14 Days in Australia - Looking For Input

Hello,

My husband and I will be traveling to Australia in October this year (2016). We have about 15 nights in total and are planning to fly into Sydney from Vancouver Canada. Ideally we are looking at Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmania...there are key things we are looking for and I am not sure if these three locations are too much for 15 nights and if we need to narrow down even more. Here is what we are looking for and some questions that will help me decide what to do next.

This will be our first trip and we recognize that we can only do a small area of the country based on size and geography - we are fine with that. I am a wildlife lover and so my number one priority is animals, kangaroos, koalas, wombats, platypus, tasmanian devils, penguins etc...thus, the Melbourne area and Tasmania seem like the right areas. We also don't want to be in the urban areas for the entire trip as we are trying to get away from city life for a couple of weeks. We love good food, wine and nature.

We are not sure how long to spend in each location as I would like to do the GOR, Phillip Island, Kangaroo island(?), but also have a few days here and there where we are not on the go. My husband is set on Tasmania so that is a non negotiable, but I don't want to be there the entire 2 weeks.

So, the questions are: How much time do we spend in the three locations? Do we drive from Sydney to Melbourne or fly? If we fly, will we miss something magical on the way there? Do we skip Sydney altogether and spend more time exploring Melbourne and Tasmania?

We are in our early 40's, have traveled extensively, prefer to do things on our own, happy to drive and like to be in more remote areas when possible.

Thoughts, insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Nathalie

hi nathalie
obvisouly 15 days for a huge country like australia is not a lot. so i think you will have to make some choices. visiting sydney, tasmania, melbourne, the great ocean road and kangaroo island is too much in my opinion in 2 weeks.

one of my favourite places in australia is kangaroo island. its a beautiful island, with beautiful beaches and rock formations. and its fantastic for wildlife. if you spend 2-3 days there, you will see kangaroos, koalas, wombats, pinguins and seals. the fleurieu peninsula on the way from adelaide to the kangaroo island ferry is also very beautiful. you wil see kangaroos and wombats in the wild. i also like adelaide a lot and there are great wine areas like the barossa valley and mc laren vale around adelaide.

i hope that helps.

cheers from one nathalie to the other :-)

First make sure your ticket is to Sydney New South Wales, not Sydney Nova Scotia, it has happened a couple of times. I've lived in Sydney, Melbourne,Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin and visited Tassie a couple of times, so for what its worth. I think Sydney is a "busier' city but Melbourne has a better vibe, Melbourne regards itself as a fashion centre, food centre and more cosmopolitan than Sydney, whilst Sydney has a better location and where all the money is. Tassie is like stepping back in time to 1958, You can drive Sydney to Melbourne 880km in 9 hours, freeway bypasses a lot of small towns or you can catch a plane about every 40 mins or so, takes a little over an hour. If you were driving you could detour through Canberra for a couple of days. In all my travels around Oz and believe me, I've done a lot, I've never seen a wombat, platypus, devil or koala in the wild. Roo's are all over the country, penguins at Sydney, Melbourne and Perth beaches. Though Sydney has more "iconic" locations, Bridge, Opera House, I think Melbourne is easier to get around using public transport, you have to buy a magnetic swipe card to use on trams, buses, trains. For the outdoors feel, I'd be more inclined to look to Tassie, though being so far south, October will be cold. I'd think maybe 4 days in Sydney and Melbourne for the urban feel and 6 days in Tassie for outdoors is not a bad mix, of course you'd waste half day at every airport you flew from. I wouldn't bother about a car other for Tassie and use public transport for Sydney/Melbourne.

Plan sounds pretty good, and the narrowing down a realistic and admirable activity.

I think yes skip Sydney. It is highly urban, very busy in an inefficient way. It has the zoo but then so do all the capital cities.

Tasmania is one of my favourite destinations in Australia. Unsure where the 1958 comment comes from. The roads are excellent, and the distances between towns just enough. Tasmania is an excellent food destination.
Having just come back from Tasmania's north west and west coast (Strahan) I would recommend you look at the east coast, quite possibly Maria Island, to get the mixture of nature and animals. Nothing wrong with west coast but I think for what you want east coast is better. You can fly into Hobart and out of Launceston or v.v. or just one. Alternatively look at going to Cradle Mountain - absolutely stunning. I would have 3-5 full days plus a travel day (try for a late flight) in Tasmania.

You can book connecting flights from Launceston / Hobart to Adelaide or v.v. with Qantas (currently having a domestic sale) or Virgin.

To get some more information on food do a web search on "gourmet traveller" and "the age good food".

The inland drive (Hume Hwy / Mwy) between Sydney and Melbourne is not magical.

The Princess Hwy is nicer, but in the interest of time, if you do visit Sydney fly ... or overnight sleeper on the train.

if you have been on Vancouver island then tassie will hold no surprises unless fixated onto the convict tourist destinations . mellie has many attractions. get the feet sizes of nearest and dearest cause while in mellie the Victoria market Along with PADYS market in Sydney have mega sellers of the UGGS but wander around and do your homework re knockoffs signs I scored great deal on 2 pr boots. no idea how great until I gave them to my daughters then was politely asked WHY? didn't I get 4 pairs.

Canberra imo is way more boring than Ottawa .

Thanks for all the great advice everyone...I will need to continue narrowing down some of our choices and this is proving to be difficult, but your feedback and input is certainly making it a but easier. I guess my next question is: if we wanted to narrow down to 2 places, with Tassie being a must do, would you recommend the other location be Sydney and area or Melbourne and area...can you also provide details on why?

Cheers!!!

Hi Waterrat

I agree with the others, given it seems you're looking for a less urban city experience you should allow some extra days for travelling to and from regional areas and I think this would mean you drop a location.

If you decide to narrow down to Tasmania and Melbourne, I would suggest you look at staying somewhere in the Yarra Valley. The region is famous for producing some of the best wines and fresh produce in Australia and is littered with wineries and cheese makers. The second reason to go is that if you want to see some Australian wildlife, and not in a typical zoo setting, you can visit Healesville Sanctuary and cuddle up with a Koala or Wombat. I've put a website below for you for both of these. The Yarra Valley is also a good launching pad for hikes in the nearby Yarra Ranges or Toolangi Forest

http://www.zoo.org.au/healesville
https://visityarravalley.com.au/

Hope that helps!

With such a short time frame I would suggest that you stick to the Southern parents of Australia. If Tassie is a must (because hubby says so :-) don't go North leave that to the next trip. October is a great time of year to be on the East Coast of Australia! I disagree with one reply that says you should skip Sydney. The harbour, the cheap ferry rides from Circular Quay to Manly, the history of the Rocks, the food, Circular Quay and the buskers, the botanical gardens and the sensational view across the harbour (and so much more). In my opinion and with all due respect you would be nuts to skip the place on your first visit. Do not bother with the Blue Mountains. Being from Canada I can only assume that you are familiar with the Rockies. The Blue Mountains pale into insignificance when compared with the majesty of the Canadian Rockies. To get from Sydney to Melbourne is an easy drive and managed in one day easily with two drivers - the downside being you lose a day in a very limited time frame. Of course it is quicker to fly - book early enough you will get a decent fare (by Aussie standards). If you want urban escape there are places in Southern Victoria that will blow your mind. The Grampians, Wilsons Promontory to name two; if you drive from Sydney to Melbourne you can include one of these on the way down. Of course the Great Ocean Walk, Cape Otway. They are all close to Melbourne. From there Tassie is not far by plane and one of the most beautiful places on planet earth. I have done much hiking in Tassie and continue to be in awe of the place. Additionally, the food and wines...they are superb (almost as good as a salmon burger in the pub at Prince Rupert!). With Tassie and it's off the charts beauty it is hard to know where to start!. If you like the outdoors....Bay of Fires, South Cape, Hobart, Cradle Mountain, Kates Berry Farm (berry pie, cream and ice cream to die for), Bicheno , Pyengana, Freycinet Peninsula. If you visit these places you will get your fill of wildlife believe me. Two weeks will go in a flash so it sounds like early starts and late finishes to each day :-). On your next trip to Aussie you can think about the far northern Queensland at a cooler time of year (and we haven't even mentioned Central Australia...that's another story).

Enjoy your holiday!!

There is something to consider of you go to the Great Ocean Road/Walk and the Cape Otway area in Victoria. There have been bushfires there which have severely impacted some of the bushland. Consequently you may not see some bushland at it best. Perhaps take time to visit Parks Victoria to get the latest updates.

Safe travels :-)

On the drive or fly from Sydney to Melbourne question -
It takes maybe 10-12 hours to drive including stops, mostly on a divided highway similar to US Interstates, or 1:15 flying time, plus an hour to get to the airport, plus checkin an hour before takeoff, plus 30 mins to get your bags, plus up to an hour to get into the city (including waiting time) = nearly 5 hours of moderately stressful time. All you see is the road to and from the airport, and the inside of 2 airport terminals. However, some people, including me, like the process of flying or taking long distance trains.

Some posters here will say that the drive is boring - well, to them it is because the landscape is familiar to them. To a visitor who's 'not from here' it would be all new and therefore an interesting drive, particularly if they divert off the freeway into some of the small towns along the way (I suggest Goulburn, Gundagai, Holbrook, Wangaratta, Benalla, Violet Town). For someone who is not familiar with driving on the left side of the road in a right hand drive car it might be moderately stressful. Canberra might be as boring as Ottawa (but I have not been to Ottawa so cant comment) but on a fine day it is beautiful to look at, particularly around the lake, has some magnificent public buildings (suggest Parliament House, National Gallery, War Memorial - for an insight on what's important to Aussies) and plenty of good eating places. There is a good wildlife park there too. Canberra deserves at least one whole day if you decide to go there.

I'll leave comments on the other aspects of the OP to others - they've covered it pretty well.

Hi Nathalie,

I would stick with Melbourne and Tasmania.

For seeing animals in Tasmania - stay at Peppers Lodge at Cradle Mountain. You will have wallabies coming up to the back door of your cabin and hopping around on the tracks between the cabins and the restaurants (have personally experienced this and also saw wombats running around the grounds!) You can rent canoes etc and canoe on Dove Lake which is cold but beautiful.

Wineglass Bay (about 2.5 hour drive from Hobart) is beautiful and you will see wildlife on the hike up to the lookout and down to the beach.

Melbourne is perfect for food and wine. Both the Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley are great areas with lots of wineries, restaurants etc. However head to the Mornington Peninsula if you'd like to see beaches or to visit the Peninsula Hot Springs for a bathe and massage.

Hope this helps!

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.