Recommendations for Australia

If you’ve never been, Australia is massive. You’ll never do the East Coast in 5 days, it took me 5 weeks.

It’s been 15 years since I was backpacking, but if you like outdoors then do Frazer Island, it’s great fun.

Is there a reason for Perth? If not then I’d sack it off and stay on the East coast or swap for the red centre. West coast is a whole trip in itself.
 


Me and 3 other lads are going to Australia next year in July for 2 weeks,

Perth 3 nights
Sydney 4 nights
Motorhome up the East Coast 5 nights
Brisbane 3 nights

Just asking on here for any must things to do and see from own experiences from the wise and well travelled SMB.

I got back last Saturday from Australia - went over the Melbourne Cup. It looks like you’re trying to pack a fair bit in there given the distances between them.

If you’re going up the East Coast north of Brisbane then I would suggest Noosa. Cracking place.

I like Melbourne a lot - great food and drink.

Sydney has a great setting but I find the CBD increasingly dull - stay in one of the suburbs maybe. Double Bay is great, albeit pricey.

It’s worth going to some of the wine regions if you’re into that sort of thing - Hunter Valley and Mornington Peninsula both very good.

Food and drink can be pricey, especially pints.
 
My Daughter and her mate just bought a car for $500 in Sydney and ditched it when they got to Cairns - A Holden V8, although it was a V5 by the time they got there.

Did similar. Cairns to melbourne via the middle. Had to fill the fucker 3 times day.

Another vote for Fraser Island.

If you can change your internary I would swap time in cities for the road trip bits. Ie. just drive Sydney to cairns stopping on the way up and ditch the rest.
 
From Sydney, definitely do a trip to the blue mountains. Probably my favourite thing I've seen in oz.

Fraser island worth a trip as well if you get that far.

There's not really anything too exciting in Brisbane. If your group is young and single then spend more time in Gold Coast/Byron drinking and shagging (stay in hostels rather than a motorhome - more sociable).

Haven't been to Perth but would agree with others to cut it if possible so you have more time on the east coast.

Go to an AFL game. Not as big in NSW/QLD as it is in Victoria but still good to see.
 
I'd think very carefully about what type of experience you want before you go. Two weeks is very short, and Australia is very big.

You could do Darwin, Kakadu National Park, Alice Springs and Uluru, then fly to Cairns, go out to Green Island, Gt Barrier Reef, see some rainforest , perhaps the Whitsundays, fly to Sydney or Melbourne for the last few days. This will give you a feel for Australia which is very different from home, a bit of the outback etc

You could do Adelaide, the wine regions, drive
To Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road, drive to Sydney and the Blue Mountains .

Perth is lovely but so isolated that as people have mentioned, might eat in to your time too much.

Give Brisbane a miss, lovely city to live in but not much going for it holiday wise.

Sydney is a bit London in the sun, but if you like cities and beaches you could have a great time.

Melbourne seems a great city, especially for young people. Bear in mind July is winter in Melbourne and the weather won't be great.
 
I've only been to Sydney, but I spent three weeks there so I have a few recommendations! I'd second a lot of people's recommendation for the Manly ferry. Manly is a better beach than Bondi anyway so if you want to have a beach day, Manly's your best bet. Watson's Bay also very good. If you do go to Bondi and want to swim, give Icebergs a go for a saltwater pool to avoid the bluebottles (not the same as UK bluebottles; these are tiny jellyfish which sting like fuck). Taronga Zoo is worth a visit, and it's worth getting inside the Opera House if you have any interest in it (I paid to see an opera there but they do other shows as well); the inside is worth seeing. Make sure you go down to Darling Harbour as well, very scenic on an evening to see the CBD all light up.
 
If you’re going in July then take some warm clothing. It will be the middle of winter there and it gets cold.
And it rains a lot. Know the song Four Seasons In One Day? Written about Melbourne. The weather is very changeable there. Any reason you’re not going in spring/summer?
 
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As pointed out if it's July I'd stay north if you want decent weather

Cairns, port Douglas etc and do barrier reef. And then maybe fly down tonsydney for city time.

Personally I wouldn't go that time of year
 
I'd think very carefully about what type of experience you want before you go. Two weeks is very short, and Australia is very big.

You could do Darwin, Kakadu National Park, Alice Springs and Uluru, then fly to Cairns, go out to Green Island, Gt Barrier Reef, see some rainforest , perhaps the Whitsundays, fly to Sydney or Melbourne for the last few days. This will give you a feel for Australia which is very different from home, a bit of the outback etc

You could do Adelaide, the wine regions, drive
To Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road, drive to Sydney and the Blue Mountains .

Perth is lovely but so isolated that as people have mentioned, might eat in to your time too much.

Give Brisbane a miss, lovely city to live in but not much going for it holiday wise.

Sydney is a bit London in the sun, but if you like cities and beaches you could have a great time.

Melbourne seems a great city, especially for young people. Bear in mind July is winter in Melbourne and the weather won't be great.
If he does change his itinerary, The Great Ocean Road is a fantastic shout. I've driven it a couple of times and also been a passenger and it is spectacular. Uluru is also tremendous.
I found Darwin to be batshit mental.:lol:
I also thought there was a crocodile outside of my tent in Kakadu but it was the shadow of a lizard.:oops:
 
Best time to visit Darwin and Top End, weather-wise: Mid-June to mid-Septemberhas relatively dry and cool weather, unlike the hot and sticky weather in other months. It will
still be really nice, it's the tropics.
 
Agreed about the Manly Ferry. It's a great way to see the city and harbour.

I would skip Brisbane. Alright maybe for a night or tow. Been a couple of times and was there a couple of weeks ago and it is just alright. Worse places to be in the world, of that there is no doubt, but there are better places in Australia too.

As alluded too, it depends on your age where you want to go on the Queensland Coast. Gold Coast and Byron Bay is probably better suited for younger people, Noosa a bit more suited to older folks, although it is great for all ages too. I would gladly go back to Noosa in a heartbeat.

I go over every other year for the Melbourne Cup, then up to Sydney and then another new place. In tow weeks that seems quite a lot. But hopefully you're younger and can handle more of the upheaval.

Going to Tasmania after Melbourne on the next trip over. Heard it is great.

Would recommend Melbourne for food, drink and sport. Great for the horse racing.

Food and drink in Australia is excellent.

And you can bet in the pubs.
 
As others have said I think you are trying to fit too much in for what is a very short trip to Aus. If you can even stretch to another 2-3 days it would make all the difference. Some people can be hit for six with the jet lag. And so bin Perth first of all.

As it's winter I'd not recommend Melbourne even though it is a great city for nightlife. Way better than Sydney which has been getting watered down by the nanny state for years. Melbourne will probably be wet and cold but Sydney while cold at night is generally dry through winter. For Sydney do the Bondi-Coogee walk. Stop off at the Clovelly hotel and then on to Coogee and go to The Pavillion. Great spot with amazing views of the beach. Go to Manly on the ferry. Head down the Rocks. Busy and expensive but good craic in the pubs and you can see some of the convict sites. The Hero of Waterloo pub was built by them. Harts pub is great for craft beers. Sydney has got some great pubs really but just don't expect to be able to do much after 01:30am.

I would definitely recommend spending most of your time far north queensland though. If you are hiring a camper and only going one way there will be a one way rental fee. But the trip up is brilliant. Stop off at Byron and Noosa. I wouldn't bother with Brisbane much unless you go to a league game. Airlie beach. But around Cairns and Port Douglas is just incredible. Drive up to Cape Tribulation and then thank me later.

Agreed about the Manly Ferry. It's a great way to see the city and harbour.

I would skip Brisbane. Alright maybe for a night or tow. Been a couple of times and was there a couple of weeks ago and it is just alright. Worse places to be in the world, of that there is no doubt, but there are better places in Australia too.

As alluded too, it depends on your age where you want to go on the Queensland Coast. Gold Coast and Byron Bay is probably better suited for younger people, Noosa a bit more suited to older folks, although it is great for all ages too. I would gladly go back to Noosa in a heartbeat.

I go over every other year for the Melbourne Cup, then up to Sydney and then another new place. In tow weeks that seems quite a lot. But hopefully you're younger and can handle more of the upheaval.

Going to Tasmania after Melbourne on the next trip over. Heard it is great.

Would recommend Melbourne for food, drink and sport. Great for the horse racing.

Food and drink in Australia is excellent.

And you can bet in the pubs.
It's amazing. Beautiful place and the people, while a little odd, are very friendly. I toured around there for a couple of weeks in me van. Was class. Can get cold and wet mind and November would probably be changeable but not too bad.

From Sydney, definitely do a trip to the blue mountains. Probably my favourite thing I've seen in oz.

Fraser island worth a trip as well if you get that far.

There's not really anything too exciting in Brisbane. If your group is young and single then spend more time in Gold Coast/Byron drinking and shagging (stay in hostels rather than a motorhome - more sociable).

Haven't been to Perth but would agree with others to cut it if possible so you have more time on the east coast.

Go to an AFL game. Not as big in NSW/QLD as it is in Victoria but still good to see.
In fairness the Swans get decent crowds and they usually do quite well. The SCG is a great place to see a game.
 
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Perth was my favourite part of Oz. Fremantle is immense if miles of luscious beach with bikini clad honeys are your thing.

Go visit the Quokka's

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Don't drive across the country. I went by bus from Perth to Sydney. 3 days of absolute hell.

Sydney is shite. Avoid.

Some of the hostels are good. They have party buses and tickets to go to clubs and get free drinks. I stayed in the biggest one on Pitt Street in Sydney. Though I didn't do the party bus thing, I was on my own and just wandered.

You also look like you are trying to do too much in too short a space of time, unless you want to spend half your holiday sat in a car sweating away looking at fuck all scenery
 
As others have said I think you are trying to fit too much in for what is a very short trip to Aus. If you can even stretch to another 2-3 days it would make all the difference. Some people can be hit for six with the jet lag. And so bin Perth first of all.

As it's winter I'd not recommend Melbourne even though it is a great city for nightlife. Way better than Sydney which has been getting watered down by the nanny state for years. Melbourne will probably be wet and cold but Sydney while cold at night is generally dry through winter. For Sydney do the Bondi-Coogee walk. Stop off at the Clovelly hotel and then on to Coogee and go to The Pavillion. Great spot with amazing views of the beach. Go to Manly on the ferry. Head down the Rocks. Busy and expensive but good craic in the pubs and you can see some of the convict sites. The Hero of Waterloo pub was built by them. Harts pub is great for craft beers. Sydney has got some great pubs really but just don't expect to be able to do much after 01:30am.

I would definitely recommend spending most of your time far north queensland though. If you are hiring a camper and only going one way there will be a one way rental fee. But the trip up is brilliant. Stop off at Byron and Noosa. I wouldn't bother with Brisbane much unless you go to a league game. Airlie beach. But around Cairns and Port Douglas is just incredible. Drive up to Cape Tribulation and then thank me later.


It's amazing. Beautiful place and the people, while a little odd, are very friendly. I toured around there for a couple of weeks in me van. Was class. Can get cold and wet mind and November would probably be changeable but not too bad.


In fairness the Swans get decent crowds and they usually do quite well. The SCG is a great place to see a game.
I wasn't actually a huge fan of Australia when I travelled there. That said there's still some class places to go and visit. I think the above pretty much nails it. Good advice there.
 
Whitsundays
Bryon Bay
Fraser Island
Great Ocean Road
Airlie Beach

If going for just 2 weeks then stick to the east coast.

You won't have time to see much with the plan you have mentioned.

To put it in perspective I travelled the East Coast alone for 1 and half months and didn't get to do everything I wanted.
 
I agree with those saying Melbourne its a great city (my eldest is there now playing cricket). To chill Great Ocean Highway and return via the Otways and Geelong.

Sydney is very good with loads to do, chill out at Manly which has the best beach, forget Bondi.

Bypass Brisbane go up to FNQueensland and just chill. Palm Cove our favourite between Cairns and Port Douglas. Past Port Doglas you have the wonderful Daintree rain forest.

If you do a wine region try Mudgee, car from Sydney via Blue Mountains then on to Mudgee. Return via Richmond Aussie first settlement. It has one of the best cafe l ever visited full of music memorabilia, Lyn the owner is lovely.
 

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