Australia Itinerary

Hey guys, how does this sound for a 2-month itinerary of Australia?

Fly into Darwin
Fly to Uluru
Overland to Alice Springs
Fly to Cairns
Overland down east coast to Brisbane
Fly to Adelaide
Overland via Melbourne/Great Ocean Road to Sydney
Fly out of Sydney

What should we aim to do during the trip besides the obvious, Ayer's Rock and diving the Great Barrier Reef etc.?

Thanks!

Hi, not sure what time if year you're going to be travelling so it's hard to comment on your itinerary and what to see/do. It seems a shame that you're missing the entire west coast as it's very beautiful.

If you're travelling in winter/dry season (usually may-oct) then I'd highly recommend visiting Litchfield NP and Kakadu up near Darwin this far north the weather will be quite pleasant for a swim. Also while you're around Alice Springs, it's worth checking out the gorges in the West Macdonell ranges, most are accessable on sealed roads. As you're travelling from Cairns to Brisbane, it's worth stopping in at Airlie Beach to visit the Whitsundays and further south it's worth heading over to Fraser Island for some camping. From Adelaide to Sydney it will be quite cold so don't expect to be taking a dip unless you're really keen. Check out my pictures and travel map, I did a similar trip but all driving from may-august.

In the wet season (usually dec-mar) you should expect some road closures in far north Queensland and Northern Territory. Doing a fly over of Kakadu is worthwhile to see the falls full of water. Hanging around Uluru and Alice Springs might be a bit warm and there are flies everywhere so you might not want to check out the gorges. From Adelaide to Sydney the weather will still be warm so you can enjoy the beaches on the way, Jervis Bay is pretty (NSW south coast) and Wilsons Promontory (Victoria)is very pretty. The Grampians in Victoria are also worth checking out.

Hope this helps!

flying from brissy to adelaide? noooooooooooooo!!!!!

I say bus it from brissy to sydney and stop at Surfer's Paradise, Byron Bay, Coff's Harbour, and Newcastle along the way. it's only a few hours between each town. you can catch a train from newcastle that takes you right into the center of sydney

from Sydney... bus it to melb (12hr overnight) and drive the great ocean road out to the grampians then on the way back someone else can drive back along great ocean road. then take the overnight bus back to sydney.

The things I think are musts are:
• camp on magnetic Island
• skydiving on Mission beach is supposed to be a must but I skipped it
• Whitehaven Beach but not all of the whitsundays unless you really like sailing
• never go to adelaide
• camp a few nights on Fraser Island
• stay a few nights at Byron Bay - perfect beach - a great place to learn how to surf
• While you are in Cairns go to the northern beaches like ellis beach and palm cove (if it's not jelly fish season). maybe even go up to port douglas or cape tribulation for a day or two.

Hey guys, thanks alot for your helpful replies.

We'll be going this coming Dec and Jan.

Why should we not go to Adelaide? I'm quite pleased actually, your ideas sound great Paul, saves us flying around everywhere too! Are buses and trains very expensive though?

Thanks.

Ok guys how about this for a new fangled itinerary:

Fly into Darwin
Fly/Bus to Cairns
Overland east coast to Sydney vis Brisbane/Fraser Island/anything else by bus/train
Syndey bus to Uluru/Alice Springs and back to Sydney
Overland to Melbourne via bus
Great Ocean Road to Warrnambool and back to Melbourne - hire a car or something
Overland back to Sydney
Fly out of Syndey

What do you think?

Go to adelaide if you really want to, don't let me shatter your dreams.

everyone I met that had gone through or lived in adelaide had nothing but bad things to say. I personally hated it. It seemed like it was always closed. It seemed like a ghost town. weird considering it's supposed to have over a million people. I met a guy who was a firefighter there for 10 years, he asked me "was anybody awake when you were there?" just before I went there I met another guy who grew up there said it was often referred to as the "hole" or the "pit" of australia.

check out the australia explorer pass that greyhound has

the toughest thing is getting to the center and out. If you want to take a bus there it's going to have to be from darwin or adelaide. I don't think there is a one that goes from sydney...I imagine that would take a couple of days and it would pass through melb or adelaide....probably both. There may be a bus between the center and brisbane but I can't imagine it's any cheaper than a round trip flight. I remember seeing cheap flights to alice springs from melb but there might've been all sorts of restrictions, I never looked into it. idunno

but look at greyhound.com.au they have tons of passes they probably have one specifically for the cities you want to see.

I agree with Paul that there's nothing really in Adelaide, but the drive from Adelaide to Melbourne is quite pretty and you can incorporate the great ocean road in it. Is there any reason you're going to Darwin? In dec-jan it's going to be very humid, all I can recommend doing there is a flight over Kakadu as most of the main attractions will be closed by car due to seasonal flooding.

I suggest:
Fly into Perth
Fly/Bus to Adelaide visit south coast WA (margaret river etc.)
Overland south coast to Melbourne (hire car/camper)
Fly/Bus to Sydney
Overland east coast visit Brisbane/Fraser Island/anything else by bus/train

If you're keen then fly to alice springs from Melbourne and bus/tour to Uluru and fly to Sydney from there.

If you're going to bus the east coast it'd be worth doing some google research on the areas that flood during the wet season.