Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Advice requested: 2 weeks in Australia

I'm planning a 2 week trip in May, and am planning the following itinerary. Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated.

Day 1: arrive in SYD
Day 2-5: Sydney, including the Blue Mountains
Day 6: fly from SYD to Ayers Rock
Day 7-8: Ayers Rock
Day 9: fly from Ayers Rock to Cairns
Day 10-11: Cairns/Port Douglas
Day 12-13: Great Barrier Reef
Day 14: fly from Cairns to Brisbane
Day 15: Gold Coast area
Day 16: Fraser Island
Day 17: Fraser Island, fly from Brisbane to SYD in evening
Day 18: fly from SYD to home

So we are planning on visiting Sydney, Ayers Rock, Cairns/Port Douglas, Brisbane.

My impression is that you are hopping around a bit too much, especially the second week. Days 2-5 to do Sydney AND the Blue Mountains borders on being too little time, and all the moving Cairns/Port Douglas/Barrier Reef/Fraser Island is, I think, too much. I would omit at least one of those destinations, eg visit Port Douglas/Daintree and one of the Barrier Reef islands OR Fraser Island. You don't need to spend any time in Cairns itself. The only island that I've visited is Lizard, and we enjoyed 5 days there very much. It was definitely not too long, and one more day would've suited us just fine. Of course, if you do not enjoy diving or snorkelling (my husband and I are snorkellers), the appeal of the Barrier Reef is greatly diminished.

highflyer88

Any trip to Australia is a good one....

I agree with trekker, that you may be spending too much time tranporting

I would consider eliminating Ayers Rock (very expensive, single purpose trip, better left for a time when you are visiting the Alice, etc.) and Fraser Island unless you have a specific rational for choosing it.(both of which I have not been to). Just my opinion, 5 trips later.

If you plan later trips to Australia, then SYD is a big repeat, so you can always pick up the items missed on an earlier trip. Your wellingness to fly, cuts down on some of the "dead travel" time, but it seem you could better us that time in a areas. If you snorkel, do the great barrier reef. One day was enough for us, but we stayed in Caines and made several day trips with Australian Pacific Tours from there. Brisbane and the Gold Coast have a lot to offer (as does the Sunshine Coast) but they take lots of time as the attractions are well spread.

There is just so much and it is all good!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a great time

With all the bouncing around you're doing, did you buy a "Boomerang Pass" from Qantas? It allows you to change dates & times on your flights without penalty.

1. While at Urulu (Ayers Rock), try and do the Dinner Under the Stars. You get incredible views of the sunset and sky, and the food is good too!!!

2. Check online about climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a great experience.

3. Are you going into the Daintree (rainforest)?

Have fun!!!

Steve C


I'm planning a 2 week trip in May, and am planning the following itinerary. Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated.

Day 1: arrive in SYD
Day 2-5: Sydney, including the Blue Mountains
Day 6: fly from SYD to Ayers Rock
Day 7-8: Ayers Rock
Day 9: fly from Ayers Rock to Cairns
Day 10-11: Cairns/Port Douglas
Day 12-13: Great Barrier Reef
Day 14: fly from Cairns to Brisbane
Day 15: Gold Coast area
Day 16: Fraser Island
Day 17: Fraser Island, fly from Brisbane to SYD in evening
Day 18: fly from SYD to home

So we are planning on visiting Sydney, Ayers Rock, Cairns/Port Douglas, Brisbane.

You're definitely hitting alot in a short time - but maybe you like it that way!

In Sydney - I would recommend Bridgeclimb as well (www.bridgeclimb.com.au); everyone I've taken up has had a great time. I also like the Bondi to Bronte walk, which gives you great ocean and coastal views.

In Port Douglas, I'd recommend that you make reservations for dinner - they can be made the same day. We found difficulty in getting a table without them though...

Uluru - Strongly recommend dinner under the stars as well... I think its called "Sounds of Silence". We also did a sunrise tour, and a tour around the base (we didn't climb it) and it went over well with the aged parents (okay - they're 60 & would kill me for saying that!).

Whatever you do though, you'll have a great time... its a fantastic place to come visit!

Thanks all for your advice. Due to work scheduling, I have to postpone this until December 05. Was able to get the FF seats changed. I have decided to remove Brisbane and the Fraser Island. Here is my revised plan:

Day 1: arrive in SYD in the morning. It's Christmas day, is anything open?
Day 2-4: Sydney
Day 5-6: Blue Mountains and Jenolan caves
Day 7: fly from SYD to Cairns
Day 8-9: Great Barrier Reef
Day 10-11: Pt. Douglas
Day 12: fly from Cairns to Alice Springs in the morning, spend afternoon touring Alice Springs
Day 13-14: Alice Springs/Ayers Rock
Day 15: fly from Ayers Rock to SYD (PM)
Day 16: fly from Sydney to home.

I would appreciate any of your opinions. Thanks again.

25 and 26 December are public holidays (plus 27th for 2005), similarly 1 and 2 January are public holidays (plus 3rd for 2006).

Especially on Christmas day not much open. Other holidays wont have banks etc open but many shops and tourist attractions will be open every day except Christmas day.

Day 7: fly from SYD to Cairns
Day 8-9: Great Barrier Reef
Day 10-11: Pt. Douglas
Correct me if I'm wrong, but does this mean you're flying from Sydney to Cairns on New Year's Eve?

I made it a point to be in Sydney for NYE. Having done it once, I'm not sure I'd do it again, but I'm certainly pleased with my decision. Managed to get a great spot with some friends out at Mrs. Macquarie's Chair in the Botanic Gardens with a perfect view of the Opera House and the Bridge... along with what seemed like a billion other people. It was definitely a great experience though and I'd recommend others stay in Sydney for the fireworks and celebrations that night at least once in their lives.

My only other comment is regarding Port Douglas. The time I spent in Cairns was just long enough to hoof it from the Greyhound bus terminal over to the Avis office, wait for them to open (the bus arrived at 6am, ugh) and get my car. After that I headed up north to Port Douglas, had some breakfast, but continued my journey up to Cape Tribulation. Port is a nice resort town, but Cape Trib was far more appealing to me -- there's nothing like being in the middle of a rainforest.

No mobile phone service up there either :)

It's about an hour and a half from Cairns to the ferry that crosses over to Daintree and then another sixty minutes from there up to Cape Tribulation. There's at least one resort up there in addition to a backpacker/hostel-type place which is surprisingly quite nice.

Like others have mentioned, it's a fast-paced itinerary, but I managed to go from Melbourne to Cape Tribulation with stops in Sydney, Byron Bay, Surfers Paradise, Brisbane, Noosa, and Airlie Beach/Whitsunday Islands along the way in 18 days and enjoyed every minute of it.

Well spotted blort. Totally agree NYE in Sydney worth the extra night stay.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but does this mean you're flying from Sydney to Cairns on New Year's Eve?


You are correct, it is NYE. I thought that I wouldn't have enough time for the other places other than Sydney, so this would give me an extra day. But having done more research on this, I will now stay in Sydney for NYE.

Day 15: Gold Coast area

Day 14-15, when going from Brisbane to Gold Coast, go the back way. If you have a car, and time is on your side, head out to Boonah, and then back through Beaudesert and Mt Tamborine. Stunning views and a chance to see some hidden country towns that you wouldn't see otherwise.

A good tool for you, if driving anywhere/everywhere is
www.whereis.com.au (http://www.whereis.com.au) as well as RACQ's Travel Planner (http://http://www.nowwhereroute.com/RACQ/RoadTravelPlanner/Default.aspx).

Whereas you can use Whereis for straight driving Point A-B directions, RACQ lets you detour which helps. Whereis.com.au is good for finding Parks, Churches, etc as well.

Another TIP is that if you're a AAA member, or Autoclub member, ensure that you bring your membership along. NRMA and RAC clubs will help you wherever possible -
"Reciprocal road service and membership facilities with motoring organisations around the world can be accessed by showing your RACQ card with the AIT logo." (http://www.racq.com.au/01_memb/0_benefits.htm)

Thanks all for your advice. Due to work scheduling, I have to postpone this until December 05. Was able to get the FF seats changed. I have decided to remove Brisbane and the Fraser Island. Here is my revised plan:

Day 1: arrive in SYD in the morning. It's Christmas day, is anything open?
Day 2-4: Sydney
Day 5-6: Blue Mountains and Jenolan caves
Day 7: fly from SYD to Cairns
Day 8-9: Great Barrier Reef
Day 10-11: Pt. Douglas
Day 12: fly from Cairns to Alice Springs in the morning, spend afternoon touring Alice Springs
Day 13-14: Alice Springs/Ayers Rock
Day 15: fly from Ayers Rock to SYD (PM)
Day 16: fly from Sydney to home.

I would appreciate any of your opinions. Thanks again.

I hate to bump an old thread but was curious to hear more about how this trip went. My family is planning a similar itenerary for this x-mas and I'm wondering whether Dec. in Cairns and Alice Springs is tolerable or whether it's just too hot. Would we be better off sticking to Sydney/Canbera/Melbourne area?

I hate to bump an old thread but was curious to hear more about how this trip went. My family is planning a similar itenerary for this x-mas and I'm wondering whether Dec. in Cairns and Alice Springs is tolerable or whether it's just too hot. Would we be better off sticking to Sydney/Canbera/Melbourne area?

There is a general misconception that Cairns and Alice Springs are hotter in summer than Sydney/Melbourne. Cairns has a temp that varies between 28 degrees celcius and about 35 degrees celcius all year round. The only difference you will find is the humidity..and yes it is certainly more humid around December than Syd or Melb. In Sydney last summer we had a few days in the low to mid 40's (celcius again). The average temp for Alice Springs in December is high 30's.

A few things to ponder is that xmas is major holiday time in Australia so you may want to think about booking early. Another thing is that the time you are going is the wet season in northern Australia, so you may want to think about how that is going to affect your plans as well.

Phoebe