Big trip to Australia- where do I start?

[ReturnToAustralia]

I was born in Australia many years ago, but left as a baby and have never been back.

I’m planning on a big trip there, by myself, next year , but I’m not really sure where to start.

id like to spend at least a week sightseeing in the cities, including Melbourne, and some time hiking on the coast.

I’m not good with very hot, so would be planning on going during their winter.

Do I need an actual travel agent to help me plan this? Does anyone have any recommendations or ideas on where to start?

This will hopefully be trip of a lifetime for me, so am happy to splash some cash to make it happen.

TIA

Hello my love! How exciting! DH is Aussie and we lived there for two years, so if I was you this is what I would do:
fly direct to Perth. Spend two or three days there, getting yourself situated and relaxed. I’d recommend Fremantle as it has lovely shops, cafes, beaches including a beach sauna! You can also get the ferry from Fremantle for a day at rottnest island and meet the quokkas which are so so cute!
Then head down south to Margaret river/augusta. The scenery is absolutely stunning for your hikes - best in the country imho. It’s a 3/4 hour drive so very manageable especially by aus standards!. Stop at Bunbury farmers market on the way for snacks and amazing fresh produce! Tip: look if it’s whale watching season in Augusta and definitely go out on a boat if so, it’s incredible.
after you’ve got your fill of hiking and the outdoors, head back to Perth to fly to Melbourne (or you can fly from bunbury if you don’t mind smaller planes). Here I think you’ll want to do museums, trendy restaurants and culture. There are often comedy festivals and things you might like - there’s one on around now I think, so perhaps April next year would be good for your trip as it wouldn’t be too hot in Perth too?
then head to Sydney, for your sight seeing and perhaps a bit of pampering towards the end of your trip. Enjoy the big city and everything it has to offer, while also making the most of the stunning coastline walks.

I think that would be a great itinerary and you could spend more time in certain places depending on what’s on and what you’d rather spend more time doing. If you want more outdoors and don’t mind going further afield then I’d recommend staying in WA for longer and going to Albany, or perhaps even Esperance but that’s a fair trek away.

oh and a bonus - you could go from Sydney/Melbourne to Tasmania, spend some time there enjoying the natural beauty and main cities before flying back to Perth for your direct flight home. Tassy is so stunning and the wildlife is lovely!

enjoy OP! I hope those ideas are helpful! ❤️

Exciting! We went 20 years ago. If I remember rightly, we used Trailfinders, as we were planning our wedding at the same time, so was a lot to organise. We often plan our own trips though.

We started in Port Douglas and visited the Daintree and Great Barrier Reef. Then Sydney for a few days, then Uluru and the Olgas. Coach up to Alice, hired a car and visited a few places there. Then coach to Darwin and did an organised tour around Kakadu and Katherine.

Had an amazing time. If we went back, I'd visit Melbourne and also some more remote places in Queensland that my parents did when they visited. Would like to visit Perth too, but maybe that would have to be a third trip!

Bear in mind there's no need to both in/out at Perth.

For example if you are UK based you could enter at Perth (and that doesn't mean you have to use the non-stop), do your tour, then rather than looping back to PER come back from SYD.

Currently that would mean using for example the Qantas direct flight Sydney to London that operates via Singapore, or, if you wait long, possibly the Qantas SYD-LHR non-stop which is planned to start next year.

Where you go depends on when. Winter can be freezing in the southern part of the country. Come to sunny Queensland and it's much warmer (mostly). Far north and winter is perfect. I'm a Queenslander, in case you missed it 🤣

Compare time to distances. If you have months, sure, include the western states. If not, the east coast can be covered instead.

It's extremely expensive so watch your cash splash. However, reasonable flights can be found outside peak times - avoid school holidays (can differ slightly within states but usually Easter, late June/July, mid September to mid October, big summer holidays December - January.

My suggestion is Melbourne, Sydney, gold/sunshine coasts (Sunny coast or Goldie to locals). I prefer sunny coast. Cairns/daintree/great barrier reef. If you snorkel the reef, do a speed boat tour, not the god awful pontoon boats. The one out of port Douglas is good. But don't do the North dec-march. Hot, wet, and cyclone season.

Tassie is magnificent, but not really a winter destination. Great ocean road out of Melbourne is amazing, NSW central coast, up to Byron.

If you want adventure, try the outback, or Uluru, or any of the outback drives.

Hiking I love the scenic rim and gold coast hinterland, andam heading to the Blue mountains (Sydney) later this year as it is amazing. There's there's hiking everywhere so just look wherever you go. Just don't go into isolated hikes unless you carry a beacon, and carry water. It's easy to get lost if you veer off a path. And areas can be vast.

There was a similar thread recently which I'll link if I can find. If you re going in winter, you could go skiing. Many people are unaware that Australia has the largest ski resort in the southern hemisphere! Mar- Aug is also good time to snorkel with whale sharks off the Western Aus coast- Ningaloo reef.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5517741-suggestions-for-a-four-week-family-trip-to-australia-and-sydney?reply=151742297

Where in Australia were you born and do you want to go there?
I got back this morning (be aware the direct Perth flight currently returns via Singapore). Australian mother and I used to live / work there so have spent a lot of time there.
I would talk to Travelbag - lots of friends / family use them and they are knowledgeable about connections timescales etc.

Qantas often have multi city deals where you get some internal flights for free. In terms of travelling in winter, be aware Australia has more snow than Switzerland and ski resorts.

If you are going alone then I would try and avoid Australian school holidays.

We went to Australia last summer in their winter. Honestly just book flights upfront. We booked a hotel for two nights advance for our arrival but thereafter we soon sussed out the longer you leave booking your preferred Airbnb in their out of season the prices tumble in the days running up to their availability not being taken up. We did it this way and stayed in an amazing rooftop penthouse in Melbourne overlooking the city skyline, found a pad in Sydney with a balcony view of the harbour, found a rainforest cottage in Cairns, and a beachfront apartment on Surfer's Paradise.

You don’t need a travel agent.

Definitely plan to fly into one city and out of another to avoid backtracking.

In Melbourne go to an AFL game. If you want to visit the Great Barrier Reef look at heron island or lady Elliot island as options, not just cairns.

Every major city has native animal parks

Domestic airlines are virgin, Qantas and Jetstar.

What kind of hiking do you want to do? If you post how long you will be there, we can help with more suggestions

Thanks so much everyone!
I was born in Melbourne, hence wanting to stop there.

I’ve never travelled solo before (recently widowed) so not really confident about travelling on my own thus would want to do hiking etc with an organised group. I am excited about going on my own.

I am flexible about how long I go for (retired) so at least 2-3 weeks - could extend to 4.

What is the best time of year for a very pale Brit to go?

I went in 2002. Flew into Perth, did a three week APT camping trip up to Darwin, flew to Alice, 4 day trip round there, flew to Cairns, had a few days in one place, then 2 week tour down to Sydney and stayed there. Flew back to Perth then home.
Used trail finders to book flights, APT tour and extra nights in Perth, Darwin, Cairns and did the rest myself. Appreciate you might not want to tour but it got me to lots of places and on the west coast most of the group were Aus/NZ which made the tour much better/more fun.
Using Trail finders got me extra nights, an included barrier reef excursion, flights on a new route which was discounted and cheap internal flights via some combination deal.
Even short organised trips can be helpful to get you to what you want to see without you having to do all the organising.

I went Aug/Sept and it was cold at night in the south. Sydney end Sept was nice in day time but as soon as sun went down was chilly.