Australia Travel Forum

Hi All
I am headed for Brisbane, and am booked into the Oaks Aurora Towers.
I will be working Monday,Tuesday and I have Wednesday and Thursday off.

I would definately like to Head to the Goldcost, can anyone recommend where to board a train or bus? I assume it will take an hour, how much would i need to pay. I would like to maybe spend half a day there.
If anyone could please suggest and itenary. I like photography.

Dont mind meeting up woth someone either...thanks for your help.

Hi has anyone used 1cover travel insurance?(I live in Australia) Any good or bad reports. What about the fact that they depreciate items? Is this a major problem?
thanks in advance for your help everyone
Lynee

hi guys,

we are spending 7 days in tassie, flying into launceston and flying out of hobart. we are going to hire a car and we were thinking of travelling along the north coast stopping off for a night in devenport and burnie. perhaps head down west to queenstown or strahan then across to hobart for a nght or two.

my question is does this sound like a reasonable route to take and what are the things to do/see in these places. would you suggest perhaps another route so as to not miss out on any "must see/do" attractions in the southern region. we are going to be there between the 14th and 21st december.

if you have any suggestions of any top notch places to stay or eat out at aswell as some good drinking spots that would be very much appreciated.

thanks guys,
mike

Hello,
We are moving from NZ to Qld in Feb and we are looking at Buderim as a place to live. Here we live in a smallish community and our house is situated next to a bush reserve and I like that Buderim seems to have that same lush bushy feel to it. I was wondering if someone could help me with distances - how long to drive to Maroochydore, Mooloolaba, Caloundra and Brisbane? I have read a bit about Buderim Mounstain State School, does the school have a good reputation and how big is it? Thanks in advance.

hi everyone,

my girlfriend and i are hoping to head to australia next novenber for a year on a working holiday visa. Our plan is to stay a few months in one place then move around. whats the best idea for accomodation? Looking for something clean in a upbeat area. we havnt worked out a budget yet.

how would we go about renting a campervan?....... Prices?

Would like to get to know local people around our age.(23 and 21)

Any info will be appreciated.

Shawn and Nikki

I would be travelling to perth for 12days for the first time. would love if anyone could recommend any good place for food and sigh-seeing. I have included rottnest island.fremantle,swan valley on my list just to name a few. As I have a budget of AUD1000. WHat can I do with AUD1000(includes food,sightseeing,transportation) for 12days in perth. Accommodation need not to worry.

Hi all!

Me & my wife do have a stop-over at Sydney from 30.12.09 - 02.01.10 and we are currently planning our stay:

a) we are looking for central accommondation in the centre of Sydney: nothing luxury --> clean, friendly atmosphere, central and reasonable prices. Maybe somebody has a good recommendation for us? Whatīs average price at this time of the year in Sydney (I fear, itīs expensive)?

b) Has somebody a good idea for New Years Eve? I assume, the fireworks at the opera will be fantastic. Whatīs a good place to the those? Do you have to be there quite early to find a good "free" place to watch them (e.g.already in the early afternoon?).

c) any other hints / recommendations for us, e.g. good restaurants, bars, clubs in Sydney which we should visit while being 3 nights in Sydney?

Thx in advance for your answers...!!!

Carsten

i would be on a holiday in australia in dec 09. can i get a prepaid SIm card valid for 10 days use in australia at sydney airport??

will this card be useable in new zealand also ??/

what would be the apprx cost of this card and how much talk time will i get ?

Is there an Equitorial Guinea embassy or consulate in Canberra, Australia?

Hello! I hear that surfing is one of the must do things in Australia. Some friends and I are going to Bondi Beach Sydney and would like to take a lesson on surfing. I've been looking up places online and Let's Go Surfing seems to be a great place to start because they've got a website where we can sign up. I'm wondering if you know of any other good surfing shops that do lessons in Bondi that may not have a website and if its possible to just figure it out when we get there and still be able to get lessons without reservations.

Thanks!

Are children allowed to come into the pubs. Everyone tells us that a pub lunch is something not to miss.

We're two girls thinking of renting a 4WD for a day or two to see the Island. Anybody wanna join so we could share the costs? If we're gonna spend the night we have a tent (but only for 2) and a camping stove.

Please write to kurkku@wp.pl, we're in Gold Coast right now and leaving on tuesday (around 1 pm probably), so please make contact soon:)

Natalie, 26 and Monika, 26

Greetings forum folks!

I'm planning an 11-day trip from Hobart to Launceston and am wondering if we should stay a couple of nights a St Marys. Any advice is much appreciated!

Spending a month in Aus May next year after travelling around NZ for 6 weeks. We will fly straight to Sydney and will be staying in hostels all the time we are in Aus. Any ideas on cheap (ish) hostels in Sydney as I know it's a pretty pricey place?
Also- is it easy to find hostels or should we plan exactly which ones we're going to?

Cheers

Hello,
I plan to rent a car from www.airportrentacar.com.au. Is their service realiabe. Since so many internet scams, i just want to makre sure this company exist before making any payment .
Thank you

All I will plan to book this Hotel for my decemebr stay. They have family room.
How is this hotel?

Thank you.

Planning on leaving Sydney on 19/12/09 to go to Adelaide for Christmas break .Would it be best to go via Hay plains ?Which I hear is long and boring or is there a better route I want to take a few days to get there so as not to rush it and see some of the country side .And would like to return around 27th via a different route maybe the coast road to Melbourne then up to Sydney ,Any suggestions as I have only ever flown and really want to experience the drive .

Anyone know where can i get good chilli mussels in Perth. I tried Uncle Vince's chilli mussels many years ago. It was really good, i have forgot the actual location. Any idea where???

Assuming no more than 7 days days from the WA/SA border to Melb, what places do you think there would be time for? Would be entering on HW1 eyre road

So far am thinking Streaky Bay, Eyre Peninsula & Port Lincoln, Adelaide. What else?

Hi there again.

Am about to finalise my itinerary again for my next week's visit to Melbourne. At this stage, having read all the comments, am taking 4 few days road trip along Victoria as follows:

2 days on the GOR (have received feedbacks on my queries in another thread)

3rd day: Leave to Phillip Island via Mornington Peninsula (ferry to Sorrento) (likely to spend the night somewhere in Geelong after the GOR trip. Stop by at Sorrento/Portsea/Arthur's seat on the way bfore proceeding to PP and return in the evening to Melbourne.

4th day: whole day, undecided (which brings me to the query below)

Just need few more pointers:

1) I've looked through the Mornington Map/Phillip Island but am not really sure on the actual road that will lead me there. It seems to point north from Sorrento towards near Melbourne and then south again to PP. Is this the only route? How long will it take roughly from Sorrento to PP by road on the selected routes available? I dont wanna arrive that late at PP.

2) On the 4th day day, am quite interested in covering the Dandenong ranges and Healesville. Is both doable on one shot or is it too much of a rush job? Apart from the steam train, sanctuary and the tourist road, anywhere else at both places that i shouldnt miss?

Thanks

Hey guys, im in sydney for christmas/new years and want to travel the entire east coast north to cairns. I plan to leave sydney around the 4th of january, and want to fly out of cairns on the 25th of feb. In between these dates, what is the best itinery to take? bearing in mind weather in north queensland, and some advice to how long to stay in each place would be super!! thanks guys

Hi Globies
I have a question to our Australian experts:
Wild Kununurra (Darwin to Broome route) seems to be interesting...
Years ago it was hard accessible, expensive and difficult to explore. Car rental companies refused to rent a compact car for Darwin - Broome route.
How does it looks now?. Are main roads improoved?
Stopover suggestions? Special attractions worth to stop?
Thanks...
Wojtek

Hi there,

I am planning a holiday to Perth in January with my family (parents & sis). We will be arriving in Perth on the 1st of Jan morning. Would like to find out if shops & malls will be closed on New Year day? How about day tours by local tour operators? Will there be any in service on that day? Any recommended tour operators for consideration? Thanks!

Hi,

We are traveling along the southrn part of australia (kingston to Melbourne). Our accomodations around melbourne is close to phillip island. Looking at a map it looks like the only way is to around the bay through Melbourne.

Is there a ferry service that crosses the bay around Ocean Grove / Dromana or somewhere like that.

After recieving some great advice, we are changing our trip plan and need some more advice. Originally we were planning on driving from Cairns to Syney in about 7 days. We are now thinking on cutting that trip in 1/2 and flying 1/2. Our question is, would you suggest the northern drive (ie cairns to Brisbane) or the southern drive (ie Brisbane to sydney)? Maybe Brisbane is not the cut off point?

For some background, we are traveling with 3 children (13, 11, 9) and will be doing this trip from January 10 - 16. We are interested more in culture, history, wildlife, beaches then amusement parks. This will be our only trip to Australia, so we want to get the most out of it.

I need to change our auto rental by the end of this week, so any quick advice would be appreciated.

thanks

I was wondering if doing these tours in january/february was too early?? i leave australia february 27th and want to fit as much as i can in, will cairns be too extreme in late february also?

thanks in advance guys, any advice or help would be appreciated

Hello All,

Does anyone kno the BEST time of year to visit Port Douglas in terms of the weather?

Any help would be appreciated ;)

Thanks

Hello all !

We are planning to go to Fraser at the end of November.
We are looking for a guided tours (we are under 25, so we can't drive a 4x4 and we prefer travelling with a guided tour in order to avoid problems suggested on this forum... !).
The problem is that it's quite difficult to choose by internet.
We would like a 2 or 3 days guided tour, with camping (not resort or hostel) as we think it's part of Fraser' spirit, and if possible with a small group !

Do you have any good ideas ? Or, on the contrary, companies that we should avert ?
Do you know if it's possible to book a 2 days guided tour, to stay on Fraser on night and one day more by ourselves and the next day, going back with our guided tour ?
Last but not least question, do you think it's necessary to book anything in advance (end of November) or will it be ok ?

Thanks a lot all for all your reactions !

Hi, am planning my itinerary for melbourne trip in a fortnight (family of 5). Just a quick q. Have a full day in which am planning to visit Philip Island for the penguins. Was advised to go there in late afternoon so i can catch it during sunset. That leaves the entire morning till noon free ( i believe its around 90 min drive from Melbourne to PP)

Can anyone recommend any suitable outskirts journey that i can cover on the same day together with Phillip Island (something like a combo day trip). Not that particular about places as long as doable with PP, although scenic/unique places are a plus. Only have one full day to cover outside Melbourne in addition to few days on the GOR track.

Thanks

Hello Oh-Worldly-Ones,

DH and I will be in Nowra on our wedding anniversary and would like to celebrate with a nice dinner. Have come across The Red Raven and The Butter Factory.

Anyone in the area willing to comment on either/both?

Thanks,

Kelly Anne