instead?


a) You can come up with itineraries for Sydney ranging from a day to a week. My wife and I were just down there and spent 2.5 days. Day 1 was climbing the Harbour Bridge, and checking out The Rocks. Day 2 we went to a local nature preserve about 30km out of town, checked out the Manly area, then went to the Opera House (or would have went, had it not been raining and atrocious traffic prevented driving). Day 2.5 was for the wife, getting some shopping in at one of the open-air markets.

b) I assume you're not planning on driving to Kangaroo Island - you'd spend that much just getting there and back again! I don't know much about Kangaroo Island, though, so I'll just throw out a few of the other things we did (in a 2-week itinerary):

1) Go to Thredbo and climb to the tallest point in Australia, Mt. Koscuizko. Thredbo's about a 7 hour drive from Sydney.
2) Check out the Blue Mountains - you can hit the high points in a day trip fron Sydney, but you can also spend longer.
3) The Great Ocean Rd. - hop a flight down to Melbourne, then spend a day driving out to Port Campbell. We rented a beach-side lodge in Apollo Bay and loved it.

Hope that gives you something to work with...

FenwayFlyer

I also have not been to KI.

You do not need a car in SYD if your only there for a few days. Lots of stuff in the immediate area and there are transportation options.

You might want to consider some day tours from Australian Pacific Tours or Kings. Both have services us well in the past.

A bit of search for Sydney attractions should wet your appetite and suggest if you need a car a day or two.

Maybe we will "trip" over each other in NZ in Feb.

You might also want to read some trip reports for the area.