Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - If You Had to Choose: Auckland or Great Barrier Reef

I'm traveling to Australia in November with a tight schedule and have to choose either 3 days in AKL/New Zealand or 3 days in Cairns/Great Barrier Reef. I guess a third option is to cut my time in SYD from 4 days to 3 and do 48 hours (or slightly less) in AKL and Cairns.

With 48 hours in CNS, can I get at least one good dive in? I know the 24 hour fly rule will make it tight. Is there a great dive site close enough to CNS that would allow me to pull this off?

If you're main interest is diving then Cairns will be better than Auckland.

If you are already in Australia and only have 3 days I would suggest the Great Barrier Reef. It is absolutely amazing! Rather easy to get to Cairns from SYD and then out to the reef.

If you are already in Australia and only have 3 days I would suggest the Great Barrier Reef. It is absolutely amazing! Rather easy to get to Cairns from SYD and then out to the reef.

CNS and AKL are pretty much the same distance from SYD so I would stick with Kiwis comments if you prefer diving head to CNS otherwise maybe AKL.

As a diver I'd definitely recommend the three days in Cairns option. If you're into big fish (realllllly big) then the "Cod Hole" is a great dive.

There are also fringing reefs around the islands close to Cairns that are great for Coral. Green Island makes a great day trip from Cairns but it is very "touristy".

For the best diving I suggest taking a trip to the outer Barrier Reef. On a typical 2 day/1 night trip you can get in 5/6 dives including a night dive which is just awesome on the reef. If you decide to go this way - let me know if you need advice on opertors or itins.

Having visited both, I'd also go for Cairns over Auckland, though you might want to consider actually staying in Port Douglas as opposed to Cairns.

All the major dive companies operate out of Port Douglas, its a slightly shorter trip out to the reefs and the resort areas in Port Douglas are, IMO, much nicer than Cairns. The 4 mile beach is wonderful for an evening stroll, and there is a lot to do in the local area on your last day if you are looking for land activities after diving. I was last there in 2005, i spent a few days out on the reefs and spent the last day touring Kuranda and the rainforest before my flight to AKL.

I've used Haba Dive and Quicksilver for my trips. I thought there were just too many people on Quicksilver, Haba were much more personable. I'd agree with flyingzzzd's on the Cod Hole diving. Seeing Potato Cod for real and close up was absolutely amazing!

Whatever you do, don't cut the extra day from Sydney.

I've been to both as well and would choose Cairns/Great Barrier Reef over Auckland too. There's nothing bad about Auckland but choosing between those two places is easy for me.

Even as a non-diver I would still choose Cairns / Great Barrier Reef over Auckland. Unless you are after an additional immigration stamp on your passport, its a very simple choice.

No offense to Aucklanders (if there is such a term), but I found Auckland to be a very dull and scaled-down version of Sydney. If I have to choose a major city/town in NZ to visit, I would pick Queenstown (or anywhere in the south island) over Auckland.

Yes, Auckland residents are called Aucklanders. To the rest of NZ, an Aucklander is also called a JAFA - Just Another F-ing Aucklander. :)

No doubt! - Barrier Reef over NZ!! I agree that NZ is just a scaled down (and behind about 8 years) from Sydney. I also agree with other response on staying in Port Douglas over Cairns - much more upscale and better access to the reef. Cairns is interesting if you want to see a lot of aborigines in their native habitat. Check into staying at one of the many islands near the reef - Lizard Island resort is fantastic. Have a great trip!

There isnt very much in Auckland - unless you are into yatching and want to see/sail on past America Cup's yatchs. It really a bit boring. The pretty parts of New Zealand is Queenstown (wild water rafting, bungee, etc), Rotorua (gysers and hot springs), Milford Haven (fjords). However, this involves trips around New Zealand. One observation I would make is that taxis are very pricey in Auckland and there is a sushi restaurant around every corner

I would opt for Cairns and the Whitsunday Islands - some of the islands are very rustic and romatic (Dunk, Bederra) and others are pure luxury (Hayman) or just a party island (Hamilton).

While you might fly to Cairns; you should consider staying at Port Douglas which is the posh bit as Cairns is more backpacker country.

Thanks for all of the replies. This is great information. Port Douglas it is! As it turns out, I might have 2 extra days to play with to see NZ anyway. My trip would look like this:

Sydney 4 days (definitely doing the bridgewalk!)
Great Barrier Reef 4 days
New Zealand 2 days

It sounds like Queenstown is the place to go with only 2 days in NZ. I do like the outdoor activities over a "scaled down Sydney"

Good thing you're counting days and not nights as my March AKL trip sees me in the city for 5 nights but given the arrival and departure times it really only amounts to about 3 full days and a morning before I head off to Rotorua.

Looks like another destination quandary has been solved - I agree with all the comments above, but can still recommend Rotorua, Lake Taupo and the Bay of Islands (the latter if you have time for a long drive and want to (try to) see some Kiwis of the avian kind :)).

On the drive to Rotorua, be sure to stop off at the occasional 'Dairy' for delicious (IMO) icecream.

Make sure you have a map or know your route or have a GPS - there is only one freeway (aka Motorway) and then you're on winding country roads with very few signs for distances to the next place! :D

Sorry to throw a wrench in the works but IMHO Palm Cove is amazing. I loved it. We also stayed in PD as well as Cairns. You can get into Cairns from Palm Cove very easy. Cairns has a back packer feel and a lot of energy and some great restaurants and some of the best gourmet pizzas (Yes, I said gourmet pizza). We stayed at Peppers Resort when it just opened 4 years ago as the Outrigger Palm Cove. Far Horizons restaurant in Palm Cove is amazing.

You can do the Quicksilve trip to the reef from Cairns. See the various wildlife parks and take the skyride to Karunda.

I have been to AKL before and very much enjoyed it. If I'm anywhere on or near water I'm happy. We will be spending 3 days there including New Years Eve.

Cheers

Looks like another destination quandary has been solved - I agree with all the comments above, but can still recommend Rotorua, Lake Taupo and the Bay of Islands (the latter if you have time for a long drive and want to (try to) see some Kiwis of the avian kind :)).

Why bother making a big detour to Bay of Islands or Whangarei to see kiwi (birds) - several hours of driving each way? If visiting Taupo/Rotorua area then Otorohanga (near Waitomo) where you can also see kiwis is close by.

Of course Bay of Islands has other attractions, but I would not combine it with Rotorua/Taupo area just to see the birds.

Why bother making a big detour to Bay of Islands or Whangarei to see kiwi (birds) - several hours of driving each way? If visiting Taupo/Rotorua area then Otorohanga (near Waitomo) where you can also see kiwis is close by.

Of course Bay of Islands has other attractions, but I would not combine it with Rotorua/Taupo area just to see the birds.

Of course given the OP's limited time, a circle trip AKL->Bay of Islands->Rotorua isn't going to happen; I meant to recount that each is a great destination (on its own merits) for a few days.

While we did a tour over four days from the Bay of Islands to Rotorua to Lake Taupo and enjoyed it, it wasn't the best use of time.

To instead go directly to Rotorua and then Taupo/Waitomo is a good suggestion - and the tour of Waitomo Caves and lunch at one of the neighbouring farms is a good day plan. :)

Sounds like your trip is really taking shape. Palm Cove is beuatiful but really only if you want to lay on the beach and really relax. Personally I wouldn't base myself here if your time is limited and you want to get on a dive trip. Good dive operators run from Carins and Port Douglas - so IMHO it's a choice between these two for you.

Port Douglas is about a 1 1/2 hours drive north of Cairns with the last 40 minutes being along a gorgeous sceinic, but very winding, coastal road. If you are going to spend most of your time on a dive trip - I'd probably go from Port Douglas - and go for a day trip to Kuranda on your last day while you get your "pressure" all worked out. But, if you'd like to throw in some night life and a casino visit - then Carins would be the best home base.^