Australia Summer Vacation

Hi great to hear you are coming to oz. 3 weeks is a good start there is a lot to do here and im not sure 15 days on the goldie is value for money. Queensland is great and you are right there is a lot to do on the gold coast however the rest of oz is a lot different. It will also depend on what time of year you intend to vist as the seasons can provide different options. The gold coast has all the theme parks , movie world , sea world , dream world and wet & wild most people will give at least one a go . Brisbane is also about an hours drive north and still further north is cairns and port dougless . There is the great barrier reef and the whitsunday group of islands easy access from bris.

Sydney not only has the opera house and the harbour bridge , wich you can climb with a group , but a great zoo also on the harbour heaps of beachs that are pretty nice , best in summer though, such as manly and bondi probably the two best known . You can also head out to the blue mountains with absailing and rock climbing avail.

Canberra south of Sydney is our nations capitol and as such is full of politicians , a good reason not to go ther , however in also has the national war meseum a must for seriouse history buffs.

If you come in our winter our ski fields are not far from canberra with there being several to choose from. The bigger ones are mt. buller , falls creek , perisher and mt. hotham.

South of these about 3 hours drive from mt.buller is melbourne the sporting capital of australia with Australian rules football (afl) virtually taking over the city through winter but also a rugby team called the melbourne storm and a couple of basketball teams and also a cricket team that calls the M.C.G. home.

West of Melb. is Adelaide 1 hour flight. home to Australias premier wine districts Mc laren vale , Barossa and Clare valleys all easily reached from Adelaide also great food and cafe culture around gouger street. Also art galleries and the museum and the best place to explore the real outback from with coober peady birdsville and the flinders all reachable from here.


Don't overlook Darwin for its great natural beauty and the way to not only kakadu but lichfield nation park. South of them is Alice Springs with uluru (ayres rock).

And out on the west coast is pearth with plenty to keep people busy.

Hope this gets you started

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Hi Luji!

Good to hear you are coming to Australia. You won't be disapointed.
However, i suggest that 16 days on the Gold Coast is a bit long. I probably suggest 8-10 days would be more than enough to see the themeparks, go to the beaches, see the hinterland, take a road trip to byron bay (a must! about hour and a half drive from surfers paradise) and shop. There isn't alot of 'extreme sports' activities to do here, unless you call fishing an extreme sport.
definietly go to sydney for a few days. i know a few people who have climbed the opera house and said it was definetly worth their money.

I also reccomend going to the great barrier reef. It is so beautiful and there are plenty of options of things to do i.e. snorkelling, scuba diving, sailing etc.

hope this helps! Reply to this

If you have a bit of extra money, it's worth taking a helicpoter ride over Sydney - it's amazing, you get about 25 minutes fly around and get the best views of Sydney. I never did the bridge climb (too scary for me!) but bear in mind if you do, that they don't allow you to take cameras up there.
Sydney aquarium is worth a visit as is Sydney Tower. And the Art Gallery of New South Wales is very good.
BTW - Claire - climbing the opera house??? do you mean the harbour bridge?! Reply to this

There's lots to do and see in Sydney.

Take a harbour tour. I suggest Water Taxi. It's not the flashiest company but I thought it was way more fun. They have a small boat with only a few people and it goes a lot faster than the cruise ships (but stops for photo opportunities).

I did the double-decker tour bus one day and it was lots of fun. In the morning we took the loop up to Bondi Beach and went for a nice hike along the water. In the afternoon we cruised the city, making a few stops to wander areas like The Rock, and the Harbour Bridge.

I never made it to the zoo but I hear it's fabulous.

I also saw a show at the Opera House, you should have a look at what's playing.

While in Sydney you should definitely take a trip to the Blue Mountains, which are gorgeous. You can join a day tour or take the train out and spend a couple of days exploring yourself.

Canberra I thought was a really pretty city. I went to visit Old and New Parliament which are both great buildings.

Instead of spending so long in the Gold Coast (never went but I hear it's not that exciting) you should head to another area. You could head south to Melbourne and Victoria. The Great Ocean road, which is just west of Melbourne, is stunning. If you keep going west, you get to Adelaide which is also really pretty.

Farther North in Queensland is also really nice. I went up to Cairns and saw the rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef which are both amazing.

After living in Perth for a year I have to say the West Coast is the Best Coast. However I don't know if you'll be able to make it out there in such a short trip. If you feel like going further, Broome (Northwestern corner) is quite possibly the most beautiful place in the entire world.

You can also visit the Northern Territory on the way. Uluru/Ayers Rock is fabulous, as is King's Canyon, both in the centre of the country, near Alice Springs. Up near Darwin Kakadu and Katherine Gorge are great.

Oh boy I could go on forever. I hope this info helps! Reply to this