Australia and New Zealand

Does anyone know what is the best way to see New Zealand and Australia?

Is there a cruise that is best?

The best way to see Australia is to allow plenty of time, hire a car & drive! :D

We are a huge country just like Canada.

But if you have limited time & want to cruise then going for a cruise that circumnavigates the country is a good way to see a lot, & often include some stops in NZ as well, but you will miss much on offer in the inland areas, especially the famous Ayers Rocks/Uluru.

Another option is to cruise say Sydney to Perth around the top of Australia, which will include the Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane & Darwin then catch the famous Indian Pacific train from Perth to Adelaide then the Ghan train up to Alice Springs to see the outback.

You could fly back to Sydney from there.

There are also cruises from Sydney on offer to the state of Tasmania which in itself is a unique & beautiful part of the country & some include a stop in Melbourne as well.

Some cruises from Sydney are all NZ & others offer a combo with Australian ports or the Pacific Islands.

Agree. The best way to see both countries is by land tour, not a cruise ship.

It depends how much time and funds you have. There are circumnavigation cruises for both NZ and Australia but you'll only get a small taste.

The best way to see Australia is to allow plenty of time, hire a car & drive! :D

 

We are a huge country just like Canada.

 

But if you have limited time & want to cruise then going for a cruise that circumnavigates the country is a good way to see a lot, & often include some stops in NZ as well, but you will miss much on offer in the inland areas, especially the famous Ayers Rocks/Uluru.

 

Another option is to cruise say Sydney to Perth around the top of Australia, which will include the Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane & Darwin then catch the famous Indian Pacific train from Perth to Adelaide then the Ghan train up to Alice Springs to see the outback.

 

You could fly back to Sydney from there.

 

There are also cruises from Sydney on offer to the state of Tasmania which in itself is a unique & beautiful part of the country & some include a stop in Melbourne as well.

 

Some cruises from Sydney are all NZ & others offer a combo with Australian ports or the Pacific Islands.

This.

A cruise [and I love cruising] even a circumnavigation of Australia and NZ [which I am doing n a few months] will only visit a Handful of Cities, no town, no rural regions non of the outback.

While a down under cruise is great if you want to see the Countries you need a lot more.

I agree with the others, land tour the best and I love cruising. Done New Zealand by land and sea, and I can tell you there is a lot, a real lot, in fact the best, that you do not see from a cruise port. Except perhaps Milford sound etc, but even that was more interesting approaching it from land and doing a small boat tour.

As for Australia, I have done nearly a full circumnavigation (on various cruises) and can tell you it only gives a snapshot and again you only go to the larger ports. For instance everyone from OS wants to do the Barrier Reef but to do that properly is actually not that easy from the short time in port that a cruise ship gives you.

But even with a land tour in Australia, you need time and the funds to fly from place to place to visit a good cross section of our sights. The best suggestion I can make is decide what you really want to see because you won't see it all :D

I agree with the others, land tour the best and I love cruising. Done New Zealand by land and sea, and I can tell you there is a lot, a real lot, in fact the best, that you do not see from a cruise port. Except perhaps Milford sound etc, but even that was more interesting approaching it from land and doing a small boat tour.

 

As for Australia, I have done nearly a full circumnavigation (on various cruises) and can tell you it only gives a snapshot and again you only go to the larger ports. For instance everyone from OS wants to do the Barrier Reef but to do that properly is actually not that easy from the short time in port that a cruise ship gives you.

 

But even with a land tour in Australia, you need time and the funds to fly from place to place to visit a good cross section of our sights. The best suggestion I can make is decide what you really want to see because you won't see it all :D

You won't see t all.

I've lived here all my life, traveled a lot at times, been to every state and territory, most multiple times, but still so much I haven't seen

I agree with the others too.

But if you really want to combine a cruise with sightseeing, and are not restricted by time and money, you could look at a round Australia cruise starting from Sydney, combined with some internal land travel which would involve flights due to the long distances between major attractions like Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef. As someone else mentioned, the Ghan and the Indian Pacific trains are also a good option.

Then do a one way cruise to NZ ending in Auckland, and then some land travel there, particularly down the centre of the South Island. Driving yourself is best for that although you could do a bus tour.

I love cruising, but I don't feel a visitor can very much of Australia just by this method of travel. I feel the three main areas of interest would be Sydney, Far North Queensland (Barrier Reef, rainforest and crocodiles) and Uluru (Ayers Rock) and nearby Kings Canyon. This could be achieved with three internal flights and maybe a hired car in the Centre and in Cairns or take local tours in each location.

We can always refer the OP to TLOhio (Terry) on the Celebrity Board, as he seemed to cram a lot in with a combination of land and cruise holiday.

We can always refer the OP to TLOhio (Terry) on the Celebrity Board, as he seemed to cram a lot in with a combination of land and cruise holiday.

And knows more about Aus than many Aussies.

Does anyone know what is the best way to see New Zealand and Australia?

Is there a cruise that is best?

The best way to see Oz/NZ is not to try to see it all at once.

There is lots to see, but you need to decide what you like. Oz is a coastal country, with most people living not far from the coast. NZ is more compact and yet more spread out at the same time.

If you like spectacular mountain scenery, NZ is your place. If you like endless dusty deserts, inland Australia will suit you. If you like tropical vistas, the Queensland coast is for you.

If this is your first visit to Oz I would stick to the coast. A cruise between Sydney and Perth (Fremantle port) with a couple of days in each city would do fine.

Do not catch the Indian Pacific unless you are OK with staring out the train window at the same view for days at a time. Fly whenever you can. Driving across the Oz outback to see the sights is a daunting prospect. It involves a LOT of driving and takes a LOT of time.

If it were me, I'd catch a cruise out of Seattle to Sydney via Hawaii, Tahiti and NZ. Then a cruise across the top from Sydney to Perth. A few days in Perth, fly back to Sydney. A few days in Sydney, then fly to Auckland or Christchurch, hire a car to tour either the North or South Island for a few days. Then fly back home.

You will only get a superficial view of both countries, but you are on holiday not an anthropological expedition. If you like it you can always come back for more.