Australia 2022

[Emlemily]

Firstly is this even likely to be possible in October 2022?

We're planning on a 3.5 week trip to Oz in October 2022. This is going to be a once in a lifetime trip. I had cancer last year and my critical illness plan paid out a nice little lump sum and I've always wanted to go to Australia so I want to use some of the money for a really special trip. We've had a travel consultant pice up an itinerary for us which comes in at around £7.5k. It's a lot of money and I want to make sure that I get my money's worth iykwim. DH won't hire a car and has an aversion to driving overseas so we need to fly between cities. Any critique of our plan is welcome! We've not booked yet so want to make sure it's as good as it can be. Any suggestions for places to go in each destination would be great too.

The plan we've come up with is this:

Fly into Adelaide. I have family there so we'd spend 4 nights in the city.
Fly to Alice Springs for 2 nights then onto Uluru for 2 nights
Fly to Cairns for 4 nights
Fly to Brisbane - 4 nights
Fly to Sydney. Meet up with friends and stay 4 nights
Fly to Melbourne stay 3 nights
Fly home from Melbourne

The price we've been quoted includes all accommodation in 4 star hotels and apartments and all international and domestic flights.

You need longer in Melbourne - and make sure you do the Great Ocean Road drive or get a tour along it (you can do small group tours for the day - it's a long day but worth it). You'll see kangaroos and koalas in the wild if you do that (tour guides know where to stop to see them). It's a stunning drive. I also recommend the Penguin Parade at Philip Island. It might sound cheesy and touristy but it's amazing!! You can get a minibus there and back (I recommend the Little Penguin Bus) and it's worth paying the extra to upgrade to the ranger tour. It really is a magical experience.

I'm a huge Tasmania fan but it's hard to do it justice in a few days so make sure you pick one area to focus on if you go. I went to the "wild" North West, focussing on Cradle Mountain and Strahan. You'll be limited in Tassie if you don't drive (unless you base yourselves in Hobart) but the driving is so easy as roads are really quiet.

I wouldn't stay 2 nights in Alice Springs but I found 2 nights in Uluru was just right.

Substitute Cairns for Port Douglas

Substitute Brisbane for Noosa and Fraser Island .

On drive south to Sydney drop into the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Byron Bay

Enjoy the view in Sydney from the cafe on the roof of the Contemporary Art Museum .

Train to the Blue Mountains .

The Sydney Bridge Climb is amazing.

Food in Melbourne is amazing in the lanes , behind secret doors ….

Great fish in St Kilda

Phillip Island penguins at dusk ..so cute .

Have an amazing time .

Forgot to say that the drive from Brisbane to Sydney isn’t very interesting, lots of sugar plantations. The roads were empty when we did it , nothing like England motoring. Until you get to Sydney where parking is extremely expensive and it’s crowded. Buses , ferries and trains are brilliant there , and I’m a driving fanatic.
Ferries around Sydney are great fun and perfect for sight seeing.

Last post from me !
There is a beautiful walk from Bondi ( which is a bit meh , but has to be seen ) to Coogee .
Incredible views and beaches . Bus back to the city .

Firstly, I wouldn't book anything for next year...the borders will be closed till at least mid-year.
Secondly, that's too much flying after you've just flown for 20+hours. Have you factored in travel times to/from airport, check in/baggage claim (you'll be expected to check in 2 hrs before the flight) and the actual times of the flight? If you have a midday flight you might as well write off one day of sightseeing.
I would skip Brisbane, you're already going to 3 major cities. Maybe add Tasmania on instead for those 3 days? Short flight from Melbourne and you'll see a totally different side of Oz, is very similar to the south island NZ. Second Port Douglas over Cairns.
You'll have an amazing trip either way
What's your budget spending money? Australia is expensive so eating out/activities will add up

I lived in Port Douglas for several years, now live in the UK but visit Australia every few years to visit my father who lives near Toowoomba (inland from Brisbane). We usually add on a visit to a different part of Australia or New Zealand whilst we are in that part of the world, and my best advice is to choose two areas at most to visit in that 3½ weeks, otherwise you'll spend too much time just recovering from travelling and not really experiencing the area. It's impossible to cover much of Australia in that time, so better to narrow it down and and spend a reasonable amount of time in fewer places, in my experience. More enjoyable and relaxing! If you want the greatest contrasts, then you could fly into Cairns, transfer to Port Douglas and spend 6 or 7 days there - reef, beaches, rainforest, etc. Then you could fly down to Melbourne or Tasmania, depending upon whether you prefer city or countryside and spend the second half of your holiday there, and fly home from Melbourne. I would love to be visiting in again in 2022, but think it's likely to be questionable so aiming for 2023.

I’d be so surprised if Aus opens its borders and you’re risking a lot by wanting to go through each state. As a pp says the premiers keep slamming the borders shut when there’s an outbreak (less then 10 cases).

I’m English but have lived here for 5 years and been everywhere on your itinerary bar cairns and Uluru (supposed to go for my 30th but cancelled due to covid…)

I would definitely spend more time in Melbourne and Sydney and less in Adelaide (really tiny, as in one mile square) and Brisbane (second a pp, go to Noosa instead, it’s wonderful).

Happy to send some restaurant and cafe recommendations if you tell me what you’re into.

3.5 weeks will fly by. Especially bearing in mind your jet lag may be tough on the way out if you’re not used to such a big flight.

I have a rogue suggestion, have you considered going to tassie? Wineglass bay and Hobart are incredible. The museum of modern art is probably one of the coolest places I’ve ever been and I know everyone who’s visited has loved it. Just a thought.

Oh and if you want to see koalas I would do the great ocean road drive (your husband will be blown away by the scenery). There’s heaps of wild koala in otway National park. To be honest though kangaroos are every bloody where. If you want to see lots of wildlife tassie is the place. We saw wombats, echidnas etc etc.

In Melbourne skip the Philip island penguins and go to the end of St Kilda pier where there is a wild colony close to the city.

Tough call about whether you’ll be able to get here in 2022. Our government has announced it does roadmap out of lockdowns but they’ve not actually shared with us when that will be. I will hinge on when we have a certain percentage of our population vaccination and at the moment it’s painfully slow, we’re at something like 9%. And then right after that announcement, the delta variant is running rampant through NSW and has just jumped the border to Victoria. So who knows really.

As for your itinerary, I do agree that it’s a lot of flying. I always think it’s nicer to stay in fewer places for longer stretches of time but I get that oz is so big and there’s lots to see.

Agree with PP about getting on The Gan from Adelaide instead of flying to Alice, absolute one in a lifetime experience.

Also wouldn’t recommend cairns, give that a miss and spend less time traveling.

Four nights or longer is enough time for Adelaide there is plenty to do. Don't put off by the Adelaide haters.