Australia holiday
 

We were in Perth and Margaret River 2 years ago and had a great time.
So we want to do S and SE Australia, Melbourne, Great Ocean Rd, Adelaide, Sydney.
Take a month over it.

In Melbourne we will stay in the CBD for 7 nights. Look around Melbourne on foot and drive out to various places.

Great Ocean Rd, Apollo Bay 2 nights, Warnnambool 2 nights then back to Melbourne for a flight to Adelaide for another 8 nights in a place a mile south of the Adelaide Oval.

Walk around Adelaide site seeing and drive out to the Adelaide Hills, Old Willunga, down to Victor Harbour but haven't found anywhere down there to stay so will return to Adelaide. Maybe a drive up north 100miles or so for a day???

Fly to Sydney for for a week. Stay in the Surrey Hills area.
Just walk around Sydney unless there is something we should not miss a day's drive away.

We are from UK but live in Singapore part of the time so will fly from there.

Any comments on the itinerary, too long here, not enough time there, don't miss this, wouldn't bother with that, etc etc.

We will be there during November this year.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Re: Australia holiday
 

Melbourne suggestions:

• Day trip to Yarra Valley (vineyards, gardens, beautiful scenery)
• Day trip to the Dandenongs (not to be confused with the suburb of Dandenong)
• Long day trip (ideally overnight) to Spa Country
• Melbourne Zoo has 3 locations, all worthy of a visit
• Phillip Island (Fairy Penguins)

Melbourne has the best shopping in the country and easy to spend a couple of days in the CBD with its famous laneways, cafes & boutiques.

Eating out is a treat. Despite having some top notch restaurants I actually think Melbourne does budget and mid range food better. Let us know your tastes/budgets.

Oh...and prepare for four seasons in one day...weatherwise:rofl:

HTH

Re: Australia holiday
 

Thanks, OzSheila.
Spring in November so we will be prepared if it's like the last British spring and now summer. We have the CH on here at the moment.

Any specifics for Melbourne it self.

My missus does all the work on research and prep for our holidays and good at it she most certainly is I just want to double check.

Re: Australia holiday
 

If you're renting a car in Melbourne look at the difference in price and maybe drive from Warrnambool to Adelaide rather than driving all the way back to Melbourne to fly. When we drove, we stopped off at beautiful Blue Lake at Mount Gambier, Umpherston Sinkhole (by accident) and Tantanoola Caves. 7 nights in Adelaide is more than enough time (IMO) to see what you need to.

Also I would take a (small) detour on the way to Warrnambool and take the road to Otway Lighthouse. Not so much for the lighthouse, but for all the wild koalas you will see in the trees on that road :D

When you get to Melbourne definitely stop in at the Tourist Information in Federation Square and they will give you loads of ideas for things to do and see. You'll have a great time xx

Re: Australia holiday
 

We considered driving from Melbourne to Adelaide but the car drop off cost was silly and we thought there might not be that much difference in the views all the way to Adelaide.
120 miles or so from Warnnambool to Mt Gambier a further 250 or so Mt Gambier to Adelaide. Could do Mt Gambier as a day trip from Warnnambool ? Is it worth that drive??
Amount of time in each place not finalised yet.
8 Days in Adelaide would be too long in your opinion then. Even with the drives outside Adelaide we are thinking about?

Re: Australia holiday
 

Melbourne is quite a good city for walking. Most European of Australian cities. Beautiful (by Australian standards) old buildings.
National Gallery of Victoria NGV
Free tram
Hop on/off bus
Shrine of Rememberance
MCG if you are into sports
Botanic Gardens
Degraves st (one of the famous lanes)
Paris end of Collins St
Fitzroy Gardens
Queen Vic or South Melbourne or Prahran markets
Lygon St Carlton (Little Italy)
Chinatown not much
St Kilda & it's beach
Federation Square for modern architecture
Walk along Southbank
South Yarra & Toorak villages.

Think it is easy to spend 7 days plus in Melbourne & surrounds. As a foodie I'd need more than that to experience all the wonderful eating options 😋

IMHO 8 days in Adelaide probably too long. One day in CBD sufficient, day trip to the Hills & a couple in the wine country? I'm saying that as someone who has only been to Adelaide once for a weekend.

Re: Australia holiday
 

Good stuff OzSheila, thanks.

Re: Australia holiday
 

I think the 7 days in Melbourne CBD and 8 days in Adelaide are both too long. Cities can usually be done in a few days. I would spend less time in CBDs and more time on the road trip or in places outside the CBDs, Ballarat was a nice trip, Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley or indeed any of the wine regions.

Re: Australia holiday
 

Got toagree, I love Adelaide, but probably only 3-4 days on a trip like this.

Melbourne - could very easily fill 7 days, especially if you include the surrounding area.

Re: Australia holiday
 

Ta.

Too late now even though just about everybody has said Adelaide time is too long we've gone with it because there's a lot of stuff around Adelaide I'd like to see.
And I might also want a day or so just doing nothing except maybe sleeping.
Holidays are tiring things you know.:p

Thanks to all for advice and suggestions.

Re: Australia holiday
 

Thanks for this. Hoping to go to Melbourne later this year.Have been talking about going for the last ten years.:eek:. Flight prices keep putting me off.

Re: Australia holiday
 

I would recommend a day trip to Daylesford (90 mins from Melbourne) and the surrounding small towns - full of boutique foody places, spas, antique shops etc.

Re: Australia holiday
 

We're just in the process of arranging a similar trip in November for my niece's honeymoon. Five nights in Sydney, two in Melbourne, five in Adelaide, five in Cairns plus extra nights for the road trip from Sydney to Adelaide via Melbourne and the GOR.

Having lived in Adelaide for six months last year and spent maybe four weeks in Melbourne, all without a job so with plenty of time, I reckon you've got it about right :) Where are you staying?

If you have a day off in Adelaide and it's a nice day, go down to Brighton beach. Or Noarlunga Beach. Or any one of the many nice beaches, though I'm not keen on Glenelg myself.

Make sure you go to Central Market on a market day, it's fab. And maybe Willunga Market on a Saturday.

Have lunch at the Flying Fish in Port Elliot on your day out to Victor Harbour.

Maybe think about Kangaroo Island. Haven't been there but have heard good things about it, except for the cost....

Then of course there's culture in the city and wineries outside it!

Adelaide is a breath of fresh air compared to Sydney and Melbourne, far less frenetic. I loved it and we may well sell up in Kirribilli and move there in a couple of years.

Re: Australia holiday
 

Thanks for the suggestions.

We will be staying in apartments booked through Airbnbee.

We love markets.
Always visit when possible.