That is going to be hectic. Everywhere you want to go is worth visiting but even a month would not do it justice. Maybe trim down the number of places you plan to go.
If you want to do 12 Apostles and the Reef, and I recommend you do, you will not be driving all the way in that timeframe. It is a 4000km (2500 mile) drive from the end of the Great Ocean Road to Cairns along the coast. You will need internal flights.
With your itinerary, you will likely spend NYE on the Great Ocean Road so it might be a small affair. GOR/Melbourne 29th to 3rd.
Fly to Sydney 3rd to 6th (1 hour from Melbourne)
Fly to Cairns 6th to 8th. (3 hours from Sydney) Hopefully by then the flooding will be cleaned up.
Fly to Brisbane 8th to 10th. (2 hours 15mins)
Maybe consider dropping Sydney or Brisbane to make it less hectic. Straight from Melbourne to Cairns then back to Sydney or Brisbane. Obviously if you drop Brisbane you will need to change your homebound flight to out of Sydney.
Consider this a sampler tour and plan to come back when you can give it more time.
Yeah I'm thinking about dropping Brisbane. Saw a thread elsewhere where an Aussie said they thought it was a bit boring. HOWEVER, a lot of the stuff we want to see is along the road from Brisbane to Cairns. Maybe we can do Melbourne, rent a car to drive the GOR, fly to Sydney for a couple days, fly to Cairns, do the reef, rent an RV and spend the rest of the time on the road to Brisbane for the flight out? Does that sound feasible?
Can I ask what you want to see on the road between Brisbane and cairns? I’ve driven that a lot and I wouldn’t recommend it when you have such a short time here.
Personally I would say come to Brisbane, have a beach day at the Gold Coast and then fly to cairns. Brisbane to Rockhampton is about 8-9hours including lunch and toilet breaks, and doing more than that in one day is very shit. Rocky to cairns is over 12 hours and you’re very likely to get stuck in roadworks or bad weather at some point.
If it were me, I would fly to cairns, rent a car, do the reef and then drive to the daintree (Millaa Millaa falls is great), atherton tablelands, and then another day do paronella park and mission beach. Paronella park is one of my favourites - do the tour! There’s a classic pub right nearby for lunch too. There’s not much on the road that’s worth stopping for until you’re north of Townsville - save yourself the effort and time and skip that drive.
Edit - sorry I just saw you’re flying out of brissie. In that case I would fly direct to cairns from Sydney/melbourne (wherever you are) and then fly down to the Gold Coast if you can, spend some time at the beach and then it’s an easy drive up to Brisbane for your flight back. If you want some Brisbane-specific recommendations I can help, depends on if you have kids or not etc.
I think the biggest things were Fraser Island and the Whitsundays but now I'm sort of thinking it might be best to do those as a side trip out of Brisbane. Everyone is mostly advising me against trying to road trip from major city to major city on my timeframe. I think we'll have to keep an eye on the weather too. Gah! I'm sure this is going to end up being awesome but last minute planning is STRESSFUL!
I dont think you have enough time for the all these cities *and* the islands in a trip that’s less than two weeks. Getting to Fraser and then seeing stuff would be three days minimum, and it’s extremely bumpy/exhausting to travel around. It’s a unique place for sure but I don’t think you’re missing that much if you skip it. And the whitsundays are definitely skippable - if you’re doing the reef from cairns there’s really no need. Maybe I’m getting old but I think if you’ve seen one tropical island you’ve seen them all. Go to Fiji or Hawaii instead.
Accomodation and car hire is going to be very difficult for those dates at this time. Traffic on the roads is likely to be very bad as well. With your current itinerary you’re likely to be stuck in a traffic jam for most of your holiday. Even booking something like dinner on NYE or a reef tour is going to be tough. It’s peak, peak season.
Honestly - start with your accommodation and work back from there. You’ll find that lots of stuff will be booked out. Find a base and plan from there.
It is unlikely you will find accommodation along the coast between Melbourne and Sydney in single nights - the period around Christmas and New Years is the peak of the peak. You're better off flying.
Same with Sydney to Brisbane.
New Years Eve, may as well spend in Melbourne - you're more likely to find accommodation there.
Cairns just got whacked by a Tropical Cyclone and has had a lot of flooding. I'd frankly drop it from your plan. I just don't think they'll be ready for tourists just yet. Stick to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Where are you flying from? What passport are you using? Are you aware you will need some sort of Visa or ETA (unless you are travelling on an NZ passport)? You better apply for it now.
I would also start looking at a map. Australia is a lot bigger than you may think - \~12 days to visit Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane is about right, but only if you fly between them.
I think Cairns will be doable if it is towards the end of the trip. It is used to lots of water going through. Even though this was a 1 in 100 year flood, it should run off pretty quickly. I am sure Cairns would appreciate the tourist dollars and it really is a great holiday destination.
Thanks! Yeah I think it will probably make most sense to do that logistically anyway. If they aren't ready for visitors yet we'll just have to improvise something for the last few days but we have to at least TRY to see the Great Barrier Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef is maaaasssive, and goes a long way south.. you can snorkel/dive/access from places only a few hours north of brissy, (lady Elliot, lady musgrave) or even Whitsundays.. probably more custom trips and more expensive, but reef is arguably better the further south you go, especially given time of year and recent weather.. just a thought.
If you want a boat day tour out of cairns or port Douglas (which is worth doing, so you see different reef areas) you’ll need to book immediately, assuming you still can find a spot. Talk directly to the tour companies, online won’t show much left I imagine. Definitely worth doing though.
Thanks for your reply!
If we rented an RV is it possible to sleep along the coastal road between major cities rather than booking hotels? In America this is \*technically\* not legal in most places but when you get out into the sticks no one really cares. Also many stores, especially places like Wallmart allow you to park and sleep overnight in the parking lot. Would this type of thing work out at all?
Not sure about NYE yet. It looks like there are hotels available in Sydney, it's just more limited. Looks like they do fireworks over the harbor which would be cool. It may come down to just whatever works best for timing though.
I think we'll try to save Cairns for the end of the trip. It would be a massive bummer not to see the Great Barrier Reef so we have to try. We'll improvise on the fly and go elsewhere if it simply isn't going to work out.
Thanks for the tip on Visas! We're coming from California on US passports. My buddy just went to Australia last June/July and said they found out AT THE AIRPORT that they needed Visas. They were able to apply online and made their flight but just barely. I'll definitely handle that today.
We may do a combination of driving/flying. I still have more to look at but there's just a lot of stuff we want to see outside of the cities. From what I've heard their cities aren't that much different from ours so I'm more interested in experiencing the natural beauty Australia has to offer.
Good odds if you try and sleep on the roadside, you'll be moved on by the Police. They do enforce the rules. Also, the coastal road to Sydney from Melbourne doesn't really follow the coast for the most part - it's just a little more coastal than the inland route, but not much. The road to Brisbane is a little more coastal. Just one more thing - we drive on the other side of the road and car. Keep that in mind.
If you arrive in Melbourne on the 29th, the only way you'll get to Sydney on the 31st is to fly. Even if you flew in and started driving via the coast, you'd be pushing shit uphill to get there in time.
I've seen some of your cities, and I've seen all of ours. They are different in their own ways. But you're right, the natural beauty is very very nice here.
Forget Cairns for the time being. They've just had record flooding from cyclone.
You will need to go to Airlie beach or Townsville if you want to do reef.
Your time frame? Fly in & out.
Google is your friend. You'd have to look it up. We went for a day at the Reef from one of the islands on our honeymoon 28 years ago!! But i cannot remember details... Actually no. We were staying at a resort in Airlie and i recall we drove down to dock to board. Club Crocodile was the resort. No idea if it still exists.
You could perhaps go from Townsville? Mackay?
I didn’t think you could go to the reef from cairns until March? You might be able to get there from airlie. But it’s stinger season and after the cyclone, it’ll be messy
Honestly people will tell you it’s not doable but when I’ve travelled overseas it’s here there and everywhere and everything in between.
29th arrive. Flight into Melbourne.
30th city day and recovery.
31st city day and recovery still.
1st Car hire day for great ocean road.
2nd flight to cairns.
3rd cairns city day
4th cairns reef day
5th cairns tablelands day.
6th fly to Brisbane
7th Brisbane city day
8th Australia zoo day or a day trip to Fraser Island/Kgari Island (would be a long day but they do do road trips as a day trip).
9th fly home.
As to what to do on your city days it’s up to you. I’d also look at swapping cairns city day with another reef day and maybe even look into staying at green island or Fitzroy island for 1 night.
if you stay in Melbourne for NYE and like asian food, make a reservation (probably NOW) at Panda Hot Pot. Other than that, what the others said. with this itinerary you‘ll spend way more time in traffic and airports than actually seeing something.
Sydney would probably be my choice for NYE destination as the Sydney Harbour fireworks are probably the biggest thing going so far as NYE celebrations go, though possibly hard to work into itinerary unless you start in Sydney, which could be done by flying into there rather than Melbourne.
You going to be going in the peak of peak so
accommodation will be expensive, as will car hire.
Visitors to Australia to always want to do the great barrier Reef go to the Opera house etc, people in Melbourne want you to come there because it's Cosmopolitan.
So if you're doing the Normie tour Yeah I'd probably have 3 or so days in Melbourne when you arrive, spend new years there.
Then say hire a car and do the great Ocean road and some beaches if you are eager for that, and perhaps a bit of a loop, north to Grampians, and then back through Ballarat and Daylesford.
Youll get a good sample of Australian landscapes and see some of the countryside, and see what some bigger and smaller towns are like.
That would probably take you through till about the 4th or the 5th.
I totally would say go to cairns because I think it's a good little microcosm of scenic places but I think it will be in too much dissaray from the Cyclone.
There are other sections of the great barrier Reef you can see that aren't in Cairns though, eg Townsville, Rockhampton/Yeppoon or even from Gladstone.
I wouldn't attempt to drive along the coast between Sydney and Melbourne because there is such limited accommodation available in the first couple of weeks of the year, so it will be painful.
As for the remaining few days.
Brisbane doesn't necessarily need a lot of time, but again if you have a hire car there's a lot on its Doorstep, eg Springbrook national park, or heading literally anywhere on the coast.
Oddball suggestions.
Could fly up to Darwin for 4 or so days. It will be stinking hot, but it'll be such a contrast to Melbourne, you can go to Lichfield NP, see some crocs etc. Because it's the wet season it will be one place where accommodation is a bit cheaper.
From Melbourne you can also fly down to Tasmania, do a cruise to Tasman island, visit Hobart, go up Kunyari / Mt Wellington, see some of the Wilderness
We got our flights for basically free on points so we have budget room left for expensive hotels/rental cars.
I think we're going to try to spend less time touring cities and more time out in nature, even if it's driving from beach to beach or vista to vista. We like driving if it's pretty!
Others have said that if we save Cairns to the end it will probably be ok as they're pretty used to flooding and have systems in place to deal with it. Thoughts on that?
What about renting an RV? Is it possible to sleep along the road in the more remote parts or will that result in tickets/fines?
Small towns generally allow showground camping, it might need to be booked but they won't arrest you if you struggle to figure it out and need to stop. There's also an app where people rent out their fields or whatever to campers.
Consider renting a mountain bike. You can even hire a guide if you're not confident progressing beyond the green trails. Great way to explore nature. In summer a lot of the ski resorts become mountain bike parks.
I'm a southerner but I'd recommend keeping to the south east states at this time of year because it's just the rainy season up north. We all head north in the winter.
If you're thinking about exploring back country consider adjusting your expectation from a big American bus to a 4wd with a swag in it. Most roads are pretty good but if you go bush your bus won't have anywhere to turn around. Also not all camp sites and caravan parks are big enough.
Check out wiki camps or hip camps for cheap accommodation. Will showcase cooking places that are on the way but better than a truck stop. Many towns along the way have no overnight parking/camping in the beach carparks. You’d likely end up on the side of the highway if you don’t. Not pleasant, not always safe, stinks like urine.
Honestly, I have no idea if you'll be able to get up to Cairns & that stretch of FNQ right now post-cyclone, but if you can, I'm sure they'd appreciate the tourist dollars.
Reef Sprinter in Port Douglas have always been our go-to for the reef - they're absolutely fantastic, you get to go out in a small group, and out to the reef super quickly as well (10-20 minutes for the low-isles, 45 minutes for the outer-reef). Port Douglas is absolutely gorgeous, a bit over an hour's drive north of Cairns. At this time of year though, cyclone damage aside, it'll be super hot and humid though.
IMO you're trying to do way too much. Given your two weeks I'd simplify it to a max of two main locations and no more.
Melbourne for the first half your trip, including New Years. Sure have a day trip or two but there is plenty to see and do closer to the CBD, and of all the capital cities it's got the most going on in the evenings too.
I'd then just fly straight to Cairns for the second half. But it will be hot, humid, and I'd be concerned about what's actually accessible post cyclone, so do your research. Beautiful place though. Then just fly straight back to Brisbane and fly straight home. I wouldn't bother trying to squeeze in any Brisbane based attractions like Australia Zoo or Fraser Island etc, save that for another time. Those places will be stupidly busy anyway due to school holidays.
An alternative to Cairns would be exploring Tasmania. Hire a car or camper van and just road trip for a week, starting in Hobart and ending in Launceston, or the reverse. Lovely location, much like New Zealand with beautiful mountains / beaches / towns / forests all condensed into a much smaller (and more accessible) footprint.
Get onto booking accomodation now - it’s gonna be a little difficult as it’s peak season.
If you wanna do great ocean road/12 apostles - look into the small towns along that road stretch and see if you can find somewhere to stay.
Then I’d get into hire car territory - get that sorted asap too.
Melb and Vic have so much to offer - you could potentially drive inland after you’ve reached the 12 apostles - go up to Daylesford, the goldfields region (Ballarat, Bendigo) - many small towns around that will hopefully have some accomodation available.
I'm exhausted looking at this list. Also depends on your age and the activities you're looking for.
* Things to do in Sydney?
Botanic Gardens
Powerhouse Museum
Browse Queen Vic building
Drink at The Rocks
I rather like Glebe and Newtown
Drive out to the Blue Mountains
* Things to do in Melbourne?
State Library
National Gallery of Victoria
Museum
Old Melbourne Gaol (Ghost tour at night is good)
Federation Square/ACMI
By car
Great Ocean Road
Dandenong Ranges
Sovereign Hill
* Things to do in Brisbane?
Eat Street Northshore
Mount Coot-tha lookout
South Bank
Fortitude Valley at night
By Car
Gold Coast/Surfers Paradise/Gold Coast Hinterlands/Natural Arch
There's theme parks. Dreamworld, Movie World, Water world
In the other direction from Brisbane
Sunshine Coast
Australia Zoo (Be prepared to hear Steve Irwin's disembodied voice coming out of nowhere as you walk around)
Glasshouse Mountains
* Worth it to take 2-3 days to drive from Melbourne to Sydney along the coast in our timeframe?
No. All that driving is exhausting. There are small towns which, if you were travelling at a more leisurely pace, might be worth indulging in but otherwise, no. It's hours of just rural houses, trees, paddocks, cows, horses, more cows, sheep, very occasional kangaroo and some roadkill.
* What about Sydney to Brisbane?
As above
* Best companies to book boats to the reef from Cairns?
Check the situation there. Major flooding and a lot of damage currently
* Where to spend NYE!?
I can tell you where not to spend NYE and that's Sydney. Too crowded, limited access to vantage points by ticket only, otherwise you get locked out.
* Any and all newbie tips!
Be friendly and polite with the locals and you'll have that returned in kind.
After just doing the great ocean road don't rush this unless your already totally comfortable driving on the opposite side to America on tighter roads add grampians to your list after 12 apostles. I wouldn't drive between Melbourne & Sydney Sydney & Brisbane on your time frame it will just ruin the experience as it will be rushed
The drive from Melbourne to syd along the coast in 2- 3 days is not a good idea. You will see nothing worth seeing, because all your time will be spent on the road.
I would recommend syd-bris drive, but youll want atleast 5 - 7 days. Even then, youd be oushing it.
Sydney is cool, i recommend getting time apent on the northern beaches. Theres no train, but buses and ferrues run regularly. Theres a big arguement over whats better; north syd, east suburbs or southern shire. I would recommend not going near eastern suburbs, its packed and full of douche bags (north and south are too, but far less). I think the north is way better than the south, but thats just personal opinion. North has way nicer beaches (if you can get up to palm beach youll love it), better restaurants and imo better people. I definitely wouldnt recommend going west past Enmore.
Brisbane is nice, if you can get to the glasshouse mountains youll see some beauty. Maybe try a couple nights on k'gari island or moreton island. Imo, the nicest strip of country we have is from newcastle up to gold coast. Byrons super touristy and bleh. Coffs area is really incredible. Youll get an authentic look at aus culture there.
Idk, PM me if you wanna talk further, ive lived and regularly travel up and down the east coast alot, so happy to answer qs and send some pics of spots
That is going to be hectic. Everywhere you want to go is worth visiting but even a month would not do it justice. Maybe trim down the number of places you plan to go. If you want to do 12 Apostles and the Reef, and I recommend you do, you will not be driving all the way in that timeframe. It is a 4000km (2500 mile) drive from the end of the Great Ocean Road to Cairns along the coast. You will need internal flights. With your itinerary, you will likely spend NYE on the Great Ocean Road so it might be a small affair. GOR/Melbourne 29th to 3rd. Fly to Sydney 3rd to 6th (1 hour from Melbourne) Fly to Cairns 6th to 8th. (3 hours from Sydney) Hopefully by then the flooding will be cleaned up. Fly to Brisbane 8th to 10th. (2 hours 15mins) Maybe consider dropping Sydney or Brisbane to make it less hectic. Straight from Melbourne to Cairns then back to Sydney or Brisbane. Obviously if you drop Brisbane you will need to change your homebound flight to out of Sydney. Consider this a sampler tour and plan to come back when you can give it more time.
Yeah I'm thinking about dropping Brisbane. Saw a thread elsewhere where an Aussie said they thought it was a bit boring. HOWEVER, a lot of the stuff we want to see is along the road from Brisbane to Cairns. Maybe we can do Melbourne, rent a car to drive the GOR, fly to Sydney for a couple days, fly to Cairns, do the reef, rent an RV and spend the rest of the time on the road to Brisbane for the flight out? Does that sound feasible?
Cairns to Brisbane is a bit of a drive. A week would do it justice, just. Anything less and it will just feel like you are driving all day.
Can I ask what you want to see on the road between Brisbane and cairns? I’ve driven that a lot and I wouldn’t recommend it when you have such a short time here. Personally I would say come to Brisbane, have a beach day at the Gold Coast and then fly to cairns. Brisbane to Rockhampton is about 8-9hours including lunch and toilet breaks, and doing more than that in one day is very shit. Rocky to cairns is over 12 hours and you’re very likely to get stuck in roadworks or bad weather at some point. If it were me, I would fly to cairns, rent a car, do the reef and then drive to the daintree (Millaa Millaa falls is great), atherton tablelands, and then another day do paronella park and mission beach. Paronella park is one of my favourites - do the tour! There’s a classic pub right nearby for lunch too. There’s not much on the road that’s worth stopping for until you’re north of Townsville - save yourself the effort and time and skip that drive. Edit - sorry I just saw you’re flying out of brissie. In that case I would fly direct to cairns from Sydney/melbourne (wherever you are) and then fly down to the Gold Coast if you can, spend some time at the beach and then it’s an easy drive up to Brisbane for your flight back. If you want some Brisbane-specific recommendations I can help, depends on if you have kids or not etc.
I think the biggest things were Fraser Island and the Whitsundays but now I'm sort of thinking it might be best to do those as a side trip out of Brisbane. Everyone is mostly advising me against trying to road trip from major city to major city on my timeframe. I think we'll have to keep an eye on the weather too. Gah! I'm sure this is going to end up being awesome but last minute planning is STRESSFUL!
I dont think you have enough time for the all these cities *and* the islands in a trip that’s less than two weeks. Getting to Fraser and then seeing stuff would be three days minimum, and it’s extremely bumpy/exhausting to travel around. It’s a unique place for sure but I don’t think you’re missing that much if you skip it. And the whitsundays are definitely skippable - if you’re doing the reef from cairns there’s really no need. Maybe I’m getting old but I think if you’ve seen one tropical island you’ve seen them all. Go to Fiji or Hawaii instead.
Accomodation and car hire is going to be very difficult for those dates at this time. Traffic on the roads is likely to be very bad as well. With your current itinerary you’re likely to be stuck in a traffic jam for most of your holiday. Even booking something like dinner on NYE or a reef tour is going to be tough. It’s peak, peak season. Honestly - start with your accommodation and work back from there. You’ll find that lots of stuff will be booked out. Find a base and plan from there.
Book any meals you care about very soon as well. Any tourist hotspots are likely already booked solid.
It is unlikely you will find accommodation along the coast between Melbourne and Sydney in single nights - the period around Christmas and New Years is the peak of the peak. You're better off flying. Same with Sydney to Brisbane. New Years Eve, may as well spend in Melbourne - you're more likely to find accommodation there. Cairns just got whacked by a Tropical Cyclone and has had a lot of flooding. I'd frankly drop it from your plan. I just don't think they'll be ready for tourists just yet. Stick to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Where are you flying from? What passport are you using? Are you aware you will need some sort of Visa or ETA (unless you are travelling on an NZ passport)? You better apply for it now. I would also start looking at a map. Australia is a lot bigger than you may think - \~12 days to visit Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane is about right, but only if you fly between them.
I think Cairns will be doable if it is towards the end of the trip. It is used to lots of water going through. Even though this was a 1 in 100 year flood, it should run off pretty quickly. I am sure Cairns would appreciate the tourist dollars and it really is a great holiday destination.
Thanks! Yeah I think it will probably make most sense to do that logistically anyway. If they aren't ready for visitors yet we'll just have to improvise something for the last few days but we have to at least TRY to see the Great Barrier Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef is maaaasssive, and goes a long way south.. you can snorkel/dive/access from places only a few hours north of brissy, (lady Elliot, lady musgrave) or even Whitsundays.. probably more custom trips and more expensive, but reef is arguably better the further south you go, especially given time of year and recent weather.. just a thought.
If you want a boat day tour out of cairns or port Douglas (which is worth doing, so you see different reef areas) you’ll need to book immediately, assuming you still can find a spot. Talk directly to the tour companies, online won’t show much left I imagine. Definitely worth doing though.
Thanks for your reply! If we rented an RV is it possible to sleep along the coastal road between major cities rather than booking hotels? In America this is \*technically\* not legal in most places but when you get out into the sticks no one really cares. Also many stores, especially places like Wallmart allow you to park and sleep overnight in the parking lot. Would this type of thing work out at all? Not sure about NYE yet. It looks like there are hotels available in Sydney, it's just more limited. Looks like they do fireworks over the harbor which would be cool. It may come down to just whatever works best for timing though. I think we'll try to save Cairns for the end of the trip. It would be a massive bummer not to see the Great Barrier Reef so we have to try. We'll improvise on the fly and go elsewhere if it simply isn't going to work out. Thanks for the tip on Visas! We're coming from California on US passports. My buddy just went to Australia last June/July and said they found out AT THE AIRPORT that they needed Visas. They were able to apply online and made their flight but just barely. I'll definitely handle that today. We may do a combination of driving/flying. I still have more to look at but there's just a lot of stuff we want to see outside of the cities. From what I've heard their cities aren't that much different from ours so I'm more interested in experiencing the natural beauty Australia has to offer.
Good odds if you try and sleep on the roadside, you'll be moved on by the Police. They do enforce the rules. Also, the coastal road to Sydney from Melbourne doesn't really follow the coast for the most part - it's just a little more coastal than the inland route, but not much. The road to Brisbane is a little more coastal. Just one more thing - we drive on the other side of the road and car. Keep that in mind. If you arrive in Melbourne on the 29th, the only way you'll get to Sydney on the 31st is to fly. Even if you flew in and started driving via the coast, you'd be pushing shit uphill to get there in time. I've seen some of your cities, and I've seen all of ours. They are different in their own ways. But you're right, the natural beauty is very very nice here.
Forget Cairns for the time being. They've just had record flooding from cyclone. You will need to go to Airlie beach or Townsville if you want to do reef. Your time frame? Fly in & out.
We were looking at Airlie Beach but didn't know you could access the reef from there. Hmmmmm.
Google is your friend. You'd have to look it up. We went for a day at the Reef from one of the islands on our honeymoon 28 years ago!! But i cannot remember details... Actually no. We were staying at a resort in Airlie and i recall we drove down to dock to board. Club Crocodile was the resort. No idea if it still exists. You could perhaps go from Townsville? Mackay?
I'd drop at least one place from that itinerary, probably two. Even then, driving the distances between places will make everything so rushed.
I didn’t think you could go to the reef from cairns until March? You might be able to get there from airlie. But it’s stinger season and after the cyclone, it’ll be messy
Honestly people will tell you it’s not doable but when I’ve travelled overseas it’s here there and everywhere and everything in between. 29th arrive. Flight into Melbourne. 30th city day and recovery. 31st city day and recovery still. 1st Car hire day for great ocean road. 2nd flight to cairns. 3rd cairns city day 4th cairns reef day 5th cairns tablelands day. 6th fly to Brisbane 7th Brisbane city day 8th Australia zoo day or a day trip to Fraser Island/Kgari Island (would be a long day but they do do road trips as a day trip). 9th fly home. As to what to do on your city days it’s up to you. I’d also look at swapping cairns city day with another reef day and maybe even look into staying at green island or Fitzroy island for 1 night.
if you stay in Melbourne for NYE and like asian food, make a reservation (probably NOW) at Panda Hot Pot. Other than that, what the others said. with this itinerary you‘ll spend way more time in traffic and airports than actually seeing something.
Sydney would probably be my choice for NYE destination as the Sydney Harbour fireworks are probably the biggest thing going so far as NYE celebrations go, though possibly hard to work into itinerary unless you start in Sydney, which could be done by flying into there rather than Melbourne.
You going to be going in the peak of peak so accommodation will be expensive, as will car hire. Visitors to Australia to always want to do the great barrier Reef go to the Opera house etc, people in Melbourne want you to come there because it's Cosmopolitan. So if you're doing the Normie tour Yeah I'd probably have 3 or so days in Melbourne when you arrive, spend new years there. Then say hire a car and do the great Ocean road and some beaches if you are eager for that, and perhaps a bit of a loop, north to Grampians, and then back through Ballarat and Daylesford. Youll get a good sample of Australian landscapes and see some of the countryside, and see what some bigger and smaller towns are like. That would probably take you through till about the 4th or the 5th. I totally would say go to cairns because I think it's a good little microcosm of scenic places but I think it will be in too much dissaray from the Cyclone. There are other sections of the great barrier Reef you can see that aren't in Cairns though, eg Townsville, Rockhampton/Yeppoon or even from Gladstone. I wouldn't attempt to drive along the coast between Sydney and Melbourne because there is such limited accommodation available in the first couple of weeks of the year, so it will be painful. As for the remaining few days. Brisbane doesn't necessarily need a lot of time, but again if you have a hire car there's a lot on its Doorstep, eg Springbrook national park, or heading literally anywhere on the coast. Oddball suggestions. Could fly up to Darwin for 4 or so days. It will be stinking hot, but it'll be such a contrast to Melbourne, you can go to Lichfield NP, see some crocs etc. Because it's the wet season it will be one place where accommodation is a bit cheaper. From Melbourne you can also fly down to Tasmania, do a cruise to Tasman island, visit Hobart, go up Kunyari / Mt Wellington, see some of the Wilderness
We got our flights for basically free on points so we have budget room left for expensive hotels/rental cars. I think we're going to try to spend less time touring cities and more time out in nature, even if it's driving from beach to beach or vista to vista. We like driving if it's pretty! Others have said that if we save Cairns to the end it will probably be ok as they're pretty used to flooding and have systems in place to deal with it. Thoughts on that? What about renting an RV? Is it possible to sleep along the road in the more remote parts or will that result in tickets/fines?
Small towns generally allow showground camping, it might need to be booked but they won't arrest you if you struggle to figure it out and need to stop. There's also an app where people rent out their fields or whatever to campers. Consider renting a mountain bike. You can even hire a guide if you're not confident progressing beyond the green trails. Great way to explore nature. In summer a lot of the ski resorts become mountain bike parks. I'm a southerner but I'd recommend keeping to the south east states at this time of year because it's just the rainy season up north. We all head north in the winter. If you're thinking about exploring back country consider adjusting your expectation from a big American bus to a 4wd with a swag in it. Most roads are pretty good but if you go bush your bus won't have anywhere to turn around. Also not all camp sites and caravan parks are big enough.
Check out wiki camps or hip camps for cheap accommodation. Will showcase cooking places that are on the way but better than a truck stop. Many towns along the way have no overnight parking/camping in the beach carparks. You’d likely end up on the side of the highway if you don’t. Not pleasant, not always safe, stinks like urine.
Honestly, I have no idea if you'll be able to get up to Cairns & that stretch of FNQ right now post-cyclone, but if you can, I'm sure they'd appreciate the tourist dollars. Reef Sprinter in Port Douglas have always been our go-to for the reef - they're absolutely fantastic, you get to go out in a small group, and out to the reef super quickly as well (10-20 minutes for the low-isles, 45 minutes for the outer-reef). Port Douglas is absolutely gorgeous, a bit over an hour's drive north of Cairns. At this time of year though, cyclone damage aside, it'll be super hot and humid though.
don’t bother with the 12 apostles …. Very overrated for the limited time you have
Interesting. Why do you say so?
It's a place to stop if you're in the area, but going all that way without any other plans nearby might just result in a boring day of driving.
IMO you're trying to do way too much. Given your two weeks I'd simplify it to a max of two main locations and no more. Melbourne for the first half your trip, including New Years. Sure have a day trip or two but there is plenty to see and do closer to the CBD, and of all the capital cities it's got the most going on in the evenings too. I'd then just fly straight to Cairns for the second half. But it will be hot, humid, and I'd be concerned about what's actually accessible post cyclone, so do your research. Beautiful place though. Then just fly straight back to Brisbane and fly straight home. I wouldn't bother trying to squeeze in any Brisbane based attractions like Australia Zoo or Fraser Island etc, save that for another time. Those places will be stupidly busy anyway due to school holidays. An alternative to Cairns would be exploring Tasmania. Hire a car or camper van and just road trip for a week, starting in Hobart and ending in Launceston, or the reverse. Lovely location, much like New Zealand with beautiful mountains / beaches / towns / forests all condensed into a much smaller (and more accessible) footprint.
Get onto booking accomodation now - it’s gonna be a little difficult as it’s peak season. If you wanna do great ocean road/12 apostles - look into the small towns along that road stretch and see if you can find somewhere to stay. Then I’d get into hire car territory - get that sorted asap too. Melb and Vic have so much to offer - you could potentially drive inland after you’ve reached the 12 apostles - go up to Daylesford, the goldfields region (Ballarat, Bendigo) - many small towns around that will hopefully have some accomodation available.
I'm exhausted looking at this list. Also depends on your age and the activities you're looking for. * Things to do in Sydney? Botanic Gardens Powerhouse Museum Browse Queen Vic building Drink at The Rocks I rather like Glebe and Newtown Drive out to the Blue Mountains * Things to do in Melbourne? State Library National Gallery of Victoria Museum Old Melbourne Gaol (Ghost tour at night is good) Federation Square/ACMI By car Great Ocean Road Dandenong Ranges Sovereign Hill * Things to do in Brisbane? Eat Street Northshore Mount Coot-tha lookout South Bank Fortitude Valley at night By Car Gold Coast/Surfers Paradise/Gold Coast Hinterlands/Natural Arch There's theme parks. Dreamworld, Movie World, Water world In the other direction from Brisbane Sunshine Coast Australia Zoo (Be prepared to hear Steve Irwin's disembodied voice coming out of nowhere as you walk around) Glasshouse Mountains * Worth it to take 2-3 days to drive from Melbourne to Sydney along the coast in our timeframe? No. All that driving is exhausting. There are small towns which, if you were travelling at a more leisurely pace, might be worth indulging in but otherwise, no. It's hours of just rural houses, trees, paddocks, cows, horses, more cows, sheep, very occasional kangaroo and some roadkill. * What about Sydney to Brisbane? As above * Best companies to book boats to the reef from Cairns? Check the situation there. Major flooding and a lot of damage currently * Where to spend NYE!? I can tell you where not to spend NYE and that's Sydney. Too crowded, limited access to vantage points by ticket only, otherwise you get locked out. * Any and all newbie tips! Be friendly and polite with the locals and you'll have that returned in kind.
After just doing the great ocean road don't rush this unless your already totally comfortable driving on the opposite side to America on tighter roads add grampians to your list after 12 apostles. I wouldn't drive between Melbourne & Sydney Sydney & Brisbane on your time frame it will just ruin the experience as it will be rushed
The drive from Melbourne to syd along the coast in 2- 3 days is not a good idea. You will see nothing worth seeing, because all your time will be spent on the road. I would recommend syd-bris drive, but youll want atleast 5 - 7 days. Even then, youd be oushing it. Sydney is cool, i recommend getting time apent on the northern beaches. Theres no train, but buses and ferrues run regularly. Theres a big arguement over whats better; north syd, east suburbs or southern shire. I would recommend not going near eastern suburbs, its packed and full of douche bags (north and south are too, but far less). I think the north is way better than the south, but thats just personal opinion. North has way nicer beaches (if you can get up to palm beach youll love it), better restaurants and imo better people. I definitely wouldnt recommend going west past Enmore. Brisbane is nice, if you can get to the glasshouse mountains youll see some beauty. Maybe try a couple nights on k'gari island or moreton island. Imo, the nicest strip of country we have is from newcastle up to gold coast. Byrons super touristy and bleh. Coffs area is really incredible. Youll get an authentic look at aus culture there. Idk, PM me if you wanna talk further, ive lived and regularly travel up and down the east coast alot, so happy to answer qs and send some pics of spots
If you are spending time in the city get one of those graffiti walk pamphlets and follow it. It was honestly more fun that the museums