Melbourne or Hobart?

Looking at a 12-ni or 14-ni Australia-New Zealand cruises in Jan or Feb that starts in Sydney. The 12-day ones I'm looking at stop at EITHER Melbourne OR Hobart, while the 14-ni ones stop at both. But we only have so many days to play with.

So basically, it's a question how to use 2 extra days. We can...

(1) See Melbourne AND Hobart at the expense of 2 extra days in Sydney, or

(2) See just Melbourne and spend 2 extra days in Sydney, or

(3) See just Hobart and spend 2 extra days in Sydney

We're seniors that like to sightsee (not lay on the beach or get in the water).

Any thoughts?

Looking at a 12-ni or 14-ni Australia-New Zealand cruises in Jan or Feb that starts in Sydney. The 12-day ones I'm looking at stop at EITHER Melbourne OR Hobart, while the 14-ni ones stop at both. But we only have so many days to play with.

 

So basically, it's a question how to use 2 extra days. We can...

 

(1) See Melbourne AND Hobart at the expense of 2 extra days in Sydney, or

(2) See just Melbourne and spend 2 extra days in Sydney, or

(3) See just Hobart and spend 2 extra days in Sydney

 

We're seniors that like to sightsee (not lay on the beach or get in the water).

 

Any thoughts?

I would recommend the 14 day cruise (over 12 days), as Melbourne and Hobart are both well worth a visit. Melbourne and Hobart come alive in the summer season, January/February.

Could you manage at least a day in Sydney prior to the cruise?

Australia is such a big country, like the USA, you really need three weeks to have a relaxing holiday and get a feel for the place.

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I find Sydney is just a big city with a really nice harbor area.

For my first trip to Australia (a land vacation), I took my travel agent's advice and skipped extra days in Sydney in favor of time in Adelaide/Kangaroo Island. BEST. DECISION. EVER.

Don't get me wrong, Sydney is nice, but so are other places in Australia. Personally, I'd take the 14-day cruise that hits both Melbourne & Hobart and skip extra time in Sydney. But I know that's an unpopular opinion.

I would recommend the 14 day cruise (over 12 days), as Melbourne and Hobart are both well worth a visit. Melbourne and Hobart come alive in the summer season, January/February.

 

Could you manage at least a day in Sydney prior to the cruise?

 

Australia is such a big country, like the USA, you really need three weeks to have a relaxing holiday and get a feel for the place.

Thanks. Yes, we'll definitely do at least 1.5 days in Sydney minimum (2 nights hotel). The cruises tend to depart at 4pm so that gives us 1 full day plus the morning of departure day to see some sights. Still though, I feel like we ought to add at least 1 more night to that, maybe 2. And/or probably 1 night hotel in Auckland on the back end to see more than just a few hours of it.

A 12-night cruise would allow us to tack on an extra couple of hotel nights. Just trying to weight the trade-offs between an extra day or two in Sydney (or Auckland, or 1 each) vs 2 more ship days just to see Hobart (I'm guessing Melbourne would have more worth seeing than Hobart).

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I find Sydney is just a big city with a really nice harbor area.

 

For my first trip to Australia (a land vacation), I took my travel agent's advice and skipped extra days in Sydney in favor of time in Adelaide/Kangaroo Island. BEST. DECISION. EVER.

 

Don't get me wrong, Sydney is nice, but so are other places in Australia. Personally, I'd take the 14-day cruise that hits both Melbourne & Hobart and skip extra time in Sydney. But I know that's an unpopular opinion.

I appreciate that, and that might make sense for us too. That's kinda the way we felt about a cruise out of Hong Kong last year. It was a GREAT setting, and we had a wonderful time seeing the scenery there. But 1.5 days (2 nights) prior to the cruise was probably about right. Although I know many people would love to spend a week there.

That's one thing about cruising -- we tend to get used to seeing just highlights of many places rather than in-depth of a few. But we like it that way.

Thanks. Yes, we'll definitely do at least 1.5 days in Sydney minimum (2 nights hotel). The cruises tend to depart at 4pm so that gives us 1 full day plus the morning of departure day to see some sights. Still though, I feel like we ought to add at least 1 more night to that, maybe 2. And/or probably 1 night hotel in Auckland on the back end to see more than just a few hours of it.

 

A 12-night cruise would allow us to tack on an extra couple of hotel nights. Just trying to weight the trade-offs between an extra day or two in Sydney (or Auckland, or 1 each) vs 2 more ship days just to see Hobart (I'm guessing Melbourne would have more worth seeing than Hobart).

I lived in Australia for several years and visited all three of the cities you are considering to visit.

I would add one more day to the 1.5 days you are planning to spend in Sydney. And, instead of spending a night in Auckland, I would also add that to the Sydney portion of your trip. (There's really not that much to see in Auckland whereas there's a LOT to see in Sydney.) That would now give you 3.5 days in Sydney--just about the right amount of time.

Now that you are spending that much time in Sydney, you don't need to spend additional time in another large Australian city (Melbourne). So, I'd skip Melbourne in favor of Hobart, a small Australian city with a lot of history. During your stop in Hobart, consider an excursion to Port Arthur--a fascinating part of Australia's convict history. (I would disagree that Melbourne has more worth seeing than Hobart. They both have a lot to offer, but I think you'd get more out of your trip by seeing Hobart rather than Melbourne.)

Thanks. Yes, we'll definitely do at least 1.5 days in Sydney minimum (2 nights hotel). The cruises tend to depart at 4pm so that gives us 1 full day plus the morning of departure day to see some sights. Still though, I feel like we ought to add at least 1 more night to that, maybe 2. And/or probably 1 night hotel in Auckland on the back end to see more than just a few hours of it.

 

A 12-night cruise would allow us to tack on an extra couple of hotel nights. Just trying to weight the trade-offs between an extra day or two in Sydney (or Auckland, or 1 each) vs 2 more ship days just to see Hobart (I'm guessing Melbourne would have more worth seeing than Hobart).

I never tire of visiting Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart, which have their own distinctive charms. It depends on your interests, which will appeal to you the most. All are Capital Cities, so have a wide variety of Museums, Art (Modern and Old) Galleries, Historic Places, Botanical Gardens, etc.

Google Melbourne and Hobart Tourism (government websites) to see their attractions.

I'd do both and less in Sydney.

If I had to choose I'd take Hobart.

But it will depend on what you like. Some visit Hobart and do Port Arthur, Wildlife Park, Richmond and Mt Wellington in one day. On the other hand I've been to Port Arthur numerous times and know that there is still more I haven't seen.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

I'll add one more wrinkle. I found a 14-day cruise that does 4 ports in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Eden, and Burnie). How do Eden and Burnie compare to Hobart? Worth giving up Hobart in exchange for the 2 of those?

I've not been to Eden, but it's a nice beach area in New South Wales where our friends used to vacation. It's known for the humpback whales that swim by there between September and November. I'm not sure what other sightseeing is around there.

Burnie is on the northern coast of Tasmania. It's about an hour's drive to the Mole Creek Caves and the Trowunna Wildlife Park. It's about 1.5 hours to Launceston, the largest city in the area, where you would find the Cataract Gorge. I really don't know what attractions are closer to Burnie itself.

You might want to do more research on those two places to see if they have any attractions that appeal to you. Personally, I would prefer Hobart.

I agree with what GradUT said, Burnie more a hop off point for other locations, but a nvt a nice little town, Eden is nice, but well.... Hobart has a lot of history.

It is hard to give a definitive answer without knowing your likes and dislikes.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

 

I'll add one more wrinkle. I found a 14-day cruise that does 4 ports in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Eden, and Burnie). How do Eden and Burnie compare to Hobart? Worth giving up Hobart in exchange for the 2 of those?

Eden is a small ex whaling town and has a whale museum. Relatively new port for smaller local ships such as those P&O Australia recently acquired ex HAL.

Burnie is a regular port for 2 port Tasmania legs. Probably more to do here but you cant walk from the ship as it is a secure port.

Hobart is a small city with tons of tourist attractions. From way out there museums such as MONA to the old convict penal settlement of Port Arthur. Just a walk around the port area is Australian history in itself. If you are there on a Saturday then dont miss the Salamanca Place markets - huge and mostly Australian locally produced products.

I would prefer Hobart over Melbourne and Eden plus the cruise around the coast of Tasmania and up the Derwent river is fabulous.

Hugh

Eden is a small ex whaling town and has a whale museum. Relatively new port for smaller local ships such as those P&O Australia recently acquired ex HAL.

 

Burnie is a regular port for 2 port Tasmania legs. Probably more to do here but you cant walk from the ship as it is a secure port.

 

Hobart is a small city with tons of tourist attractions. From way out there museums such as MONA to the old convict penal settlement of Port Arthur. Just a walk around the port area is Australian history in itself. If you are there on a Saturday then dont miss the Salamanca Place markets - huge and mostly Australian locally produced products.

 

I would prefer Hobart over Melbourne and Eden plus the cruise around the coast of Tasmania and up the Derwent river is fabulous.

Hugh

Agree that saling up teh Derwent is greatr.

Not so sure about Salamanca Markets though, seems that if I let DW near them my wallet is always a lot lighter.

Agree that saling up teh Derwent is greatr.

 

Not so sure about Salamanca Markets though, seems that if I let DW near them my wallet is always a lot lighter.

Well you could always recover at one of the local pubs or there is a great whiskey bar at the back of the markets in Woobys Lane called Nants to drown your sorrows and not have a care in the workd because she just bought that hugely expensive mirror set in local timbers:eek:

Hugh

Well you could always recover at one of the local pubs or there is a great whiskey bar at the back of the markets in Woobys Lane called Nants to drown your sorrows and not have a care in the workd because she just bought that hugely expensive mirror set in local timbers:eek:

Hugh

Last cruise was chosen [as preference] because it left Sydney the day after the Rocks Markets [so lets go down on the Sunday and stay overnight] and was in Hobart on the Saturday, next cruise the Fremantle Markets are on while we are there. More handbags coming I suspect.

Recommend Hobart over Eden and Burnie.

Hobart is unique, with its convict history.

If you are interested in Antarctica, Hobart has a lot of information on Antarctica.

http://antarctic.tas.gov.au/home/antarctic_attractions.

In addition, you can visit Mawson's Huts Replica Museum.

When I was in Hobart in January, a ship called during the bi-annual Australian Wooden Boat Festival, which runs for 4 days (5 minutes walk from the ship).

We did the Top End, Perth to Sydney in 2013. We did five days in Sydney post cruise.

We loved Sydney. We did a day north of Sydney to Hunter Valley for a wine tour. Did another day to the Blue Mountains, which was wonderful. Another day for a harbor tour.

The other days, we toured the city and could have spent more time there.

We haven't been to Melbourne and Hobart, but want to do both on a cruise to NZ.

Also, want to go back north for the great barrier reef.

We did the Top End, Perth to Sydney in 2013. We did five days in Sydney post cruise.

We loved Sydney. We did a day north of Sydney to Hunter Valley for a wine tour. Did another day to the Blue Mountains, which was wonderful. Another day for a harbor tour.

The other days, we toured the city and could have spent more time there.

 

We haven't been to Melbourne and Hobart, but want to do both on a cruise to NZ.

 

Also, want to go back north for the great barrier reef.

Funny how everyone always wants to come back.

Celebrity has one cruise in December 2016 that includes both Hobart and Melbourne. That is what I want, but we want to spend Christmas at home, so that one is out.

Not sure why X doesn't do more cruises with both ports.

Celebrity has one cruise in December 2016 that includes both Hobart and Melbourne. That is what I want, but we want to spend Christmas at home, so that one is out.

 

Not sure why X doesn't do more cruises with both ports.

The have a couple in Jan-2016 that do both (1/5 and 1/19).