Planning a trip to Australia

[Helen]

Does anyone have any input to this tentative trip agenda for Australia:

Wednesday, February 1st arrive in Sydney and stay for 1 week.

Thursday, February 9th Cruise from Sydney to Perth (16 days) northern route Discount Cruises, Last-Minute Cruises, Short Notice Cruises - Vacations To Go

Saturday, February 25th arrive in Perth and stay for 1 week.

Saturday, March 4th leave Perth and drive to Melbourne along the coast - 10 days

Wednesday, March 15th, arrive in Melbourne

Friday, March 17th, arrive in Hobart (either fly or take an evening ferry)

Saturday, March 18th depart on a seven day tour of Tasmania https://www.lonelyplanet.com/austra...-the-tahune-airwalk/a/pa-tou/v-5703P14/362437

Sunday, March 26 return to Melbourne

We would spend a few days in Melbourne then fly back to the states.

We plan to take public transportation, rent bicycles and hire cabs in the cities. We would possibly take some day tours outside of the cities.

My one concern is the (wet) weather to be cruising around the Northern Territory in February, it could make for some rough water.

Can anyone comment about the length of time we are spending - for example, is 10 days too long to drive from Perth to Melbourne (2,122 miles) taking our time along the way? Should we spend more time in Tasmania? Would we be mistaken not to travel from Melbourne back to Sydney?

Any sights we shouldn't miss?

Also, is there any advantage/disadvantage to using a travel agent vs. booking this on our own?

Thank you for any suggestions!

-helen

 

[healthyandfun]

G'day! Spent a couple months in Australia this fall, some on a tour and quite a bit on my own. I am by no means an expert on the country. We took the India-Pacific train from Perth to Adelaide. Food was terrific and compartment was comfortable. You might consider the train instead of driving because there is not much scenery or towns along the way. Also, in Melbourne and Sydney they have transportation passes for buses, ferries, trams, etc. You can load it with a set amount of $$ and simply scan the card when needed. Very easy. Australia is a very big country with a big variety of sites, activities, and experiences. My suggestion would be to get a travel guide and explore all the country has to offer, then make a list of the things you find appealing. Example, I love music so going to the Sydney Opera was at the top of my list. I am also a nature lover so I didn't want to miss The Great Barrier Reef or Tasmania. Loved both! Good luck! Awesome country, awesome people!

 

[Helen]

Thank you so much! I did notice they have a train that would take us out of Perth, thanks for the recommendation. Also, greyhound has a hop on hop off pass that might work quite nicely.

It sounds like you had a great trip!

 

[braumeister]

I have friends who have lived in Brisbane for many years and love it. Doesn't appear to be on your list, so I wonder if you considered it at all.

Also, I would like to visit Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock), just because.

 

[nwsteve]

Helen
Could you tell us a bit more of your interests, please. We were in Oz this last Feb and never ran out of stuff to do.
Does Perth hold a special interest for you? It is a long ways from the rest of the action. Locals generally have it on the B list as a destination--nice town but once you have seen, you are left sitting at the beach.
Like yours, our trip started with a week in Sydney, we then drove to Melbourne so we could take in some of the sights at Canberra, Australia's capital. Turns out it was a lot of road time and we did not have enough to see the many great museums in Canberra and still make our flight to Tasmania. We spend 8 days in Tasmania--half in Holbart and half on the Northern Coast. (have a couple great apts to recommend if you need),
When flew back to Melbourne from Taz we rented a card to drive the Great Ocean Rd--highly recommend--to Barossa Vallley (great wine ) and then on to Adelaide, Spent five fantastic days in Adelaide before retuning to the states from there.

 

[target2019]

We spent 3 weeks AUS and NZ in 2014.
Sydney is great. Can understand wanting to go as many places as possible. Keep in mind you're in a very large country. Driving many miles is not always rewarding.
We flew up to Cairns for the Great white Reef experience and spent 9 nights in a camper van.
We flew back to Sydney and then to NZ. 9 more nights in a camper van.
A drive from Perth to Melbourne is very ambitious.

 

[Free To Canoe]

Does anyone have any input to this tentative trip agenda for Australia:

Wednesday, February 1st arrive in Sydney and stay for 1 week.

Thursday, February 9th Cruise from Sydney to Perth (16 days) northern route Discount Cruises, Last-Minute Cruises, Short Notice Cruises - Vacations To Go

Saturday, February 25th arrive in Perth and stay for 1 week.

Saturday, March 4th leave Perth and drive to Melbourne along the coast - 10 days

Wednesday, March 15th, arrive in Melbourne

Friday, March 17th, arrive in Hobart (either fly or take an evening ferry)

Saturday, March 18th depart on a seven day tour of Tasmania https://www.lonelyplanet.com/austra...-the-tahune-airwalk/a/pa-tou/v-5703P14/362437

Sunday, March 26 return to Melbourne

We would spend a few days in Melbourne then fly back to the states.

We plan to take public transportation, rent bicycles and hire cabs in the cities. We would possibly take some day tours outside of the cities.

My one concern is the (wet) weather to be cruising around the Northern Territory in February, it could make for some rough water.

Can anyone comment about the length of time we are spending - for example, is 10 days too long to drive from Perth to Melbourne (2,122 miles) taking our time along the way? Should we spend more time in Tasmania? Would we be mistaken not to travel from Melbourne back to Sydney?

Any sights we shouldn't miss?

Also, is there any advantage/disadvantage to using a travel agent vs. booking this on our own?

Thank you for any suggestions!

-helen

The tour sure sounds great! Not your 1st time going, is it? I went to Carins for a few weeks once. Always wanted to go back and do a tour like you are considering. No useful info to provide. Sorry, all I have to offer is envy. That and don't miss seeing the Great Barrier reef out of Port Douglas.

 

[healthyandfun]

What is the itinerary for the cruise from Sydney to Perth? I clicked the link you provided, but did not see one. The highlights along the way would of course be The Great Barrier Reef in the east and Darwin in the north, but there does not seem to be many other places of interest along that route and it is a time consuming trip IMO. However, while down under, numerous Australians commented that the cruise business is booming. If you are set on Perth along with nearby Fremantle and Rottenest Island, you might consider flying from Sydney. It is about 5 1/2 hours. Again, remember it is a big country.

 

[Helen]

I have friends who have lived in Brisbane for many years and love it. Doesn't appear to be on your list, so I wonder if you considered it at all.

Also, I would like to visit Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock), just because.

We will be in Brisbane during the cruise from Sydney to Perth, but only for a day.

I would like to visit Alice Springs and Uluru, but it will be in the very heat of the summer, so we are going to focus on the coastal areas where the temps will still be quite hot and humid in the Northern Territory, but do-able.

We may have to go back again next year or later and go maybe during the US Spring or Fall.

Thanks for your post!

 

[Helen]

Helen
Could you tell us a bit more of your interests, please. We were in Oz this last Feb and never ran out of stuff to do.
Does Perth hold a special interest for you? It is a long ways from the rest of the action. Locals generally have it on the B list as a destination--nice town but once you have seen, you are left sitting at the beach.
Like yours, our trip started with a week in Sydney, we then drove to Melbourne so we could take in some of the sights at Canberra, Australia's capital. Turns out it was a lot of road time and we did not have enough to see the many great museums in Canberra and still make our flight to Tasmania. We spend 8 days in Tasmania--half in Holbart and half on the Northern Coast. (have a couple great apts to recommend if you need),
When flew back to Melbourne from Taz we rented a card to drive the Great Ocean Rd--highly recommend--to Barossa Vallley (great wine ) and then on to Adelaide, Spent five fantastic days in Adelaide before retuning to the states from there.

Hi Steve, I like the idea of going all the way around the continent to get a good feel of Australia. Perth is appealing because the people I met on my New Zealand trip in 2013 all really liked the city and said it had a very different feel from the other cities.

We may skip renting a car and instead take the train or a bus from Perth and stop off here and there along the way. I'm glad to hear that you found Adelaide interesting, I think we should plan to stay there for a while too.

We both like hiking, but not if it is too hot. We both really want to see the Australian wildlife. And, some beach days would be wonderful too. As far as the cities go, museums and just wandering around sounds good. I think meeting people along the way will be a highlight as well.

We think we found a retired couple to stay in our house while we are gone and take care of our two cats. They live out of state and have grandkids a few blocks away from us. They seemed to think a two month stay would work for them. That's our biggest constraint is having someone to take care of our (damn) cats If we want to spend more than 8 weeks, we could hire someone to stay for the additional couple of weeks. The grandparents are happy to stay for free, last year they offered to pay us but we had already promised the house to a college student.

How did you find the driving to be? I'm not sure I want to take that on, especially not in a city - yikes!!!

Thank you for your post.

 

[Helen]

We spent 3 weeks AUS and NZ in 2014.
Sydney is great. Can understand wanting to go as many places as possible. Keep in mind you're in a very large country. Driving many miles is not always rewarding.
We flew up to Cairns for the Great white Reef experience and spent 9 nights in a camper van.
We flew back to Sydney and then to NZ. 9 more nights in a camper van.
A drive from Perth to Melbourne is very ambitious.

What time of the year did you go? I would love to rent a camper van, but I don't think I want to drive in the crowded areas in a larger vehicle.

We have friends who are going to the Reef this Fall, that seems like it would be a better time of year to really explore that area. From what I've read, February could be very rainy up there.

I suppose we could fly from Perth to Adelaide, if there is not much to see by driving, but this blog post made driving sound appealing, and if I am going to drive this would probably be a good stretch of road to try my hand at driving on the left side of the road:

Perth To Melbourne Road Trip(Ultimate Guide) With 7 Must See Attractions

 

[Helen]

The tour sure sounds great! Not your 1st time going, is it? I went to Carins for a few weeks once. Always wanted to go back and do a tour like you are considering. No useful info to provide. Sorry, all I have to offer is envy. That and don't miss seeing the Great Barrier reef out of Port Douglas.

Thank you. I have always wanted to go to Australia. It's a huge bonus that our seasons are opposite. I like getting out of the rain for a few months every winter.

 

[Helen]

What is the itinerary for the cruise from Sydney to Perth? I clicked the link you provided, but did not see one. The highlights along the way would of course be The Great Barrier Reef in the east and Darwin in the north, but there does not seem to be many other places of interest along that route and it is a time consuming trip IMO. However, while down under, numerous Australians commented that the cruise business is booming. If you are set on Perth along with nearby Fremantle and Rottenest Island, you might consider flying from Sydney. It is about 5 1/2 hours. Again, remember it is a big country.

Here is a link to the itinerary, thanks for asking for it: Discount Cruises, Last-Minute Cruises, Short Notice Cruises - Vacations To Go

We have at least two months that we can be there to explore, the biggest constraint is having someone to take care of our two cats.

I think February and March will be too hot to do too much inland. I think Darwin will be pretty hot and humid, good beach weather though. It may be too rainy to spend a lot of time around the Great Barrier Reef.

We decided to wait until February to go because the Australian schools are out for summer break for most of January.

We are looking at this as an exploratory trip and will go back if we find areas we want to spend more time in. That way I won't drive myself nuts thinking I have to see it all this trip.

-helen

 

[stepford]

DW and I spent about 4 months driving around OZ over two trips during our summer (their winter), so I don't have direct experience with a February/March visit. . That said, northern Queensland, the NT and northern WA were hot and humid enough during the dry winter that I'd be in no hurry to visit during the wet season. While I think your visit may avoid the worst of the nominal rainy season you probably will experience "the build up" - when it grows ever more stiflingly hot and humid before the wet sets in. Depending on your tolerance for these sorts of conditions you might still enjoy it. Much of the jungley north is fascinating country. Honestly though, I probably couldn't handle it during the build up or the wet.

As far as the rest of the itinerary goes: I like Perth/Fremantle, but is a MUCH quieter town than Sidney. While it's certainly worth a visit, it didn't really seem like one of Australia's major attractions, but for us served more as a base of operations from which to explore WA. A week there should certainly be enough. For the driving, 10 days from Perth to Melbourne doesn't seem all that long to me. While you may want to jet quickly across the Nullarbor plane in the west, once you get near Adelaide there are all manner of interesting side trips. We spent a week there during one of our trips and I could easily enjoy 2-3 times that.

The final part of your trip is the one with which I have the least experience, but of which I am the most envious. I'd love to explore Tazzie during the Australian summer (and would definitely want more than a week to do so). That isn't an option while DW is tied to the academic calendar, but I'm sure you'll have a great time.

 

[healthyandfun]

The link you gave for the cruise itinerary is only a link to register for an account for cruises.

I discovered this article that you might find helpful.
https://news.experienceoz.com.au/best-places-in-australia-to-visit-in-february/

The area between Perth and Adelaide is sparsely populated with towns few and far between. Going by bus or rental car may prove difficult.

 

[target2019]

What time of the year did you go? I would love to rent a camper van, but I don't think I want to drive in the crowded areas in a larger vehicle.

We have friends who are going to the Reef this Fall, that seems like it would be a better time of year to really explore that area. From what I've read, February could be very rainy up there.

I suppose we could fly from Perth to Adelaide, if there is not much to see by driving, but this blog post made driving sound appealing, and if I am going to drive this would probably be a good stretch of road to try my hand at driving on the left side of the road:

Perth To Melbourne Road Trip(Ultimate Guide) With 7 Must See Attractions

The van was smaller. We used one from this company.
https://www.jucy.com.au/

We went in March. A bit of rain, but out of season, and no crowds.

 

[Helen]

As far as the rest of the itinerary goes: I like Perth/Fremantle, but is a MUCH quieter town than Sidney. While it's certainly worth a visit, it didn't really seem like one of Australia's major attractions, but for us served more as a base of operations from which to explore WA. A week there should certainly be enough. For the driving, 10 days from Perth to Melbourne doesn't seem all that long to me. While you may want to jet quickly across the Nullarbor plane in the west, once you get near Adelaide there are all manner of interesting side trips. We spent a week there during one of our trips and I could easily enjoy 2-3 times that.

You, along with others, are giving very good input. I could cut Perth down to 4 or 5 days and fly to Adelaide. I could use the extra time to either extend the time in Tasmania or use it to complete the circumference and go from Melbourne to Sydney.

Thank you!

 

[Alan]

Your trip sounds fantastic. We love Australia, been there 3 times now, the last time being in 2014 when we spent 5 months there, including a month in Tasmania, in Hobart.

We always have gone during the Australian winter to avoid the extreme heat, wet season and box jellies, although if you go snorkeling on the Barrier Reef you can wear special wet suits to protect you from them.

Our daughter's partner is from Adelaide (she is going to be spending Christmas there with him this year) and he told us that his favorite city that he has lived in is Melbourne. (And he has lived in Sydney, Vancouver, Seattle and Santa Monica). On his advice we spent 2 weeks there and it was absolutely fabulous, no need for a car. We stayed in St Kilda, a short tram ride from Melbourne city center and at sunset each evening we could walk out along the pier and watch the St Kilda penguins swim in and hole up in the rocks along the pier for the night.

I see that you plan to drive along the Great Ocean Road which is brilliant. There are spots along the way where you can make very short diversions, stop, get out and see loads of Koalas in the trees alongside the road.

 

[Helen]

The link you gave for the cruise itinerary is only a link to register for an account for cruises.

I discovered this article that you might find helpful.
https://news.experienceoz.com.au/best-places-in-australia-to-visit-in-february/

The area between Perth and Adelaide is sparsely populated with towns few and far between. Going by bus or rental car may prove difficult.

Sorry about the link. The cruise leaves out of Sydney and stops at the following ports: Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Benoa, Bali, Port Hedland, Geraldton and Perth.

It sounds as though we should skip driving from Perth to Adelaide and fly.

Thank you very much for the link to the article. That is quite useful!

 

[Helen]

Your trip sounds fantastic. We love Australia, been there 3 times now, the last time being in 2014 when we spent 5 months there, including a month in Tasmania, in Hobart.

We always have gone during the Australian winter to avoid the extreme heat, wet season and box jellies, although if you go snorkeling on the Barrier Reef you can wear special wet suits to protect you from them.

Our daughter's partner is from Adelaide (she is going to be spending Christmas there with him this year) and he told us that his favorite city that he has lived in is Melbourne. (And he has lived in Sydney, Vancouver, Seattle and Santa Monica). On his advice we spent 2 weeks there and it was absolutely fabulous, no need for a car. We stayed in St Kilda, a short tram ride from Melbourne city center and at sunset each evening we could walk out along the pier and watch the St Kilda penguins swim in and hole up in the rocks along the pier for the night.

I see that you plan to drive along the Great Ocean Road which is brilliant. There are spots along the way where you can make very short diversions, stop, get out and see loads of Koalas in the trees alongside the road.

Hi Alan! I figured you would post here. This is great advice. However, now you have me wondering if we should in fact do that drive.

I think we will just weigh it all out, do our best in planning and leave some room for flexibility. We could probably decide once we are in Perth whether we want to drive or fly. I suspect that is not a busy part of the continent.

If we really like it, which I think we will, we will go back and do the parts we missed or want to further explore.

Thank you very much for your input!

 

[healthyandfun]

Helen,
Read the blog regarding the drive from Perth to Melbourne that you provided. I was completely wrong about driving. It looks very doable and fabulous in fact. The beauty of this forum and blogs is in gathering all kinds of opinions and experiences and then making ones decision on what to do. Good luck!

 

[anethum]

I spent 6 weeks biking in Australia in New South Wales, Canberra, Victoria, and Tasmania. I also flew to Perth, mainly to visit a friend. My trip was in February & early March. There was flooding in Queensland while I was in Australia, and as some others have noted, it is not the best time of year to visit the Great Barrier Reef, so I didn't.

Have you considered renting a car in Tasmania? It was easy to get around on a bicycle, so I would think that driving would be easy. It's relatively compact compared to the rest of the country, and there is not a lot of traffic there. I saw more animals in the wild in Tasmania than on the mainland. The wildest temperature changes I've ever experienced were in Tasmania in March. It was 95 F (35 C) when I arrived in Hobart by plane from Melbourne. 2 days later, it was snowing in Hobart & throughout the island. I enjoyed hiking at Cradle Mtn-Lake St. Clair (after the snow began to melt). Tasmania is more mountainous and is wetter and greener than most of Australia. The forest has a distinctive look.

The Great Ocean Road was nice, but the road was narrower than U.S. roads.

A week sounds like too long in Perth. It's a pleasant town but there's not that much to do. Definitely take a ferry from Fremantle to Rottnest Island and rent bikes. You'll see lots of quokkas on the island.

We didn't visit the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, but that area sounds lovely. I wish we had gone there instead of the Southern Highlands of NSW, which was the one region we found disappointing.

I enjoyed visiting Canberra.

 

[brett]

We did a similar short notice cruise while in Australia in Feb 15.

It was a 17 day RCI cruise. We actually booked it by phone while we were in Australia. Called RCI Australia directly. Their price, adjusted for currency, was about 30 percent LESS than the price on any US website, our on line US TA, or the RCI North American website. Booking was straightforward.

Australia is such a big country. We really enjoyed Adelaide. This may be one of your stops. We drove the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Warrambool. Very enjoyable. We also drove from Brisbane to Sidney, stopping along the way. Recommend this-especially the Port McQuarrie area. While in Sydney we did a day trip by train to the Blue Mountains. It was OK.

This was our second trip. We are planning another over the next two years. It is the ideal winter trip for us to escape our cold winter.

 

[Alan]

Hi Alan! I figured you would post here. This is great advice. However, now you have me wondering if we should in fact do that drive.

I think we will just weigh it all out, do our best in planning and leave some room for flexibility. We could probably decide once we are in Perth whether we want to drive or fly. I suspect that is not a busy part of the continent.

If we really like it, which I think we will, we will go back and do the parts we missed or want to further explore.

Thank you very much for your input!

You could fly to Adelaide as you suggest and it is an easy drive from there to Melbourne. We planned on driving from Melbourne to Adelaide but we only had a week and spent more time than we expected on the Great Ocean Road so never made it all the way to Adelaide.

We flew from Melbourne to Hobart rather than the ferry, for time and since we were there in the winter we didn't fancy a potentially rough sea journey.

 

[stepford]

Minor threadjack, but on topic.

We flew from Melbourne to Hobart rather than the ferry, for time and since we were there in the winter we didn't fancy a potentially rough sea journey.

Alan, I've been thinking about a visit to Tasmania in the next year or so and was wondering: Do you think that the greater availability of car/van rentals in Melbourne makes taking the ferry with a vehicle preferable to flying in and trying to rent in Hobart?