Australia trip suggestions pls!

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dpmother

Registered User
Hello there!*
We are thinking of taking a holiday to Australia for 10-11days with our 21 month old toddler. Seek advice on places to see, cities to visit, hotel stay, any special pointers to be taken care of, with a toddler along?*
Appreciate your useful suggestions pls.
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we rented an RV for a month with our then 3.5 year old and our 1.5 year old. we had an absolute blast! there is so much to see and do! we need more information about your families likes and dislikes to be able to offer ideas....
 
thanks cara for the prompt reply.... we are confused to which cities to visit...sydney, melbourne, goldcoast ?
wondering we should do all of these or 1 can be skipped.... dont want to make it a tiring journey...keeping in mind we have a very active toddler with us....on the other hand dont want to miss out on the must-to-c places as well.... any pointers, suggestions will be much appreciated. pls suggest..need to book the tickets soon...sept end is the target...
 
Australia is a BIG place - driving from Melbourne to the Gold Coast is about 22 hrs or so of driving time, so if you're only going for 10 days, you'd have to drive for 2-3 hrs a day, and be in a different city each night, on average. If I had just 10 days, I'd consider doing Sydney-Brisbane in an RV, there's lots of nice coastal towns along the way (Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay, Port Macquarie to name a few) and could stay 2 nights in some places and spend less time driving. I think that between Sydney-Melbourne, there's less to see and do personally. Alternatively, you could spend 5 days in Sydney then fly to Brisbane/Gold Coast (or Melbourne) and spent another 5 days up there. You'll have heaps to do in both places, and spend less time on the road.

When I was a kid, we did an RV trip around New Zealand and it was one of my best holidays ever! Just really plan it out so that you're not driving all day every day and don't have time to enjoy it.
 
Agree with Nicole Joy, personally for that length of time I'd probably choose the fly between Sydney and Gold coast so you don't spend so much time driving (I love Melbourne and have lived there the most,but for a holiday I think thats a better option). Especially with a toddler. We did a road trip from Melb via Canberra and then back down the coast from just south of Sydney before we moved to hong Kong (kids were 3 and 9 mths) and while we had a ball it was still a lot of driving. And much higher chance of arguments if you get lost,although it is hard to do its not impossible.

Have done it pre kids Sydney to brisbane if you are going to drive that is a better trip for reasons NJ gave. There are some great places to stay.

On the other hand if you're into food and fashion,go to Melbourne!!
 
thanks nicole & tnt for ur replies...
guess we are freezing with sydney & mel.....
well we will not be driving ourselves..hoping the public transport is effecient...(as good as hk ?)
pls suggest things to do & see in sydney & mel...keeping in mind the active toddler :)
 
I know Sydney much better than Melbourne. The public transport is not fantastic, but it suffices. Make sure that you check the timetable online at http://www.cityrail.info/ because to some places, trains may only come every 30 to 60 min so don't want to just miss one!

Some places to go around Sydney:
- Taronga Zoo - one of the best in the world, in my opinion. Can't beat the view of the harbour behind the giraffe enclosure!
- Aquarium in Darling Harbour
- Blue Mountains (about 1 or 1.5 hrs away, I think, via train)

If you're doing the Gold Coast, that's where the best theme parks are. For little ones, sea world is fun - similar to Ocean Park but (in my opinion) better, cleaner and more polite ;) Probably more displays/shows but less rides from memory...

In all three cities, the cities are really nice - I like just hanging out in the city. In Darling Harbour (Sydney), there is a fantastic park with a water play area, last time we were in the city, we spent about 1-2 hrs with my daughter just running around in the water in her undies - reminds me of my own childhood!! Brisbane has a gorgeous area like that too, with artificial beaches etc. I forget what it's called but I love it!

Circular Quay (Sydney) is beautiful too, leave a bit of time and watch the street performers. I love them as well. Make sure you catch a ferry or two, can't beat Sydney Harbour!

End of Sept is just starting to warm up but not really THAT warm yet. Personally I like warm better than cold so I'd prefer Sydney/Gold Coast to Syd/Melbourne. The weather should be great, it's a nice time of year.

There's some of my ideas - hope that helps :)
 
Nicolejoy is spot on with her suggestions for Sydney. I would add a trip to Manly beach. You can take the ferry & have a lovely stroll by the beachside and there are playgrounds by the beach. they also have the manly aquarium for kids to see.*

You can also go to Powerhouse museum which has exhibits and lots of touch and feel stuff for children. They have a small outdoor playground and I distinctly recall that I was impressed by their kid's meal/lunch box since it was healthy and substantial.*

Tip: child friendly places to eat at darling harbour: Crinitis (Italian) & James Squire along King street (pub food). My criteria for child friendly restaurants is that they have kid's meals, activity sheets and crayons. James squires also has face painting and balloons on Sundays.*

Public transport is not as efficient at HK. I don't know if they have it here in but What I love are the buses with designated pram/disabled areas at the front of the bus so you don't have to fold your pram.*
 
nicolejoey & newbie_hk, thanks so much for the useful info :)
we were checking the farm options as well.... isnt it cool to be a part of farm activites, feed the pets there etc.....
(oh u are actually staying with them) has anyone explored this part ?
more info on melbourne pls ?
 
We spent 5 lovely days on the Gold Coast doing nothing in particular except heading out to the beach everyday, building sand castles, running along the shore and visiting sea world, star gazing at night. We rented an apartment right along the beach where we could cook and wash our children's clothes (hence didn't always have to head out for dinner) and the children had a blast.
I agree with others, traveling with children it's best to limit travel time as it can get very tedious for you both.
 
Thanks mummymoo,
we are skipping gold coast.

Can any one give hotel recommendations for Syd & Mel - in city center with easy access to public transport? We wont have a rented car. Any serviced apts to suggest? We are looking for low cost options but location is important.

In Mel we would like to do 2 day farm stays? Do you have any suggestions? The ones we checked seem to be quite expensive - AUD200 per person per night! We definitely want to stay on farms but i am wondering if AUD200 is simply too high..

We would stay 3 days in Mel city centre. Any suggestions for hotels / service apt in Mel?
 
We just came back from a 3 week long trip to Australia. We went to Adelaide initially, after a couple of days we drove to Melbourne, stayed there for a week at a service apartment in the heart if the city, then flew to Sydney from Melbourne, hired a car and drove most of the time there as well. Then back to Melbourne , picked up our car and drove back to Adelaide through the great ocean road. So overall, we had a week each in Sydney Melbourne and Adelaide. Sydney was great fun with kids, we enjoyed the great weather and places around. Melbourne weather was too cold, with rain most of the days. But places around Melbourne were great too. A couple of places like Phillipe island, mornington peninsula , the twelve apostles were fun. driving around did save us a lot of time and energy with kids.
If you wish to see the city, public transport is easy, but if you wish to See the islands or farms it's better to hire a car.
Do let me know if you need any specific information..
 
If I've read and interpreted everything correctly, the OP wants to go to Oz for 10 days. Wants to visit 2 or maybe 3 cities. Perhaps even throw in a farm stay in there for a couple of days. No car, rely on public transport and have an under 2 toddler along for the ride.

This will not be a pleasant nor relaxing vacation for anyone involved. I would suggest pick a, single, 1 destination to fly into and stay there for the duration. From there, you can make all kinds of day time excursions here and there and everywhere. Whichever major city you pick will have plenty on offer to keep a 2 year old and parents busy enough for 10 days. Sydney is nice, Melbourne is fine, Gold Coast is pretty; heck even Perth or Darwin would be cool for 10 days.
 
It's not impossible but I think you'll struggle to get to a farm without a car. Agree with Howard, max 2 cities and just weave your way relaxing around the town, there's tonnes to do but being on public transport all day is not it...and let's face it, Australian public transport is not 1/10th the efficiency of HK so you could be waiting ages for your train/tram/bus especially on the weekend.
For a farm experience in the city try the collingwood petting farm
http://www.farm.org.au/

Goodluck! Also I would suggest to head to the nearest supermarket and load up on snacks/bread ect for the kids as cafe food, even really mediocre stuff is extremely pricey in Australia. Basically Great supermarket prices but not as nice (in my opinion).
 
Thanks mummymoo for d reply & d link. Usually v carry a lot of home cooked snacks for d baby. Does Australia permit us to carry d same? How abt baby formula? What should I keep in mind while packing d food articles?
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Thanks shwetakhanna & howardcombs for ur replies... Have any of u done farm stay? Any recos on d same?
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Australia is extremely strict with food items. Your home cooked snacks may not make it into the country. Baby formula is fine but would suggest bringing unopened packs/cans.
http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/travel/entering-australia/cant-take

With a toddler, it will be better if you rent a car even if you are staying in city centre (in Melb). It will be pretty hard and time consuming if you plan to venture out of city centre.

Apart from farm stay, you may want to consider visiting strawberry/berries/apple picking farm if the season is right.
 
I'll second what inkmink said - don't bring in fruit/vegetables or home cooked food. If you bring food in SEALED containers (bought food, never opened) it should be ok - but then you can buy food there for the same price or cheaper anyway so there's no point. Plus if you bring anything edible, you need to declare it and go through quarantine and show it to them etc, so it really slows you down. I prefer to not bring anything and just buy there.

I have no idea about farm stays sorry - but do agree that if you are doing a lot of trips that are outside of the city, it may be wise to hire a car. For cheap car hire, try bayswater - they don't have as many options but are significantly cheaper than hertz etc... I've used them many times and have always been happy with them. They don't have airport pick up though so will need to cab from the airport...
 
I second the recommendation for Collingwood Children's Farm,it is perfect for small children and it is not too hard to get too on public transport. This is in Melbourne. I think you will find it impossible to get to a farm stay without a car and as others have said it is unlikely you'll have time if you want to visit Sydney and Melbourne. Other good things to do in Melbourne are Botanic Gardens (which are beautiful), Melbourne zoo (not as spectacular a location as Sydney but a very good zoo, when we lived in melbourne I had an annual pass and took the kids all the time ). Scienceworks is great as is the Melbourne museum. And around Melbourne are things like Philip island with the penguins. Wandering around the amazing lanes in the city you will find some great shops and cafes. St Kilda is a great area with the beach,playgrounds (the st Kilda one is the best and totally different from anything in Hong Kong, but quite difficult to find - google it for details) and easily reached by public transport.
 
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