We're going to Australia for our holidays! Help with itinerary, please!

[BecauseImWorthIt]

Have been thinking about this for a while and have decided to do it next summer.

DCs will be 16 and 13.

We can take 3 weeks, and I would like to break the journey up by making the first stopover in Singapore. We have friends there with whom we can stay for a couple of days. On the return journey I want to go via San Francisco, if poss, as I've never been there.

We also have friends in Sydney, so some time there will be essential - but apart from that the rest of the time I'm not sure about.

We'll be going end July/early August.

Any tips/experiences very gratefully received!

You're coming in the winter?

Anyhoo, do you like wine? If so Hunter Valley is amazing. Plenty for the DC to do as well of course.

I'll let the locals fill you in on the rest. I've only moved between Sydney and the Gold Coast [doesn't get holiday pay emoticon]

I know it will be the winter, but I figured that the North/East coast will still be quite hot? And Sydney is so fab that you could see it any time of year!

I did a similar trip had 4 wks at beginning of august. Even though it was winter there it was hot (about 27-28 degrees) and we had an amazing time.
Recommendations:
YOU HAVE TO GO TO BYRON BAY !!!!!
Sydney is lovely, very clean, dont pre-book accom, get a room from the airport accom people, we stayed in 4* all seasons menzies for approx £32 a night for a family room.
Make sure you go to the Rocks for the market and eat corn on the cob
Fly wherever you can, the bus is a killer
I was disappointed with San Fran when we came back. Also coming back through the states is a killer.

Oh and YOU MUST GO TO BYRON BAY (did i get my point across)

Not sure - did someone mention Byron Bay?

Right - have to get ready for work now - will check in later!

Hi

We went there in their winter; nice time to go. The only bad weather we encountered was a day and a half of rain in Sydney.

Re Byron Bay yes its very lovely (the lighthouse is where Australia's most easterly point is) but you need to stay on the Gold Coast to get there. Its about an hour or so south of Surfers Paradise (don't stay there!).

Virgin Blue are good to use if you need flights within Australia. They fly from Coolangatta (Gold Coast airport) to Sydney on a regular basis - flight duration is one hour.

As for SF it will be pleasant there in August but do book accommodation beforehand. Also US immigration can be a big PITA.

Personally I wouldn't spend more than 3/4 days in any of the cities because although they are nice cities to live in, there isn't all that much to see from a tourist pov, being relatively "new".

It depends on how far you want to travel. Perfectly feasible to travel up the coast from Sydney to Cairns in 3 weeks, stopping off along the way, with a few side trips to various islands/inland areas. Or if you want to go further afield you could spend a few days in Sydney, go to places like the Blue Mountains, fly to Cairns, see the Great Barrier reef, take a trip up to the rainforest, etc then fly to somewhere in the NT - I love Alice Springs, lots to do around there plus you could take a trip to Uluru/Ayers Rock from there. Darwin is also good.

But tbh 3 weeks isn't a whole lot of time (especially if that's the total length of your holiday including stopovers). I think yuor options are to see quite a bit of one part of the country or do a whistle-stop tour seeing the highlights of the whole place (which would probably be more expensive as you would need lots of internal flights).

You will have a great time whatever you decide to do!

Which way do you reckon it would be best to fly? UK > Singapore > Australia --> San Francisco, or the other way round, going to San Francisco first and coming back from Australia via Singapore?

Ok, now I've established you're here in Winter I can drag out my trusty copy of 'Holidays with Kids' Australia and advise.

What sort of family are you? Are you snorkelling outdoorsy types? Do you like camping or animals or geography? Are you after a few days in the sun (ie going quite a bit up the coast from Sydney or even Cairns in the NT?).

Let me know and I'll give you some pointers. There is so much to do here - the Hunter Valley, or Dolphin Islands or Camping at great resorts, using motor homes to explore and camp wherever you like, lots and lots of outdoorsy stuff and animals, beautiful island resorts with palm trees, Uluru etc.

Don't know much about Sydney and such but can take care of the South East Queensland aspects.

If you choose to stay at Gold Coast you can do a day trip to Byron Bay as well as spend time doing the theme parks on the Gold Coast. You can get 3 day super pass to 3 theme parks.

You could then pop up to the Sunshine Coast. Am sure there would be shuttles. It is about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours from Gold Coast. Noosa, Eumundi Markets, Montville and a day trip to Fraser Island would be good. If you were a Steve Irwin fan you can also do Australia Zoo. Even if not a fan it is a fab zoo to see.

Brisbane itself is okay but not a lot tourist wise.

Airlie Beach/Whitsunday is gorgeous. You don't need to go all the way to cairns to see the Reef. Whitsunday Islands are fantastic for that.

Meant to add that a nice area to stay at the Gold Coast is Coolangatta area.

"Which way do you reckon it would be best to fly? UK > Singapore > Australia --> San Francisco, or the other way round, going to San Francisco first and coming back from Australia via Singapore?"

First routing you gave without a shadow of a doubt. Trust me, you do not want to be a transit pax travelling via the US to Australia. It is a complete and utter PITA of a process.

Its a fair old distance from the Gold Coast up to the Sunshine Coast. There is a tour company that do a day trip from the Gold coast up to Australia Zoo but did not see any details of companies taking people further north by shuttle bus.

If your children do the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb you will have to provide proof of the childrens' ages using their passports when you check in.

You cannot drink any alcohol prior to climbing and you also cannot take your own camera with you.

They do three climbs during the day and there are two routes to choose from. The dawn climb is the dearest and the ones during the middle of the day are the cheapest.

Goodness I'm getting excited already - so many lovely things to do!

We are not an especially active family - dh can't swim or ride a bike which severely curtails our activities! - but me and the boys enjoy swimming and snorkelling. Would like it to be a mixture of seeing things wuth a bit of R & R in the sun.

Re journeying via the US, I plan for us to stay in San Francisco for a couple of days, so we wouldn't just be transit PAX.

thanks for all your ideas so far!

OK, so you'll need to come into Sydney. Spend a couple of days doing the Opera House (which is truly fantastic - maybe get a show in, or just sit outside in the Opera Bar on the harbour looking at the bridge and Sydney skyline), bridge and ferries, maybe Taronga Zoo (quick ferry ride from Circular Quay near Opera House) to do the obligatory koalas, roos and deadly stuff.

Then nip 2 hours north to the Hunter Valley (on the way, literally just off the freeway is Featherdale wildlife park which is worth a visit for lots of native animals), get in some wine tasting/horse riding/spa treatments/ballooning etc etc (just google Hunter Valley, there's heaps to do). The wine tasting is fanastic. Elton John is playing at the Tempus Two winery in a couple of months - just a tiny stage in front of rows of vines (even if you think he's shite to be that close would be quite fab I think).

Anyhoo, I digress. So then you'd want to head North up towards Brisbane and Cairns to get the sun. On the Gold Coast near Brisbane there are lots of theme parks, waterworld, sea life etc which the teens might like.

There are also lots of Islands, like Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort - one of the only places in the world where you can wade into the water and feed wild dolpins. There's also whale watching there in winter. Flightcentre.com.au has lots of details on islands off the Gold Coast.

Farther North in North QLD is where it gets more tropical. The gateway is Cairns. From there you can do rainforests, the Great Barrier reef & lots of teen based adventure stuff. For golden sands & palm trees Port Douglas. Check out www.tropicalaustralia.com.au for info.

Have a look at www.holidayswithkids.com.au for more info.

Would certainly recommend a visit to the Botanical Gardens next to the Opera House. Worth it for the fruitbats flying through the treetops alone.

One of the ferry routes also goes from Taronga Zoo to Watsons Bay which is where Doyles is situated. If you like eating seafood and fish this is a place worth visiting for lunch. Walk ins are possible but if you want to get there for say 1pm you'll need to book a table in advance of your visit.

can I re-open this thread please to ask for help and advice re my trip next week? I'm off to Melbourne with my DCs (age nearly 7 and just 3). I'll be staying with my sister in Diamond Creek and then friends in Mount Eilza but would like to do soem touristy stuff in between.
Any recommendations please gratefully received. DS would like to see a rugby match or some night cricket perhaps. 3 year old DD will do as she's told

TIA

Sorry mckenzie to hijack your hijack of the thread () but just wanted to tell you all what we have booked:

Fly out to Sydney at end of July; stay for a week in an apartment hotel equidistant from Darling Harbour/Circular Quay

From Sydney to Brisbane, to Moreton Island, Tangalooma Dolphin Resort for 3 days

Back to Brisbane overnight, then up to Hamilton Island for 6 days.

Back to Sydney for one night then on to San Francisco for 3 nights.

Can't wait!

What no Byron Bay! I flew from Glasgow just to get married there.