1

Hi

The weather in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney is likely to be quite warm at that time of year - mostly in the 20s, you'll get quite a few days in the 30s and some even warmer! It's a long way between Perth and Adelaide, it might be better (if you don't want to be covering even more distance) to focus more on some of the places on the East Coast since this seems to be mainly where you're going, places like Byron Bay and Port Macquarie (north of Sydney) have beautiful beaches and things if you like that sort of thing. There's also a lot going on in Victoria at that time of year, you might be interested in visiting some of the places along the Great Ocean Road (although it can get really busy with tourists around holidays) and could combine this as part of a trip between Melbourne and Adelaide...anyhow, just suggestions. Australia's a beautiful place, you'll have fun whatever you do! Best of luck!

2

If you decide to start in Sydney around New Year you will need bookings NOW, and they will be very expensive, so I'm thinking your second itinerary might be better, with a flight from Perth to Adelaide or Melbourne.

Also, the east coast will be crowded in January as it's summer school holidays then, so expect lots of families travelling until the end of January.

3

If it were me I'd fly the Perth-Adelaide stretch and hire your van in Adelaide. It's a long, boring drive that will cost you a packet in fuel.

4

Tasmania is a good idea in summer as it's not so hot. Adelaide is especially hot in summer and Melbourne can get really hot too. National parks are great places to go and may not be quite as crowded as beaches over the summer holidays. Perth is a long way from the east coast and there's not much to do in the middle so best to fly, or catch a train ( 3 days ).

5

"risk of cycloons" - then steer clear of Canberra ...

Sorry - not trying to hijack the thread - just cracked me up

6

Shortest route for Perth to the Whitsundays is 6500 kms over 56 days is 120km per day or 250 km if you only drive for half the time. Doable but would you want to do it?

The trip Perth to Adelaide is 2500 kms. The road is all sealed but at that time of the year it is likely to be very hot and you will need a reliable car/van (not a couple of thousand dollar bomb bought from a hostel).

If you go to Perth you need at least 2 weeks to include SW WA. As already suggested a better option maybe to do Perth (& SW Western Australia) for say 2 weeks and then bus or fly to the Eastern states. I'd forget SA/Adelaide and start at Melbourne (making sure you go along the Great Ocean Road). In the greater scheme of things you aren't going to miss that much by not going to Adelaide (sorry South Australians!!)

To say "and then maybe Tassie if we have time" doesn't make sense, it's at the other end of the east coast from the Whitsundays and will be back tracking. You need to make the decision before you start (unless you have heaps of money).

In summary I'd probably stick to the east coast this time. And if you come back another time (as you are suggesting) then the Adelaide, Darwin, Perth loop would be a good option (over the April to November period). This would be a great outback Australia experience but the distances are long and you would need a reliable vehicle.

The buy or rent a campervan is sometimes discussed on TT and there are mixed views. For an 8 week stay you'll waste too much time buying and selling and probably have to virtually give it away at the end as you won't have time to sit around and wait for your price. Vehicle registration is a state government issue and there are a whole lot of issues buying and selling in different states. Buying and selling a car is a bit easier as cars are generally more saleable.

And if you haven’t done so already get yourself a Lonely Planet guide. Will be helpful with your planning and travel along the way.

http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/australia/

7

A hot day in Perth, Adelaide or Melbourne, will be a more tolerable, dry heat, similar to Spain or Italy, not extremely humid like Bangkok, KL or Singapore or even northern Australia in summer (D,J,F).

8

Wauw thanks guys for all the replies!
So the best option is to start with Perth for 2 weeks, flight to Melbourne and rent a van to discover the East coast.
Is Tasmania crowded in January? Or is February a better option?

9

Tasmania has a much smaller population than the east coast, so it shouldn't be as crowded. You can fly from Melbourne, or get a vehicular / passenger ferry?

10

I'd be interested to know where you're from.. In 8 wks you can do a lot here but tourists often misjudge the distances and don't realize how BIG the journeys are in Oz. Perth is a four hour flight from Melbourne. (Think say Manchester to Cyprus. )
End Jan / early Feb in Melbourne can go to 40-44C so yes, it can be overwhelmingly hot. Also school summer hols are Dec 23rd ish till Jan 30th ish depending on the state. Northern NSW and Queensland often get overrun with southerners on hols with their kids... I'd maybe consider starting in the (cooler) south in Tassie in Jan and work your way to the (hotter) north by end Feb / Mar. ??? That way you might miss more of the hoards and the heat.

11

It may be your cheapest option to fly into and out of SYD.
Check out cost of flying into say PER and out of BNE though and then use cheap domestic flights for long distances.
It may avoid the cost of backtracking to SYD.

Edited by: alisongbate

12

Hire the camper van not economically viable to buy in a short 8 week period

13

@alisongbate: we are from Belgium, Europe.
We are now thinking of just focusing on Tasmania (2 weeks) with hopefully a visit to Fall festival and afterwards 6 weeks to get from Melbourne to Whitsundays (dependig on the weather).
So for only 6 weeks I think it certainly is better to rent a van or do we need a car in Tasmania?

Thanks for all the good advice, realy helpfull!

14

Beyond the Central New South Wales Coast the humidity will be a factor at that time of the year. Given the time of the year you would need to plan and book places in Caravan parks for most of January and certainly between christmas and New year. Tasmania would be okay with a small hire car and purchase a tent/cooking gear.