Australia

Discussion in 'On The Road Again' started by alden, Jan 14, 2009.

  1. alden

    alden 1,000+ Posts

    Heading to Australia towards the end of February for 2 weeks. Flying into Sydney. Have a beach house for a week on the Gold Coast (near Brisbane). Going with a buddy. Neither of us have been before. Any advice or comments are welcome.
     
  2. iamtigerwoods

    iamtigerwoods 500+ Posts

    Gold Coast is nice and relaxing. Surfer's Paradise is where the scene is. There is also a good casino just outside of Surfer's Paradise(think it was called Neptune's).

    If you have some flexibiilty left in your schedule, I would make sure you get up to Cairns/Port Douglas area for a few days rather than spend a week in Sydney. You can get out to the Great Barrier Reef, as well as check out the rainforests. The only caveat is that the beaches may be closed b/c of box jellyfish that late in the summer.

    Regardless, the geography is completely different than Sydney and Gold Coast. More like Hawaii. Definitely check it out.
     
  3. AustinBat

    AustinBat 2,500+ Posts

    We spent 2 1/2 days in Sydney, and saw pretty much everything we wanted to see. Opera House, zoo, beach. We decided not to do the bridge climb because it would have taken too much time, but it's supposedly a great thing to do.

    I wish the dollar had been better last year - lucky you!
     
  4. HornInDub

    HornInDub 100+ Posts

    Fly from Sydney to Brisbane, its a long way to drive

    Box jellys can be nasty, but even in prime season, most popular beaches will have nets to provide a secure area from the box jellys. You can still get nailed by one of these though.

    I second going up to Port Douglas. We spent a week there and loved every minute of it. The Daintree area is incredible.

    Fraser Island is worth a day-trip. We went via helicopter from the airport just south of Noosa, so had great views of the beaches, etc.

    We stayed in Sydney for 3 days and that suited us. We also skipped the bridge walk, we thought it was overpriced.
     
  5. HoustonHorn

    HoustonHorn 250+ Posts

    If you like wine, the Hunter Valley is just a little north of Sydney (~ 2 hours depending on where you're at in Sydney). If you're interested in spending a day or two wine tasting shoot me a PM and I can give you some more info.

    I'd definitely suggest Cairns, Port Douglas and take a day to at least go out to the GBR.
     
  6. Longhorn_in_LA

    Longhorn_in_LA 100+ Posts

    I'm heading to Australia for a week in late April. Can't wait.

    Make sure you've applied for a tourist visa:
    Tourist Visa

    Only costs $20 Aussie (Approx. $13 US now).
     

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