Australia Experts needed!
Australia Experts needed!
Hi all,
Hubby and I are looking to go to Australia next year to see a friend in Melbourne. We are going for 3 weeks and have no idea where to go, what to see etc. We know that we would like to go to Melbourne first for a few days, then have a week to 10 days travelling about seeing wildlife, great sights (not city travelling if you know what I mean) and then at the end have a week's beach relaxation. What would any of you suggest? We were thinking of going in February, would this be the best time to go? Any help is greatly welcomed!!!
Thanks
L
Answers:
I've just come back from a very similar trip! We visited friends in Melbourne for a few days then hired a car and travelled around the national parks a bit. February is a great time to be in that part of Australia. I would ordinarily recommend you take an internal flight to Queensland (they are dirt cheap) but it will be rainy season up there so it's probably best avoided.
We hired a car and drove down the Great Ocean Road, which is an absolute must. It's a stunning drive, and although touristey, definitely worth at least a couple of days. We stayed in a pretty place called Apollo Bay, which in my opinion is one of the nicest towns on the Great Ocean Road.
If you are going to be staying in Victoria, then Philip Island is also worth a look - penguins visit the beach every evening at sunset and are very cute!
There are hundreds of national parks within a short drive of Melbourne. Wilson's Prom is also beautiful - great walks, loads of wildlife and fantastic beaches.
If you want to see more of Australia than just Victoria, then I personally love Sydney and the surrounding area as well. The city itself is fab but it is also surrounded by pretty beaches and national parks. But if you are dead against a city, another of my favourite spots is Byron Bay, 10 hours drive north of Sydney on the east coast.
So my suggestion for 10 days would be to hire a car from Melbourne, take in the sights of Victoria, then maybe take an internal flight to Sydney or Byron for a couple of days. You can check out the internal flight prices with the following carriers:
www.jetstar.com.au
www.virginblue.com.au
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask! I lived in Australia for a year and try and get back there every 2 years or so for a visit.
Answers:
thanks for that info! I've just spent ages looking at sites on Philip Island, it looks lovely, how long would you say to stay there for?
We want to see as much as possible while we are in Aus, where would you say to go for beaches?
How long does it take for the Gt Ocean Road?
Also how long would it take to get to Ayres Rock?
Thanks for the help!!!
L
Answers:
Ayers Rock (Uluru) is a couple of hours' flight away. It's definitely worth seeing if you're only going to go to Australia once but be warned - it's not cheap to be there and it's exhausting and will be absolutely stinking hot in February,
Having said that, I think it's one of the most special places on earth despite the millions of tourists. Spectacularly beautiful, I love it.
If you go, book that sector of your trip in advance. There are four hotels in the complex plus one luxury hotel that's fiendishly expensive but is away from the hordes - Longitude 131. Personally I'd go for the Lost Camel, which is one of the four on the Yulara complex. I stayed at Sails in the Desert last year and it wasn't worth the money - rather tired and in need of a refurb. You can see all the accommodation options here.
Plan for three nights there, which gives you enough time to do a sunrise and a sunset at Ayers Rock itself plus a couple of other things. I'd highly recommend the Valley of the Winds walk through the Olgas (Kata Tjuta) which for my money are much more beautiful and interesting than Ayers Rock itself. Also well worth doing is the night talk about the stars, which are totally amazing there because the skies are so dark. This sounds mad but if you can book your trip up there when the moon is waning or best, new, as a full moon can really drown out the stars.
Qantas flies up to AYQ (the airport for Ayers Rock) a couple of times a day from the major cities - book that online via the Qantas website, it will be cheaper than doing it via your travel agent.
Oh, and don't miss Sydney, which is the most beautiful city on the planet. If I were you I'd do something like fly into Melbourne, go to the wedding and spend 10 or so days in Victoria with a car, do the Great Ocean Road, Philip Island etc, then fly up to Ayers Rock for three nights and then back down to Sydney for the final week or few days of your trip and home from there. BA/Qantas usually has deals around tha twill give you a stopover in Asia each way (worth stopping for a night in a bed, it's a fecking long way) and a couple of domestic flights in Oz for around £700 plus taxes.
ETA, agree that it's not a great time of year for Queensland, save that for another trip in our summer. February is hot as hell and can be very wet and overcast.
Hi all,
Hubby and I are looking to go to Australia next year to see a friend in Melbourne. We are going for 3 weeks and have no idea where to go, what to see etc. We know that we would like to go to Melbourne first for a few days, then have a week to 10 days travelling about seeing wildlife, great sights (not city travelling if you know what I mean) and then at the end have a week's beach relaxation. What would any of you suggest? We were thinking of going in February, would this be the best time to go? Any help is greatly welcomed!!!
Thanks
L
Answers:
I've just come back from a very similar trip! We visited friends in Melbourne for a few days then hired a car and travelled around the national parks a bit. February is a great time to be in that part of Australia. I would ordinarily recommend you take an internal flight to Queensland (they are dirt cheap) but it will be rainy season up there so it's probably best avoided.
We hired a car and drove down the Great Ocean Road, which is an absolute must. It's a stunning drive, and although touristey, definitely worth at least a couple of days. We stayed in a pretty place called Apollo Bay, which in my opinion is one of the nicest towns on the Great Ocean Road.
If you are going to be staying in Victoria, then Philip Island is also worth a look - penguins visit the beach every evening at sunset and are very cute!
There are hundreds of national parks within a short drive of Melbourne. Wilson's Prom is also beautiful - great walks, loads of wildlife and fantastic beaches.
If you want to see more of Australia than just Victoria, then I personally love Sydney and the surrounding area as well. The city itself is fab but it is also surrounded by pretty beaches and national parks. But if you are dead against a city, another of my favourite spots is Byron Bay, 10 hours drive north of Sydney on the east coast.
So my suggestion for 10 days would be to hire a car from Melbourne, take in the sights of Victoria, then maybe take an internal flight to Sydney or Byron for a couple of days. You can check out the internal flight prices with the following carriers:
www.jetstar.com.au
www.virginblue.com.au
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask! I lived in Australia for a year and try and get back there every 2 years or so for a visit.
Answers:
thanks for that info! I've just spent ages looking at sites on Philip Island, it looks lovely, how long would you say to stay there for?
We want to see as much as possible while we are in Aus, where would you say to go for beaches?
How long does it take for the Gt Ocean Road?
Also how long would it take to get to Ayres Rock?
Thanks for the help!!!
L
Answers:
Ayers Rock (Uluru) is a couple of hours' flight away. It's definitely worth seeing if you're only going to go to Australia once but be warned - it's not cheap to be there and it's exhausting and will be absolutely stinking hot in February,
Having said that, I think it's one of the most special places on earth despite the millions of tourists. Spectacularly beautiful, I love it.
If you go, book that sector of your trip in advance. There are four hotels in the complex plus one luxury hotel that's fiendishly expensive but is away from the hordes - Longitude 131. Personally I'd go for the Lost Camel, which is one of the four on the Yulara complex. I stayed at Sails in the Desert last year and it wasn't worth the money - rather tired and in need of a refurb. You can see all the accommodation options here.
Plan for three nights there, which gives you enough time to do a sunrise and a sunset at Ayers Rock itself plus a couple of other things. I'd highly recommend the Valley of the Winds walk through the Olgas (Kata Tjuta) which for my money are much more beautiful and interesting than Ayers Rock itself. Also well worth doing is the night talk about the stars, which are totally amazing there because the skies are so dark. This sounds mad but if you can book your trip up there when the moon is waning or best, new, as a full moon can really drown out the stars.
Qantas flies up to AYQ (the airport for Ayers Rock) a couple of times a day from the major cities - book that online via the Qantas website, it will be cheaper than doing it via your travel agent.
Oh, and don't miss Sydney, which is the most beautiful city on the planet. If I were you I'd do something like fly into Melbourne, go to the wedding and spend 10 or so days in Victoria with a car, do the Great Ocean Road, Philip Island etc, then fly up to Ayers Rock for three nights and then back down to Sydney for the final week or few days of your trip and home from there. BA/Qantas usually has deals around tha twill give you a stopover in Asia each way (worth stopping for a night in a bed, it's a fecking long way) and a couple of domestic flights in Oz for around £700 plus taxes.
ETA, agree that it's not a great time of year for Queensland, save that for another trip in our summer. February is hot as hell and can be very wet and overcast.