Looking to find land tour to Cairns and Ayers Rock before cruise in Sydney in Jan. 20

[jas67]

Would like to find a land tour of about 4 days before cruising from Sydney, Australia to NZ. . Land tour to Cairns and Ayers Rock in January 2020.  Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Chiliburn]

1 minute ago, jas67 said:

Would like to find a land tour of about 4 days before cruising from Sydney, Australia to NZ. . Land tour to Cairns and Ayers Rock in January 2020.  Any suggestions?

Thanks!

It’s along way from Sydney to cairns to Ayers Rock and back to Sydney.

Each leg would take 3-4 days drive,

 I would drop one of them and fly to the destination but then 4 days is not enough time to do one destination, taking in the travel time by air there and back.

You could easily spend 4 days around Sydney.

[jas67]

Thank you for your info. We will probably fly to Cairns to shorten the time. Maybe 5 days would be better. 

[Aus Traveller]

You would need to fly to Cairns and/or Ayers Rock (Uluru), but keep in mind that January is the middle of summer. In Cairns it will be hot (probably 33 to 35 degrees C - 35 degrees C is 95F) humid and possibly wet.  Northern Australia has two seasons - Wet and Dry. January is in the wet season. It is also the cyclone (hurricane) season. It would be highly unlikely that a cyclone would hit Cairns, but the clouds and high winds and rain would affect a wide area. However, you would have to be very unlucky for a cyclone to be in the area in the short time you would be there.

 

It will also be hot at Uluru - probably high 30s or even 40 degrees (104F).

 

Edited March 18, 2019 by Aus Traveller

[MicCanberra]

I suggest flying and then picking up a tour once there. TripAdvisor would be a good place to start for tours at the two locations. They may also have Fly/stay/tour packages that do Uluru or Cairns or both.

Otherwise, Viatour and google may help.

 

[SinbadThePorter]

Just a reminder.

 

If you flew from Sydney to Uluru, Uluru to Cairns, and Cairns to Sydney, the total flight distance would be about 6,000 km (or about 3700 miles).

[Brisbane41]

You do realise that January at Ayers Rock resort will be intense heat which makes it very uncomfortable and very early wake up times just to do walks that may still be in darkness to pre dawn light. It is not a good time of the year to go. It is also wet season and if it rains and floods come then some areas can be cut off. Three nights minimum is recommended for the sites at Ayers Rock resort because the area is so vast and expansive and flight schedules do not really allow for quick touring of the area. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

5 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

Just a reminder.

 

If you flew from Sydney to Uluru, Uluru to Cairns, and Cairns to Sydney, the total flight distance would be about 6,000 km (or about 3700 miles).

Or to put it another way, it would be like going from Miami, Florida to Portland, Maine, then to Denver, Colorado, then back to Miami.

[Bubbeh]

To add to the messages of others; she's a big, inhospitable country!  Especially during the height of summer in the outback. 

 

Do you like eating flies, swarming mosquitoes and being constantly moist in every crease of your body?  Then maybe the outback is for you in January afterall.  I suspect not though.  Listen to the locals, we wouldn't do it and you may really come to regret it.

 

Not trying to be smart, but I am reminded of a visiting Pommie rello who came to see us when we lived in Perth and wanted to take a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef!  We still laugh about that and thankfully they do too.  

Edited March 19, 2019 by Bubbeh

[MicCanberra]

Both places are better seen in June  to August, but that is not when the International cruise ships come here.

As long as people are aware of what to expect weather wise, then pre warned is pre armed. 

[SinbadThePorter]

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Both places are better seen in June  to August, but that is not when the International cruise ships come here.

As long as people are aware of what to expect weather wise, then pre warned is pre armed. 

 

If I may quibble a little. For me winter is too cold in the Centre, I would recommend April/May or Sept/Oct.

 

But for Cairns it's perfect.

 

If you did a TransPacific from the US in late September, it would be good in both places when you arrived.

Edited March 20, 2019 by SinbadThePorter

[MicCanberra]

You may, it is a fair point, cairns would still be nice and the centre would be pleasant.

[ilikeanswers]

Central Australia has its benefits in the wet season. Not only do rivers come to life but with enough rain Uluru turns into a magnificent set of waterfalls and Kakadu is more abundant in wildlife during the wet season than the dry. Not too mention being the low season all the prices are cheaper. However because of the volatility of the weather I would not recommend it if you have a short time frame with an appointment to make. Wet season travel requires planning flexible just in case buffer days. 

[brian1]

We did the Princess Ultimate Australia tour,Feb 2013.Off ship Sydney,city tour on way to airport.Sydney-Ayres Rock-Darwin-Cairns-Sydney.Getting up at 2 in the morning for 1 flight,7 days total,well worth it.Weather bearable.Get 1 of those net hats for Ayres Rock,flies a nightmare.Cheers,Brian.

[MicCanberra]

10 hours ago, brian1 said:

We did the Princess Ultimate Australia tour,Feb 2013.Off ship Sydney,city tour on way to airport.Sydney-Ayres Rock-Darwin-Cairns-Sydney.Getting up at 2 in the morning for 1 flight,7 days total,well worth it.Weather bearable.Get 1 of those net hats for Ayres Rock,flies a nightmare.Cheers,Brian.

Sounds like quite an adventure.

[Bubbeh]

12 hours ago, brian1 said:

Get 1 of those net hats for Ayres Rock,flies a nightmare.

Oh yes, you must get one of those!  Such a stylish inclusion for any fashion conscious traveller.

[MicCanberra]

5 hours ago, Bubbeh said:

Oh yes, you must get one of those!  Such a stylish inclusion for any fashion conscious traveller.

They are almost fascinating in their own right. 😛

[brian1]

7 hours ago, Bubbeh said:

Oh yes, you must get one of those!  Such a stylish inclusion for any fashion conscious traveller.

Spot on,a lot more chic than the one with corks.

[MicCanberra]

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=5OjyHa5n&id=B1BCCE398339D8E3E592E02F69A36F2BFF076D21&thid=OIP.5OjyHa5nO1aDgQniocU3DgAAAA&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fi.ebayimg.com%2f00%2fs%2fNTEyWDM4NA%3d%3d%2f%24(KGrHqRHJDoE7zQ!mKMhBPC45lmD0!~~60_35.JPG&exph=300&expw=225&q=hat+with+fly+net&simid=608041143034642669&selectedIndex=3

[brian1]

9 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Sounds like quite an adventure.

Yes,it was condensed,but well organised.We saw and did everything there was in those areas,including the champagne tea at the side of the road,watching the sunset at Ayres Rock.

[MicCanberra]

Just now, brian1 said:

Yes,it was condensed,but well organised.We saw and did everything there was in those areas,including the champagne tea at the side of the road,watching the sunset at Ayres Rock.

Great, it is always good to tick off the bucket list items.

[brian1]

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

They are almost fascinating in their own right. 😛

And they're not banned in the Royal enclosure at Ascot,lol.

[MicCanberra]

4 minutes ago, brian1 said:

And they're not banned in the Royal enclosure at Ascot,lol.

Good news then, double use items.

[CupcakeSusie]

So they still call it ‘Ayers Rock’ overseas? That’s so sad. The name officially changed in 1995 - surely that’s long enough for people to hear about it being called Uluru?

I’m not judging anyone - have never been there myself and was an adult when the name change happened (so have known it as another name for a long time), but it is so strange to hear it being called by its former name. 

[Bubbeh]

14 minutes ago, CupcakeSusie said:

So they still call it ‘Ayers Rock’ overseas? That’s so sad. The name officially changed in 1995 - surely that’s long enough for people to hear about it being called Uluru?

I too noticed this and also felt saddened.  But, I've discovered that there really is not a great deal known about our country overseas, especially in the US.  By way of making my point, a recent poster commented on how until reading this forum, they were unaware that Australia was divided into States and thought we were one huge homogeneous mass. I thought that was sad too.