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!

Sorry - just not enough time . If only we could have 4 weeks!

Nobody seems to have mentioned this yet, but Australia's really big. Don't try to do everything or you'll be knackered and end up not liking the pace as much as you might.

A friend did just this last year and regretted not spending as much time in the cities Melbourne and Sydney in the effort to tear around. Oz isn't much smaller than the US and you wouldn't think of doing that in 3 weeks, even accounting for the distribution of cities.

Have fun.

Take the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly - great views and Manly is a nice place for a wander (good beach there too if it's hot enough).

Speaking of beaches, if your kids are fans of Home and Away take a trip up to Palm Beach (looks like a long way away but the L90 bus goes from the city up along the coast). If you're hiring a car and driving it would be worth stopping at Newport and Avalon on the way.

You can also hire boats at Palm Beach and go across Pittwater to beaches only accessible by boat.

Paddington Market (held on Saturday mornings) would also be fun with older kids. Take the bus along Oxford Street or walk up from Hyde Park and stop at the funky shops along the way.

The best Thai in Sydney has to be Thai Nesia on Oxford Street. For pizza try Pizza Zino at the Rocks. Doyles at Watsons Bay is famous for seafood or try fish and chips at it's kiosk next door (again, you can get the ferry across from Circular Quay). The James Squire Brewery at King Street Wharf (Darling Harbour) does good beer and pub food.

Sydney Aquarium is worth a visit, as is the Maritime Museum (both in Darling Harbour). Your boys might be a bit old for Wildlife World, though my 14 year old still enjoys it. If you want to see Aussie wildlife on a grander scale you would need to go to somewhere like Featherdale Wildlife Park - not sure how you would get there on public transport but you must be able to.

With kids your boys' ages you've got to try surfing. Manly surf school run lessons every day at North Manly beach.

Do be aware though, it does get cold in Sydney in July/August! We arrived last year at the end of June and the first couple of months were much colder than we expected.