Question on Australia

[here2cruise]

We're doing the Australia/New Zealand cruise next year and will be staying psot cruise in Sydney. we will be there for 2 weeks and want to se various places in Australia...is there a good website that has info on what we can see & do while we are there? also, we are looking for nice hotels...we'd like to visit brisbane, melbourne, great barrier reefs in addition to sydney...we want to stay at the sydney harbor while we're there...any help on good websites will be greatly appreciated!

[janetz]

We're doing the Australia/New Zealand cruise next year and will be staying psot cruise in Sydney. we will be there for 2 weeks and want to se various places in Australia...is there a good website that has info on what we can see & do while we are there? also, we are looking for nice hotels...we'd like to visit brisbane, melbourne, great barrier reefs in addition to sydney...we want to stay at the sydney harbor while we're there...any help on good websites will be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Here you will find alot of good info. Port of call boards. ;)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=77

[Pia1913]

We're doing the Australia/New Zealand cruise next year and will be staying psot cruise in Sydney. we will be there for 2 weeks and want to se various places in Australia...is there a good website that has info on what we can see & do while we are there? also, we are looking for nice hotels...we'd like to visit brisbane, melbourne, great barrier reefs in addition to sydney...we want to stay at the sydney harbor while we're there...any help on good websites will be greatly appreciated!

 

Try contacting Australian Scenic Tours with whom we travelled about 10 years ago. Our tour was 30 days (plus an extra 7 just for Sydney); two weeks is next to nothing when travelling in Australia. Great Barrier Reef and Melbourne are at opposite ends of the continent and from Sydney you will want to also see Alice Springs, Ayres Rock and Adelaide in the center, while on your way to the Reef. My geography isn't terrific, but Melbourne is South, while Sydney is almost Central and Reef is North.

 

Pia

[catergirl]

when in sydney get a city transit pass. cant remember the name of it but you can use all the city transit: buses, momorail, subways and all the ferries unlimited. go to manly beach, bondi beach, do the bridge climb, blue mountains and caves. we rented a car( i wouldnt recommend it) and went to the blue mountains(they do have tours) and the went to coffs harbour(beautiful coastal area) and booked a whitewater rafting tour!!we stayed near darling harbour at the oakes maestre(sp??) towers. it was reasaonable. we had the smallest studio with a king bed, living area and little kitchenette and washer and dryer. it had an indoor swimming pool, hottub and sauna. easy walking to restaurants,shopping, harbour and transit. things are pricey! enjoy!!

[Aussie Gal]

here2cruise,

 

If you are going to visit both Melbourne and Brisbane whilst in Sydne you will need time to see both cities plus you want to visit the Great Barrier Reef. Australia is nearly as big as the U.S. in size so you are asking to stay say in New York (Sydney) and visit Los Angeles,(Great Barrier Reef) Chicago (Brisbane) and New Orleans (Melbourne) all in two weeks. It is a big ask and I feel that you need to allow yourself more time or cut something out of your plans.

 

There is a lot of info on the Australia and New Zealand Board (Ports) and if you use the Search you will find most anything you want to know.

 

If it were me, I would plan it on my own and not use a tour company as once you have your airfares, each city is easy to get around on your own. Even up at the Great Barrier Reef, it is easy to organize tours whilst there to take you out to the reef.

 

Here are the most important websites - airlines in Australia:

 

http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/home/qualifier-region-au

http://www.virginblue.com.au/

http://www.jetstar.com/au/index.html

http://www.tigerairways.com/home/index.php

 

Remember, of the 4 airlines, Qantas are the most reasonable with weight allowances whereas with the others, some only allow 15kg whilst others 20kg and if they are over, they do charge huge fees.

 

If I was planning to travel around Australia before a cruise, I would make sure that I booked a hotel in Sydney that I could return back to for one night before the cruise, then you could leave a lot of your luggage there that you don't need and not have to cart it half way around Australia.

 

There are lots of hotels in the Rocks area of Sydney (harbour) from the most expensive which is the Hyatt, to the more reasonable ones such as the Four Seasons, the Shangri la, Intercontinental, Sir Stamford etc. All are very comfortable.

 

Hope this helps a little with your planning.

 

Jennie

[bobkay]

In seven days you may want to adjust your traveling some what. It is an hour and fifteen minutes fron Sydney to Brisbane and I would guess about three hours to Melborne. Sydney is one of the most bueatiful cities in the world and has far more to do and see than you will have time for in seven days. On our last trip ( been their fore times we stayed at the downtown holiday inn the time before at fore seasons. Both were fine. There is a red and blue on/off bus line that is a must. We acutally used it like a taxi because it will drop you off at Darling Harbor for the aquariam, the maritime museum and access to water transportation all over the harbor. Also your red and blue ticket is also good for the water transport. from here you can get back on the bus or take a watercraft to the harborquay, the bridge and the opera house. these buses will also take you out to Bondi Beach and back by you hotel. The water craft also goes to the zoo which is a must see. From your hotel you also have several tours available. We took a tour of the Blue Mountains and when we come back will go again. If you get to Bondi Beach around six pm their is a small chinese restrarant just a block or so from the swiss hotel can't remember the name but is easy to find. That restr is a must , have been their each time we have been in sydney. Hope you have a nice trip. Our nex"t time down will be a year from now. Have fun

[bobkay]

Sorry I misread the time you are going to be there. As I said Brisbane is about an hour and fifteen minutes away. Downtown Brisbane has a lot to see. We always go out to Gold Coast which is bueatiful. you can book a few nights on the internet and will find rooms reasonable. have fun

[Aussie Gal]

In seven days you may want to adjust your traveling some what. It is an hour and fifteen minutes fron Sydney to Brisbane and I would guess about three hours to Melborne. Sydney is one of the most bueatiful cities in the world and has far more to do and see than you will have time for in seven days.

 

I think the poster mentioned two weeks not 7 days. Melbourne which is an hour by plane from Sydney is also a lovely city, very different from Sydney altogether and has a lot to offer the tourist. In fact I have heard many tourists say that they preferred Melbourne to Sydney as it has great shopping, restaurants, vineyards (very close to the city), arts, lots of beautiful gardens and a good transport system which includes trams, trains and buses plus it is an easy walking city.

 

Brisbane is 2 hours from Melbourne, one hour from Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef is 3 and a half hours from Melbourne, 2 and a half hours from Sydney and of course much closer to Brisbane.

 

If here2cruise is happy to use the airlines, then she could spend 5 days in Sydney, 3-4 days in Melbourne, a couple of days in Brisbane and 4 days at the Barrier Reef. It would eat into her time having to catch planes and be at the airports so early but other than that there is no way that she will be able to see as much as she wants in the time allowed. If I were her, I would allow an extra week - 3 weeks - and then she would have a more leisurely trip.

 

Mind you if the cruise is in January/February, it is going to be extremely hot, humid and wet up north and in Brisbane and Sydney. Port Douglas which is only a 40 minute drive from Cairns had over 400mm of rain in one day, two weeks ago, which is 18 inches!! It would be impossible to go out to the reef let alone see anything.

 

Melbourne has hot days but we have a dry heat, today the humidity is only 12% though it is 37C (104F). Summer here is hard to predict. Sydney, Brisbane and the Far North this year have been extremely wet whereas Canberra and the southern cities ie. Hobart, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne have been the opposite, no rain at all.

 

Jennie

[Coastaljen]

I am envious! You will love Australia. I loved Sydney, and I will go back again with time to see more of Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef.

 

I stayed in the Marriott after the cruise. It was available very reasonably on Priceline. Of course they could have assigned me another hotel, but I knew the odds were Marriott. It was a very short walk from the ship.

 

Also, check out the police station that changes colors/designs at night. It is at the Rocks. I bet people love to watch tourist reactions to that place. :)

 

It looks like my next stop there will be Perth. Hopefully, it will be neat too.

 

I found the shopping in NZ to be outrageously expensive (shirts and anything) while AUS was much more reasonable. Also try the wonderful hokey pokey ice cream.. but maybe skip meat pies. ( ;))

 

Ooooh the accents are wonderful!