Please review my trip plan
 

Hello there,

I am planning to fly for about 3.5 weeks from US to Adelaide for my validation trip. I also want to visit all the "potential cities to settle in" :)

Here is what I am planning
-8-10 days Adelaide (got family in ADL)
-Road trip to Melbourne (Great Ocean Road)
-Stay in Melbourne for 3-4 days
-Drive back to Adelaide
-Relax 2-3 days
-Fly to Brisbane (4-5 days)
-Fly to Sydney (5-6 days)
-Fly back to US

Do you see anything obviously wrong with this plan? Any suggestions?

I am also looking for what to do in each of these places :D
Will be traveling with OH and 2 kids :eek:

Thanks!!

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

Keep the car and keep going, up at Brisbane. You'll find it useful in each city especially if you're investigating areas etc. You'll get a feel for the country too if you actually travel through it.

Have fun

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

Thanks Max&Ozzy. I do plan to a rental in Brisbane and Sydney, not sure if i want to drive from Melbourne to Brisbane. Google says its 21 hours non-stop! :eek:

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

People do it! Driving in Melbourne itself will be more stressful than 21 hours to Brisbane in my opinion. Adelaide is laid out like Milton Keynes (on a grid) but Melbourne is not and it has a river in the middle that you seem to only be able to cross once (I am exagerating a little) and there's Toll's ... it took me 2hours to get out once and I promised I'd never try again!:eek:

The Great Ocean Road is great, plenty of great things to do with the kids to break up the car trip - gold panning, tree walks, great beaches!

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

If I have around 4 days for the Great Ocean Road + Melbourne, how much should I spend on the road till I get to Melbourne and how much should I spend in Melbourne?

If driving in Melbourne is so tough, should I just drop the car off once I get into Melbourne and then use public transport?

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

Consider that I am used to driving on the right side of the road! :p

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

I would be tempted to use public transport in melbourne & possibly sydney, but definitely car in brisbane and surrounds.

I wouldn't drive melbourne to brisbane.
cheers

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

Melbourne dwellers may have a different opinion but everyone I know who has visited & used the public transport there, says it is fantastic.
Bear in mind that I live in Cairns where public transport is abysmal though!;)

Hope that you have a fantastic trip btw!:thumbup:

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

Great Ocean Road is great. We stayed at a few lovely hostels which would be suitable for families. PM me if you want more info. Also would recommend a trip to Australia Zoo.

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

I'd be tempted to drive to Melbourne, give the going back to Adelaide a miss and instead fly from Melbourne up to Brisbane. Then use those extra days to do the road trip down to Sydney, it's a fantastic drive with plenty of places to stop off.

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

2 days to drive down, 2 there? Everyone I know loves Melbourne though so maybe longer there? Public transport is good [again from what I've heard] or invest in Sat Nav .... may be worth either way.

As for fly/drive discussion - it comes down to time versus costs? The drive could be great if you've time to spare?

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

Melbourne is reasonably simple to drive around bar the CBD and immediate burbs.
After that roads run for many kms, and once you hit one of these, you feel you know where you are going!

Tolls- as long as you know you are going via toll road, buy a pass in advance. You can also pay up to 3 days later, although this may not be the case with hire cars.

Looking at you itinerary, I would not go Adelaide-Melb-Adelaide, unless there was some pressing reason. You are just doubling the travelling with no advantage.
Why not stay longer in Adelaide, drive to Melb and then go to Bris?

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

Hey,

Unless im missing something I would fly to Sydney first and than fly further up the coast to Brisbane next. Not sure if I read this wrong but doing it the other way around you would basically be backtracking.

Also more international flights out of Sydney to go home.

Re: Please review my trip plan
 

I wouldn't rent a car in Sydney - infact you couldn't pay me enough to drive there. They have a good train/bus/ferry system, use that.