# Australia for 4 weeks



## DOS19 (25 May 2007)

Hey..i have 4 weeks off (end of July/beginning of August) and thought i'd take the chance to go see as much of Australia as possible..and as i'm starting from scratch..i'd appreciate it if anyone who's travelled around Oz could advise as to a rough itinerary; most importantly

- most logical city of arrival and then departure in relation to seeing the country for the four weeks
- as i'll be travelling on my own -any tours/tips
- what is a reasonable cost for return flights - and is it best to search the various internet sites or to call into the likes of trailfinders etc.
- Would there be time to see NZ too or is Australia an ambitious enough venture for four weeks? 


Thanking you in advance


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## Killter (25 May 2007)

oz...when youre paying for activities watch out for the add ons-ozzie companies love rippin tourists off! thats un-pc, but its a fact.

best of luck


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## PM1234 (26 May 2007)

Four weeks sounds like a decent amount of time but given the vastness of Oz you'll be rushing to fit places in. Personally I wouldn't do N.Z. on the same trip although if you decide to, a flight there is sometimes covered as one of the internal flights. Internal flights are a good timesaver and its advisable to book prior to travelling as they tend to work out cheaper. Its difficult to suggest trips or particular destinations as it depends on what you're interested in. Check the Lonely Planet to see what appeals to you most. 

Don't worry about travelling on your own. Loads of people do. Staying in hostels is a great way to meet people of all ages and you'll never be stuck for someone to go for a VB with!! 

One of the ways you would see most would be to fly into Melbourne and work your way around the coast taking in the cities which appeal to you most along the way - Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Cairns, (over to Ayers Rock is an option), Darwin and down the West Coast flying out of Perth. 

This is a huge amount of travelling though and its likely you'll spend more time on the road than actually getting to experience any place or relaxing on your holiday. 

Personally I'd choose a couple of cities starting with Sydney and then up the Coast to Cairns stopping along the way rather than take a round trip. This covers Bondi, Frasier Island, the Whitsundays and loads more of the 'unmissables'. That said the West Coast is great, not so popular and a very different experience. A possible itinerary is to fly into Darwin and out of Perth. There are so many places to recommend that to start listing them will probably leave you more confused than ever. You will have a ball wherever you go and regardless of where that is, people will inevitably tell you of the many great places you missed! Enjoy!


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## I_Am_Shrek (26 May 2007)

i would'nt spend too long in sydney try and get to melbourne too as it is a great city.


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## DOS19 (26 May 2007)

Thanks a million for the replies..very decent of you


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## Perplexed (27 May 2007)

Hi Dos. I did a trip to Nz & Oz recently in three & a half weeks.( Way too short but as much as I could manage)
I bought my ticket from Trailfinders €1850 inc tax for round the world (cheapest way I was told ) Shannon to LHR, LHR to LAX,LAX to Auckland, Auckland to Christchurch. 2 days to recover ! Did an inclusive 7 day tour of the South Island - amazing & would recommend to anyone. 
Then to Auckland, quick trip to Rotorua, overnight in Auckland & on to Brisbane.
I visited the Gold Coast & the Sunshine coast, went out to the Barrier Reef etc.
This was my 4th visit to Oz so I could be selective about areas I didn't see before.
If it's your first trip just do Oz. So much to see......Agree with previous poster. Melbourne is a much nicer city than Sydney. Just stay long enough to see the Opera House, the Rocks, take a boat trip out the Harbour to Manley, visit Bondi & you can say you've done Sydney. 

On second thoughts it's now winter & probably best for you to go further north. You could maybe start in Sydney & work your way up the coast to Cairns (taking in Fraser Island, Barrier Reef etc ) then over towards Darwin, down to Ayers Rock & perhaps over to Perth to finish.
I bet you'll go back again to see the bits you hadn't time for this trip !
Whatever you decide you'll have a great time. Don't forget to have a stopover on way out or back. It's nice to break the journey plus get a chance to see Bangkok, Hong Kong or Singapore etc.
I travelled alone too & made friends all over the place. You'll meet lots of other people doing the same thing so it's very sociable.


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## finbar (27 May 2007)

Fly into Melbourne spend a couple of days there
fly with virgin blue to sydney- spend 3 or 4 days there
fly to hervey bay with virgin blue do 2 days on Fraser
then travel with greyhound up the coast 2 * 12 hour bus journeys
Hervey bay to Airlie beach ( do an over night bus)
Airlie beach to Cairns 11 hours
spend a day on the whitsunday islands
then a week in cairns to do the great barrier reef and cape tribulation
stop off in hong kong on the way home for 2 days.


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## jmayo (29 May 2007)

Perplexed said:


> Hi Dos. I did a trip to Nz & Oz recently in three & a half weeks.( Way too short but as much as I could manage)
> ...Did an inclusive 7 day tour of the South Island - amazing & would recommend to anyone...
> I visited the Gold Coast & the Sunshine coast, went out to the Barrier Reef etc.
> If it's your first trip just do Oz. So much to see......Agree with previous poster. Melbourne is a much nicer city than Sydney. Just stay long enough to see the Opera House, the Rocks, take a boat trip out the Harbour to Manley, visit Bondi & you can say you've done Sydney.
> ...


 
Jeeze man he is only going for three weeks, you'll have the poor guy killed with a trip like Cairns, Darwin, Alice and Ayers Rock.

BTW Sydney is much nicer than Melbourne IMHO.


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## Perplexed (29 May 2007)

Forgive me is I suggest too much. I plan my hols to see as much as possible.

My previous visit took 3 wks & I spent 3nts in Bangkok, flew to Melbourne 4nts, Tasmania 3nts, drove up to Sydney over 3nts taking in Batemans Bay & Canberra on the way. 3nts in Sydney & then flight to Perth & stayed 3 nts.

Depends on the person. Some people like lots of time to relax & others want to pack in as much as they can..I'm of the latter variety & it hasn't killed me yet !


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## RedStix (29 May 2007)

I went to Oz back in November for four weeks and booked the [broken link removed] before i got there. I flew to Sydney and then you head up the east cost to Cairns. Takes about three weeks but is well worth it. Oz experience organise travel, accommodation, activities such as Surf Camp, Zorbing, Fraser Island, White water rafting, Whitsundays Sailing, Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation, Kroombit Cattle station (priceless), Rainbow beach, magnetic island, mission beach etc. Packed so much into the three week trip. Although travelling up by bus sounds daunting, you are only ever on the bus for a couple of hours at a time. Cost me about €1200 all inclusive, was very well organised, met fantastic people along the way and i couldn't recommend a better way to spend three weeks in Oz. For the last week, i chilled in Cairns for a few days, flew over to Perth for a few days and then headed home via singapore. Trip of a lifetime!!


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## scatriona (29 May 2007)

hi

Bearing in mind it is mid-winter there when you plan to go, I'd spend majority of my visit from Brisbane northwards where it'll be a good bit hotter!! E.g Frazer Island is fab, Whitsunday Islands and even a few days in Kakadu Nat Park in the Northern Territory. South of Sydney could be a bit colder than you're expecting, if weather is an issue!?
But...Sydney is definitely worth a weekend and maybe Melbourne if you can, but for me, Sydney is the more 'dazzling' of the two! There's even the Hunter Valley vineyards only 2 hours away.. so you geta  bit of everything!

Enjoy, am soo jealous!


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## Firefly (29 May 2007)

My Ozzie top 5...
Sydney 
Fraser Island
Sailing on the Whitsundays
Uluru
Whitewater rafting in the Tully River ( from Cairns)


you jammy dodger!


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## Mourinho (29 May 2007)

Sydney was one of my favourite places, but given you only have 4 weeks, I would only spend 3-4 days there.

Other highlights for me included Fraser Island, Airlie Beach /Whitsundays trip - cliched and popular but rightly so.

A trip along the Great Ocean road is meant to be good also but havent experienced it personally.


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## DOS19 (29 May 2007)

Thanks for the replies...all very helpful and it looks like i'll have a great time no matter where i go..managed to wrangle another week off work so up to 5 weeks travelling now which should give me greater scope...so just gotta book flights soon....forgive my ignorance but are vaccinations required for a trip to Australia/NZ?


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## rush (30 May 2007)

no vaccinations required for a trip to Australia/NZ.
Melbourne great city, you could catch an Aussie Rules game there in July, August at the MCG. If you are into it its skiing season too. Mt Buller from Melbourne 3 hours. Slopes (e.g Thredbo) are 4/5 hours from Sydney so you could easily take in a couple of days skiing in either place. Great scenery too. If warm weather is a must then you need to be north of Brisbane at that time of year. 
All the suggestions in the previous posts would be great but a trip to Oz would not be complete without a dive/snorkel on the Barrier Reef (IMO).


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## Jason_77 (30 May 2007)

Hi All,

I am going to Australia in Sept/Oct for 5 weeks and I would appreciate some information on the Great Barrier Reef and Whit Sundays trips.

What companies/boats did you use for the trips?
How many days for each trip?
Did you go diving?

Thanks,

Jason.


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## bq67ie (30 May 2007)

Skip NZ - you haven't enough time. Be sure you get to the west coast - Perth, Albany, Margaret River etc.

No vaccinations.

And Jason_77, go to www.airliebeach.com
Airlie is a great party town


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## RedStix (30 May 2007)

> Airlie is a great party town


 
Sure is. Don't forget to check out Beaches and mama africa's for some great nite life. Also Paddy Shenanigans is a fantastic Irish pub. You're always bound to meet someone you know in there!!


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## Firefly (30 May 2007)

Jason_77 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I am going to Australia in Sept/Oct for 5 weeks and I would appreciate some information on the Great Barrier Reef and Whit Sundays trips.
> 
> ...


 
We went on this [broken link removed]

and it was great. 3 nights on board. Did diving & snorkelling..went to Whitehaven Beach and more importantly to this amazing look-out that you have to climb upto that I can't think the name of. Don't forget the booze!


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## jmayo (30 May 2007)

Perplexed said:


> Forgive me is I suggest too much. I plan my hols to see as much as possible.
> 
> My previous visit took 3 wks & I spent 3nts in Bangkok, flew to Melbourne 4nts, Tasmania 3nts, drove up to Sydney over 3nts taking in Batemans Bay & Canberra on the way. 3nts in Sydney & then flight to Perth & stayed 3 nts.
> 
> Depends on the person. Some people like lots of time to relax & others want to pack in as much as they can..I'm of the latter variety & it hasn't killed me yet !


 
No worries.
The reason I said it was lot is it is not too bad if flying between centres but if you are driving whole different ball game.
Drove form Perth upto Moneky Mia and back down to Perth, then down to Albany, over to Margaret River and back to Fremantle and Perth.  
Long drives that some people may find boring but I personally found interesting, with some very cool places along the way.
Also did the Red Centre and have to say Uluru was let down.  Just big bloody rock that they charge you $25 to see.  I suppose it might be different if raining and you could actually see it changing colours but how often does it rain in that area?  I thought the McDonnell Ranges were cool though and you have to try the unsealed outback tracks. 

Have to say did not like Melbourne, not as pretty as Sydney harbour. 
If staying in Melbourne take a trip down to Phillip island and see the penguins but also take in Wildlife reserve, you get really close to semi tame wallabies and kangaroos.


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## CN624 (31 May 2007)

Jason_77 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I am going to Australia in Sept/Oct for 5 weeks and I would appreciate some information on the Great Barrier Reef and Whit Sundays trips.
> 
> ...



For the Great Barrier Reef I used Down Under Dive, they were running a promo for AU$90 that included one intro dive and snorkelling on the reef . Lunch was also thrown in as well as great entertainment by the crew. 
You can pay extra to do two dives but we stuck with one dive and then snorkelled for about two hours in total.

For the Whitsundays we used a Maxi yacht called Broomstick. Its a retired racing boat so it only holds about 20 passengers. If you want to just go on the beer there are other boats that take up to 60 people. Very young crowd on these though. We stayed on the boat for two nights and had a great time. You get to know all the passengers and go snorkelling a couple of times. Food is superb, quality and quantity. There are boats that focus on diving as well, more expensive obviously. 

If you are travelling on your own OzExperience is handy cos you get to know people. On the downside you can be stuck in a place for a couple of days waiting to get a seat on the bus. Plus they stay in some really bad accomodation in certain towns. We used Premier buses and just rang up the day before we wanted to move on and never had any problems. Plus you then get to choose your own accomodation.

One piece of advice is not to try and see every town on the east coast. Most of them are mirror images of each other: sea, beach, main street. Ones I recommend are Noosa and Port Douglas. 

Also recommend going to one of Peter Liks galleries. Even if you aren't into art, his stuff will amaze you. If you want to buy make sure you have loads of room on your credit card!


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## Perplexed (31 May 2007)

Heartily agree with you CN624. One beach can become very like another after a while.

I found Surfers Paradise very dissapointing. Huge beach but you can only swim in a very small section cos of the rip tides. Other beaches have lots of stingers so you can't get in to the water either.

Noosa I thought was beautiful. Had a bit of character. Also Tin Can Bay where you can feed the dolphins & it's totally not commercial.

I went to the Barrier Reef from the Town of 1770, overnighted in a place called Agnes Waters.  Cost about $95 for the full day including lunch & coffees etc. Snorkelling was included plus glass bottomed boat trip to Lady Musgrave island. Diving was extra.

If you don't get to make it way up the coast this is one of the most southern places you can visit the Reef from. Can't rem the name of the company but only one group go from there & I can heartily recommend them.


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## RedStix (31 May 2007)

> If you are travelling on your own OzExperience is handy cos you get to know people. On the downside you can be stuck in a place for a couple of days waiting to get a seat on the bus. Plus


 
This is only if you are not on the ATA. The ATA is an all inclusive package in which you only have 3-4 weeks to do the trip so Oz Experience map all this out for you and guarantee your travel. Those on the ATA get first preference on the bus. Anyone just holding a standard ticket will then be accomodated after ATA passengers are on bus. You can also call them the day before to prebook a seat for you.



> Plus they stay in some really bad accomodation in certain towns


 
I didnt find anything wrong with the accommodation. Good locations, comfortable and clean.


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## Oilean Beag (18 Jul 2007)

Does the Ozexperience include all this for your $1200 ? 

-Transport up the coast
-activites in each location
-accomodation

for three weeks ? Thats pretty reasonable if thats the case , 

Looking into a few options myself, for four weeks and the cost of accomodation etc mounts up fairly quickly . Any tips for seeing it all on a very tight budget ?


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## RedStix (19 Jul 2007)

Hi SNB.

Yes. OzExperience *includes all accomodation and transport*, most activities and some meals. Well it did when i did it and that was only last november. Some of the activities that were included in the $1200 were

- Midnight Kayaking in Barrington
- Two days at surf camp in Arrawarra called Spot X
- Zorbing outside Brisbane
- Ferry & Overnight stay on Fraser Island + 4x4 trip on the island
- Overnight stay at a cattle station called Kroombit (some laugh)
- Three days (2 nights) sailing on the whitsundays with diving and snorkelling on the great barrier reef
- Ferry from Townsville to Magnetic Island. Overnight stay on Magnetic Island with kayaking etc again

Some places you stop off are
Sydney, Byron Bay, Brisbane, Hervey Bay, Noosa, Rainbow Beach, Airlie Beach, Magnetic Island, Mission Beach, Cairns.

I would definately recommend it. It was a fun, cheap and chearful way to travel around oz in a short time. [broken link removed] is the link to the trip i did but when booking make sure to state you want the all inclusive trip and not ticket only.

GED


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## Oilean Beag (19 Jul 2007)

cheers for that GED, it looks like a great way to see the east coast and control costs . 

Now just to convince the other half, who considers themselves more of a 'nomad' and would prefer to self-drive the whole thing.


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