Sydney Travel Answers

Brisbane is a LONG LONG way from the Barrier reef........ My suggestion is this: Fly into Sydney via Singapore. Spend a few days here= lots to see. Then FLY to Brisbane. From Brisbane- FLY to Cairns. From Cairns you could easily get to Barrier Reef. Then either fly home from Cairns, or fly back to Brisbane and go home from there. There are international flights that leave from Cairns. So.............into Sydney- exit from Cairns. Distances are vast in Australia. If you would like to explore Cairns region, you could hire a car and drive north to Port Douglas ( about 40mins). Port Douglas is my very favourite town in Australia, and is closest to the reef. Daily trips on Quicksilver Catamarans, which last all day and provide snorkelling equipment and meals. Cost is A$110 pp. Also visit Mossman Gorge, and Cape Tribulation. These are short distances from Port Douglas, and have lovely scenery and beaches for walking.

Travelling anywhere in Australia generally involves VERY long distances. You could leave home arriving in Singapore and spend a few days there either on the way or on the way home. From Singapore arrive Sydney and spend a few days looking around the harbour city. From Sydney there are plenty of flights to Brisbane - usually taking around 1 hr. It's about 1800km from Brisbane to Cairns so I would not even consider driving unless you had much more time. There are plenty of flights from Brisbane to Cairns - checkout Virgin or Jetstar websites for fares. I always prefer - and this is entirely personal - breaking the trip to Australia on the way home - so my suggestion is stop at Singapore on your return trip.

I fully endorse what lynnehamman has suggested - flying into Oz in Sydney and out at Cairns having been to Brisbane on the way through. Maybe spending a week in Syd and area, then up to a week in Brisbane and finally the last week + in Cairns/Port Douglas etc - there's more than enough to keep you occupied in C/PD area for well over a week. Be aware that Port D is quite expensive and there are more cheaper options for staying in Cairns - which is also well worth visiting. I'm going to refine the above suggestion from Lynne - fly into Oz via Singapore and then out of Oz via Hong Kong - see http://www.cairnsairport.com/ for details on who flies out of Cairns and when. There won't be as many choices as Brisbane, BUT you've saved yourself a return 1800 km trip Cairns - Brisbane. Maybe go into a travel agent rather than an online booking agency for details.

As the others have pointed out, distances are huge and flying is the only option with limited time. Sydney to Brisbane is 1,000 kilometres and it's nearly 2,000km further to Cairns. If you can organise the flights (depends on the airline you fly with) fly into Sydney and out of Cairns. The only realistic airline I can see for that from the UK is Cathay Pacific but I don't know how their fares compare with other airlines. If you can't do that then fly into Sydney and fly back out of either Brisbane or Sydney (check the fares). Domestically, fly from Sydney north to Brisbane (with one of our domestic airlines, either Virgin Australia or Jetstar) and then on further north to Cairns for the GBR. A day trip to the outer reef with Quicksilver is recommende (check their website for details). Then you fly back to Brisbane or Sydney if necessary. Where you stop off in Asia will depend on the routing of the airline you choose. If you choose Cathay Pacific it will be Hong Kong. My advice is to stop on the way to Australia which will break the very long journey and help with the jetlag. If you fly all the way to Oz without a break you'll lose several days of your holiday to tiredness and jetlag. Better to suffer from that after your holiday ;-)

Wow I am so pleased that you all agreed with my ideas! What I have to add though, is that Port Douglas has many reasonable accommodation options.........anything from backpack hostels to budget hotels. So that won't be a problem. Then of course, as you all probably know- I have a very 'soft spot' for Port Douglas- such a pretty little town with lots of fun things. Especially the Cane Toad Races- which are hysterically funny.

Yes Lynne, give yourself a good pat on the back whilst wearing a couple of cane toads - LOL 2 on the must do's for PD is the yacht club and 'Wednesday Afternoon Gentlemen Sailing' (WAGS for short) and the opportunity for a FREE sail. The other is drinks whilst 'sun downing' at The Tin Shed (don't be put off by the name) followed by dinner on the deck - get there early.

Have you heard about "Byron Beach Resort", it is a nice hotel in a characteristic part of Byron Bay and close to the shops, bars and restaurants. Clean rooms, friendly reception staff which provided us with a lot of great city tips and other handy information!

Have you heard about "Byron Beach Resort", it is a nice hotel in a characteristic part of Byron Bay and close to the shops, bars and restaurants. Clean rooms, friendly reception staff which provided us with a lot of great city tips and other handy information!