Two Weeks in January: Sydney, Brisbane and ......where?

[cpl100]

Thank you for the additional information.

 

We are having some difficulty finding a place to stay in the Sunshine Coast.

[GUT2407]

Thank you for the additional information.

 

We are having some difficulty finding a place to stay in the Sunshine Coast.

 

Unfortunately that's school holidays, so accomodation will be at a premium.

[cpl100]

We have booked a cancellable reservation at Raffles Moolalaba. Has anyone stayed there or had personal information about the place?

 

We plan to fly into Brisbane and drive to this place (free parking). What is the best way to rent a car (not a tiny car--4 adults + luggage) in Australia?

 

Thanks to everyone who commented and we would still appreciate more comments/information.

[GUT2407]

We have booked a cancellable reservation at Raffles Moolalaba. Has anyone stayed there or had personal information about the place?

 

We plan to fly into Brisbane and drive to this place (free parking). What is the best way to rent a car (not a tiny car--4 adults + luggage) in Australia?

 

Thanks to everyone who commented and we would still appreciate more comments/information.

 

Never stayed there so can't comment.

 

Google car rental, Avis, Budget, europecar, Hertz, among a multitude of others, for four adults plus luggage maybe a SUV would be best.

[jspqld]

We have booked a cancellable reservation at Raffles Moolalaba. Has anyone stayed there or had personal information about the place?

 

We plan to fly into Brisbane and drive to this place (free parking). What is the best way to rent a car (not a tiny car--4 adults + luggage) in Australia?

 

Thanks to everyone who commented and we would still appreciate more comments/information.

 

I have not stayed there so can't comment on that building. But I live not far from Mooloolaba, and the location of those apartments is great. You have the beach a couple of mins walk across the road, although the sandy section starts about 5 mins walk away. Across from the building is also a major supermarket and the start of the esplanade where all your bars and eateries are. You can walk to everything you need within that area.

You can pre-book rental cars from BNE airport. All the majors are there.

[BritinSoCal]

 

...Cairns is much better to stay at than Port Douglas' date=' especially if you only have a couple of days to spend here...

 

There are also crocodiles to worry about. I hope I haven't turned you off Cairns as there is so much to see and do here you won't even think about the beach. There is the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, Kuranda, Kuranda Scenic Railway, Daintree, Atherton Tablelands with the waterfalls, fruit wineries, coffee plantations, Dairy farms, magnificent scenery and of course the Great Barrier Reef...[/quote']

 

Cairns better than PD - hate to disagree, but I will :)

 

But yes, Scenic Train up / Kuranda / Skyrail down is great fun (Kuranda is a bit touristy but the butterfly sanctuary is well worth a visit) as are the Tablelands for all the reasons mentioned. Arguably though PD is closer to Daintree as well as Cape Trib. I'd also suggest that there's better reef snorkelling from PD than Cairns - or if the OP is put off by the stingers, take a boat out to Low Island. Also PD has that small town feel - certanly compared to Sydney, Melbourne or Cairns...

 

But it will be hot and sticky...

 

Oh and OP, don't worry about the crocs, the Great Whites have had 'em! :D

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Cairns better than PD - hate to disagree, but I will :)

 

But yes, Scenic Train up / Kuranda / Skyrail down is great fun (Kuranda is a bit touristy but the butterfly sanctuary is well worth a visit) as are the Tablelands for all the reasons mentioned. Arguably though PD is closer to Daintree as well as Cape Trib. I'd also suggest that there's better reef snorkelling from PD than Cairns - or if the OP is put off by the stingers, take a boat out to Low Island. Also PD has that small town feel - certanly compared to Sydney, Melbourne or Cairns...

 

But it will be hot and sticky...

 

Oh and OP, don't worry about the crocs, the Great Whites have had 'em! :D

 

That's fine for you to disagree.... everyone looks for different things when they holiday. Living in Cairns and constantly going to Port Douglas I wanted to point out the fact that Port Douglas is a fair way away from Cairns along a road that is full of twists and turns..... even though it is a lovely view. Some people don't like having to travel 45 mins or more. Also the reef boats go to the same reefs so there is no difference in the coral or snorkelling from either Port Douglas or Cairns.... the only real difference is that there are so many more operators based in Cairns and therefore more choice of type of boat/catamaran etc as well as different prices.

 

The OP should look at the smaller vessels which go to the reef instead of just the big two, Reef Magic and Quicksilver. There are lovely medium sized cats that hold around 50 people and are much better than the big ones that hold around 200+. Try Ocean Freedom and Ocean Free or for a small group sailing boat tour of the reef try Reef Daytripper. These are very good. Perhaps go to Green Island for the day, there you can wander into the water and snorkel or have a lunch at the pub or restaurant.... inexpensive too.

[cpl100]

Thanks for all the help!

 

We will be renting a Toyota Kluger at Brisbane airport and making the drive (about an hour from what I read) to Mooloolaba for a five night stay.

 

I don't think we'll get up to Cairns, though, as that seems like too long a drive. Interested in a beach day one day and not sure what else to do near Mooloolaba.

 

We are doing the Sydney part of the trip before Mooloolaba. We will stay two nights at the Sydney Intercontinental Double Bay and two nights at the Park Hyatt (both on points!!). I know I do want to take that day trip out to that mountain area where you can see the native animals. Have to go check out what that was called again and hopefully that can be arranged from the Intercontinental.

 

Any other ideas or tips?

 

Thanks, again, ever so much!

[sonia2509]

Mooloolaba is approximately one hour from the airport, confirm that the hire car has a GPS or if you can use your phone use Google Maps. We have just returned from Germany and Italy and our brand new hire car had an inbuilt GPS and a few times was slightly incorrect and we found Google Maps was always correct. During your stay you could go Australia Zoo which is also on the Sunshine Coast on one day, also Maleny and Montville are beautiful hinterland towns not far from Mooloolaba. If the Edmundi craft markets are on ( I think it is every Wednesday) you could spend a couple of hours there as well. There is also Underwater World. The hotel will have plenty of brochures on what to do and would be happy to organise trips for you.

 

 

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Edited October 1, 2016 by sonia2509

[Mr&MrsCookie]

Haven't stayed at Raffles before but the reviews are good and the location is perfect (except you won't have water views) You did well being able to book it so late. You will be able to walk everywhere in Mooloolaba, including Underwaterworld. If swimming with sharks interests you, my son raved about doing it there!

 

Other things to do there -

Eumundi markets (wednesdays and saturdays)

Montville & Maleny area - good for escaping the crowds and heat. Kondalilla Falls is a pretty spot there.

Go for a drive between Caloundra and Noosa - lovely waterviews

Sunshine Plaza is a huge shopping centre at nearby Maroochydore

Australia Zoo

Feed the dolphins at Tin Can Bay(about 1 1/2 hrs away)

Day tour of Fraser Island

[Globaliser]

We are doing the Sydney part of the trip before Mooloolaba.

If you're going from Sydney to Mooloolaba, then have you investigated flying to Maroochydore airport (aka Sunshine Coast airport) rather than Brisbane? There's a decent number of SYD-MCY flights and that would save you having to drive all the way from BNE.

 

Obviously, you'd have to look at the cost of car rental, plus you'd have to think about whether you can fly from MCY to wherever you're going to next or to take into account any one-way drop fee if you have to fly from BNE to your next destination.

 

But on the face of it, if you're going to the Sunshine Coast rather than Brisbane, it would seem to make more sense to fly to the Sunshine Coast rather than Brisbane.

[cpl100]

If you're going from Sydney to Mooloolaba, then have you investigated flying to Maroochydore airport (aka Sunshine Coast airport) rather than Brisbane? There's a decent number of SYD-MCY flights and that would save you having to drive all the way from BNE.

 

Obviously, you'd have to look at the cost of car rental, plus you'd have to think about whether you can fly from MCY to wherever you're going to next or to take into account any one-way drop fee if you have to fly from BNE to your next destination.

 

But on the face of it, if you're going to the Sunshine Coast rather than Brisbane, it would seem to make more sense to fly to the Sunshine Coast rather than Brisbane.

 

Hi,

 

We did consider it. It seems as though we would have to rent a car in Mooloolaba anyway. There are four of us and we can get free reward (Qantas) flights into Brisbane but not into MCY apparently. On the face of it, it seemed cheaper to just take the free flights and rent a car in Brisbane rather than pay to go to the airport an hour's drive away from Mooloolaba.

 

Is our reasoning faulty? An hours drive doesn't seem a lot when offset by the cost of the flights. Please let me know your thoughts or any error in our logic.

 

Thanks!

[Globaliser]

We did consider it. It seems as though we would have to rent a car in Mooloolaba anyway. There are four of us and we can get free reward (Qantas) flights into Brisbane but not into MCY apparently. On the face of it, it seemed cheaper to just take the free flights and rent a car in Brisbane rather than pay to go to the airport an hour's drive away from Mooloolaba.

 

Is our reasoning faulty? An hours drive doesn't seem a lot when offset by the cost of the flights. Please let me know your thoughts or any error in our logic.

No, nothing wrong with any of that. Most of all, I wanted to check that you had thought about it. But if the plan is to use award flights and you can't get award tickets to MCY but you can to BNE, then that makes sense. You'd need a car anyway; it was the idea that you might be able to save an hour's drive each way that was worth thinking about.

[jspqld]

 

Is our reasoning faulty? An hours drive doesn't seem a lot when offset by the cost of the flights. Please let me know your thoughts or any error in our logic.

 

Thanks!

 

No you have not made a mistake. Many people choose to fly in/out of BNE rather than MCY as there is a greater selection of flights and often much cheaper, justifying the drive.

However, allow a lot more than hour for your drive. Especially the one back to the airport. On paper, the road trip might seem like an hour's drive. But in reality it is often much more than this. The motorway and highway you will be travelling on is constantly being upgraded with road works and there are often accidents slowing down traffic.

A great run takes about just over an hour, a bad run which does happen from time to time can take 2-3 hrs. Most Locals catching a BNE flight always allow 2-3 hrs drive just in case. Better to get to the airport early than miss your flight.

[cpl100]

No you have not made a mistake. Many people choose to fly in/out of BNE rather than MCY as there is a greater selection of flights and often much cheaper, justifying the drive.

However, allow a lot more than hour for your drive. Especially the one back to the airport. On paper, the road trip might seem like an hour's drive. But in reality it is often much more than this. The motorway and highway you will be travelling on is constantly being upgraded with road works and there are often accidents slowing down traffic.

A great run takes about just over an hour, a bad run which does happen from time to time can take 2-3 hrs. Most Locals catching a BNE flight always allow 2-3 hrs drive just in case. Better to get to the airport early than miss your flight.

 

We would have allowed for extra time for the ride back, but maybe not 3 hours. Thanks for the insider information.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

We lived on the sunshine coast in Mooloolaba for 23 years before we moved to Cairns and the Bruce Highway can get very busy especially on a weekend as all the Brisbanites go to the sunshine coast for the weekend. As suggested I would give yourselves plenty of time to get from Mooloolaba to the Brisbane airport just in case.... when we lived there and had to fly we allowed at least 4 hours, it might seem in excess but all it takes is a small accident and the road is blocked for hours.

 

Flying into Brisbane is the only way to go really, the flights from Brisbane to Maroochydore are ridiculously expensive and you would have to fly to Brisbane and change flights to get to Maroochydore anyway. By the time you do that you would be half way to Mooloolaba by car.

 

Forget about doing the Featherdale Park or Wildlife park in Sydney and just go to Australia Zoo at Beerwah when you are in Mooloolaba. They have free shuttle buses that pick you up from your hotel. Wonderful place, much better than the Sydney ones.

 

Where are you staying in Mooloolaba? Anywhere along the Esplanade or close by is good. Don't forget to have a meal in the Mooloolaba Surf Club.... really nice views to dine.

Edited October 3, 2016 by Billy and Charlie's Mum

[Globaliser]

Flying into Brisbane is the only way to go really' date=' the flights from Brisbane to Maroochydore are ridiculously expensive and you would have to fly to Brisbane and change flights to get to Maroochydore anyway.[/quote']Not from Sydney. On 1 January 2017, there are scheduled to be four Jetstar, two Qantas and two Virgin flights from Sydney to Maroochydore. That's why it was worth checking to make sure that cpl100 had considered the option, even if there was a good reason not to take it (which there appears to be).

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Not from Sydney. On 1 January 2017, there are scheduled to be four Jetstar, two Qantas and two Virgin flights from Sydney to Maroochydore. That's why it was worth checking to make sure that cpl100 had considered the option, even if there was a good reason not to take it (which there appears to be).

Sorry l read it wrong ....l thought he was flying direct into Brisbane. Yes there are flights from Sydney but they are still expensive compared to flying from Sydney to Brisbane.

 

Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk

[Globaliser]

Yes there are flights from Sydney but they are still expensive compared to flying from Sydney to Brisbane.

It's all academic for the OP now, as they have a solid reason for flying to BNE rather than MCY, but I don't think that this is necessarily correct.

 

Looking for the OP's actual travel date (1 January 2017), economy headline prices for flights to BNE are mostly at these levels, depending on the exact flight (and some individual flights were different from these):-

JQ to BNE $140, $166, $184

QF to BNE $189, $229

VA to BNE $145, $179, $279

 

The comparable headline rates for flights to MCY are:-

JQ to MCY $154, $194, $214

QF to MCY $161

VA to MCY $169

 

So there would be a decent chance of you getting a flight to MCY that was broadly at the same sort of price as that at which you could fly to BNE, although this could of course vary depending on your own schedules and needs.

 

In case New Year's Day was an outlier for some reason, I also tried a random date of 14 March 2017, and got these results for BNE:-

JQ to BNE $116

QF to BNE $102, $160

VA to BNE $92, $149, $179

 

For MCY, the prices were:-

JQ to MCY $127

QF to MCY $161

VA to MCY $99

 

It looks like the QF and VA fares at or around the $100 mark are because of a current sale, which in QF's case doesn't seem to extend to MCY. But otherwise, you can again get a non-stop flight to MCY for broadly the same price as to SYD.

 

This won't be the case for every day or for every person's circumstances. You always need to check to see what works for you for your specific travel plans. But I think that this shows that it is worth checking SYD-MCY flights if you're going to the Sunshine Coast, because it's not always the case that they're expensive compared to SYD-BNE flights.

[shen61]

Earlier in the post stingray season was mentioned. We will bi in Cairns are in mid February. Will we also have stingrays in GBR?

[GradUT]

Earlier in the post stingray season was mentioned. We will bi in Cairns are in mid February. Will we also have stingrays in GBR?

 

It's not "stingrays", it's "stingers". Stingers are deadly jellyfish like the Irukandji jellyfish. Stinger season in the GBR region (which includes Cairns) runs from November through May. If you are going to be in Cairns in February, you will be there in the middle of stinger season. This means you cannot swim off a beach except within the confines of a stinger net (and even then, I wouldn't do it). Also, you must wear a stinger suit when snorkeling. The tour boat will provide you with a stinger suit.

[cpl100]

What is the best way for a party of four to get from airport to the Intercontinental in Sydney. Will probably have one full size and carryon per person and a purse or backpack or two. Thanks!

[GUT2407]

What is the best way for a party of four to get from airport to the Intercontinental in Sydney. Will probably have one full size and carryon per person and a purse or backpack or two. Thanks!

 

Check with the Hotel, I think they have a shuttle, or otherwise a maxi taxi, basically a mini van.

[cpl100]

Check with the Hotel, I think they have a shuttle, or otherwise a maxi taxi, basically a mini van.

 

Thanks for the timely response.

[GUT2407]

Thanks for the timely response.

 

I should add a maxi taxi costs 50% extra.

 

If you are small in stature you would probably get by with a station wagon taxi.