Hi Again

The night life in Cairns you will find late night shopping and plenty of places to eat if you ask at where you are staying at they will give you more idea on the types of places to go to then I can as things change and I do not know your type of entertanment you will like the Flames of the Forest show.
Seaworld is the one I would go to it has more of a show it has the boat and water ski show and dolpons and polar bears , if you are in to the fast rides go to Dreamworld there is Movie world there also these places are about 70 KLS south of Brisbane at the Gold Coast

In Sydney go to the Blue Mountains if the weather is fine and also go to the sky tower for good views of the city and a tour of the harbour is a must by boat.
Enjoy Australia

We went out last December through the travelshop on the Guardian website. Even better, try the Austravel website, they'll actually ring you back on request with a quote, a very good service indeed.

Anyone stayed at this hotel.
On the Gold Coast in Australia near Brisbane.

looking,at it, on i'm a celebrity,i'm sure, not many of us have.
certainly out of my price range!
tracy

I am thinking of going to Australia this year and have just started researching. I would like to twin it with a few other destinations but am not sure which.

I need some help and advice on the best things to see and where to go.
Whether Australia should be twinned with another destination.
Where is the best to stay and how long I would need in each place.
When the best time to go is.

I don't want to spend a huge amount of money, so if there are any recommendations of which travel company to go with.

Finally, any tips or advice would be most welcome.

Thanks Very Much.

Well haven't been to Australia yet so I can't help there but when we do we would definitely be doing stopovers both ways. I know I am climbing the walls before I arrive at places like Singapore and Bangkok- can't imagine a further 9 hours after that!!
There is a vast amount of places you can stop off at. Think of the fun you will have chosing which is right for you. Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Bali are all popular stopovers- have been to them all and they are great!
As for the best company to choose- I dont think there is one right answer. The best thing to do is to research, research, research. Have found from experience that this varies from year to year and even month to month. For starters try airlines- BA have good prices now for Australia and stopovers and included. But go round all the airlines. Try Trailfinders - they have a good reputation. Try other tour operators and get them to quote - most are happy to do tailor made itineries. When you get the best price- go back to others and ask them to beat it. You can never spend too long in planning!!
I am sure others who have been to Australia will pitch in here. Good luck!!

Hi Fiona,

Thanks very much for your encouragement. I'm going to have a look at some different airlines and trailfinders which you suggested.

I look forward to reading other people's comments to my questions and thanks again.

It's so nice to be able to ask people's opinions through this forum.

Krishna

Hi Krishna

As I live down in Australia I might be able to help Australia is a big country and depends on what you want to see you have the reef of Cairns the good beachs on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts near Brisbane
Sydney has things like the harbour cruise and the Blue Mountains
Melbourne has lots to see at also and just west of Melbourne the Great Ocean Road it is a must see
Adelade has the Barossa valley for some of the best wines Australia has and Kangaroo Island to the south
This is a very small part of what there is to see here if you want some web sites to get more info just ask the best way is to pick a part of Aus .you want to see and fly to the next part

I spent a marvellous month in Australia in October and saw only a small amount of the country, I flew to Adelaide then did a 4w drive outback tour visiting Coober Pedy,Oodnadatta Track, Flinders Range and Clare Valley (Vinyards) then flew to Alice Springs where I spent a few days visiting Ayers Rock and Kings Canyon. Then I flew to Darwin for a week from where I visted Kakadu and Litchfield National parks. Then down to Cairns for a week where I went out to the Great Barrier Reef visited Port Douglas and Kurunda amongst other places. I ended up in Brisbane where I spent 3 days before flying back to the UK. I had visited Sydney as a stopover on a trip to New Zealand some years ago but would love to return and visit Melbourne drive down the Great Ocean Road and visit Kangaroo Island. Then there is the whole West Coast and Tasmania . There is so much to see and it is such a huge country with distances being so far and it can be very tiring. It really depends on how much time you have. I flew with Malaysia Airlines, very comfortable flights with more leg room than the average. We used their stopover program and had a night in Kuala Lumpur to break up the journey going and three days in Penang to relax at the end of the trip. If you fly to Australia with Malaysia they will provide you with a free return flight from Kuala Lumpur to anywhere within Malaysia.

Thanks Chubby and Judith for your suggestions and experiences.

I can see that I am going to think about this trip alot to get the best out of it.

Chubby - would it be possible to have the addresses for the websites that you mentioned?

I think my main concern is trying to keep the costs as low as possible. I went to Malaysia on my honeymoon so I think I might pick a different place as a stop off point on the way.

What would you suggest as the main places to visit in Australia? It was suggested to me to twin Australia with New Zealand. What are the main places to see in New Zealand? I like adventure, sight seeing, shopping and nice hotels.

New Zealand is a great place to visit, the scenery is magnificent and it is possible to visit both countries but I think you would need lots of time. Auckland is a large cosmopolitian city the beaches on the North Island are lovely and the mountains in the South Island are awesome. Queenstown is a very lively town in both winter and summer but having been to Australia and New Zealand I would not choose to see both on the same trip, it really depends on how many weeks you can spend on your trip..

Hi krishna

As Judith has said do one or the other country there is lots to see in both countrys if you are taking 5 or 6 weeks you could do both.
Back to Australia Sydney and Melbourne and the reef of Cairns seem to be some of the best places to see I will give the web sites to look at then ask some more questions
For airfares in Australia
http://www.farehunter.com.au
This will give you the best air fare and time of day for the three carriers
For accommodation in the major citys
http://www.quickbeds.com
http://www.accor.com.au.
Good for finding what there is to see down here
http://www.traveldownunder.com.au
http://www.australianexplorer.com.au
http://www.travelmate.com.au
These sites will give you far site on what there is to see in Australia we have motels chains that give good accommodation through out the country they range from $70.00 to $150.00 or as high as you want in major citys .There is the major hire cars if you look up there web sites to get there rates.
If you want more info on any thing just ask
New Zealand is one of the nicest places we have ever visted you could easy spend 3 or three weeks there so much to see it is very hilly the north island is so much different to the south island

A great range of info sites - this will help a lot of our members!Thanks!

Hi,
We are going to aus in october.
I did alot of research,on flights and hotel,apartments,and found mercury direct give the best deals,even cheaper than i could find by booking everything on my own.
We are doing a stopover in hongkong[you had a choice],but we have already been to Bangkok and singapore and Kuala lumpur,then we are going to the great barrier reef,staying at trinity beach.
Have fun
suzy

Can anyone advise me where to get an Australian Tourist Visa? Last time I went we went to the Australian Embassy but I hear this had changed! Can anyone tell me the best & cheapest way?
We are travelling to Perth W.A in 4 weeks!
Thanks Dx

You can apply for it online and pay with a credit card, it only takes a few minutes try http://www.Ausvisas.com it's called an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority)

Hi All,

Thanks for all suggestions and information.

I'm going to check out the websites and do a bit more research.

I'll keep you posted and thanks again for all your help.

Krishna

Better still, this site

http://www.eta.immi.gov.au/index.html

won't charge you a fee on top of the government application fee.

To be fair, the markup on the site originally given is low as these things go.

If deetee checks it out he/she will find that the visa site given by judith is actually cheaper than the one they recommended.$A20 as opposed to 10GBP.I have just got one for $A20 which is just under 9 pounds on my credit card statement.