bensyd

The dangerous stingers are mostly estuarine. If you're diving on the reef it's pretty safe as it's generally far enough offshore to be out of range. This is a pretty litigious country, there would be no way tour operators could obtain insurance if they were tossing people into irikandji infested waters.

EmpressRouge

I'm not worried about my husband scuba diving; it's more about the kid playing in the water on the beach

Omnivore

always going to recommend my home town Central Coast. Home of the Australian Reptile Park where I’ve had some great interaction with animals.

bensyd

Is that what they're calling Iguana's these days?

Omnivore

Don’t you know who I am (IYKYK)

cauchy

Hey team!

I'm planning a 2 weeks Australia trip for the 2nd half of September. Of course, I'm at risk of trying to cram too much in!

Q1: What's the consensus around an Uluru trip?

Looks really fun, but it's a lot of travel.

Q2: Any thoughts on this itinerary?

Day 1, 2, 3, 4: Sydney. Day trip to Blue Mountains (not on the weekend).
Day 5, 6, 7, 8: Cairns. Need to figure out day trips. Also I can't scuba-dive as I have asthma.
Day 9, 10, 11, 12: Melbourne
Day 13: Sydney

Realistically to do Uluru I would ditch one of Cairns or Melbourne. Any advice here?

Thank you so much!

CPMaverick

People find Uluru either magical or boring in my experience. Personally I loved it, I think it's iconic. And September is a pretty nice time to year to visit. So I'd suggest trying it, because there are definitely seasons where it won't be an option. It can be pretty pricey but IMO it's worth it.

Is there a reason you picked Cairns, if you can't dive? Can you snorkel? I've toured all around Australia, the top 20 cities and driven almost the entire coastal 'loop' (just missing Darwin to Cairns). And Cairns is probably one of my least favorite places. it's packed full of tourists and tourist things, the main attraction is the reef but it's over-visited. Going inland can be nice, but there are other spots in Queensland where it is nicer. If Uluru isn't your alternative, then I would suggest the Whitsundays, Magnetic Island, or Darwin (especially if early Sept, before it gets too hot).

I lived in Melbourne for 5 years and I loved it, it's not a flashy city like Sydney, but it's a wonderful place to stroll, dine, and just exist. it may be cold in Sept but with a bit of luck spring will be in bloom by then.

Best of luck and let me know if you have any questions!

bensyd

I've only ever driven to Uluru. It's a real vibe because it's days on the road through the outback. I think it's a different experience to just flying to Yulara or Alice Springs. Not saying one is better than the other, but they are different.

FWIW, I actually thought Kata Tjuta was more impressive.

CPMaverick

Agreed on Kata Tjuta.

I've done a lot of road trips in Australia, I've driven the Nullarbor and from Darwin to Adelaide. It's a special experience. That said I loved flying into Yulara, it was beautifully scenic and very different from the view on the ground. We did a drive from there to Kings Canyon and on to Alice Springs (one way car). It was a pretty good representation of the longer possible road trips. Especially when you look at a map of Australia and see how short your drive looks!

EmpressRouge

I managed to change the international flights for our 2-week November trip to Australia, so now tweaking this [more efficient] itinerary reduces backtracking:

• 4 days/3 nights in Melbourne - Arriving from the USA in the morning and staying in/near CBD. Plans mostly consists of meeting up with a friend and exploring CBD-adjacent areas via public transit. Any opinions about doing a Great Ocean Road group day tour?
• 6 days/5 nights Adelaide + Kangaroo Island - thinking of flying into ADL from MEL in the late afternoon, and overnighting at the airport hotel. A family member will fly in from SYD the following morning, and we'll drive + ferry to Kangaroo Island and stay for 3 nights. Ferry + drive back to Adelaide on day 5 and probably overnight at the airport hotel due to early flight schedule the next morning. Suggestions for which area of Kangaroo Island to stay for 5 adults + 1 young toddler? I've currently narrowed it down to Kingscote, Penneshaw and Emu Bay, but willing to consider other places as long it's not too remote. [Originally thought about going out to Perth, but thinking it's too far and too much time for just Perth, but not enough time to explore more of WA]
• 5 days/4 nights in Hobart - Looking to base ourselves out of Hobart with a rental car. Any suggestions for some days trips we can do with a young toddler?
• 3 days/2 nights in the Sydney suburbs - We've already been to Sydney, so this is mostly a stopover before heading back home.

sydunipete

I probably wouldn't drive the Great Ocean Rd within a week of arriving in Australia due to jetlag. Even as a passenger it would be hard to stay awake. A shorter trip is Phillip Island might be more practical if the Little Penguin Parade is your thing.

I'm planning my first trip to KI and found this site useful:

www.sealink.com.au/kangaroo-island

Be aware there are hire car challenges on KI as some roads are unsealed and many mainland hire companies frown at unsealed roads thus making your insurance worthless. I decided to catch the bus from Adelaide, ferry across and pickup a local hire car on the island (where the rental conditions are more suited to local conditions). You also can't drive at night because of the wildlife so allow plenty of time to get around.

Hobart is a small city. You've probably got enough time to drive around the island. There is also a fairly busy airport at Launceston so I'd recommend considering flying into Launceston, one night, drive to Devonport (not far) or further to Strahan for some wilderness, a river cruise, tales of our convict past etc. It's a bit of a drive and roads are narrow and winding so it does take some time. You need a day there. After the morning cruise (and that's enough) there's time to drive to Hobart in time for a late dinner. Then fly out of Hobart after a day or maybe 2. That's probably a lot of driving with a youngster in the car though.

socalterp

10 day trip planned to Australia in early August, traveling with a 15 year old son. We’ve traveled a lot internationally, but not to Australia. Generally thinking more adventure/outdoors vs museums and things like that. We are flying in and out of SYD, so that dictates thing a bit.

Based on domestic flight schedules, thinking something along the lines of.

Day 1 (Weds) arrive SYD early morning
Day 2 - SYD sights, including bridge climb
Day 3 - SYD-AYQ
Day 4 - AYQ area
Day 5 - AYQ-CNS
Day 6 - CNS
Day 7 - CNS-PPP
Day 8 - Airlie beach area
Day 9 - Airlie beach area
Day 10 - PPP-BNE-SYD
Day 11 - morning flight back to US

Given that we likely won’t be back to Australia anytime soon, trying to balance seeing sights and not doing too much. Uluru is obviously far….

Too much travel time and cut out something like CNS in favor of more beach or Uluru time?

ideally would have one more day in SYD to go to the Blue Mountains, but it looks like there are nonstop flights on Fri but not Sat….for AYQ-CNS it looks like there are daily nonstops.

flights from Cairns to somewhere in/around the Whitsundays also look to be pretty limited. Should I be looking at an airport other than PPP?

Thabks!

Mwenenzi

Trying to do far too much in 10 days over a wide geographic area. Time to travel between destinations will add up. Not enough time at any one destination. I would drop CNS or PPP

A map from the Great Circle Mapper - Great Circle Mapper

socalterp

yeah, was seeing a triangle basically. 3 hour flights or so…except for the PPP legs. So what I’m hearing is pick one of the beach/tropical locales and maybe another day in the Uluru area.

EmpressRouge

I followed a similar route on my first trip to Australia: BNE - HVB (to go to Lady Elliot Island) - CNS - ASP -SYD, but over 14 days and it still felt rushed.
Keep in mind that Cairns doesn't have a beach (you'll have to drive up to Port Douglas). The town itself isn't a resort destination; it's more a working town that has a lot of tours/board launch from there.
I didn't get to go Uluru (due to miscalculation of when tours operate day trips operate out of Alice Springs), but I decided to base myself out of ASP instead because I read that AYQ so removed from everything else that accommodations and facilities were few and really expensive.