Australia - once in a lifetime trip. Tips please!

[MrsMigginsCat]

After an unexpected windfall, DH and I are going to Oz for just over 3 weeks in October. The itinerary is already set - we've used a travel consultant so all hotels and internal flights are booked - we have 4 nights in Melbourne, 4 nights in Adelaide, 2 nights in Alice Springs, 2 nights at Uluru, 4 nights in Cairns and 6 nights in Sydney.

We've got a few things we definitely want to do; DH wants to climb Sydney Harbour Bridge - I'm not keen on edges, so I'll watch from a cafe below! A trip to Fitzroy Island and/or the Great Barrier Reef. Cairns to Kuranda on the Scenic Railway so I can cuddle a koala at the Koala Gardens and we already have a sunset BBQ booked for Uluru. I'm a bit of a history buff, so any must see museums are right up my street. We're into nice, but not wildly expensive restaurants, live music bars and good coffee.

All recommendations welcome to help with the planning!

Oh and Bondi beach to Cogee beach walk in Sydney. Amazing, beautiful.

If that's the order of your trip and you're set on keeping Adelaide, I'd arrive there, get over your jet lag (which usually hits day 2/3) then head to Melbourne.

I was very lucky to have a gap year (18 months) and spent about 11 months in Australia. Adelaide I'd ditch, nothing there (unless I somehow missed it?) I did an outback trip up to alice springs which left from there and decided to have a few days there, probably the dullest place I visited on my entire trip. Whitsunday islands and scuba diving off the great barrier reef are a must. I did a boat trip over a few days to the whitsunday islands, amazing and then a day trip on a massive catamaran where you could dive off the back. I also did a trip up to cape tribulation too, again amazing scenery. Fraser island is another trip but again a couple of days so you might not have time.

Sydney- botanical gardens are beautiful! A ferry to or from manly is a cost effective way to get on a boat and see fab views from the water.
I also as opposed suggest wouldn't stay for 6 days.

I really didn't like Melbourne but to grungy almost for me, maybe didn't see the right places! However did do the great ocean road and it was amazing.

Loved Adelaide, hahndorf is an old German town, completely surreal but lovely trip. As are the vineyards. Cleland wildlife park was amazing for up close encounters with kangaroos and koalas.

Great ocean Road trip, I forgot about that, we did a helicopter ride over the 12 apostles at sunset too, that was pretty amazing. So many things I did in Australia I've totally forgot about!

I'd ditch Adelaide too - I was really looking forward to it but it's a bit like being in a small Midlands town, not much to do and pretty underwhelming. You could use it as a base for winery tours I suppose but 4 days of winery tours might be a bit much...

Whitsundays are amazing! We stayed on Hamilton Island which was just incredible. We did a boat trip out to Whitehaven beach which was just beautiful!

You will have the most amazing time!

In Adelaide a trip to Kangaroo Island.
On the Fleurieu peninsula.
Wineries and great food. Star of Greece is a lovely restaurant in Port Willunga, great food and beautiful beach.
Barossa is also a good visit. Maybe look a a river boat trip on the Murray .
In Melbourne look at the ‘What’s on Melbourne’ site for all the latest. Last night there was a free candle light concert in Federation Square and last week a Koi instillation. ( not what it seems).
A couple of weeks ago was a free drone show over Docklands harbour.
Look for the hidden bars and live music. Free walking tours along with guided tours.
I also recommend the Great Ocean Road, but also a gold fields trip, if that interests you.
Have fun

I agree with some other posters. Adelaide is often described as a large, country town more than a city. You've booked it, and there are things to see and do, but I personally would have tried to include some of the West coast also- less touristy and cheaper than the East.

• Do a great ocean rd tour from Melbourne. Its a day trip, but includes some lovely sites like tall tree rain forests and the 12 apostles. Take along a light jacket/scarf. Even if its the middle of summer, there can be very squally, freezing winds on that coast from the Antarctica.

• The Adelaide hills have the town of Hahndorf. Rather touristy, but worth a look if you want something out of the city. In the city, they have a great fruit/veg market.

• Another vote for Taronga Zoo in Sydney. You can get a ferry across the harbour to it and the views a stunning. The zoo is set of a steep chill, so get the cable car to the top, then wander down the hill as the day goes on to get back to the ferry at the end of the day. Walking UP the hill is very tiring! Note that the space is very limited, so not a vast, open plan zoo you might see elsewhere.

• I've climbed the harbour bridge. I'm not great with heights, but actually found it fine. There was no point where you can look straight down. There is always a large, wide platform underneath so at most, you can only look outwards at the view. If you dont do it, there are lots to see/do in 'The Rocks' area nearby. They also have a market there every sat and Sun.

• Doyles is a famous seafood restaurant in Sydney. From the city centre I think there is a smaller ferry service, or you could get a water taxi. Views are lovely too.

• Again Sydney, the Botanical gardens are free to walk around, and an easy walk from most central Sydney hotels

• The Australian museum in the city centre (similar to the Natural hospital but smaller) is free and worth a look. Special exhibits have a fee.

• Bondi- Coogee walk has some lovely views and during your visit, they have the sculptures by the sea exhibits. Again, its free to walk along the coast- which is a mix of concrete promenade, steps, grassed areas and pavements. You can walk along the path as long or far as you like and either just walk back, or get a bus back from wherever you get to. sculpturebythesea.com/bondi/

You should take the ferry from Sydney to Manley Beach.

If you can change the configuration at all, I would reduce the Sydney and Adelaide days. 3 full days in Sydney is enough- 1 harbour bridge/ opera house sightseeing etc/ 1 blue mountains/ 1 beach- personally I prefer Manly but you may like Bondi or Coogee.

I’d increase time in Cairns and try to fit in Mossman and Cape Tribulation and more time in the Tablelands than just Kuranda, the waterfall circuit in the southern part of the Tablelands is stunning.

Melbourne is one of the best places for museums, history, coffee. Immigration museum is great. Great Ocean Road trip is beautiful.

Try and get in at least one wine tour- Barossa from Adelaide or Hunter Valley from Sydney if you can’t shorten that part.
Uluru is beautiful.
I’ve been travelling around Aus working for almost 4 years now and the most beautiful places I’ve been to are Far North Queensland and Tassie. You have a bit of FNQ but won’t have time to add Tassie this trip but keep it in mind for next time. Get out of the cities as much as possible. For the most part they’re like any modern city- high rise and all about the shopping/ money-making. It’s Australia’s wildlife and landscape that make it so spectacular in my opinion.

If I had a choice between Adelaide and Tasmania, I would chose Tasmania. I can see why you are going to Adelaide though, sets you up for the outback

While you’re at Uluru do try to get to Kata Tjuta as well, absolutely stunning.

Dinner under the stars at Uluru is also excellent, we had a First Nations star guide to tell Dreamtime stories of the constellations, it was fantastic.

I’m also questioning why Adelaide but I’ve never been a massive fan.

I’d take a couple of your Sydney nights up in the Blue Mountains - totally different landscapes and so beautiful.

I loved breakfast with the koalas in Sydney. Apparently koalas sleep 23 hours of the day, they basically wake up for an hour in the morning to eat early in the morning, so this way you can see them at their most active.

www.wildlifesydney.com.au/tickets-passes/experiences/breakfast-with-the-koalas/

Oh no, just realised it's saying that it's currently unavailable. Might be a temporary Covid thing, hopefully will be back by October.

I'm from Sydney. Definitely do Taronga Zoo and the Bondi to Bronte walk (but would continue on to Coogee). When in Manly go to Shelly Beach. There are also fairy penguins in Manly that are cute to see. I personally prefer the harbour beaches to the coastal beaches in Sydney as the surf can be quite rough. The best harbour beach being Balmoral. Neilson Park (Shark Beach - don''t worry, there's a net) is good too and you could make a day trip out of it (with an uber) if you add Watson's Bay which is where you get good fish and chips. There is a nice cliff walk and a great place for drinks there at the watson's bay hotel, plus an easy ferry back to Circular Quay.

I want to also add do day/evening drinks at Opera Bar and the rooftop of the Glenmore Hotel is fab but you might have to book a table. Also try to do a dinner at a restaurant along Woolloomoloo wharf. It's a bit expensive but lovely at sunset.

Anyway, basically there is a huge cafe culture in all of Australia so embrace the coffee,brunch and early morning lifestyle.

1. Daintree Rainforest when in Cairns - one of my favourite places ever

2 Blue Mountains / Three Sisters walk when in Sydney

Wow, loads of replies! Thank you.

The destinations are already fixed as flights are booked and I don't think they can be amended now.

We've purposely done 6 days in Sydney as we are planning on meeting up with friends for the weekend we are there so that still gives us a few days to do stuff we want to do.

We used Freedom Destinations to organise the trip and they've been really helpful. We said roughly where we wanted to go, and a rough duration and they came up with the itinerary.

The Daintree Rainforest is a great suggestion @LegallyBlende as is the Blue Mountains/Three Sisters. I was looking at that the other day.

I have family in Adelaide so we may meet up with them on one of the days we are there. The Immigration Museum looks like it might be my cup of tea too - thanks @pastypirate (Are you in Cornwall by any chance? We are too!) I didn't know about the women's museum in Alice Springs so thank you for that suggestion @WeegieWan.

We're defo up for some wine tasting somewhere! Yarra Valley or the Hunter Valley depending on where we fit it in would be good.

I've set an spreadsheet and am gradually filling in each day with ideas. I think it's going to be pretty full on so am also leaving a couple of days just to relax as well!

I'm super-excited - it was a bit of a punt as to whether we'd be able to go when we booked it, but it all looks good now. It's all amendable anyway so if covid does do something random, we can move it on.

OP I was a bit dismissive of Adelaide before but if you are definitely going I have a few more ideas to pad out your stay!

• The Zoo is the only one in Australia with Giant Pandas.
• Central Market is interesting for foodies.
• There's an indigenous restaurant called Red Ochre where you can eat kangaroo and crocodile and things.
• Cool little wine bars and cafes in the laneways off Rundle St.
• Haighs chocolate and Coopers brewery are Adelaide institutions.
• If you get a warm sunny day, a tram to Glenelg Beach, it's lovely, and facing west for gorgeous sunsets over the water.

Enjoy!

Hi. I’m in Cairns and have lived here most of my life.

Fitzroy Island is amazing and one of my favourite places on Earth. However, you won’t see the Great Barrier Reef on Fitzroy Island. It has some very basic coral and nothing spectacular. It is quite close to Cairns and you won’t get the amazing outer reef experience. Great island for swimming in crystal clear waters and beautiful (but spikey!) white coral beaches.

If visiting the Great Barrier Reef is on your bucket list, I would recommend a day trip from Port Douglas on a vessel like Wave Length.

If you have time when at Uluru, try to get to Kata Tjuta - which is a cluster of rock formations that you can walk around (there's a short route and longer route). Take plenty of water and a hat, it will be hot!

@CakeAmbushAlert we've paid just under £8k which includes return flights, all internal flights, accommodation in 4* hotels and a couple of trips at Alice Springs and Uluru. With spends, I reckon we'll not see much change from £12/13k. Its a once in a lifetime trip so we intend to do as much as we can while we're there. It feels really frivolous - we're more used to a couple of weeks self catering in the Med, but I had cancer two years ago and the money is from an insurance payout. It's made me (and DH) realise that life is too short and precious not to enjoy it while you're here.

Thanks for info @MrsMigginsCat absolutely life is for living & it sounds live a wonderful trip, enjoy!!

If you’re in Oz for the 1st November try and arrange something / book in for Melbourne cup day . We arrived in Sydney that day and hadn’t arranged anything but it was crazy to see all the locals glammed up and celebrating.. hard ! Champagne and fun could be a good way to end your trip.

My DH is terrified of heights but made it over the Sydney harbour bridge. You must do it, it's a once in a life opportunity, he loved it!

Taro has zoo. Manley beach (better than Bondi), darling harbour aquarium.

Enjoy!