Australia pre-land tour questions.

I searched the threads and dont seem to see this info. Apologies if I missed it.

We are booked 6 day pre-tour through Princess in Australia. Has anyone done this? Cairns, Ayers rock and back to Sydney. How long do you have free each day? Suggestions of things to see/do after the tours? comments?

Thanks for the help.

I searched the threads and dont seem to see this info. Apologies if I missed it.

We are booked 6 day pre-tour through Princess in Australia. Has anyone done this? Cairns, Ayers rock and back to Sydney. How long do you have free each day? Suggestions of things to see/do after the tours? comments?

Thanks for the help.

Wow....

Talk about squeezing it in.

Do you fly strait to Cairns? Or into Sydney then upto Cairns.

I have read good comments about the tour and haven't heard any negatives. I think the organised tours will take up most of your time, so I won't make suggestions on what to see or do after. What month will you be travelling?

I don't reckon there'll be much down time. They're big air jumps with full on itineraries at your destinations. I had a look at the land tour and it's marvellous in what you'll see and experience. I think you'll be too tired to worry about any extras but let us know what's on offer.

I searched the threads and dont seem to see this info. Apologies if I missed it.

We are booked 6 day pre-tour through Princess in Australia. Has anyone done this? Cairns, Ayers rock and back to Sydney. How long do you have free each day? Suggestions of things to see/do after the tours? comments?

Thanks for the help.

We did the 8 day tour 10 years ago, which was a little different than your itinerary sequence, but did go to the same sites. Darwin & Alligator River (there are no alligators in Australia, only crocs) was also on our tour. There was very little "free" time, but the tour was really nice, deluxe all the way. First thing you have to realize are the flight times. Sydney to Cairns, 3 hours, Cairns to Ayers Rock, 3 to 4 hours, Ayers rock to Sydney, 4 hours, plus the time it takes to get to the airport and through security. These flights take up half the days. In Cairns after landing you will visit Kuranda taking the cable car to get there, after which you will be taken to your hotel. We stayed at the Marriot and were able to go into Port Douglas for the evening. The Barrier Reef trip will take all day. Bring sea sick pills, there is a lot of movement of the boat going over and back. The boat travels around 30 knots or so. Very windy on deck. At Ayres Rock we stayed at Sails in the Desert. There is a small mall next to the property you can walk to. At the Olga's there were a lot of flies. Ask your tour guide about it. We purchased some head nets to protect us. We still have them. On the last day you will tour around Sydney. When we took the tour we spent 2 days pre-tour each on our own in Melbourne and Sydney. Our large suitcases were handed in to the tour operator and were in our cabin when we boarded the ship. We took the tour with carry ons only.That was really nice.

Enjoy the tour.

Please post your after tour review. I am really interested in doing this tour someday (a dream).

This sounds like the same tour you are asking about. Some more thoughts for you.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2579239

Stayed at Sails in the Desert several years ago - lovely hotel! If you have the opportunity to do "Dinner Under the Stars" offered by the hotel highly, highly, highly recommend it. It was one of the most amazing experiences we have ever had. Stars felt like they were close enough to touch; telescopes available also and saw Orion's Belt among other things. Really awesome. Also, be aware that flies in the Red Center/Ayres Rock area are horrendous and will cover whatever exposed skin you have. Wear long sleeves and invest in a hat with a head net to cover your face and neck.

sknight that is just the kind of info we were looking for. Thank you soooo much. flight times are great to know also.

babysarge that sounds wonderful. Will look for that and try to do it.

great info on the flies. Will see what I can get before we leave. We are going to be in Australia/new Zealand over Christmas and new years.

We just wanted to have an idea if we have loads of time each day free or just a few hrs. Not to really book anything just a matter of what to have in mind.

Thanks for all the help.

Be aware that it gets cold is the evening in the desert.

We did this 3 years ago and there was very little free time. We were busy right through to dinner time.

There is a lady on our Roll Call for an Adelaide to Melbourne cruise and she is doing a Disney land tour prior to joining the cruise. Its 10 days/11 nights starting in Sydney and ending in Brisbane.

You'll find details here;

https://www.adventuresbydisney.com/asia-africa-australia/australia-vacations/

It is very comprehesive and visits a lot of different iconic Australian locations from the red centre to the tropics.

The information you post was very helpful. My wife and I are doing the trip on Oct. 23, 2018. Our is cruise first from NZ and ending in Sydney were we start the 6 day land tour. Please post any new info that you can.

If you pack nothing else, make sure you have one of those screen thingees that you put over your head to ward off the flies when you are at Ayers Rock. They get into every "nook and cranny" you have--eyes, ears, nose, mouth. You can buy them at a sports store here I think. We got ours over there. Ironically, the flies went to bed at night and did not bother us at all at the dinner under the stars but as soon as the sun came out, so did they.

If you pack nothing else, make sure you have one of those screen thingees that you put over your head to ward off the flies when you are at Ayers Rock.

Cheapest place we found to get these is at the Uluru IGA Supermarket. They're twice the price at the nearby souvenir shops.

Cheapest place we found to get these is at the Uluru IGA Supermarket. They're twice the price at the nearby souvenir shops.

Not a bad idea but the number of flies really depend on the time of year and the weather. When is this trip? A good insect repellent will be important anyway for this stop and Cairns.

The OP said they will be in Australia over Christmas and New Years. Mid-summer will be very hot to exceptionally hot in the Ayers Rock area and hot and humid in Cairns where there is likely to be some rain because it is the middle of the wet season.

If you in Sydney and plan to go to Ayers Rock before your cruise, it will incur a flight up & back, long drive to the area and back, it is good you have a 6 day land trip before.:) I read up on getting there during our trip to Sydney prior to our cruise and decided that since it wasn't a land trip to Australia and didn't have the time to pass. Our daughter returned to Australia a year ago and drove around with a lady she had met on our Australia cruise and visited Ayers Rock.

If you in Sydney and plan to go to Ayers Rock before your cruise, it will incur a flight up & back, long drive to the area and back, it is good you have a 6 day land trip before.:) I read up on getting there during our trip to Sydney prior to our cruise and decided that since it wasn't a land trip to Australia and didn't have the time to pass. Our daughter returned to Australia a year ago and drove around with a lady she had met on our Australia cruise and visited Ayers Rock.

I am pretty sure the land tour would fly passengers into Yulara (right near Ayers Rock), not Alice Springs that is 470km or five hours' drive away. With flying into Yulara, it is a very short drive to get to Ayers Rock. BTW, it is now known as Uluru. :)

Aus Traveler, thank you, I was looking at the flight into Alice Springs. Our daughter and her aunt actually flew up to Queensland after we got back from the 13 day NZ cruise, as we had 9 days before the Transpacific. Although she didn't make Ayers Rock at that time, upon her return trip she and the lady she had met on our NZ cruise spent 3 weeks driving around and did go to Ayers Rock.

Thank you all for the info. I have put one of those net/bug hats on my amazon list [will look in stores around here too]. Yes will be there xmas/new years 2018/19

We bought the Princess pre-cruise tour so they are transporting us all over. So yes, flying alot. Didnt look into how long the flights would be yet but great to know. WOW, that changes my thoughts on times, but is EXACTLY what I was asking about. :D

Cairns overnight then to Ayers rock 2 nights and back to Sydney. Where they are only feeding us breakfast [one lunch] I was wondering if we had lots of afternoon time free and wanted to have a list of options if this happened. Sounds like we will have very little down time. Having never done a bus/land tour organized I wasnt sure what to expect. Have always done our own and therefor know pretty much the times.

Thanks again for all the help.

We took a pre-cruise tour but with a private company called Kensington Tours. They took care of every detail from the time we landed in Auckland to our embarkation on the ship and smiled while we changed plans a lot. The guide found us a place to get a nice dinner Valentine's night at a very reasonable price. So you might try them for a day trip.

Another company we used for all our tours off the ship was Viator who were excellent and cheaper than the excursions off the ship. Smaller buses and guides that truly loved their jobs and really wanted to convey to your their love for their areas. I'm sure they have tours in Sydney.

We found the breakfasts so bountiful that we could make sandwiches for lunch or dinner. They didn't seem to mind and even provided to-go boxes at a couple of places.

We will be on the land tour in Nov, 2018 what will the weather be like In Ayers Rock in early Nov, Will we need a netting hat,

We were there in February and you sure needed them then. I would still get them as November would be equal to our June which would sorta be their summer. They were $7 at the resort shops and I've seen them a lot cheaper elsewhere even from catalogs I get here.

We will be doing the tour part Oct 3 2018 What will the weather be like than? and any suggestions for clothing