Australia- how long and best time?

[Martoni]

We are starting to plan a trip to Australia. We have family in Brisbane, so would stay with them. And probably go for a long weekend to the Gold Coast. We’ve got 2 DC who would be approx 10/11 and 7/8 by the trip.

So that means we are bound by school holidays (not Uk, ours are different). Our options are:

1. go for 2 weeks in the spring holidays (last week of April, first week of May)
2. go for 2 weeks in autumn holidays (middle 2 weeks of October)
3. go for 3 weeks in July

I know that our summer is their winter, so the weather won’t be as great. But we could stay longer. Interested to hear opinions!

October is lovely. In general, avoiding summer is better and if you could go at any time at all I’d still say October.

Parts of the Gold Coast are awful but I’m sure your family will be able to steer you to the nice parts.

We went in the Easter Holidays this year, as their school holidays align with ours, my friends lives on the Gold Coast and she’s a teacher. We took a couple of days either side so had 19 days away.
We had great weather, aside from our trip up to the Whitsundays, mid twenties for most but it really started to warm up for the Easter weekend.

Can recommended Currumbin Wildlife park for morning or afternoon, and a cheap meal at the SLSC on Currumbin beach!

Thanks!

Unfortunately it wouldn’t be possible for us to
take any days off either side, we’d have to go straight from school on the Friday night and fly back on the Friday to be home on Saturday and have Sunday to recover!

Which makes it feel like such a short trip :(

For that length of travel, jet lag etc. I’d opt for July so you can have as long as possible.

We went to Sydney in April a few years back, 2 weeks in Sydney and then 5 days in magnetic island. Weather was beautiful - mid 20’s for the whole duration. I think our friends said it was better than normal weather though.

We went to the East coast end of July last year. Weather was great for us as didn’t want to sunbathe but warm enough for normal summer UK clothes with no jacket.
we went to Sydney, Brisbane and up the coast to Cairns

Me too. In Queensland the weather should be decent.

in Melbourne it would be chilly. I’ve been in Sydney in July and it was pleasant

In July even QLD can be cold, but that's by a QLD'er standard. It's quite pleasant now, but the temps have been going up & down. Still only need a light jacket (or none) most days.

Mid Autumn is the best time in southern QLD (mid March - May). Easter school hols start early April. Sunshine coast is nicer than the Gold Coast. Although expect all coastal accommodation to be incredibly expensive. July is also school hols but it was very pleasant weather. No swimming, though.

Try to experience going inland a bit. The hinterland (Tambourine on GC, Malaney on SC), Scenic Rim (Queen Mary Falls, it's a mapped day trip from Brissie) and Darling Downs (Toowoomba parks, small towns) have some beautiful areas, and can be done in day trips. If you go further south, the Granite Belt & Stanthorpe have lots of wineries & national parks. Further north, Rainbow beach is stunning with coloured sand dunes.

Use whatever time you've got. You could stay a lifetime and never see it all. If you do extend, consider either driving Brisbane - Sydney coastal route & flying home from there. Or fly to Melbourne to do the great Ocean road. But you can see a lot in two weeks & SE QLD certainly has enough to keep you busy.

We have been told not to go in Brisbane peak summer (December/January), apparently it is humid as hell and pretty stormy/miserable. We went in our June/July and it was wonderful. It was around 18-24 degrees each day, didn't rain once. We went to Brisbane then from brisbane went to the rainforest thats about an hour south, and spent a week there, it was out of this world (OReillys Rainforest Retreat was the place we went), and then the gold coast for a flight connection back to Sydney and home. The gold coast was lovely, I wish that we had more time there. If you haven't been to Brisbane before, the water bus is great, we loved it, very convenient and cheap. Theres a wildlife retreat (Lone Pine) outside of Brisbane which is great. The Bluey's world adventure was pretty meh. I wouldn't pay for that again. If you book any internal flights, I recommend flying Virgin internally, we also did one with JetStar and they weighted each bag getting on as hand luggage. We loved Brisbane, but like I said, the gold coast and rainforest were spectacular. I've also heard that Cairns/Port Douglass are great. Editing to add I see someone above mentioned the hinterland area, that is where the rainforest starts.

We’ve been advised not to go in our winter their summer as it’s the rainy season, it the same temperature as here today our summer (sw uk) have in laws there but I’ve never been

@MermaidMummy06 Loved Tambourine Mountain! It’s actually where my friend lives, it’s easier to say GC to my UK friends, no one’s heard of it!

@Martoni

We did a very similar trip to Brisbane and the Gold Coast a few years ago with kids around the same age and it was fantastic. Out of your options, I would say the spring holidays (April and May) are probably your best bet. The weather is usually lovely in Queensland at that time: warm but not humid, and the beaches are still great for swimming.

October is also pleasant, but it can start warming up quite a bit depending on the year, and flights can be pricey.

July is winter in Brisbane. It is still mild by UK standards (around 20°C during the day), but the beachy vibe on the Gold Coast is not quite the same.

If you can only do July, I would still go. But if you can manage April or May, that would be my first choice.

Avoid Dec-feb if you're not used to heat. It can be very hot & humid. Storms happen year round though. Had one yesterday & there's a lovely icy wind today although skies are glorious.

@Ezesonfire Tambourine is one of my favourite places. Two hours drive from me. (Jealous? 🤣)

All of your options are good but I’d say 3 weeks in July. It’s a week longer which is huge! Last year I visited family near QLD/NSW border in August and I even went swimming in the ocean (which I would never have done as a kid in winter). Humpback whales migrate at that time of year. If you are able to go somewhere further north with the additional time you should get warmer weather and a chance to see a bit more. I would go further south than Sydney personally though in Australian winter. Houses can be cold!

I did 3 weeks in July /August years ago and the weather was lovely. We were staying with family in N Queensland near the Whitsundays. It was low-mid 20s and still shorts and T shirt weather. There were a couple of cooler days.

We had nice weather there during the Xmas/New Year period but obviously high prices due to peak summer holiday season there. Don’t remember any rain or storms

I agree the Sunshine Coast is much nicer than the Gold Coast. We also took a side trip to the southernmost bit of the Great Barrier Reef at Lady Eliot Island which was awesome although a bit expensive. It is set up for families rather than as a resort.

I hope you don’t mind me jumping on this thread as I’m starting to make plans and struggling to realistically know what to do. We are set on July for 3 weeks due to being a teacher/12 year old coming. My brother is in Sydney - currently thinking we’d fly to Perth and have a week doing a road trip up to Exmouth on our own and then fly to Sydney and do something with him - maybe Brisbane area also? Then maybe back via a Singapore stop off. Am I trying to do too much?

@Springtimebear Yes! Cut out Perth. Australia is huge! Why spend time in airports and on planes? I’d make a list of must see areas and remember you won’t feel like doing much on day 1. I find Lonely Planet suggested itineraries useful. They do pick out the best things to see in the time you have available.

For me - 4 weeks minimum! 2 weeks - never! Too far. Don’t rush around. Savour the best things and remember it’s huge! Don’t waste hours and hours in the air.