R&R to Australia?

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â€¢ Koala â€¢ uÊop É¹Çpun

I really think Cairns (North Queensland) would be the best place for you. (population around 140,000)
15 days isn't alot of time for an Aussie holiday and considering you are coming a long way â€¦
Cairns has an international airport so you can get direct flights in rather than going via Brisbane or Sydney. Romance is what the Cairns beaches and Port Douglas is all about. Trinity Beach and Palm Cove the best !
Accommodation at Trinity beach - http://www.trinitybeachclub.com.au/ (or google it, heaps comes up) For Palm Cove - http://www.palmcove.net or http://www.tropicalnorthqueensland.com.au (has all accommodation in Carins/Port Douglas area to give you an idea)
99% of accommodation is on the esplanade right on the beach or at least overlooking it. Itâ€™s gorgeous!

Port Douglas, a small township but a tropical paradise.. (50 mins from Cairns) is a top spot for celebs, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg is here making a movie at the mo. Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson also stayed for a while making a movie recently and Pink was here a couple weeks back.

Not sure how much is too much ($) for you. But check out the sites I've listed ... any other help you need be sure to email me.

http://www.welcometocairns.com.au
http://www.canz.com.au nightlife & entertainment information website

Obviously top of the list is going out on the Great Barrier Reef -
Main ones are :: http://www.greatadventures.com.au and http://www.quicksilver-cruises.com
Also for something different do the http://www.scubadoocairns.com or http://www.seawalker.com.au
A day trip out to Green island is great or otherwise you can go out on the Outer Barrier Reef on their platform for lunch!
Most 'tourism' operators will do pick ups from your accommodation.
http://www.paronellapark.com.au is worth the short drive out of Cairns, a very romantic place with an amazing story behind it all.

Daintree Discovery Centre - http://www.daintree-rec.com.au

A trip to the Aboriginal Culture Park http://www.tjapukai.com.au (they also do a great night show) and on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. http://www.skyrail.com.au
(same car park, right next door to each other)

The skyrail takes you up to the rainforest village of Kuranda. http://www.kuranda.org - or take the skyrail up one way and train back down to the city. Kuranda Scenic Railway http://www.ksr.qr.com.au (prices start at $39 one way on the sky rail, my 17 yr old son took his grandfather up there last week and said â€˜well worth the money!â€™)

See a croc right on top of the casino in the city - http://www.cairnsdome.com.au
Cairns Zoo - http://www.wildworld.com.au
Hartley's Creek Crocodile Farm - http://www.crocodileadventures.com and the Cairns Wildlife Safari Reserve - http://www.cairnswildlifesafarireserve.com.au

http://www.portdouglaseguide.com or http://www.vcentres.com.au/port-douglas
Port Douglas Accommodation - http://www.portdouglasaccom.com.au

Other things to see in Cairns
http://www.tropicalaustralia.com.au/things_to_do_and_see
http://www.cairnsvisitorcentre.com
http://www.cairnsattractions.com/index.html

Also every Saturday on the Cairns Esplanade is market day, a showcase of local quality stalls as well as local entertainment artists as they showcase their talent. - Worth going .. then spending the rest of the day at the lagoon there.

Have fun on what ever you decide!!

jack

Queensland is nice, but very big and varied. I would suggest finding something on the east coast of Australia - there are so many hidden beach spots and islands and drives there (ie Queensland or NSW) that I wouldnt like to nominate a particular place. To narrow it down I suggest you go and look at www.walkabout.com.au which has great information about the attractions of every Australian town and region. As I say it is divided into towns and regions so you could find an area that appeals and plan day trips as well. Once you have worked out where you will be you could book highly discounted accomodation (I would go for 1 bedroom appartments) in the three or four star range online (SEE WWW.WOTIF.COM.AU OR WWW.NEEDITNOW.COM.AU). The way the website works is that accomodation that hasnt been booked 2 weeks ahead tries to fill it by offering discounts. You could also use this system in Australia to book your next days stay by using the public internet that is available at all public libraries (usually one in each town - ask at the desk). I would strongly advise hiring a car - if you book one with sat nav it will totally take the stress out of exploring (you can pick up hire cars at the major airports but I would book ahead on the net to make sure you tie up a car with sat nav - a Commodore or Ford Falcon are pleasant full sized cars. The major hire car companies include Avis, Thrifty, Hertz - look up their Australian websites. A final tip to save money would be to book internal flights through either www.virginblue.com.au or www.jetstar.com.au wich offer excellent (no refund) standby fares (book as far ahead as you can as the cheap fares tend to be snapped up early). You could go out to the barrier reef, check out Surfers Paradise, 4 wheel drive at Fraser Island. Yet another option that could be quite magical (as long as you take the time to find a great house) would be to hire a furnished house overlooking a beach in a great area (could be anything from a night to the full 2 weeks (really good discounts usually apply for stays of three or four days plus) and do day trips. To find houses like this go to yahoo and restrict the search to Australia, and search for - cottage, views, sea, historic and similar and that should bring up many choices. The only place I wouldnt recommend your getting a car would be in the very busy cities of Sydney and Melbourne - but the public transport there is good. Finally each fairly large town usually has an information centre for tourists, and you could pick up heaps of brochures there about the local area. Good luck.

Harry W

i d shoot for sydney, the farther up the coast you go, the more expensive it gets. if you hear gold coast in travel arrangements , thats what it ll cost, you alot of gold. sydney has a good atmosphere, alot of nightlife, sights to see. been there done that. if you do have fun and have a designated driver if you need one. have fun if you go

dorcas_3210

Dear Badazzgirl -

Sydney is a great choice - definately go there and go on the monorail, to Luna Park, the aquarium, go shopping - wow, you will love the shopping. If possible go to a show at the Sydney Opera House.. you could spend a week there but, if you are looking for warm weather and surf and a place to wind down......... - come to - .........

...........The Sunshine Coast in Queensland, and stay at Mooloolaba or Noosa (preferably Mooloolaba). It is very relaxing here, people are nice, it is always beautiful on the coast and you can swim to your hearts content. If you are here after October it starts to heat up and it gets quite humid. The water is crystal clear, you could go diving or snorkelling if you want. Fishing is great year-round. We get whales passing through and dolphin groups regularly. You can apparently ride a camel along the beach here but I have never done it.

There is an excellent art and craft market called Eumundi Markets out in the hinterland, it has the most incredible artworks and craft - it has to be seen to be believed.. go shopping for christmas presents..you will never get bored staying around here, you'll never be short of things to do....

Finally did I mention - it is very USA friendly here, we get alot of American tourists and I know there is a fair sized American community here... other people (me included) are groovy and nice .. there are lots of young people and everyone is helpful and caring - you would love it. I hope you come.

Email me and let me know when you get here if I can give you any other tips. Check out the website below. (If you are after a wild fun time you would go to The Gold Coast but The Sunshine Coast is perfect if you need to wind down). Plus the surf is not as dangerous.

But Why??

Why do all Americans go to Sydney???

Be different, go to Broken Hill, or Mt Isa, or Cooktown, or Marble Bar. Even Meekatharra, see real Australia.
For cryin out loud!!

hot1

i think sydney is a great spot along with queensland, gold coast, lets not forget Perth or the little country towns a? â˜º

Lemon Twist

Some of the others have given you HEAPS of options. I'll keep it limited. Sydney is fine but high cost. Two romantic places not too far from water I've been to....

Kangaroo Valley (the Bed and Breakfast we went to isn't on the net and I can't remember its name but there are heaps of them). Beautiful spot about two hours south of Sydney and 30 minutes from some beautiful romantic beaches.

Bermagui - a place called Nutley Cottage. Cheap, basic but everything there and a walk to a beautiful harbour and beaches. About 4 hours south of Sydney and maybe 6 from Melbourne. To correct Angela (sorry) it is Mel-Bun (without much emphasis on the 'u') not Mel-Bine. Most Americans seem to say Melbooooooooorne! :-)

Good luck - hope you enjoy.

Angela

well I lived in OZ for 6 months. Pretty much anywhere is American friendly, although you'll probably run across people who believe american culture is running over australian culture, but then again australian culture litterally ran over aboriginal culture so it's really a "horse a piece".

it depends on what you think is romantic. go north to cairns (say "cans" or they won't know where you are talking about) and you can hit the beach, go skydiving, and hike through a rain forest with butterflys the size of birds all in one day. go south to Melbourne (say Melbine) and you'll find a hip metropolitain city without as much crime and grime in Sydney plus you can go out and about and see the worlds smallest penguines coming in to nest. They are so cute. If you stay in sydney there's tons of stuff to do. Climb the harbour bridge, have a romantic dinner at "the rocks", go clubbing till the sunday church goers point fingers at you, hit Bondi or Manly beach (take the fairy it's cheap and a decent ride). Take a tour to the blue mountains. Stay there and camp out for a night or two. There so much more. Buy a guide book

Hope you have fun! And Good on yah for making a fair dinkum question.

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