Hopefully you can help me
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The missus and I are going to Oz for a month to do the East Coast run. We will probably fly into Sydney in March 2009 and out of Brisbane in April. We’ve not been to Oz before and we want to see Sydney, Brisbane, Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef and we’re intending to travel up the east coast from Sydney to Cairns.
We were considering driving or getting the bus between the hubs of Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns but would probably prefer flying between them and then possibly hiring a car or doing excursions. We’re a bit confused about how to get around and the time constraint that we have - would flying between them be a better idea or would we miss too much by doing this?
What would you recommend we should do and see? e.g. Byron Bay, Noosa etc.
How long do you reckon we should stay in Sydney - we want to see the Blue Mountains for maybe 1 day - is 5 nights enough time? What else is a must do in Sydney?
What are the places you reckon we must not miss? We’re swimming (drowning) in guides etc and any advice you could give would be brilliant.
Cheers.
Tony
Reply to this Hello Tony 😊
I moved this to the Oceania forum.
Mel
Reply to this Hi Tony,
I think you can definitely do Sydney in 5 days. You can do the Blue Mountains and some of the beaches such as Manly Beach or Bondi Beach. I also recommend Byron Bay, Airlie Beach (so you can head to the Whitsunday Islands). From Cairns, I'd try to get to Cape Tribulation as well (there are group and individual day tours you can take if you'd like). Frasier Island is also great as well and I definitely recommend doing a night or so there. I believe it's a world heritage site - Hervey Bay is the jumping off point for getting to Frasier Island. I didn't spend much time in Noosa so I cannot say much about that. You might be able to do a combination of fly and drive. I was in college when I travelled so did the backpacker tour via bus, and though I had fun I cannot say I would recommend it as the most effiecient way, esp for non-colllege students :-)
Reply to this Hey Tony,
I pretty much agree with IUMy23 - she's suggested the best places to visit.
My suggestion would be to use Syd, Bris and Cairns as your main flying points and then as you had already thought, do a combo of day trips + car hire. Definitely don't try and drive that - it's a huge distance!
So when you're in Bris, drive to Byron (you can't miss this surfie town! It rocks!). Stay say 2 nights so you can have some time to explore the hinterland around the Gold Coast and Byron, there are some really beautiful places around there.
From Bris, you can also drive up to Noosa - it's well worth a visit and if you do end up going, you've gotta do this
Stand Up Surfing . Totally random, totally only-in-Australia and it made our stop in Noosa an absolute crack up!
From Bris you can also fly up to Mackay/Airlie Beach to get to the Whitsundays. There are heaps of trips you can do from there - even jump on one of the sailing boats and do a 3 or 5 day trip. An awesome experience and I reckon a must!
Hope this is of some help - enjoy your travels - wish I was doing it all again myself!
Reply to this Hi Tony
We are about to go to Oz for a month to do exactly what you are planning to do next year . We are off in 2 weeks time . We will fly from London (UK) to Bangkok for a couple of nights to chill out, then onwards to Sydney where we will pick the car up and will drive all the way to Cooktown in North Queensland . We have been to Oz twice before , but never drove so much . It's exciting because we don't have any hotels booked apart from the first night in Sydney and the next one in the Blue Mountains . We had spent almost a week in Sydney 2 years ago , so we will skip it this time , but Sydney is a great place so you need a few days there if you have not been there before . I'm planning to start the blog about this trip ( and any future trips hopefully) so you can some tips from us as we go along .
By the way, does anybody know any great place to stay the night in Cooktown? I think it is quite a small town...
cheers
Saskia
UK
Reply to this If you're looking for something to do I must recommend the travel website offering instant bookings: www.godo.com.au it's all online and i've used it heaps of times when my boyfriend and I feel like a weekend away 😊 Last holiday we did the Reef Cruise and White Water Rafting Package http://www.godo.com.au/activity/SUCR105/?categoryID=12&subcategoryId=0®ion_id=0&state_id=0
So amazing!
I wish you all th best with your travels!
Reply to this We did the east cost. The beaches along there are beautiful. I would also recommend Magnetic Island. It is located 20 minutes off Townsville. Townsville is near to Cairns so you could could visit there while you are checking out the great barrier reef.
For the great barrier reef I can also recommend http://www.reefmagic.com.au/. If you have never been diving, you can give it a try. If you don't like it you don't pay. The boat takes you out to the reef but docks at a deck so you are not stuck on a boat it you want a rest. They include snorkelling and a semi submersible, while other companies only include one of those activities when you book and you have to pay for the other. Also a photographer gets in the water with you and takes photos of you and a sea cumber and the local Maori Wrasse fish called “Wally”. I will never forget that experience.
I wouldn't even bother staying in Brisbane. Get straight to Byron Bay or Hervey Bay when you arrive. You can stay on a boat at the Whitsundays if you like that sort of thing. This might be a better option then staying at Airlie beach.
The Bondi to Coogee coastal walk is a must do in Sydney, as the beaches are breath taking.
You can get a free guide to Sydney when you land there. We didn't even bother looking at guide books before we left. The internet is a wonderful thing.
Reply to this Hey Tony,
I found this website when i on the net,
might be use? Reply to this I just got back from just over a month doing the east coast. Highlights had to be Byron Bay, Airlie Beach and Magnetic Island. Personally I find it hard to warm to Sydney and Brisbane when you are only there for a short amount for time. Manly is gorgeous is Sydney though. After 2 days I was kind of like, what now??Have an amazing time!!!
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