jduds

Hi all. My wife and i are visiting Australia for a month in april. We are flying to Cairns and want to make it to Melbourne to visit family . I know Australia is HUGE and it is alot of miles to cover (we would never cover that distance on English roads) but would it be realistic to do it comfortably in oz ? Or should we book some internal flights? Any advice would be great cheers

jothefw

We love driving around Australia - to do 1400 kms in a day is quite feasible but you don't get many stops ! LOL!

I'd have a look online at prices of Campervan hire - our friends used Apollo recently. They do require quite a big deposit as you can imagine so just have that in mind. If you want to camp in campsites along the way you'd need to budget between $25 to $45 for a powered campsite - Big 4 are good and reliable.

You'd get to see so much more but it would be a more pricey way of travelling compared to some of the bargain $40 flights!

What's your priority?

jduds

yeah we have looked at the prices is prob more expensive than flying hotels ect .But i think we would have a laugh and see alot more of oz and would have no pressure to catch flights ect .Our only concern is if we would have the time to see all we want to we would also like to have a few days in sydney

Kim67

Do it, it'll be great and you'll get to see heaps. I'd just hire a car and stay in cheap motels though.

KJCherokee

Cheap flights will take you to the capital cities and a few other major centres like Townsville. Flying anywhere else in Australia costs an arm and a leg. For example if I want to book a ticket from Brisbane to Melbourne in March next year it will cost me $109; if I want to fly to Mt Isa, which is about the same distance, it will cost me $287. I can get specials to fly to Melbourne and end up paying well under $100, but to Mt Isa that's it - only one airline, no competition.

Driving allows you to go anywhere - in three weeks you could drive from Cairns to Melbourne via Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock) if you wanted to! My personal opinion is that you don't see Australia if you only go to the major cities (one city full of skyscapers is much like another one) so my vote is for driving - just be aware that the cost of fuel increases in direct proportion to your distance from the coast!

Long distance drives are easy, as once you get away from the direct Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane coastal highway the traffic is sparse and you can cruise for hours at 110kph without seeing anyone else. Downside of that is that if you break down it may be some time before any help arrives so make sure you always have plenty of water - and your mobile phone won't work away from the major towns unless it is with Telstra, and possibly not even then.

What sort of things are you wanting to experience? Coastal (swimming, snorkelling) or inland (views, climbs, rivers, fishing)?

Wendy66

Would agree with Kim67, do it you'll have a great time and see a lot more also would personally do it in a car and use cheap motels. We travelled around alot and did it the car/motel route, nice to have proper bed and shower etc and just pulling over when we wanted into a motel

use www.google.com.au (Click the maps section) and have fun planning your route out, it'll tell you how far between points etc, if there are certain areas you want to see you'll have a plan of action then to follow.

Sounds wonderful holiday, enjoy it whatever you decide

jduds

thanks guys you have been a big help so far !

elice_in_oz

My sister and friends did Melbourne-Cairns a few years ago in a campervan in about 5 or 6 weeks. They saw loads and went the long way via Croajingolong National Park (South Eastern tip of Victoria). My aunt and her partner did the same this year but only in 4 weeks and they also loved it.

Four weeks is feasible easily by the coastal route. Not sure about going via the Red Centre - you might be restricted by the hire company anyway as many will not let their vehicles go through the Northern Territory because of the predominance of unsealed roads there.