Rare NorbertsNiece Posted June 3, 2015 #1 Share Posted June 3, 2015 (edited) Am on a crazy B2B on Solstice next year and need ideas for a solo gal who doesn't want to hire a car, is into food, scenery and local culture. Not ino major hiking but I did climb the 272 steps up to the Batu Caves, KL this year ;) I'm just starting the planning process. Arrive in Australia in March 2016. Sydney, I have tours included to the Opera House, the Blue Mountains and Australian Wildlife not sure when..... I get 3 days post cruise too Melbourne : may visit an old friend..... need an alternative option Adelaide Perth / Fremantle Benoa, Bali Cairns (Yorkey’s Knob) Airlie Beach Brisbane Newcastle Sydney Super itinerary eh? I'll be blogging the whole trip and am super excited. Edited June 3, 2015 by NorbertsNiece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellieanne Posted June 3, 2015 #2 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Melbourne is a great place for wandering. But I'd recommend seeing the National Gallery of Victoria (free admission to all but the special exhibits), and the Shrine of Remembrance. Also, if you can swing it, a tour of Victorian Parliament is great and well worth it. In Adelaide, I would definitely recommend a tour of the Barossa Valley wine region, even if you don't like wine. I did a full-day private tour and the guide asked us what we wanted to see and what we like in the way of wines, and he managed to find cellar doors that offered sweet/dessert wines for me. It was fantastic and the scenery is great. Other than that, the South Australian Museum (free admission) is very nice, and a walk along Rundle Mall is well worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NorbertsNiece Posted June 4, 2015 Author #3 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Melbourne is a great place for wandering. But I'd recommend seeing the National Gallery of Victoria (free admission to all but the special exhibits), and the Shrine of Remembrance. Also, if you can swing it, a tour of Victorian Parliament is great and well worth it. In Adelaide, I would definitely recommend a tour of the Barossa Valley wine region, even if you don't like wine. I did a full-day private tour and the guide asked us what we wanted to see and what we like in the way of wines, and he managed to find cellar doors that offered sweet/dessert wines for me. It was fantastic and the scenery is great. Other than that, the South Australian Museum (free admission) is very nice, and a walk along Rundle Mall is well worth it. Thank you! Lovely ideas. Are you able to recall contact details for the guide please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted June 4, 2015 #4 Share Posted June 4, 2015 A lot will depend on your interests. Fremantle there is a historic Prison. Newcastle the Vineyards of the Hunter Valley are the most visited attraction, but Port Stephens is also popular. Adelaide either a day in the city or a trip to Glenelg, seem popular. We're doing a similar itinerary in October so I will try and think to report back. Many love a river cruise n Brissy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NorbertsNiece Posted June 4, 2015 Author #5 Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) A lot will depend on your interests. Fremantle there is a historic Prison. Newcastle the Vineyards of the Hunter Valley are the most visited attraction, but Port Stephens is also popular. Adelaide either a day in the city or a trip to Glenelg, seem popular. We're doing a similar itinerary in October so I will try and think to report back. Many love a river cruise n Brissy. Am interested in everything and anything..... it's one big adventure. :D Thanks for the ideas.... all noted Edited June 4, 2015 by NorbertsNiece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzy1948 Posted June 4, 2015 #6 Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) Here's a link to visiting Fremantle http://www.visitfremantle.com.au/Things-to-do-in-Fremantle/Top-10 Depends how long you are there for. You can walk to the City from the cruise ship - most everything is in walking distance. Prison, Museum, Markets, "E" sheds. Maritime museum, shopping. The cappuccino strip - South Terrace. All pretty easy to get to You would be pretty pushed to do Fremantle and Perth in one day - you would have to make a choice. Perth you can get to on the train - the train station is about 500 mtrs from the cruise terminal on the same side. Once you get into Perth you are smack bang in the Centre. Here is a link for Perth things - I wouldn't try to do both in the day. One or the other IMHO http://www.perthtouristcentre.com.au/ Edited June 4, 2015 by dizzy1948 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellieanne Posted June 4, 2015 #7 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Thank you! Lovely ideas. Are you able to recall contact details for the guide please? I am not, I am sorry. My travel agent arranged it for me. I kept the card from the guide, but cannot locate it -- I looked. I remember it was a full-day tour that included breakfast and lunch in the price, and picked up and returned me to the hotel in Adelaide. (I was on a land vacation, not a cruise, though I'm sure similar arrangements can be made for cruise passengers as well.) I also know we visited very few of the big name wineries, concentrating mainly on the smaller ones, that by and large do not export to the US. The only large winery we tasted at was Wolf Blass. I would definitely steer away from the large bus tours, as those have a set number of tastings available and only go to the larger wineries. My tour had unlimited tastings at as many wineries as I wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaechann Posted July 4, 2015 #8 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Am on a crazy B2B on Solstice next year and need ideas for a solo gal who doesn't want to hire a car, is into food, scenery and local culture. Not ino major hiking but I did climb the 272 steps up to the Batu Caves, KL this year ;) I'm just starting the planning process. Arrive in Australia in March 2016. Sydney, I have tours included to the Opera House, the Blue Mountains and Australian Wildlife not sure when..... I get 3 days post cruise too Melbourne : may visit an old friend..... need an alternative option Adelaide Perth / Fremantle Benoa, Bali Cairns (Yorkey’s Knob) Airlie Beach Brisbane Newcastle Sydney Super itinerary eh? I'll be blogging the whole trip and am super excited. Hi there I would suggest 2 options for additional advice though as a well- travelled person you may already have these options in place: 1) participate in the Roll Call for your cruise / s 2) go to the Australia & NZ Cruisers forum section & ask there as many of we locals have done similar cruises By the way - I have followed your "live" blogs in the past so must congratulate you for the time & effort you go to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NorbertsNiece Posted July 4, 2015 Author #9 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Hi there I would suggest 2 options for additional advice though as a well- travelled person you may already have these options in place: 1) participate in the Roll Call for your cruise / s 2) go to the Australia & NZ Cruisers forum section & ask there as many of we locals have done similar cruises By the way - I have followed your "live" blogs in the past so must congratulate you for the time & effort you go to! Thanks for taking the time to make sure my bases are covered and I really appreciate the comments you made about my wish to visit Uluru. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaechann Posted July 5, 2015 #10 Share Posted July 5, 2015 (edited) Thanks for taking the time to make sure my bases are covered and I really appreciate the comments you made about my wish to visit Uluru. Linda TLCOhio did a wonderful review of his cruise & time spent in Australia & NZ! Well worth tracking it down! If I knew how to attach a link I would!! Edited July 5, 2015 by gaechann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtn_couple Posted July 7, 2015 #11 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I'd love to hear people's ideas on this thread as we're doing some of these ports on Oct 16 on Solstice. I can't wait to see your live blog either and hope you'll post the link here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasa1974 Posted July 17, 2015 #12 Share Posted July 17, 2015 TLCOhio did a wonderful review of his cruise & time spent in Australia & NZ! Well worth tracking it down! If I knew how to attach a link I would!! gaechann, Is this the review you were thinking of? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaechann Posted July 18, 2015 #13 Share Posted July 18, 2015 gaechann, Is this the review you were thinking of? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139 Yes! That's the one! His group had a wonderful time visiting our region down under! I have recently booked another cruise around NZ with a friend who hasn't been there before so I'm searching for different experiences in each Port of Call. The Ports of Call section here under Australia & New Zealand has given me some new options for do it yourself day tours as well as the Tourist Information site for each city/town. Just google Auckland Tourist Information for instance & you'll find lots of ideas. All the best in your quest! Whatever you decide on you're sure to enjoy especially if you go with a small group as you'll find that generally we're a very friendly bunch of people down under & just love showing tourists around! Just don't want too many of you deciding to move here & upset the tranquility LOL! Gae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debshomespun Posted July 24, 2015 #14 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Not sure how much time you have in Cairns (Yorkeys Knob). We spent 2 days in Cairns (cruise stop from Rhapsody in Feb/2015) and on day 1, we did a boat tour out to the Great Barrier Reef. It was great to see the reef. Snorkel and lunch and was an amazing day. info is here: http://www.greatadventures.com.au/ On day 2, we took the train to Kurunda, spent a couple hours in the little town, then brought the skyrail back. The skyrail has amazing views. Info is here: http://www.visitcairns.com.au/store/products.aspx?categoryid=4a32207c-7356-4e3f-a801-2fd7d0db3693& gclid=CjwKEAjwocKtBRCf9d_Q5ovcyHASJAAHhJYOv05kZhNnRgTIkbnSeM8aEX6TMZ5vsBd-MDBrW2nwgRoCgtDw_wcB In Brisbane we went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and were able to hold a koala. info is here: http://www.koala.net/en/ New Castle has some fabulous beaches within walking distance to the port if you like walking. We also went to Black Butte Reserve infor here: http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/north-coast/newcastle-area/newcastle/attractions/blackbutt-reserve Not sure of transportation to get there. No charge to see the animals, but you pay to park. We met a couple on our 1st cruise on Solstice from Sydney to NZ, and they lived in New Castle. On our next cruise on the Rhapsody, they met us at the port, and showed us around their city, and took us here to see the koalas. We had a wonderful day with our new CC friends. Hope this info helps you out with some ideas. When I was planning our trip/cruise, I spent lots of time here on CC under both the Australia/New Zealand board section and ports of call section. The Aussies and Kiwis are such wonderful people!! We loved every minute there, and want to return again to see even more of these 2 beautiful countries!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOLFINCHICK Posted August 4, 2015 #15 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Agree with Debhomespun, Great Barrier Reef if you like snorkelling maybe you could do that from Airlie beach??? and then do the Kuranda trip (lovely little village a bit touristy!) in Cairns we took the train up and caught the skyrail back. (catch train up as there are only about 2 times it leaves in the morning and the skyrail comes back far more frequently) http://www.kuranda.org/ Adelaide-if you like wine and food would recommend the Barossa Valley.http://www.barossa.com/ or Kangaroo Island (you may need more than one day for this one though) Melbourne I would catch the free tram http://ptv.vic.gov.au/route/view/1112 and check out Queen Vic markets http://www.qvm.com.au/ and taste test all there fresh produce!!! plenty of gardens and different stops, Melbourne museum and make sure you check the city they have lots of different hidden little alley ways to explore! Hope some of this helps:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NorbertsNiece Posted August 4, 2015 Author #16 Share Posted August 4, 2015 We've only a day at each port..... really appreciate all the ideas and suggestions. Thank you so much. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whimsy7 Posted August 4, 2015 #17 Share Posted August 4, 2015 if not interested in spending $$$ on the bridgeclimb when here in sydney, consider going to visit the pylon lookout instead. great views too but at a fraction of the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NorbertsNiece Posted August 4, 2015 Author #18 Share Posted August 4, 2015 if not interested in spending $$$ on the bridgeclimb when here in sydney, consider going to visit the pylon lookout instead.great views too but at a fraction of the price. Thanks. My TA has included a Blue Mountains and Australian wildlife tour, and an Opera House Tour. On my last cruise I made some wonderful friends from Sydney who will be taking me ..... somewhere.... I'll be in Sydney for a day on the previous cruise and then for 2 / 3 days post cruise this one. Am working on getting to Uluru afterwards for 3 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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