Australia - where to go over Xmas and New Year??
Discussion
Guys,
Looking to use some airmiles to travel to Austrailia over next Christmas and New Year. We will take the kids out of school so we can have a longer stay, about 4 weeks, and will probabaly stop off on the way there and back in Hong Kong and/or Bangkok - as we will be flying with BA so we can use some upgrade vouchers I have - and probably be forced into flying into and out if Sydney if we do use BA.
So the big question is - what are the "MUST SEE" things to do in Australia?? My wife has said she wants to see Ayres Rock/Alice Springs - but I've heard a few people say its a long way to go for not very much? We'd also wanted to do the Great Barrier Reef.....is Cairns a better place to see it from than say Brisbane? Any really nice resorts around there?
As we have the kids with us some people have said to avoid Surfers paradise and Bondi Beach.
We were thinking of spending Christmas on the beach in the Cairns or Brisbane area...and New Year in Sydney. I'm a big wine fan so we were thinking of spending some time around Adelaide doing some wine tasting?? Anything elses to do in Adelaide?
What about Melbourne?...worth a visit?
Thanks for any advice or feedback!!
Looking to use some airmiles to travel to Austrailia over next Christmas and New Year. We will take the kids out of school so we can have a longer stay, about 4 weeks, and will probabaly stop off on the way there and back in Hong Kong and/or Bangkok - as we will be flying with BA so we can use some upgrade vouchers I have - and probably be forced into flying into and out if Sydney if we do use BA.
So the big question is - what are the "MUST SEE" things to do in Australia?? My wife has said she wants to see Ayres Rock/Alice Springs - but I've heard a few people say its a long way to go for not very much? We'd also wanted to do the Great Barrier Reef.....is Cairns a better place to see it from than say Brisbane? Any really nice resorts around there?
As we have the kids with us some people have said to avoid Surfers paradise and Bondi Beach.
We were thinking of spending Christmas on the beach in the Cairns or Brisbane area...and New Year in Sydney. I'm a big wine fan so we were thinking of spending some time around Adelaide doing some wine tasting?? Anything elses to do in Adelaide?
What about Melbourne?...worth a visit?
Thanks for any advice or feedback!!
I did a couple of trips with http;//www.aatkings.com. I don't know how old your children are but these are the ones I did;
The Great Ocean Road - lots to see on route and The Penguin Parade which included a train ride[Puffing Billy] and a visit to an Australian cattle farm [Warrook Farm] and then to the penguins.
Think you need to book in advance to do the Bridge Climb in Sydney = amazing views.
The Great Ocean Road - lots to see on route and The Penguin Parade which included a train ride[Puffing Billy] and a visit to an Australian cattle farm [Warrook Farm] and then to the penguins.
Think you need to book in advance to do the Bridge Climb in Sydney = amazing views.
Edited by SPR2 on Tuesday 29th December 00:19
I started looking into buying flights to Aus this Xmas (or Jan or Feb even) to visit my daughter who on a gap year.
No way with Airmiles! I searched for just about any dates in these months but there was not a single flight available using Airmiles. When I phoned airmiles they told me no chance.
No way with Airmiles! I searched for just about any dates in these months but there was not a single flight available using Airmiles. When I phoned airmiles they told me no chance.
nick francis said:
I started looking into buying flights to Aus this Xmas (or Jan or Feb even) to visit my daughter who on a gap year.
No way with Airmiles! I searched for just about any dates in these months but there was not a single flight available using Airmiles. When I phoned airmiles they told me no chance.
but if you for example try for an airmiles seat to somewhere like Los Angeles you shouldn't have a problem. From there book a normal economy seat to AUS/NZ. That's what I've done in the past.No way with Airmiles! I searched for just about any dates in these months but there was not a single flight available using Airmiles. When I phoned airmiles they told me no chance.
Hi,
Just returned from something similar but back to front, i.e. Sydney Christmas then near Port Douglas for NY. Firstly if you are in Sydney for Christmas almost all restaurants are open as are a lot of attractions.
Recommend 'Nick's seafood' in Darling Harbour.
The ferries are easy to use to get about to Manly or wherever and are good value and also run on Christmas day.
For the Great Barrier Reef, we went out with 'Synergy' on a big sailing catamaran. You get about an hour and a half snorkeling at Tongue reef with lunch etc. included. It is a fantastic day.
Other than that there is Daintree rainforest with all that includes which is an easy drive up and
the Capt. Cook Highway along the coast from Palm Cove up to Port Douglas is a real rollercoaster.
Also Bathurst isn't a million miles from Sydney so if you have time it may be worth the trip.
It's a good holiday but a hell of a trip back if you don't break it up. We stayed in Tokyo for a while on the way there and would seriously recommend breaking the return trip up with a similar stop.
Hope you have a great time.
Edited by Crook on Sunday 3rd January 16:19
I'm flying to Townsville (nr Cairnes) in 2 days and sailing through the GBR and down the coast... will report back in 10 days or so when I'm done if you wish with some up to date info... Cairnes is undoubtably the location to get to the GBR from.
On another note - Sydney is "London in the Sun" worth seeing for the harbour, opera house, bondi etc but not worth spending a lot of time in, i was out within 36 hours of arriving. North of Sydney are some much nicer quieter beaches and decent sights/locations.
Brisbane - much more laid back than Sydney although a lot less there.
Not doing Ayres Rock as the Aussies mates I'm with have said exactly as you did and I don't have the time this year!
On another note - Sydney is "London in the Sun" worth seeing for the harbour, opera house, bondi etc but not worth spending a lot of time in, i was out within 36 hours of arriving. North of Sydney are some much nicer quieter beaches and decent sights/locations.
Brisbane - much more laid back than Sydney although a lot less there.
Not doing Ayres Rock as the Aussies mates I'm with have said exactly as you did and I don't have the time this year!
Oh - Melbourne - not really worth it!!
Bondi - Hectic at night, chilled in the day but still busy
Surfers Paradise - again mental at night, not too bad during the day
Then again I'm travelling alone meeting up with friends in many different places then moving rapidly along again so my objectively are clearly very different from yours.
Bondi - Hectic at night, chilled in the day but still busy
Surfers Paradise - again mental at night, not too bad during the day
Then again I'm travelling alone meeting up with friends in many different places then moving rapidly along again so my objectively are clearly very different from yours.
nick francis said:
I started looking into buying flights to Aus this Xmas (or Jan or Feb even) to visit my daughter who on a gap year.
No way with Airmiles! I searched for just about any dates in these months but there was not a single flight available using Airmiles. When I phoned airmiles they told me no chance.
I am just back from Perth. I tried to use my BA miles (back in the Summer) to upgrade from World Traveller Plus to Club World and had the same experience - no upgrades in December and January. I refused to pay £3k for BA Club and went with Royal Brunei Business Class for £1700k instead. They were excellent.No way with Airmiles! I searched for just about any dates in these months but there was not a single flight available using Airmiles. When I phoned airmiles they told me no chance.
dealmaker said:
As we have the kids with us some people have said to avoid Surfers paradise and Bondi Beach.
I'd say Surfers with kids is a must if they like theme parks as there is a few good ones there, I liked the old V8 cars cruising along cavill street at night too. The Q1 tower is great to climb + the Aqua duck fun to go on. We went to Australia Zoo from here as well (full day trip but very good)
Stay beach front & high up
I didn't like Bondi but it was only through the day we were there & it was overcast (far prefered Manly Beach)
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