Where should I go in Australia?

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Louise

We flew to Cairns and drove to Brisbane, went to Port Douglas, Airlie Beach, Byron Bay loads of other places along the way. Deffo go to the Barrier Reef!

travelgirl

I did Oz experience from Cairns to Brisbane (the Strewth) this year and really enjoyed it. It worked out cheaper though to find my own way to Sydney using local transport. They can arrange hostel accomodation for the first night at a place. They also do the trip heading North To get around is quite cheap and very geared up to the backpacker. I paid 26pd to fly from Coffs Harbour to Sydney. I really enjoyed all the places I stayed at Cairns, Magnetic Island, Airlie Beach, Hervy Bay, Brisbane etc. Gold coast is good.

Ken E

Fully catered coach tours are expensive and they isolate you from the local population. In some places that might be a good idea. Cheapest travel between major centres of population here is probably airliner when you add up the time it does not take and the meals and accomodation you don't have to buy.

There is very little in the way of population between Darwin and Townsville on the E coast. Only a few small towns. Katherine is good for Katherine Gorge with daily bus and boat tours. The next place of any size is Mt. Isa which is hundreds of miles to the S-E because the area between is more than semi-desert. From there is is probably cheapest to get the bus to Townsville. That will take two days at a guess.

From there you are on the main populated region and there are regular bus, train and air services south to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Townsville is a jumping off place for the Barrier Reef but Airlie Beach a few hundred k further south is possibly better. The reef stops at about the latitude of Bundaberg, but it is pretty thin between Bundaberg and Rockhampton.

In NZ check out Queenstown in the Sth Island and the Bay of Islands in the North Island. Another tourist favorite is Rotorua. And rightly so.

FALLENMALAK

IF YOU COME ACROSS ANY OF THE FINE WOMAN THERE,
THEN MAKE SURE YOU GO "DOWN UNDER"!!!....LOL.....

Avalon

don,t bother ...its fulll of Australians

cherub

Your plan sounds good. Just make sure that when you are in North Queensland it is not the season for the box jellyfish. June and July is the best time to be there - also for visibility to see the barrier reef well. Plan it according to the seasons and the various activities you want to do. No idea about New Zealand. Sorry. Greyhound bus tours aren't too dear. Have a good and safe time.

scubs

just come back ffrom NZ the North island is very rugged and mountinous due to the earthquakes, the roads are very winedy and hilly so getting around takes a long time also there are few roads going through the middle of either islands so allow extra time, the South is flatter and the roads better, but still a long time to get from A to B. There are plenty of places in all budget ranges to stay and the touist information centrs now as i sites are very good, they will book you a room, arrange bus or train tickets anything you need, the cost of liveing is cheaper there than here and our money goes a lot futher , if you can dont take a lot of money with you as there are plenty of cash points and the rate you get there is better than here happy traveling

CHRISTOPHER S

if your going to Thailand on your Asai tour, be sure to check out Chiang Mai, wish I was going with ye, good luck

Patsy

I have lived in both Nz and Australia so i am jelaous of your trip !! If you can't afford the buses then have a look on hostel notice boards. These have pleny of adverts for lift shares. It's a good way to meet people from all nations and when travelling by car you will get to go to places off the beaten track.

The East Coast of Oz is beautiful but if your funds allow it then i would reccomend you go to the West Coast , there are fewer tourists and the scenery and beaches are breath taking. .If you are travelling on your own your best bet would be to stay in hostels as it's a good way to meet people.

Depending on your time in Nz i would make a visit to the South Island a must , Queens Town is superb with the Remarkable Moutains as a back drop there really is no better scenery in the world !! Expect to spend some cash there as it's the danger sports capital of the world where you can bungee jump, sky dive and white water raft.. i won't go on as the list is endless.

North Island is also good, check out Rotorua, Auckland and Bay of Islands but it's nothing compared to the South , if time is limited i would just go to the South.

Have fun xx

kelly r

any airport to get back

Calandra has been hurt again :(

I spent two months myself in Aus. I much preferred the West Coast personally. The Aussies are more open and friendly on that side of the country (again in my opinion!). The west is less built up and more rural with much larger beaches. There is a lovely place called Esperance (about 4 hours drive south of Perth) which is has amazing white sand beaches.
As for N Zealand, its easily the best country in the whole world that i've ever visited. That time of year is approaching winter so if u are short on time, head to the South Island for the glacier hikes, Milford Sound cruise and the incredible scenery. If this helps, most people i met on my travels and have spoken to since returning preferred NZ to Aus. Hope this helps! Great sounding itinerary u are planning btw!

â™¥~C.J~â™¥

what you got planned sounds good

Rebecca

Look at greyhound coaches instead, you can buy the passes in kilometres. I got a pass between brisbane and cairns when i was travelling around oz (think it was the 3km pass) and it was great value for money. You can use the passes as often as you like as long as you don't backtrack on yourself.
Cheaper and better than the oz experience which is not as independent, and you tend to be stuck with a load of 18 year old gappers.

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