Help: Considering a trip to Australia and I am clueless

Eliza

DH's dream has been to travel to Australia (from our East coast US home) and pursuing options now may make sense. Any thoughts about how to divide up the approximately 11/12 days on the ground there in March, given the following priorities:

-want to see Sydney and Melbourne
-want some experience of a beach area to enjoy the Pacific, but are not scuba divers, just swimmers/snorkelers who enjoy boating and prefer to avoid mega- crowds. Can this be done with Sydney as a base of operations or this better as a couple of days elsewhere? I know the ocean near Sydney is warm in March, but it can also be rainy and isn't usually hot.
-we probably don't want to go to more than 3 destinations overnight and are balancing a wish to get a taste of the country (that is huge and hard for us to get to) with a general preference for a simpler itinerary with greater depth
-like to enjoy good food, art/architecture/history, smaller hotels and seeing things unique to the country, as well as shopping for local items

If you've read this far many thanks for your patience.

What would you consider must-do's, things to avoid and the great things that are often over-looked? I appreciate your input.

11 years ago

Off Topic

9 replies

Latest reply was from Eliza

Sharon

Veteran

I think with a short space of time you need to stick to the east coast and the cities. Whilst the outback and the bush are beautiful and amazing, there are vast distances involved and it may be difficult to fit that in.

I grew up in Sydney and I think you should definitely see the big tourist sights - the Opera House ( maybe see if there is an opera or a orchestra performance on at the time of your visit), the Botanic Gardens, the ferry to Manly. Pitt Street is the main shopping precinct in the city and worth a walk along.
-there are a number of great beaches around Sydney - Bondi is the most famous, but Bronte, Palm and Avalon are also nice (although a little drive - about 20km)
-if you are interested in Australia's convict past, then the Rocks should probably be on your to-do list http://www.therocks.com and a bit further out in the western suburbs there is Elizabeth Farm that will give you a taste of the life of early settlers.http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/elizabeth-farm
-there are lots of very good restaurants in Sydney, although be warned that they are much more expensive than what seems to be the norm in the USA. Some of the very popular places like Tetsuyas and Aria might be worth booking in advance.
-the museum and the art gallery are in the city and easy to get to by public transport. Australia is a young country as far as European settlement is concerned, so these are relatively old public buildings by our standards.
-you could certainly fit in a day-trip to the Blue Mountains is you wanted a little taste of the Australian bush - one of the more famous sights is the Three Sisters rock formation at Katoomba. That would probably also give you the opportunity to learn a little about Aboriginal culture and stories.
-if you are staying in the city, there are any number of bars and clubs that will give you the opportunity to listen to music and/or dance. The "red-light" district is Kings Cross, which may be interesting as an experience, although it can get a bit crazy late at night (or it did 10 years ago, when I lived in Sydney)
-Sydney is very multicultural, and one of the wonderful consequences of that is the huge variety of different foods available. Even the suburban local restaurants are often quite good and there are particular suburbs known for being regions for a particular nationality (Leichardt for Italian, Auburn for Lebanese, Cabramatta for Vietnamese and of course Chinatown)
That's all I can think of for Sydney -hope that gives you some ideas.

11 years ago

jenanded

Veteran

Lol I am a Queenslander so would suggest the Barrier Reef to snorkel. More lol! Really, Sydney is beautiful and the harbour including the bridge, opera house, gardens, the Rocks aremagnificent... beaches are ferry or bus ride away. I know and love Melbourne less but St Kilda is beautiful beachside about 15 mins from city, the bakeries on acland st postcard worthy. Outstanding Italian food in Lygon St. Back to Sydney, I stayed at the AEA apartments last year... right behind the Quay where the bridge etc are located, good price and roomy. Not theeee ultimate luxury or anything but location, space, cleanliness, price and quality were great. Its also just by the earliest buildings of Australia from the first settlement, by the botanical gardens... have fun!

11 years ago

Deborah

Veteran

Eliza, how exciting. I have just got home and need to come back to this as Melbourne, Victoria is a wonderful place to visit BUT I thought I should alert you to the fact that we have a major event happening in Melbourne in March (ok I may be exaggerating a little) - we have a mini Melbourne YLF meetup on Friday, March 7!

Will be back with what to do in Melbourne.

11 years ago

Lyn D.

Veteran

Fantastic!
I would recommend Healesville Sanctuary near Melbourne for experiencing our unusual and cute native animals.
Our beaches are lovely but the water is not very warm- I would suggest Sydney for boating and Queensland for swimming if you are considering the North-East of our country.
The Great Ocean Road is another gem for scenery, about 2hrs west of the city.

11 years ago

froggiebecky

Veteran

Here's a little travel tip--factor in naps when getting over jet lag. Everyone is a little different, but I've found that I generally become jet-lagged about 3:30 or 4pm. For me it helps to plan to take a nap about that time (2 hrs, then 1, then 45 min, then none), then get up again for dinner and stay up as late as possible. I find that organising my first couple days of activity with this in mind is better than being stuck out somewhere and having an out-of-body experience and a meltdown worthy of a toddler.

I'd also echo Sharon's advice on Sydney (add Manly Beach to the list of beaches). I think you could easily do most of the touristy stuff in Sydney in about 4 days. Melbourne is one of my favourite cities in the world (but the tourist things aren't as boldly presented as Sydney), and for beach, Cairns can't be beat (bonus: jurassic-era rainforest). But I would also be very tempted to swap Cairns/snorkeling for Alice Springs and Uluru. If you've got an adventurous spirit, don't mind camping, and like to walk (28 km in 3 days, 4-5 of it hilly), there's a couple 3-day tours that are fantastic. There's one called "The Rock Tour" that I'd recommend. It's been voted "Best Tour in the World" by several backpacker groups, and I went on it and loved it. I felt like I was on the moon, and it just really sunk in just what "nothing" and "remote" means, and how starkly beautiful the country is. My friends in Sydney teased me a bit for going, pointing out that it's an awfully long way to go to see a rock, but I realised that if I'd lived 10,000 years ago, in a desert, near a rock that had permanent water sources at its base, attracted all the animals, and sustained edible plants…I'd think it was holy, too.

If it were my trip, I'd go Sydney-Alice Springs-Melbourne.

11 years ago

Eliza

Veteran

Wow- thank you all for weighing in with the expert travel information. You have each given us much to consider. Places to stay, logistics, restaurant info and options for site-seeing are so helpful. We are presently sorting out our time-frame, based on this valuable input.

Sharon: thank you for the detailed Sydney info as well as the Blue Mtn tip-very helpful!
Jenanded: thanks for the Great Barrier Reef and Melbourne/St Kilda tips, as well as the apt. in Sydney recommendations. Such good info!
Deborah: nothing would be more fun than a YLF meet up - especially on vacation. Alas, it won't work for March 7th, as we can't be there then.
All Melbourne tips are welcome though, as at some point we will very likely be visiting. Thank you!
Lyn D: thanks so much for the great ideas for seeing Australia's unique wildlife and enjoying the ocean. So good to hear from those in the know as there is much info to process.
froggiebecky- thank you for all of the detailed info. about managing jet lag, as well as seeing Sydney, Melbourne and possible beach options. As a person prone to migraines, I am particularly eager to minimize the impact of the trip. Super useful!

We are eager to go, but are considering going later, when we can allow at least 3 weeks. I am aware that going that far could be a one-time thing for us and with jet lag, having a bit more time than the current work schedule allows could make a huge difference. I would like to combine Australia with a trip to a more remote island for post-touring relaxation and know more time is required for that. We are still working this out, but I think it is likely that we go in the foreseeable future, even if we decide against the shorter trip next month.

All input is welcome and is sure to inform our itinerary. I thank everyone for sharing their knowledge and will keep you posted as we weigh options.

11 years ago

Archer

Veteran

Tell us more about your interests and personalities. it is a huge country and each state and city has its own attractions. if you are a big sports fan, enjoy quality art, music and architecture I would suggest a different trip altogether if you are a bush walker and interested in flora and fauna.
You could have a Club Med experience here a safari in the desert or a moon walk. What are the major 3 priorities for 11 days on the vast continent?
I promise to give it real thought once I have a big picture to go on.
No I am not a travel agent.

11 years ago

froggiebecky

Veteran

Eliza--ETA: The 3-4 pm time frame was for coming from the US.

And I'd like to echo archer--it helps to know more of what you're interested in!

Thirdly--I'll be in Oz from March-June (split between Sydney and Cairns), if you'd like to meet up or have a tour guide for a little while, let me know!

11 years ago

Eliza

Veteran

Thanks to all.

Archer and froggiebecky- still sorting out parameters and timing of trip, which might involve planning around a work event for DH. I don't have more specifics yet, but will provide further info once the variables shake out. We are hoping to go later when we can devote closer to 3 weeks to the trip. Your thoughtful offers and patience are appreciated. The opportunities are indeed endless and I will be back with more details in a week or 2.

11 years ago

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