FromMAtoAZ

Thanks to FT's contest thread I recently won two free tickets to anywhere Emirates flies and I was thinking of heading to Australia. I am looking for a relaxing beach vacation in Feb or March with 1 or 2 nights in Sydney. I would like to either fly into BNE or SYD and take my time to drive to get a chance to see both areas. Has anyone ever done this drive? How is it driving between the two cities for an American tourist unfamiliar with the area?

I would love suggestions for tranquil beachside accommodations along the route and possibly guided tours in Sydney. Any advice would be much appreciated!

harvyk

I've done the drive from SYD to BNE a few times (last time in 2006). It's a long drive but there is quite a few places to stop along the way. It used to be considered one of the most dangerous roads in AU (about 10-15 years ago) but they have been doing upgrades all along the pacific highway so it's now of a really high standard. It's a full day of driving non stop, although there are loads of towns along the way. Since we where normally starting the day in CBR which adds about 4 hours to the trip we used to stop off in Gosford for fish n chips fpr lunch, we'd stay either in Port Macquire or Kempsey.

Since our goal was always to get to BNE (or more correctly the Gold Coast / Sunshine Coast) we didn't stop for many attractions along the way, that said all up and down the coast is places to see. The only one we'd always stop at was the big banana for a milkshake.

Apart from been on the left side of the road, it's pretty compariable to driving in the states.

wallaby

This is not really correct.
Only about 65% of the Pacific Hwy (BNE-SYD) is four-lane divided highway.
The other 35% is mostly single-lane road with some quite dangerous sections. But as long as one drives alertly it's still not too bad.

Should be about 11 hours drive between Brisbane and Sydney, so one could do two overnight stops on the way with about 4 hours of easy driving each day.

FromMAtoAZ

Thanks for the advice. Are there any particular cities/beaches that are a must see?

tt7

If that's what you want, then I would fly up to Cairns and stay in Palm Cove or Port Douglas. It would never even occur to me to drive from Sydney to Brisbane.

bensyd

If you like oysters, the area around Forster-Tuncurry is where most of the Sydney rock oysters are sourced from and they're substantially cheaper than anything you'll get in Sydney.

Are you looking for busy tourist towns or quiet beach towns where it's you and a few locals?

Jorgen

In Feb or March? No way, stay out of the tropics in jellyfish season if you're interested in a beach holiday. Even apart from the beaches, it'll be raining.

There's lots of nice beach towns between Sydney and Brisbane. Byron Bay is perhaps the most idyllic of them all, although it's expensive and overrun by a combination of hippies, backpackers and people with too much money. It's not exactly low key any more, though it's avoided over-development and you can find lots of nice restaurants etc in the vicinity.

Other, lower-key beach towns? Pretty much anywhere else along the coast (except the Gold Coast, which is tacky and touristy and ugly in every sense of the word).

If it were me, though, I'd go to Byron.

harvyk

Have to agree 100% with Jorgen, Feb / March is not the time to be visiting the tropics. Up there at that time of year you will have jellies and weather and not much else.

Byron bay is certainly nice to visit, but very crowded (it was crowded 12 years ago when I visited there, apparently it's only gotten worse).

Also there is nothing wrong with the Gold Coast and I've had many good holidays there, it's just unlike the name suggests, it is not a place you go to spend your days on the beach.

If you are after nice beaches to visit, I can certainly recommend going the other way and driving from Sydney down to Melbourne via the Princess Highway.

There are loads of really great beaches down that way (I should know, I visit the South Coast area a good few times per year) and it's not uncommon to see cars sporting queensland number plates down that way which suggests there are many QLDer's who think that is a nice bit of countryside as well.

Nugget_Oz

Byron is probably going to be crowded but somewhere like Lenox Head or Nambucca is cool. Stop off in Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and spend a couple of days in Tea Gardens/Hawks Nest.

Annalisa12

Congrats on the prize. Youtube "Bondi Rescue" to get you in the mood for some famous Aussie beaches.

Youngie

Lol Bondi Rescue... terrible show.

That is a pretty sweet prize though. The drive up to the Gold Coast is quite nice if you spend a night somewhere along the way. I would say just stop at whatever coastal town you find along the way that you like the look of, there a plenty of them. Just drive for about 4-6 hours, stop for the night and do the rest the next day.

Christopher

But Palm Cove and Port Douglas really are not ideal places to stay in February and March...

orville nmn wright

Does it make any difference whether one drives Sydney to Melbourne (in February)? Any other itinerary suggestions?

Pausanias

You should know that the road is nothing like the Pacific Coast Highway between LA and San Francisco. The coastal road from Sydney to Brisbane is actually very boring and busy and you never see the ocean as the road is far inland. We stayed at Port Macquarie and Byron Bay on the way up. We much preferred the rural inland route with stops at places like Forbes and Armidale. Very interesting towns and lovely scenery. We drove Brisbane-Canberra-Sydney-Brisbane.

SFSC

We have stopped off at Sawtell a few times. Nice little town with great beaches and a pleasant little tidal swimming pool. A few places to eat too. You might even think about trying the RSL or the pub for food and a few drinks like a local would. Pick accommodation close to either so you can have those few drinks without having to drink and drive.

One downside is the mini rush hour through Coffs Harbour if heading North the next morning.