r/AskAnAustralian • u/Ok_Possible_5702 • 1d ago
~3 weeks vacation to Australia
I (36M) will be traveling to Australia for ~3 weeks, between October and November. I took 2 weeks off from work, and one week I'll be working remotely.
Interests: culture (*not* art), history, foodie. Preferred landscapes/scenery: beach and deserts.
My high-level plan is, in some order:
- central Australia/Outback: Uluru or (less likely) Alice Springs. 3-4 days
- Cairns/GBR: beach-time and sightseeing. 3-4 days
- Sydney + Melbourne rest of the time (this is when I'll be working, so I won't have all day to sightsee and visit)
I don't drive, so I don't plan on renting a car to move around, which limits my options (I know it's strongly discouraged for a tourist to drive around alone in the Outback anyway). I am happy to partake in small group tours and use public transports (flights, trains, buses) as needed. Budget is pretty flexible, I'll prioritize speed over price for travel between locations, and I'm looking for accommodations that are clean and decent (think ~3 stars hotel, not a hostel but no Four Seasons either).
Questions:
- Uluru
- is 3-4 days enough? too little?
- I see most tours do the whole "camping under the stars". Is that recommended? Is that the best way to experience the landscape's uniqueness? I used to go camping as a kid/teenager but haven't done it since.
- Cairns/GBF
- 3-4 days sounds good?
- Sydney + Melbourne
- looks like I'd be spending a week and a half between the two cities. Is that too much time? Should I try to fit in another destination (Brisbane? Adelaide?)?
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u/HistoricalHorse1093 1d ago
Uluru and Kata Tjuta park can be seen in three full days.
Cairns. Use it as a gateway and go to Port Douglas. Port Douglas needs 2 full days. One to relax and the other two snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef (maybe you mean GBR?). After you should go to Cape Tribulation. Then do a trip to see the Daintree Rainforest. Port Douglas and Daintree are not in Cairns, you need to travel a short while to get there. So for "Cairns/Port Douglas and Cape tribulation/Daintree Rainforest" I would say 4 full days.
Day 1: travel day. Arrive Cairns go direct to Port Douglas.
Day 2: relax Port Douglas.
Day 3: boat tour for snorkelling
Day 4: early morning go to Cape Tribulation and day trip to see Daintree Rainforest. Stay in Daintree rainforest or come back to port Douglass or Cairns after the tour.
Day 5: make your way back to Cairns and then to your next destination.
Sydney is good for 4 full days. One travel day. One city sights day. One blue mountains tour day. One day at Taronga zoo or similar and fly out that evening
Melbourne is good for 4 full days. Ideas:
Victoria/Melbourne:
Great Ocean Road: 12 apostles, Maits Rest Rainforest Walk, the Otway Redwoods (in Beech Forest), Erksine Falls.
Healesville Sanctuary, black spur drive, Marysville and Steavenson's falls.
The Grampians National Park - pinnacle hike (amazing place).
Phillip Island penguin parade and wildlife
Wilson's Promontory (amazing place)
Dandenong ranges: Sassafras, Olinda for lunch, Kallista, native birds at Grants Picnic Grounds, Walk at Sherbrooke picnic grounds, sky high lookout.
Walking tour of the Melbourne city centre. Or self guided (see iconic Flinders Street station, Federation Square, Hardware Lane, ACDC Lane, Degraves Street, free NGV gallery. Evening walk along the river near the Arts Centre and have a drink at South Wharf
Kayaking at Warrandyte on the Yarra River.
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u/Vegetable_Standard37 1d ago
If I was you, I would definitely see Uluṟu, it’s a beautiful, sacred and ancient place. Camping under the stars will be amazing and I wouldn’t miss it for the world! Cairns is beautiful too… stay by the beach but definitely take the time to go up to Kuranda and catch the sky rail back, also make sure to visit the botanic gardens there. There’s also Port Douglas which is lovely and is further north. I would pick Sydney over Melbourne, stay in the city to go all the sights and then ferry over to Manly. Don’t miss the art gallery, botanical gardens, the harbour bridge & opera house of course and then all the amazing restaurants. If you do go to Melbourne stay near the Vic Markets and try and visit there on a Saturday…those markets are amazing! We are in sleepy Perth but worth it to come to WA for a separate trip as we have so much to see and a it is such a vast state! Beautiful beaches and amazing forests plus the north of the state is rugged and wild. I hope you have a really nice trip to our beautiful country!!
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u/Even_Saltier_Piglet 1d ago edited 1d ago
Alice Springs in itself is not much, but getting transport out to Ululuru takes over 5h as it is almost 500km.
I would fly directly to Uluru and skip Alice Springs, at least if I only had 3 weeks in AU.
JetStar flies directly from some cities: https://www.jetstar.com/au/en/flights/uluru
Melbourne and Syndey are geographically huge, and there are train stations every few hundred meters and car traffic crossing the tracks all over. Travelling 25km by train in Melbourne takes over an hour because it's like 25 stops!
In contrast, in many European cities, a 25km distance is a 20-minute ride as they only have 5 stops, one every 5km, and zero vehicle crossings, so the train can keep high speed.
Check Google maps for travel time so you know how much time it takes.
Only Melbourne and Sydney have international standard public transport.
Brisbane/Gold Coast/Sunshine Coadt is lovely, but many interesting beaches and sites can't be reached by public transport. Even if there is a bus, it might not go every day, etc. Often, there are tour companies that sell packages for international tourists so you can look into that.
The same goes for Tasmania. Lovely nature and amazing place, but not friendly without a personal vehicle.
Adelaide, Perth, and Canberra can be skipped, especially if you only have 3 weeks. Their just mediocre, small cities.
Cairns is nice and very touristy. You could easily have a good time there!
Edit: When you are in Melbourne, you can try to get a tour of the Twelve Apostles, and of the Grampians national parks. You can see some lovely Australian nature without needing your own car in both of those places and it is only a few hours outside the city.
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u/NatAttack3000 1d ago
Adelaide is just a small city but I would argue the reason to visit is the wine regions nearby - all accessible on standard public busses. Perth again itself not a big city but also has Margaret river which is a huge tourist draw and some great surfing beaches, and Canberra has the national war museum and parliament which are worth it if you like culture/history.
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u/burger2020 1d ago
I'd spend a bit longer in Cairns. Theres a fair bit to do there. Hire a car and go to Daintree, Palm Cove, Port Douglas, skyway and a day on the barrier reef.
Personally I'd probably cut out Melbourne. Theres really nothing to do there that you can't do in Sydney but not as scenic as it doesn't have the beaches, harbour etc... unless you want to do the great Ocean road.
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u/giganticsquid 1d ago
I camped near Uluru for a few days in the desert just outside the Uluru national park, it was amazing. I hired a car in Alice Springs with camping gear included, and drove/camped through the west McDonell ranges and down to a spot just outside the Uluru national park. All the spots I camped were free, the only trouble I encountered was ppl setting their campervan next to my tent despite having millions of square KMs to spend the night. I spent 2 weeks doing this with the occasional nights stay with family in Alice Springs.
I've also lived in Cairns, you could easily spend 2 weeks camping and see the reef, camp in the Daintree, camp at Petronella park, and go to a place called Chillagoe which I think you would love.
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u/korforthis_333 1d ago
Yes, if you go to Cairns, then there is a day tour from there that goes to Chillagoe
https://www.billytea.com.au/our-tours/1-day-chillagoe-outback
Undara Lava tubes is great as well, but to get there you would need to hire a car and stay overnight (or do a multiday group tour that also visits Undara).
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u/Moist_Ad_9212 1d ago
If you’re going to be working make sure you have the right visa,
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u/sugmysmega 1d ago
They’re working their existing job remotely.
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u/AdComfortable779 1d ago
This is illegal under an Australian tourist visa.
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u/sugmysmega 1d ago
Applicants wishing to work online (for example, stockbroker wanting to check emails, share prices etc. online) may apply for a Tourist stream visa if the online work is incidental to a holiday. If the applicant is holidaying in Australia for a short period, and just wishes to keep on top of work back home (that is, the online work is incidental to their trip), this is not of concern in terms of condition 8101.
An applicant who wishes to continue their overseas work online, basically full-time may be of concern in terms of the genuine temporary stay requirement and should be considered carefully. But generally, such persons are also unlikely to be in breach of condition 8101 and are unlikely to be taking a job away from an Australian.
https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/foi/files/2018/fa180400125-documents-released.pdf
Not illegal according to home affairs.
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u/betterfrontpage2 1d ago
Cheers! Thanks. I visited for 7 weeks in 2022 and even told the immigration officer at the airport that I was on a work-cation and they were cool with it.
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u/Own_Lengthiness_7466 1d ago
I actually think your timing is ok. Definitely fly straight into Yulara though. Also if you’re into food and culture Melbourne will be much more your speed than Sydney. You’ll have plenty of time to do both though and it’s only an hour flight between the two.
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u/jezebeljoygirl 1d ago
I think these days Sydney holds its own against Melbourne in terms of food and culture.
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u/wordsrenegade 1d ago
Have to strongly disagree on that one. Melbourne wins easily in culture, and edges Sydney in food.
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u/Amazing-Bumblebee673 1d ago
I think you should research how many days total you’ll need for travel just to get to each of these destinations. Australia is bloody big!
I’ve been to Uluṟu twice before and loved it! It’s a great trip and if you are doing the walk around it, it can take up to 3 hours to walk. Just consider the day will be massive if you are on a bus, then a walk, then bus home, if you are coming from Alice Springs, that is about 4-5 hour bus ride I think!? I know you’ve written one or the other but I’ve heard of people assuming Uluṟu and Alice Springs being close together. I would opt for Uluru.
I know you can fly directly into Uluru (ayers rock) from Brisbane. I would have to google if other cities fly direct and I assume Sydney/Melbourne would. Camping under the stars would be a beautiful experience, but remember it’s the desert. Very cold at night, very hot during the day.
I live in country NSW but did live in Brisbane for a few years. It’s a great city to explore. Have been to Sydney a bunch and it’s cool to walk around darling harbour, and be in the city. Haven’t had a proper Melbourne trip so I can’t comment on that. Lots of events and things to do mostly everywhere. Just good to research what’s on.
For you to work remotely, you could go to any city and find a cool little cafe or airbnb/hotel with decent wifi and close by to nightlife so you can still make the most of the time. Also without a car, I recommend staying central in whatever town/city you decide to visit.
Hope that helps and ask any other questions if you any. Super exciting trip for you!!
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u/Ok_Possible_5702 1d ago
I think you should research how many days total you’ll need for travel just to get to each of these destinations. Australia is bloody big!
I looked it up already. Uluru is connected via plane (Ayers Rock Airport) to both Sydney and Cairns. It looks like it's a 3 hours flight. It's a half-day trip.
Good point about Uluru and Alice Springs not being connected via plane.
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u/magician11111 1d ago
St Kilda is a suburb in Melbourne will be your vibe - away from the city and close to the beach, coffee shops and restaurants. The tram into the CBD is like 20min
Bondi Beach (not Bondi Junction) in Sydney is my personal fav. Beach, Ocean and Babes.
I probably wouldn’t do Adelaide or Brisbane as your schedule is tight. Only possible way is to shave one whole day off in Melbourne & Sydney to do a day tour to do Adelaide or Brisbane. Call me bias not much to do in Brisbane and better to go to the Gold Coast.
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u/Boring_Kiwi_6446 1d ago
Sydney has more sights and great beaches but if you’re working for that week and won’t see much anyway Melbourne would be a better place for you. Great food and coffee shops, museums, exhibitions and off-beat places.
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u/techretort 1d ago
I had a friend come over from Scotland and we did the full east coast in 2 weeks and that was intense.
I'd say fly to Sydney or Melbourne, do the touristy things there, fly direct to Uluru, it's beautiful but you don't really need more than 2 full days there (1 for Uluru, 1 of Kata juta) unless you want to go further out to do kings canyon, but that requires transport). Fly back to Cairns and do the barrier reef for a day or two, then fly back to Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne to see the sights before you head home.
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u/MajorPain169 1d ago
If you can get away from Melbourne for a few days, for landscapes you can go west along the Great Ocean road or head east, Phillip Island, Wilson's Promontory and Lakes Entrance. Wilson's Promontory would have to be a day trip because there is a really long waiting list for camp sites/cabins, about 12 months last time I checked.
One thing to remember is Australia is huge, about the same size as the USA but is mostly empty. 3 weeks doesn't allow for much. Would focus mainly on the east coast, Victoria all the way up to Queensland. Maybe take 2 weeks and just drive along the east coast, start at Melbourne and work your way along until you get to Brisbane.
Central Australia has very large distances between POIs so you aren't going to see as much in the given time.
You can also take the overnight ferry from Melbourne to Tasmania.
The other thing to consider is how well you handle temperature, the outback is dry and hot, October and November around Uluru average around 32 Celcius.
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u/InadmissibleHug Australian. 1d ago
Absolutely no one seems to have highlighted that it’s going to be our summer.
I hope you’re comfortable with Arizona desert summer heat and the Deep South summer heat as well. Plus/minus cyclones.
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u/Ok_Possible_5702 1d ago
I love the scorching heat, which is also why I am purposefully avoiding Tasmania (or New Zealand like other friends suggested - yes, I know it's another country) - those places are too cold and the cold-weather flora gives me depression.
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u/InadmissibleHug Australian. 1d ago
Well, good luck! I like the heat too, which is why I live in NQ- being from Melbourne to start with.
I found Uluṟu in September to be too hot to do much during the day, myself.
And December on the coast of NQ is pure air soup.
I just like to remind people, because you’d be amazed how many tourists don’t research well
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u/keiranm9870 1d ago
Cairns is not good for beaches, due to mud flats, crocodiles and irrikanji. GBR islands would be better.
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u/Petrichor_736 1d ago
You can fly direct from Cairns to Alice Springs with Air North. A lot cheaper than the major airlines direct to Yulara. Get a bus from Alice to Yulara. Uluru - Kata Tjuta is really worth a visit. If you go there bring some cash to buy some great Aboriginal art that they sell in the open air galleries in the Yulara Town Square. Also if you go to Cairns check out Mossman Gorge.
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u/curiousmind68 1d ago edited 1d ago
You probably need to take a day off your time - if u leave LAX on a Tuesday u don't land in Australia till Thursday morning, but u get that time back when u fly home - leave Australia at 9.30am on any given day and arrive at LAX on the same day at roughly 9am
Is your itinerary flexible? I took a cruise last year during November for a week - a 7 day trip that covered a lot of the Queensland coast, so Airlie beach Port Douglas, Great Barrier Reef and Cairns. It was perfect in that I was able to work when I needed to and able to get off the ship and do my day tours when available.
If u need to work for a week this is an excellent option and wifi at sea is just as good as land these days.
This way you could spend your two vacation weeks not having to worry about work while your travelling. I recommend u then split up the other days... 3-4 days at Yulara (Uluru is not far from here), have a look at packages we went to Yulara in 2022 and we bought a great value package with Virgin that included flights, accommodation, some meals, National park pass, tour for field of lights (now includes the drone show) and the indigenous art centre in Yulara. We also bought tours for Uluru dinner under the stars called the Sounds of silence dinner at sunset and a day tour to Kata Tjuta/Uluru.
3-4 days in Sydney there is plenty to do in Sydney and all walkable with good public transport options and I would do 4-5 days in Melbourne that includes a day tour down the Great Ocean Road.
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u/polichick80 1d ago
Alice Springs gets a bad rap, but I would highly encourage you to visit there in addition to Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa. There’s a bus between Yulara and Alice Springs (duration about 5 hours) and there are day tours from Alice that you join to the West Macdonnell Ranges, Finke Gorge and others. I was there last year and loved Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa (I preferred Kata Tjuṯa to Uluṟu) but was blown away by the landscapes of the West Macdonnell Ranges, they are truly stunning. Closer to Alice there is the Desert Park and the Cultural Centre that are both worth visiting.
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u/FullHecticGangstaWog 1d ago
Sydney, melbourne and uluru tour without a car would all be good.
Cairns without a car might be a bit more eh. Like yea, you'd be able to book day trips but it might be a bit of a pain in the arse. Make sure what you're booking actually leaves from cairns proper, because sometimes itll say cairns but really mean port douglas or be somewgere an hours drive away. Cairns city itself is a bit shit tbh, but obviously everything around is beautiful. If possible, stay in the daintree rainforest, but again, its a pain in the arse without a car.
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u/NinjaQueenLAC 22h ago
Uluru and surrounds is amazing and well worth the visit but October/November will be hot. In fact, the absolute best time to visit Central Australia is June/July. It is hot from now until next June and the flies are already starting!
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u/RB30DETT 1d ago
I see most tours do the whole "camping under the stars". Is that recommended? Is that the best way to experience the landscape's uniqueness? I used to go camping as a kid/teenager but haven't done it since.
Where are you coming from?
I ask because if it's NA the timezone change could really fuck you up for the first couple of days coupled with the travel time etc. So I guess if I was doing it (and I have travelled CAN to AUS a fuckload of times) the last thing Id want to do is camp under the stars for the first few nights.
Brisbane/Adelaide?
Eh, no to Adelaide. Brissy - maybe? If you want to add in some Zoo & Beach experiences but you could do those in Sydney too with relative ease using the ferries.
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u/Ok_Possible_5702 1d ago
Traveling from California, so I think that time of the year (late October) it's a 7 hours difference with the Northern Territories' time zone. Good point about the time change... I'll think about it. I really wanted to hit Uluru first, hoping it's not too hot already by late October.
Eh, no to Adelaide. Brissy - maybe? If you want to add in some Zoo & Beach experiences but you could do those in Sydney too with relative ease using the ferries.
Any other destinations you'd suggest? Ideally either in Central or Western Australia - unless it's really unmissable, I don't want to spend 5 hours on the plane to go to e.g. Perth and then 5 hours back.
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u/techretort 1d ago
Don't do Perth and WA the first time here. It's awesome country, but with your timeframe it's too big to be able to see effectively. Come back and spend a few weeks driving from Perth to kunnanara and see it that way
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u/KriegerBahn 1d ago
Hobart is great for a day or two if you want to fit something else in. Otherwise your plan looks pretty good. 3-4 days is plenty for cairns.
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u/NatAttack3000 1d ago
Adelaide is easy without a car to get to the main destinations, and we have the best wine in the country across 10+ wine regions (my pick would be Barossa, Clare and McClaren vale). Great accessible beaches, hills/countryside and native animal experiences all within 20 min of Adelaide CBD.
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u/HistoricalHorse1093 1d ago
Copy and paste my list for you to research
Many ideas 🙂
Queensland:
Port Douglas, Daintree rainforest (must see), Snorkelling great barrier Reef. Number one location for reef snorkeling.
Whitsunday islands (beautiful great barrier Reef location) Airlie beach, Hamilton island, Whitehaven beach, snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef
Fraser Island K'gari
Tasmania: (not easy to get around without a car, would need to book tours)
day trip to Hastings Caves, Tarkine Rainforest and Russel Falls
day trip to Freycinet National Park, Wineglass Bay and Richmond historical town
day trip to Bruny Island boat tour and walking on the island (sealife).
Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park, wild wombats at the information centre. Nice hike/walk at the lake
Wildlife Sanctuary, Mona Art Gallery, Salamanca markets on Saturdays
Victoria/Melbourne:
Great Ocean Road: 12 apostles, Maits Rest Rainforest Walk, the Otway Redwoods (in Beech Forest), Erksine Falls.
Healesville Sanctuary, black spur drive, Marysville and Steavenson's falls.
The Grampians National Park - pinnacle hike (amazing place).
Phillip Island penguin parade and wildlife
Dandenong ranges: Sassafras, Olinda for lunch, Kallista, native birds at Grants Picnic Grounds, Walk at Sherbrooke picnic grounds, sky high lookout.
Walking tour of the Melbourne city centre.
Kayaking at Warrandyte on the Yarra River.
Northern Territory:
from Darwin 1-2 day tour to Kakadu National Park
Uluru Ayres Rock and Kata Tjuta National Park
Western Australia:
- The Kimberley area
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u/NatAttack3000 1d ago
Ok, rude, I'll add it in
South Australia
Our wine regions are accessible from Adelaide and have wonderful scenery and world class wine as well as distilleries/breweries etc and amazing reetsaurants some ideas:
Make sure you try a sparkling Shiraz too. It's the perfect thing for a hot Christmas, or just a great summer day. Great to bring home as a gift
- Barossa wine region (for Shiraz/Syrah)
- McClaren vale wine region (for cab sav, Grenache, and some nice lighter Shiraz)
- Clare valley wine region (for Riesling)
- Adelaide Hills - all sorts
- Flinders Ranges and Wilpena pound - proper outback with gorgeous rolling red hills, probably not doable without a car though
- Adelaide Central markets for gourmet produce, fresh oysters, or a cheeky bacon and egg roll
- Mount Lofty - great accessible hiking
- Hallet cove beach (for the gram)
- Hahndorf - a German style town about 30 min out from Adelaide CBD. Bratwurst, pretzels, beer and a strawberry farm where you can pick your own
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u/HistoricalHorse1093 1d ago
I was extending on the places they already mentioned they were going. Plus added some places I know about.
They only have three weeks. I didn't realise I needed to have an all inclusive of all Aussie places otherwise it would be considered rude. Maybe I should make a MASSIVE list of ALL places next time.
In that case - why didn't you talk about Brisbane too? OP mentioned Brisbane and Adelaide. God you're rude.
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u/keepturning1 1d ago
Strike off inland Australia/Uluru, you don’t have enough time. Enjoy the east coast. I’d spend a minimum of a full week in Sydney at least to see and do everything. Melbourne could be skipped for more time in Queensland and northern NSW (Gold Coast, Byron Bay). So start in Sydney and head north along the east coast is the easiest and best option for a first timer in Australia.
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u/Ok_Possible_5702 1d ago
Strike off inland Australia/Uluru, you don’t have enough time
How much time would be needed? Honestly I'd rather strike off Melbourne or perhaps even Cairns, before i give up visiting the outback.
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u/EliraeTheBow Brisbane 1d ago edited 1d ago
This commenter appears to have missed that you aren’t driving. So ignore them. Your plan is generally sound except that you’re going to Cairns/GBR at the beginning of wet season. This means you may/may not actually get to see GBR during your visit. They’re unlikely to take you out when it’s raining, and well, wet season is wet; also a potential for cyclones.
I’d also probably pick one big city (Melbourne or Sydney), from a tourism perspective, they’re pretty similar and instead go to Hobart for a period. If you like good food and wine, Tassie is a must.
I’d do four days in outback, four days in cairns/daintree (it’s pretty boring if you can’t actually get out on the reef), six days in one of the cities (Sydney if you like beaches imo) and then Tassie for whatever time you have left.
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u/gtrain1019 1d ago
Do not “strike off” inland or Uluṟu. You are coming to visit australia, if anything strike off Melbourne or Sydney, you only need to see one big city, nowadays our big cities are just the same as any other international western big city, minus the history so either Sydney or Melbourne will do, Uluṟu or Alice Springs is a must
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u/spatchi14 1d ago
Uluru is easy to get to, there’s direct flights from most major cities (and Cairns/Darwin) and once you’re there you can either use a hire car or a join a tour, and the tours pick you up from the airport.
Don’t bother with Alice Springs. The drive along the ranges is nice but it’s a big detour for little gain.
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u/Sovereignty3 1d ago
I think they said to strick it off because by buss or stuff it would take way longer to get there from say Melbourne/Sydney by bus than the 3 days they want to spend on the trip. A flight on the other hand, which they aren't wanting to use, is way quicker and would actually let you have time there. From Geelong in Western Victoria at 8.39 am on a Monday, it's telling me it will take 25 hours and 24 minutes to get there. One would have less than a day to enjoy it on a 3 day trip by bus.
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u/keepturning1 1d ago
Around a week at least which will get in the way of seeing the east coast. But if you skip those other places then it could be possible. Honestly most people get to Australia and once they arrive just wanna kick it in Sydney at the beach soaking up the lifestyle.
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u/MortaniousOne 1d ago
Don't go Alice Springs. Fly into Yulara, do a 4 night tour. Sleeping under the stars is great marketing, what it really means is you sleep lying on the dirt outside because the hotels there are expensive and this is why the tour is cheap. You will survive though.
5 nights in Cairns, 5 each again for Sydney and Melbourne.