EvilDoctorK

Have done enough of the big cities on previous trips .. looking for somewhere a bit smaller, good food, nice wine .. some activities to keep the kids ( 5&8 ) occupied .. Will have around 1 week to fill ( ~20-27 December ) .. starting out in Sydney finishing up anywhere ( we'll be flying to Perth 27/28th so could fly from SYD/MEL/Somewhere Else ) .. happy to do a bit of a road trip or stay in 1 or 2 places

Tasmania was the fairly obvious choice for me, never been before, good time of year to go for weather and heard lots of great things about it .. but a lot of good restaurants / other things seem closed around Xmas, car hire is absolutely insane $$$ and nice accommodation is very booked up .. so it seems it's going to fail the practicality test and we'll need to save it for another trip

In terms of other places I know and like .. probably looking for the Australian equivalents of Franschhoek / Stellenbosch in South Africa .. does such a thing exist ? ( I've only been to the Hunter Valley before many years ago and wasn't massively impressed then , but it's a long time ago )

Blue Mountains ? Inland NSW / VIC Wine regions ? any other recommendations ?

JClasstraveller

Orange.

But book accommodation now.

Plenty of things for kids, side trips to Bathurst (worth a couple of days).

Wineries galore. And good ones at that.

You can then move onto Mudgee for more food and wine.

You’ll need to end up in a reasonably sized city for Christmas as nothing will be open in small towns.

EvilDoctorK

Thanks for the tip .. Orange ( and Mudgee ) definitely look like they type of place we're after .. will definitely look into both of those

Any thoughts on Bendigo ? - My limited research turned up that and places around it as being also similar. (though obviously a good bit further from Sydney, though we could finish up in Melbourne and that's very close )

JClasstraveller

If you’re after regional Victoria, you want Daylesford, Kyneton and the Macedon Ranges - both not far from Bendigo.

Mornington Peninsula is also spectacular - maybe more for the kids as well. Plenty of (very good) wineries and food but does get very crowded that time of year.

bensyd

Orange and Mudgee are nice places. Emirates at Wolgan Valley is pretty spectacular setting although you pay for it. From Mudgee you could head to Scone/Musswellbrook. Barrington Tops NP is really one of the most underrated places in Australia.

Alternatively, the OP could head south from Sydney along the coast, into the Southern Highlands, Jervis Bay etc and then end up around Canberra on Christmas Day before heading back to Sydney.

EvilDoctorK

Thanks for the inputs .. looking at something like this then I think starting and ending in Sydney with no particularly long drives and plenty of nice sounding restaurants

Mudgee - 2 nights
Orange - 3 nights ( can do a bit of Blue Mountains from there too )
Bowral - 2 nights. ( looked like there were a few nice places further West in the Southern Highlands but very spread out .. Bowral looked like a better base )

Orange looks like the largest of the three places and should have plenty open over Xmas I think

JClasstraveller

I’d ring up certain attractions first as they may or may not be given staffing shortages nationwide. Seaside destinations more likely to be open.

Bowral is nice but will be $$$$$. Actually, anything around Christmas will be $$$$$.

EvilDoctorK

Yeah the $$$$ around Xmas is to be expected ... I don't mind that too much for a nice place ( though A$500/day for car hire in Tasmania is a bit rich even for my tastes !)