Two weeks around Sydney/Cairns?

[rhubarbcrumbl]

Thinking of going next year only have two weeks. Was going to spend some time in Sydney then fly up to Cairns . Does this seem like a good plan?
Any recommendations or tips?

We flew from Sydney to Cairns a few years ago but then hired a car and drove to Port Douglas, which is about half an hour north of Cairns and is just lovely, so much nicer than Cairns, although I guess views will depend on age and what you’re looking for. Kuranda is a wonderful place to visit, it’s a bit north of Cairns and is a world heritage site, absolutely stunning.
If I were you, I’d get an early flight to Cairns, it’s only a 90 minute flight and would give you the most time. Cairns is busy with a nice vibe, PD is quieter but still has plenty of bars, restaurants etc, etc.

Definitely go up the coast a bit more from Cairns. As mentioned above, Port Douglas is lovely. There are also lovely places further north again from that.

Flight time Sydney to Cairns is 3 hours 5 minutes. A week in Sydney (and surrounds) and a week somewhere North would seem like a good split of time to me. If you let me know who is travelling and what you like to do I can give you some Sydney recommendations. Time of year is also important, if you are coming in our Winter - especially July/August - you might want to spent more time North but if you arrive in rainy season you might prefer more Sydney time.

Thankyou that would fantastic advice.
there are five of us. my husband, me my daughter her husband and my son.
I retired this year and would like a celebratory holiday.
none of us has been to australia before. the younger people can only get a limited amount of time off work so we are aiming to go over easter 2023 .
i was looking at renting an apartment for the week in sydney so any advice on where would be a good area. we wouldn't drive in sydney
then maybe port douglas?
a resort with a pool would nice or possibly another house.
would like to see nature snorkel etc but the younger people would like some nightlife.
we were going to take a side trip into uluru but it seems like too much airport time

Perhaps a night or two in cairns then port Douglas? Port Douglas is beachy and resorty, but absolutely you can go on trips to see animals etc- the crocodile place (has lots of other animals) and Mossman gorge. you could also instead go up to the daintrees- rainforest proper. Eg cape trib beach house is affordable but there are also stunning and $$$ eco lodges etc. (you can tell where I’d stay 🤣). No night life there though except for the bar at the place, but there should be night tours to spot wildlife (or just cane toads if the wildlife aren’t cooperating) Sydney has night life after all!
uluru is too much for the time, that’s the right call.

Darling Harbour is a good central place to stay in Sydney, lots of cafes and restaurants and right beside the train station.

Port Douglas is lovely and most of the reef tours go out from there. I think every hotel or resort will have a pool as a given up there.

I’ll come back to you tomorrow with some suggestions, it’s dinner time here now 😊

thankyou all all sounds great

Fly into Cairns from Sydney. Definitely do Karunda, suggest cable car up and rail back down. That’s a full day. Also Hartley’s crocodile farm, a good half a day there so suggest doing it while going from Cairns to Port Douglas as it’s on the way. Then when in Port Douglas you can do a few reef trips on different days. I’d also add in Mossman Gorge (allow a few hours, and ensure you take swimmers), and a good drive through the Daintree proper around Cape Tribulation which you can probably combine into one day.

Im from Sydney but vacation frequently (Covid excepted) up far North.

Whoops, I quoted flight time from Sydney to Brisbane, Cairns is further north, my apologies! We did the cable car up and train back down at Karunda with a wander around the markets. We went in early February and it was very humid and dry.
Absolutely go out on the reef from Port Douglas, we did a half day one, it was amazing.

My dd lives near Darling Harbour and we stayed in Pyrmont on our last trip, which is about 10 minutes walk from the harbour so a bit quieter but still had plenty of amenities very close by with a good local neighbourhood vibe.

We’ve also stayed at Meriton serviced apartments in Sydney CBD, they have several dotted around the area which all have great transport links, tram, bus and ferry to other areas. In Sydney, the Bondi to Coogee walk is a great half day, it’s a (roughly) 5km walk along the coastal path with some stunning beaches and Coogee is very pretty.

Thankyou for these suggestions.
Will be a wonderful trip and most likely a final splurge with our children so great to get your advice

Sydney is hard as I live there so take it all for granted. I would think the best way is to do a harbour cruise that focuses on tourists and showing the sights. We tend to get ferries from point A to B and that just concentrates on getting yourself place to place quickly but it’s obvious even to a local that seeing things like the Opera House and Bridge are much better from the water, you get a great view as opposed to standing at the bottom of them and looking up.

I would definitely do a day trip to the Blue Mountains from Sydney. Easy to take a train and then there is an Explorer bus there, one fee and you can jump off/on. The Three Sisters are an amazing sight. Do the cable car down there also and have a wander around on the forest floor for a bit (short, extremely well marked, well populated track). Such amazing look outs in the Mountains.

I second the Bondi to Coogee walk as well but you do need to be fit. There are some nice rock pools/ocean pools along it as well for a dip, just do your research before you set off or you may miss them as not all are obvious from the walk.

Not sure about the Zoo on the harbour (don’t go to the one out Western suburbs of Sydney, waste of time getting there and back). The views are spectacular, especially while watching the bird show. The animals there truly have the best views in the world. It will take you a whole day there though pretty much and so much walking. If you do then take the ferry and get the cable car up and make your way down so you are walking downhill rather than uphill all day.

As others have said Darling Harbour is a good place to stay, I would think an Aparthotel would meet your needs best. Essexexile mentioned Pyrmont, you would probably find Airbnbs around there. Really when staying in Sydney city you are choosing between Darling Harbour/Chinatown, The Rocks/Circular Quay or the hotels on George St./Pitt Street, with your age range I would think Darling Harbour best as you are more likely to find Aparthotels there and it is super close to Wynyard train station, It is a beautiful walk along the water past lots of bars and restaurants through Barangaroo, past Walsh Bay to The Rocks. Sydney dance company and Sydney theatre company are based at Walsh Bay and tickets are definitely cheaper than London prices so maybe a show? The Opera on the Harbour is usually on around Easter time too, if not the Opera House is worth a visit and you can have drinks with great views at The Opera Bar.

Other things I would recommend:
Walk across the bridge to Kirabilli and explore (there is a monthly market under the bridge)
Take a ferry (not a harbour cruise) either to Manly which is lively, lots of restaurants and bars and nice beaches or to Walsh Bay for fish and chips (look longingly at the waterfront houses on the way)
Ghost tour at Q station (old Quarantine station where the ships from Europe docked), or just a wander and lunch there
Cookatoo Island is interesting
Take the B line bus up to Palm Beach, get off at Newport for The Newport pub which has gorgeous views over Pittwater or continue on if you are interested to see where Home and Away is shot
Hire a boat at Palm Beach and take it over to The Basin or one of the little beaches only accessible by water with a picnic (or there is a ferry)
Eat/drink at The Glenmore rooftop in The Rocks (shame the cruise ships will be back soon spoiling the view!)
Carriageworks - art and markets
Botanic Gardens and Art Gallery of NSW in The Domain
Lots of little underground small bars in the CBD, google as they can open and shut
Spice Alley in Kensington (near Central) is great and Koi dessert bar is there too
Paddington markets on a Saturday morning with lots of great places nearby for a pub lunch
The coastal walk from Brontë to Bondi is stunning (you could continue on from Paddington by bus)
Da Orazio pizza and porchetta has just reopened in Bondi, great for lunch
i could go on…..

Most Sydney visitors do a trip to the Hunter Valley wineries but without transport you will be relying on an organised coach trip. Choose very carefully, the small ones can be great, big coaches going only to the big wineries full of people wanting to get drunk less so! Ideally you want one visiting boutique vineyards stopping somewhere nice for lunch 😊 You can get a train from Central to Katoomba in The Blue Mountains but I think you would have to use the expensive tourist bus to get the The Three Sisters or Scenic world (which is worth a visit, spectacular views from the cable car that goes across the valley) so you might not want to give up a full day.

Have a great trip.

Years ago but basically we did two weeks in Sydney and Cairns and also fitted in a 24trip to Uluru - flew Sydney to Uluru then Uluru to Cairns and then home.
Uluru was great but is a lot of extra time sat in the plane and a long way from anywhere.
As others have said Port Douglas is lovely but closer to Cairns is Palm Cove which has some nice resorts and is a bit easier for the various tours and activities around Cairns. That said all doable from Port Douglas I imagine too. We did lots of (expensive) day trips which all picked up from the various resorts so didn't bother with a car.

Ps we went at Easter and I recall the weather being really good in both Sydney and Cairns. You couldn't swim off the beach in Queensland though due to jellyfish I think but out on the reef was ok.

all booked so exciting. now the long wait until we actually go thankyou fir all your comments.
very happy to hear more as we have added on a week in Perth at the end so will need more advice re that!!

We spent a few days in Perth at the end of our last trip 4 years ago. We loved it, it’s a bit like a more laid back Sydney, smaller and less busy but very clean and open. There are some beautiful beaches, Scarborough and Cottesloe are the 2 we visited. We also did a river boat trip to Fremantle, which is a great town.
At the time we went, there were free buses within the CBD, perfect for getting to see different areas and simply for getting from A to B.
Something we didn’t get to do was a visit to Rottnest Island but relations of mine have very recently been there and said it’s amazing, there’s an animal species called quokkas (spelling?) that are indigenous to the island, that would be a full day trip I think.

yes was just coming back to say do the day trip to Rottnest to see the quokkas. If you have time you might even be able to stay overnight there. Not sure.
It's a great day out anyway.

If you're open to staying around kiribilli then meriton suites north Sydney are quite lovely. Good size, well equipped, modern and beautiful view of the city, harbour bridge and opera house.
Lots of lovely places for coffee or meals in kiribilli, and you can walk over the bridge to circular quay and the rocks for the markets.
There is also Wendy whitefly's secret garden in the area too. The trains run regularly over the bridge from north Sydney or milestone point station to the city as well so it can be a good location to stay.

Thankyou all so much! fantastic suggestions .
i was away last week so am back now and am going to start planning. flights are booked - everyone is excited
going to watch martin Clunes new show to see the islands of Australia this evening.