A week to drive from Sydney to Sydney.

[MicCanberra]

John Bull

 

My suggestion to you - with only 8 days between arrival and departure -- that you draw a circle around Sydney with an approximate 200 klm radius - and you stay within that circle. You will find more than enough to fill in 8 days there -- you will need at least 5 days in Sydney by itself. :)

 

Barry

 

If he makes it 300 kms, he can get to Canberra still.:rolleyes:

[cassamanda]

John Bull

 

My suggestion to you - with only 8 days between arrival and departure -- that you draw a circle around Sydney with an approximate 200 klm radius - and you stay within that circle. You will find more than enough to fill in 8 days there -- you will need at least 5 days in Sydney by itself. :)

 

Barry

 

Tend to agree here. Much of the timings in the examples are totally unrealistic and are driving times only.

I travel and tour a lot. Have just got back from Coffs Harbour, about 450 Klms north of Sydney. Drove back in one hit with one stop and took 8 hours! And that was on the main highway. Took 7 days to get there stopping along the way at the various coastal towns and National Parks venues off the main road such as Newcastle, Port Stephens, Hawks Nest, Taree, Camden Haven, Port Macquarie, Crescent Head, South West Rocks,etc.

If you are going to spend time driving on our roads, at least stop and take in the views.

[MicCanberra]

If you are going to spend time driving on our roads, at least stop and take in the views.

I agree, the driver is normally too busy concentrating on the traffic/raod ahead on these trips and do not get to see as much as the passenger. Obviously, the more you stop, the slower the trip, but I am sure that John is well aware of all this, and will take all our opinions/information and then make his informed decision.:D

[Sparky74]

Tend to agree here. Much of the timings in the examples are totally unrealistic and are driving times only.

I travel and tour a lot. Have just got back from Coffs Harbour, about 450 Klms north of Sydney. Drove back in one hit with one stop and took 8 hours! And that was on the main highway. Took 7 days to get there stopping along the way at the various coastal towns and National Parks venues off the main road such as Newcastle, Port Stephens, Hawks Nest, Taree, Camden Haven, Port Macquarie, Crescent Head, South West Rocks,etc.

If you are going to spend time driving on our roads, at least stop and take in the views.

 

You could have come and said g'day!

[YAC]

Sorry to jump in on this thread; but we're planning to drive from Sydney to Melbourne. Our plans are to drive from Sydney in the morning via the Grand Pacific Road towards Wollongong to Canberra for golf early in the afternoon. Day 2 would be to drive to the Namadji National Park for the Yankee Hill Hike and continue to Lakes Entrance - long drive. Day 3 would be to continue to the Mornington Peninsula for golf in the pm. Does anyone have any other suggestions of places to see along the way? Thanks for all your help and assistance! ;)

[MicCanberra]

Sorry to jump in on this thread; but we're planning to drive from Sydney to Melbourne. Our plans are to drive from Sydney in the morning via the Grand Pacific Road towards Wollongong to Canberra for golf early in the afternoon. Day 2 would be to drive to the Namadji National Park for the Yankee Hill Hike and continue to Lakes Entrance - long drive. Day 3 would be to continue to the Mornington Peninsula for golf in the pm. Does anyone have any other suggestions of places to see along the way? Thanks for all your help and assistance! ;)

I think there is considerable driving involved here, I do not think you will get a lot more in.

Your walk to Yankee Hat will eat into your day considerably (1hr drive and 3hrs walk = 5 hours return from Canberra's south) and then there will be the long drive, around 5 hours to Lakes Entrance via Bombala, but it is doable.

[Aus Traveller]

Sorry to jump in on this thread; but we're planning to drive from Sydney to Melbourne. Our plans are to drive from Sydney in the morning via the Grand Pacific Road towards Wollongong to Canberra for golf early in the afternoon. Day 2 would be to drive to the Namadji National Park for the Yankee Hill Hike and continue to Lakes Entrance - long drive. Day 3 would be to continue to the Mornington Peninsula for golf in the pm. Does anyone have any other suggestions of places to see along the way? Thanks for all your help and assistance! ;)

I assume after leaving the ACT you plan to drive via Cooma and Bega to the coast (Princes Highway). Here are a few suggestions (if you have time).

 

There are a couple of short rainforest walks right beside the highway. One is the Drummer Rainforest Walk 10km east of Cann River and the other one is the Bemm River rainforest walk (1km walk) around 30km west of Cann River. These walks are not spectacular, but are a pleasant stop from driving.

 

After you leave the town of Lakes Entrance, stop at the lookout on the left at the top of the hill. There is a great view over the lakes and the ocean.

 

If you would like to see koalas in the wild I suggest you go to Raymond Island in Victoria. At Bairnsdale turn south to Payneville (18km). There is a vehicular ferry to Raymond Island, but go on the ferry as foot passengers (no charge). When you get off the ferry, you will probably see koalas in the gum trees in front yards and on the footpaths.

[John Bull]

Why not fly into Adelaide and drive slowly to Sydney via Melbourne? It's just a thought! BEST of ALL worlds IMHO :-)

 

 

Had wondered about something like that (actually into Melbourne), but we were told that flight arrangements would be complicated & expensive, with different airlines & stop-overs. Shame, but that's life.

 

I still think mebbe I'm at cross-purposes with some contributors, though I know where you're coming from - on the UK board I've just given similar advice to someone with 6 days to tour the UK - don't bother with the Lake District (about 500k / 5 hours).

But that journey is boring and frustrating so IMHO the destination isn't worth the travelling time. And England is awash with historic towns & castles & sights within a much easier radius.

 

Advice on here seems to be that the journey from Sale to Melbourne & back across country toward Sydney isn't special, hence my strong consideration of binning Melbourne, & turning inland from around Eden to the Snowy Mts & back to Sydney via Canberra.

Excluding any deviations, such as the Blue Mts (or Bathhurst, just seen that on the map, apparently the circuit is public roads & I'd love a world record lap for rented cars :D) that's a total of about 1200k & 14 hours of mainly-interesting/scenic driving spread over 7 days. Two hours driving per day. Yes, I know it'll end up being mebbe 50% to 100% more, but that's way within my tolerance. Plus I'm a retired professional driver, and we'll be sharing the driving.

 

Mebbe I've got it wrong, but I've been imagining the driving in Aus to be more like west/mid USA than the UK. A lot less traffic, and much further between places of interest than in the UK though perhaps not so on the coast road south from Sydney?

We'd reckoned on two days for Sydney, one pre-cruise & one post-cruise. Haven't researched it yet, but we're not townies & we're not into museums & galleries. Is that long enough in Sydney?

 

Thanks for all your replies, much appreciated

 

JB :)

[MMDown Under]

turning inland from around Eden to the Snowy Mts & back to Sydney via Canberra.

Excluding any deviations, such as the Blue Mts (or Bathhurst, just seen that on the map, apparently the circuit is public roads & I'd love a world record lap for rented cars :D) that's a total of about 1200k & 14 hours of mainly-interesting/scenic driving spread over 7 days. Two hours driving per day. Yes, I know it'll end up being mebbe 50% to 100% more, but that's way within my tolerance. Plus I'm a retired professional driver, and we'll be sharing the driving.

 

Mebbe I've got it wrong, but I've been imagining the driving in Aus to be more like west/mid USA than the UK. A lot less traffic, and much further between places of interest than in the UK though perhaps not so on the coast road south from Sydney?

We'd reckoned on two days for Sydney, one pre-cruise & one post-cruise. Haven't researched it yet, but we're not townies & we're not into museums & galleries. Is that long enough in Sydney?

 

Thanks for all your replies, much appreciated

 

JB :)

 

You have made a good choice for the most scenic journey, in the limited time available. Australia is a big country and a lot of our travel is, of necessity, on long distance non scenic roads. So to really see Australia, one needs to get off these roads and explore the minor roads along the Coast and in the bush.

 

Past Governments (State and Federal) haven't invested enough in our roads, so there are always road works on our roads, as they attempt to catch up.

 

(I recently read that there is finally a dual highway from Melbourne to Sydney. We still haven't got a dual highway between Sydney and Brisbane.)

 

In addition to road works, one often gets held up by road accidents on our roads.

 

Our roads are not as good as roads in the US/UK, so driving can be more frustrating, especially if you get behind a slow vehicle and it is not safe to pass.

 

How long you spend in Sydney depends what you intend to do there, but I wouldn't cut your planned trip to less than 7 days. If you are an outdoors' person, Sydney has lots of beautiful beaches and scenic harbour/coastal walks to enjoy.

[Aus Traveller]

Advice on here seems to be that the journey from Sale to Melbourne & back across country toward Sydney isn't special, hence my strong consideration of binning Melbourne, & turning inland from around Eden to the Snowy Mts & back to Sydney via Canberra.

Excluding any deviations, such as the Blue Mts (or Bathhurst, just seen that on the map, apparently the circuit is public roads & I'd love a world record lap for rented cars :D) that's a total of about 1200k & 14 hours of mainly-interesting/scenic driving spread over 7 days. Two hours driving per day. Yes, I know it'll end up being mebbe 50% to 100% more, but that's way within my tolerance. Plus I'm a retired professional driver, and we'll be sharing the driving.

 

Mebbe I've got it wrong, but I've been imagining the driving in Aus to be more like west/mid USA than the UK. A lot less traffic, and much further between places of interest than in the UK though perhaps not so on the coast road south from Sydney?

We'd reckoned on two days for Sydney, one pre-cruise & one post-cruise. Haven't researched it yet, but we're not townies & we're not into museums & galleries. Is that long enough in Sydney?

 

Thanks for all your replies, much appreciated

 

JB :)

I agree with your comments. The idea of turning inland at Eden and heading to Canberra is good. :)

[MicCanberra]

There are national parks all the way along the coast and there are plenty of lookouts, bushwalks and beaches.

If you want to drive more and view places on move rather than stopping at nearly every point of interest than the melbourne route is doable. Perhaps another option is to go to Eden and then Canberra and then go through Parkes - Bathurst - Lithgow and over the Blue mountains to come back into Sydney, it is a few more KMs but really only arounfd an extra 4 hours of driving compared to the more direct Canberra - Sydney route.:D

[Aus Traveller]

There are national parks all the way along the coast and there are plenty of lookouts, bushwalks and beaches.

If you want to drive more and view places on move rather than stopping at nearly every point of interest than the melbourne route is doable. Perhaps another option is to go to Eden and then Canberra and then go through Parkes - Bathurst - Lithgow and over the Blue mountains to come back into Sydney, it is a few more KMs but really only arounfd an extra 4 hours of driving compared to the more direct Canberra - Sydney route.:D

 

That is a great idea. They wouldn't have to commit to the Blue Mountains extension until they were leaving Canberra.

[MicCanberra]

That is a great idea. They wouldn't have to commit to the Blue Mountains extension until they were leaving Canberra.

That route would also show a bit of the country that the Great Dividing Range separates from the coastal plain. I lot dryer but still lots of interesting sites, Cowra's Japanese gardens, Jenolan Caves, ZigZag railway to name a few.:D

[John Bull]

Perhaps another option is to go to Eden and then Canberra and then go through Parkes - Bathurst - Lithgow and over the Blue mountains to come back into Sydney, it is a few more KMs but really only arounfd an extra 4 hours of driving compared to the more direct Canberra - Sydney route.:D

 

Thanks for the suggestion, sounds more our scene than the direct route. Or adding Brisbane.

Google reckons it adds about 5 hours driving, so effectively another day. But gives me an excuse to just "happen-upon" the Bathurst Circuit.

"We seem to be driving on a motor racing circuit, dear - I wonder if it's a famous one".;)

As Aus Traveller says, we can revert to the direct route if we're pressed for time.

 

So now we're looking at the coast from Sydney to Eden, inland to Jindabyne, north to Cooma, Canberra, Parkes, east to Bathurst & the Blue Mts & into Sydney.

Total 1500k, 19 hrs.

An average of something under 3 hours per day, more realistically 4 hours plus stops.

And from Canberra, point the car directly at Sydney if we choose, saving something under 400k, 5 hrs driving.

 

Here's that basic route if the link works

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Sydney,+New+South+Wales,+Australia&daddr=Eden,+New+South+Wales,+Australia+to:Jindabyne,+New+South+Wales,+Australia+to:Cooma,+New+South+Wales,+Australia+to:Canberra,+Australian+Capital+Territory,+Australia+to:Parkes,+New+South+Wales,+Australia+to:Sydney,+New+South+Wales,+Australia&hl=en&ll=-34.994004,149.436035&spn=6.406389,12.370605&sll=52.8382,-2.327815&sspn=9.457254,24.741211&geocode=FSE5-_0dTjwDCSk_dJrzOJgSazFQqDIWaH0BAw%3BFaVzyv0dB1PvCCmXSB4Od6c-azGQCUSQtAkGBA%3BFbpa1P0d0Z_bCCnZvc63icQ8azHAJ0SQtAkGBQ%3BFewX1_0doHjjCCmJO1Pslq49azHA3EOQtAkGBA%3BFbCj5f0d7IXjCCkhkFywaU0WazFgVmmnbuoABQ%3BFThbBv4d9_fUCClXxjYesqkaazGQfEOQtAkGBA%3BFSE5-_0dTjwDCSk_dJrzOJgSazFQqDIWaH0BAw&oq=Sydney&mra=ls&t=m&z=7

 

JB :)

[3littlepigs]

Looks like a good plan to me, you will get to see a bit of almost "outback" as well as the coast. I love the radio telescope at Parkes (you must watch the movie called "The Dish" before you go) otherwise from Cowra you could head straight up to Bathurst.

 

I don't for a minute believe its a total 19 hour drive though ;)

[MMDown Under]

Thanks for the suggestion, sounds more our scene than the direct route. Or adding Brisbane.

Google reckons it adds about 5 hours driving, so effectively another day. But gives me an excuse to just "happen-upon" the Bathurst Circuit.

"We seem to be driving on a motor racing circuit, dear - I wonder if it's a famous one".;)

As Aus Traveller says, we can revert to the direct route if we're pressed for time.

 

So now we're looking at the coast from Sydney to Eden, inland to Jindabyne, north to Cooma, Canberra, Parkes, east to Bathurst & the Blue Mts & into Sydney.

Total 1500k, 19 hrs.

An average of something under 3 hours per day, more realistically 4 hours plus stops.

And from Canberra, point the car directly at Sydney if we choose, saving something under 400k, 5 hrs driving.

 

Here's that basic route if the link works

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=

JB :)

 

You might like to consider, on the way back, -

 

Canberra - Goulburn, via Oberon to Bathurst or Lithgow (if you are running out of time). This is a great rural route, if you want to get away from traffic.

 

I just hope your wife doesn't see too many craft stops. "What craft stop, dear?"

[Thorpe]

I highly recommend The Japanese Gardens in Cowra. After spending many years driving a couple of times a year through Cowra I finally decided to stop and see them. They are beautiful and well worth the time.

[MicCanberra]

I just hope your wife doesn't see too many craft stops. "What craft stop, dear?"

LOL, I always ask to my wife to get the directions on the map of where we need to go next when we get into these little towns. That way she doesn't see the antiques store or the craft stores, as she is busy looking at the map.:D

[MMDown Under]

LOL, I always ask to my wife to get the directions on the map of where we need to go next when we get into these little towns. That way she doesn't see the antiques store or the craft stores, as she is busy looking at the map.:D

 

LOL. I missed lots of craft stops, whilst looking at maps navigating! :)

[Hard-habit-to-break]

Excluding any deviations, such as the Blue Mts (or Bathhurst, just seen that on the map, apparently the circuit is public roads & I'd love a world record lap for rented cars :D) JB :)

 

A lap (or 3) around the Mount is a must! Don't forget the camera, but be aware, the police like to sit at the bottom of the straight (the long stretch of road before the sharp corner and the finish line) to make sure everyone is doing the proper speed!

 

Love Bathurst, lived her for over 10 years and never get sick of the roar of the engines in October for the race! Really nice drive between Canberra and Bathurst via either Cowra (visit the Japanese Gardens) or Abercrombie Caves, Bigga, Crookwell etc but it is a longer trip.

[John Bull]

A lap (or 3) around the Mount is a must! Don't forget the camera, but be aware, the police like to sit at the bottom of the straight (the long stretch of road before the sharp corner and the finish line) to make sure everyone is doing the proper speed!

 

Love Bathurst, lived her for over 10 years and never get sick of the roar of the engines in October for the race! Really nice drive between Canberra and Bathurst via either Cowra (visit the Japanese Gardens) or Abercrombie Caves, Bigga, Crookwell etc but it is a longer trip.

 

 

So what you're saying is stick to the 60kph limit on the circuit.

Or wind it out beyond 200kph for a certificate worth framing. :D

Does a photo come with the ticket? :cool:

 

Thanks for all the suggestions folks, they'll come into the fine-tuning of a route.

But not for the next week, we're off to France on the ferry.

To the Loire Valley.

By coincidence, our route takes us through Le Mans - another circuit mainly on public roads, so we'll do a lap or two there. :)

 

JB :)

[cassamanda]

When in Jindabyne, call into the local Tourist Info/National Parks office. They have a nice display about to town and the famous Snow Mountains Hydro Scheme. Also has a nice little coffee shop. Town shops are next door.

In Cooma, do stop at the Snowy Mountains Hydro information centre just before exiting the town, on the left.

I know you are not into museums etc but these 2 are essential to give you a good understanding of how our nation was shaped during the 1950-1970s immigration era. The beginning of multi-culturism in OZ.

 

You may or may not have time to visit the Jenolan Caves out of Oberon but just be aware that the main road in/out from Lithgow direction on Jenolan Caves Rd is closed to out traffic between 11am and 1pm to allow the big tourist coaches to get down the hill. Coming from Oberon on Edith Rd is not restricted. Also can meet Asian coaches coming down the hill at any time as they generally don't follow everyone else rules!

[Vader1111]

I'd be wary of the drive from Eden to Jindabyne. There are two main routes from the coast to the Monaro district - the Snowy Mountains Highway, from Bega to Cooma, and the Monaro Highway, from Cann River to Cooma. There are other routes up the escarpment, but the roads will vary widely in condition and may even be unsealed.

 

I'm not sure why you would go to Jindabyne unless you are planning on visiting the southern part of Kosciuszko National Park, the highlight of which is climbing Mt Kosciuszko. Jindabyne itself doesn't have a whole lot to offer, it really only exists as somewhere to stay near Kosciuszko, while staying below the snowline.

 

My suggestion would be to continue south from Eden, across the border into Victoria, taking the Monaro Highway from Cann River to Cooma. From Cooma you would then head north to Canberra.

[John Bull]

 

I'm not sure why you would go to Jindabyne ................... .

 

Thanks for that.

I dialled Snowy Mountains into the map & that's what popped up.

So that get added to the fine-tuning list ;)

 

JB :)

 

ps I'll be away from my steam-powered desktop for the next week

[Aus Traveller]

Thanks for that.

I dialled Snowy Mountains into the map & that's what popped up.

So that get added to the fine-tuning list ;)

 

JB :)

 

ps I'll be away from my steam-powered desktop for the next week

Our Snowy Mountains are not scenic in the way the mountains of Switzerland/Germany/France are. They are very big rounded "hills". The Snowy Mountains Scheme that involved building numerous dams, tunnels and hydro-electric stations is very impressive, and if you are interested in this, you can go to the visitor centre in Cooma. We enjoyed the walk to the top of Mt Kosciuszko from Thredbo, but with your limited time, I don't suggest you do this.

 

I don't think there is much in Jindabyne for you.