Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Going to Melbourne and Hobart - Help review my plan?

So I managed to score a UA Mileage Plus first class saver award SMF-SFO-SYD-MEL-AKL-LAX-SMF for late October. Outbound on United Airlines, return on Air New Zealand. I have a week planned on the ground in Australia.

Based on suggestions from my post over in the UA forum, I decided to spend five days in Tasmania.

So here's my plan. Thoughts?

Day 1 - arrive MEL on a Wednesday morning, settle into hotel (Batmans Hill hotel looks very convenient to the Skybus airporter service).

Day 2 - Melbourne. I have already booked the 90 minute experience here:
http://www.flightexperience.com.au/ first thing in the morning. It's within walking distance of the hotel according to the nice folks I talked to when booking the flight.

Question: What "can't miss" afternoon and evening activities would you suggest within walking distance of the CBD or easily reachable by public transit?

Day 3 - Midday flight on Virgin Blue to Hobart. Booked the Gattonside Heritage B&B for 4 nights.

Day 4 - It's a Saturday so I plan to wander over to the Salamanca Place market first thing in the morning. Considering the Peppermint Bay boat cruise - is that worth an afternoon?

Day 5 - Booked the "mega all day tour" here: http://www.adventureislandtours.com/

Day 6 - Kicking around the idea of renting a car and heading over to the Tahune Air Walk.

Day 7 - Mid-day flight to Melbourne. Have decided to overnight at the Hilton Melbourne Airport. Anything of interest easily reachable nearby by public transportation?

Day 8 - Flight home via AKL (no stopover; not enough time) on Air New Zealand.

Living in Hobart - my opinon is thus...
Saturday DEFINATELY do the boat cruise - as anyone who did OzFest this year will tell you, its amazing.

Sunday - thats gonna be a LONG day, but an interesting one.

Monday -The tahune airwalk is lovely and if you are heading that way you may as well go to Hastings caves (its only another 40 minutes or so down the road). The other option is to hire a car and just drive up the east coast and see how far you get! What do you like doing? I can then offer other suggestions.

Tueday - if you are on the midday flight, take a longish walk to Pigeon Hole cafe in West hobart for the best beans on toast imaginable.

As a Melbournite I would suggest the following for your afternoon in Melbourne.

1. Eureka Skydeck - http://www.eurekaskydeck.com.au/
2. Free Circle tram around city - getting on and off and exploring some of Melbourne CBD's laneways and shops. http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=269&pg=3106
3. Dinner in Chinatown maybe? Depending on what you like to eat - you can find any great cuisine in Melbourne (except Mexican, we suck at that). Great Italian, Greek and lots of asian.

Cheers

I agree the Tahune airwalk with worth the drive. The Peppermint Bay boat cruise would be a nice option as well. I would go for a walk up around Battery Point and drop in for a drink at the "Shipwright's Arms (http://www.hobartpubs.com.au/the-shipwrights-arms-hotel/2272/)"

The all day tour sounds full on but you will see plenty of great things.

Enjoy.

TIMP and HobartHoney, have you tried Island Coffee?
There are a few options a few blocks away from the Salamanca area and Battery Point (whisky distilleries ;)) should you find you've hd enough of the markets and the seafood restaurants. You must try some salmon at the shops near the market. Tassal has a huge one, with samples, but there are others too.

You might want to read QF009's recommendations of great coffee in Melbourne. Ironically, it's on the Starbucks closure thread in DiningBuzz! :)

TIMP and HobartHoney, have you tried Island Coffee?
There are a few options a few blocks away from the Salamanca area and Battery Point (whisky distilleries ;)) should you find you've hd enough of the markets and the seafood restaurants. You must try some salmon at the shops near the market. Tassal has a huge one, with samples, but there are others too.

You might want to read QF009's recommendations of great coffee in Melbourne. Ironically, it's on the Starbucks closure thread in DiningBuzz! :)

Cant say I have tried Island coffee, where is it?....though I am not a big coffee drinker, when I do its OOmph coffee in liverpool street as it isnt burnt.

Cant say I have tried Island coffee, where is it?....though I am not a big coffee drinker, when I do its OOmph coffee in liverpool street as it isnt burnt.

Here's the info on Island offee, but if OOmph is good, you might not hve an incentive to visit. They roast their own, though.

Island Espresso (http://hobart.citysearch.com.au/restaurants/viewContent/1119945819612/1137412711360) (citysearch link)
171 Elizabeth St, Hobart, TAS, 7000
NineMSN story (http://travelaustralia.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=372624)
The baristas in this Hobart espresso have won all sorts of awards — and the proof is in the freshly roasted coffee they churn out with alacrity. These guys take coffee really seriously. Under the shop is a basement roaster where the green beans are slow cooked — so you can be assured of the freshness of your coffee.

All wonderful suggestions, thank you and keep 'em coming - I'll definitely print out this thread and bring it along with me!

I'm definitely going to book the Peppermint Bay Cruise for my Saturday in Hobart. Looks like it departs at 11 a.m. which should hopefully give me plenty of time to still browse the Salamanca market. Around what time does the market start up anyway?

Any recommendations for in-town rental cars in Hobart or do I need to make my way out to the airport to rent a car?

I certainly appreciate the Melbourne ideas; those sound perfect for me. I do like Asian food, particularly Vietnamese, Thai, and Singaporean. And I'm partial to good Italian food (we do great Mexican food here in California but generally suck at Italian food).

I have used rentforless in Hobart a few times now and they are very good value and very helpful

The Hilton at MEL is a nice hotel and if you have status you may get upgraded to one of the huge corner suites which are great. You can get the AirBus into Melbourne - the bus stop is just opposite the Hilton. Drops off at the central bus station IIRC so only a short walk to many attractions

One other thought for Hobart is to drive up Mount Wellington - fantastic views but beware it can be very cold and windy at the top even in summer. Another driving suggestion is the Tasman Peninsula - some great views along the way.

Salamanca on Saturday is great - have even seen Aussie soap stars there in the past :)

Just found out I am in Melbourne next weekend on a business trip. Thanks for all the great tips! Does anyone know of a tour that would take me to some wineries in the area around Melbourne?

I did the Peppermint Bay cruise and I enjoyed it a lot. It was one of my most favorite activities in Hobart. I recommend a window seat on the catamaran, if you can manage.

However, I didn't like the Salamanca Market too much. I bought all my trinkets here. Later, I saw many of the same items in Melbourne's Queen Victoria market for much cheaper.

I wanted to take the Cadbury Chocolate Factory tour, but there was a strike while I was there. I was also told by others that one should book well in advance for tickets.

Mount Wellington was very, very cold at the top. I knew there would be ice and maybe a little snow, but I was still shocked at the amount of wind and snow at the top.

Good luck!

Just found out I am in Melbourne next weekend on a business trip. Thanks for all the great tips! Does anyone know of a tour that would take me to some wineries in the area around Melbourne?

Never used them, and have heard no reports, but this (http://www.winetours.com.au/) company does tours to the three closest regions to Melbourne.

Yarra Valley is noted for its Cabernet Sauvignon, Mornington Peninsula for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and Macedon Ranges for cool climate Shiraz. Not that each region doesn't do some other varieties well.

Each region has its own attractions scenery wise. YV is very pretty, a few hills, MP has great ocean views in parts, and MR has Mt Macedon and Hanging Rock!

If you are interested, there is also a tour which takes in Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary, which is in the YV.

I imagine there are other companies doing this as well.

This Easter, we visited Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula.
IMO YV was a better day trip, with many quality wineries along a couple of easily navigable roads.

Mornington Peninsula is more spread out due to the topography.
You might prefer YV being a couple of hours (return) closer than MP.
If you do a tour on a minibus, remember they can get unfomortable very quickly.
Smaller, luxury tours might put you in a more comfortable vehicle like a Mercedes or VW mini-mini bus. That' s an option for the Hunter Valley here in NSW, so I think there would be a similar for YV & MP.

I can check some of my tourist info brochures if you'd like more info - just let me know. :)

A couple of YV wineries have produced international award-winning Shiraz wines, which were my pick. Leave the Cab Sav to SA, IMO.

Thanks BiziBB for the tips, good point about those coaches. I've got quite a long list of things to choose from now, thanks for all the tips. Also have found that the Asian Food Festival is on now in Melbourne, yum.

Here's the info on Island offee, but if OOmph is good, you might not hve an incentive to visit. They roast their own, though. Oomph also roast their own. I know Island coffee - lovely cafe but they coffee actually aint that good in my opinion....

I'm definitely going to book the Peppermint Bay Cruise for my Saturday in Hobart. Looks like it departs at 11 a.m. which should hopefully give me plenty of time to still browse the Salamanca market. Around what time does the market start up anyway?

Markets start around 8:30 - 9. You wont find many locals there after about 10 in summer as it gets to crowded with tourists! The cruise departure point is literally a 30 second walk from the markets.


Any recommendations for in-town rental cars in Hobart or do I need to make my way out to the airport to rent a car?
.
Thrifty, Hertz and Europcar all have in town offices.

When it gets really miserable, do Hobart locals ever find a happy medium between the coffee roaster and the whisk(e)y distiller?

I tried some of the cask-strength stuff but not in a coffee and I hope I'm not confined to such weather that I feel the need for such an 'Irish' drink. ;)

Welcome to Melbourne! :)

Sorry for late reply - don't usually pop into this little corner of FT (i know, i know... i'd try) but I happened to see this thread on the front page.

The others have given you excellent recos so I'd just move straight on to the coffee!

Yes you have to check out Melbourne coffee!!
Must tries:
- Jasper's, on Brunswick St, Collingwood (tram 112 from Collins St) -20 different types of coffee beans to choose from and you'd have a newfound appreciation for coffee after visiting the place. Everyone there is super friendly and know their stuff - then maybe proceed down Brunswick St for some fine brekkies.
- Pushka Espresso Bar (Pesgrave Pl, off Howey Pl, off Lt Collins St between Swanston and Elizabeth Sts)
- The European (Spring St near the corner with Bourke St, opposite Parliament House)
- Postal Hall (Corner Lt Collins and Exhibition Sts)
- Anything in the Block Arcade (off Lt Collins St, between Swanston and Elizabeth Sts)
- Anything in The Causeway (little laneway running between Bourke and Lt Collins Sts, look for the Bra'n'Things shop on Bourke St Mall and turn down that laneway)
- Anything on Degraves St (though recently has been getting a bit too hippie for my liking), try especially Degraves Espresso - great sticky date pudding there. ^

Or simply get lost in the laneways. The best coffee places are the ones that are hard to find and have only enough space to fit the barista and his/her espresso machine, with queues milling around waiting for their steaming cuppa.

And if you can be bothered venturing out of town a little, head to Kiss Cafe on Greville St (Prahran, off Chapel St) for some fantastic omelettes. ^ Then somewhat diagonally opposite on Izzet St is Babble Cafe which serves up some excellent soy chai latte. :) To get there, simply hop on a Sandringham Line train and get off at Prahran station, which is located right on Greville St. Also some decent shopping on Chapel St.

If you find yourself in the tourist trap that's St Kilda beach (ironically I live just around the corner :o), visit Leroy's on Acland St. If it's not been mentioned already, St Kilda market can be interesting in a 'check it off the list' kind of way. Closest analogy to St Kilda I can think of is Santa Monica beach.

Enjoy! :D

When it gets really miserable, do Hobart locals ever find a happy medium between the coffee roaster and the whisk(e)y distiller?

I tried some of the cask-strength stuff but not in a coffee and I hope I'm not confined to such weather that I feel the need for such an 'Irish' drink. ;)

Yup - its called good food! ;-) But seriously, the happy medium for most of us is reached after a couple of coffees, some good chocolate and the knowledge that Monty's is open for dinner!

Overall I think you have a great itinerary with one major exception. On our first trip to Melbourne we were booked into Batman's Hotel as part of a United Vacations trip. What a mistake. It is quite run down and barely a click above being a backpacker's hostel. With so many other good hotels in the area we were sorry we did not upgrade to better accomodations.