Expert: Megan - 3/31/2009

Question
Hi Megan-

We are trying to plan our trip to Australia in October of this year. We will
probably only have a week to 10 days. My two main points of interest are Sydney
and Port Douglas. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you!

Answer
Hi Melissa,

Were you thinking of driving because I think that you wouldn't have enough time to do Sydney to Port Douglas unless you drove very fast or did a lot of kms each day. If you want to do a drive do the Brisbane to Sydney drive its about 12 hours or so then fly up to Cairns. If you don't feel like driving I would fly from Sydney to Cairns and then from Cairns you can head up to Port Douglas.

From Cairns I would highly recommend a day out on the barrier reef it really is worth seeing you can obviously do this from Port Douglas too. Kuranda is also very scenic and I believe worth a look. Cairns itself is just like a big country town though and probably not much there to see but it is a great gateway to the reef. Also I would recommend while up north enjoying the seafood it is very good. If you need links for acitivies, tours or the tourist websites just let me know :)

As for Sydney obviously most people want to see the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. You can choose to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge for a fee but you must book ahead of time. The Sky Tower in Sydney gives a 360 degree view of Sydney and for the more adventurous the Skywalk is the way to go. (http://www.sydneytower.com.au/) Besides that stuff my favourite place in Sydney is a area known as "The Rocks". (http://www.therocks.com) It just has a lovely feel and charm. It is the oldest part of Sydney and all the buildings have been kept. I think it is worth a look. They also have markets on and other activites. I also think Darling Harbour (http://www.darlingharbour.com/) is wortha  look. It is another lovely are and they are both in central Sydney. They both ahve nice restraunts and activities on. Both are lovely for dinner as well with all the lights. Depending if you are into art or theatre or sports I can give you some more suggestions if you like.

Hope this helps to start the ball rolling. Please let me know if you have any further questions.