My wife and I are spending two weeks in Australia in January and I'm looking for a bit of advice, mainly to make sure I'm on the right track. Our flights and hotels have been booked for a while, but we have pretty good flexibility on our day-to-day plans. All tours booked are refundable, so I can change things up. With that said, it's our first time in Australia so we're hoping to see as much as possible as we're not sure how soon we'll be back. Here's what we've got so far as a
tentative itinerary:
Sydney (staying at Marriott Sydney Harbour at Circular Quay)- Day 1:
- Arrive SYD in morning
- Afternoon: Free walking tour
- Evening: Show at Sydney Opera House
- Day 2
- Afternoon: Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach Walk
- Swim/relax at Bondi Icebergs Club
- Evening: The Rocks free walking tour
- Day 3
- Hunter Valley Wine and Cheese Tasting Tour
- Day 4
- Day 5
- ATP Cup tennis tournament in the evening; have free tickets to the morning session but could do something else
Hayman Island- Days 6-9
- Spending four nights here; have an all-day GBR scuba diving trip and a helicopter tour to Whitehaven Beach planned.
Melbourne (staying at Sheraton Melbourne)- Day 10
- Arrive afternoon
- "Culture Capital" free walking tour
- Day 11
- Yarra Valley sunrise hot air balloon ride and all-day wine tour
- Day 12
- "City Sights" free walking tour
- Cricket match at Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Day 13
- Great Ocean Road sunset tour
- Day 14
- Depart on Day 15
For those Australian natives or frequent visitors, any glaring omissions that you'd recommend? Also, any bars/restaurants in particular that we need to check out? Several of our evenings will be open in Sydney and Melbourne...tried to keep us busy, while also giving us some time to explore in the moment. Thanks in advance!