Recommendations for Australia and New Zealand

[Nebr.cruiser]

We are starting to think about and plan a trip to Australia and New Zealand. This may be the only time we will do the long haul over and back--early 70's, active and healthy, have traveled a lot overseas and cruised a lot, but still, the chances that we will go again are probably small--so we want to get the best bang for our buck and especially see the most/do the most. We can spend 3-4 weeks and would look into a combo of cruising and land tours.

 

Price does matter; I think we can use airline miles to book flights. We want to see the best of New Zealand and for sure Sydney, Cairns and Alice Springs area; bonuses would be Port Douglas, Melbourne, etc. We have just started researching. We are willing if needed to do it all on our own but organized tours and/or cruises would be a lot easier as well.

 

We are quite flexible as to dates, either this year or next but Dec.-March would work best for us. We've cruised a lot on most of the main stream cruise lines; don't want to spend the money for lux ones.

 

Just looking for ideas and suggestions! Thanks in advance. Bucket List!

[Globaliser]

... we want to get the best bang for our buck and especially see the most/do the most. We can spend 3-4 weeks and would look into a combo of cruising and land tours.

 

...

 

Just looking for ideas and suggestions!

If you really want to see the countries, it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip and therefore your only opportunity to do this, and you can only spent 3-4 weeks doing it, then my number one piece of advice is to ditch any ideas of cruising. Cruises are fine for those trips when you really just want a cruise, and you're happy to gently graze the surface of any ports of call. But they are not good ways to see a country properly - not even the ports at which the ship calls - so if that is your priority then it's not a good idea.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Although I agree with Globaliser in some respects, a combination of land travel and a cruise can be an effect way to see the highlights of both countries. But you'd need at least 4 weeks - a week or so in NZ, a 12-14 night cruise, a week or so in Australia.

 

Start in NZ.

Fly to Christchurch, then drive to Queenstown via Mt Cook. Stay overnight at Mt Cook so you can do the Kea Point Track - a two hour return walk that's really worth doing.

Spend a couple of nights in Queenstown (at least).

Fly to Auckland. Allow a couple of nights there (at least) before boarding a one way cruise to Sydney (usually 12-14 nights although there are some shorter ones but they only do about 4 NZ ports). The cruise will take you to most of the coastal NZ highlights, including the sounds of Fiordland, weather permitting.

Spend a few nights in Sydney.

Fly to Uluru, spend a night there.

Fly to Cairns - personally we prefer to stay in Port Douglas, it's only an hour away. There are plenty of shuttle buses between Cairns airport and Port Douglas, or you could rent a car. Stay 2-3 nights.

Fly home, which may involve flying back to Sydney or Brisbane first depending on who you're flying with.

 

If you wanted to add in Melbourne, then go there after Sydney and before Uluru.

 

There is a 14 night cruise on Celebrity Solstice departing Auckland 29th March 2019. It stops at Hobart (Tasmania) and Melbourne on the way to Sydney. There are still a reasonable number of cabins available. This cruise also overnights in Tauranga allowing passengers to see both Hobbiton and Rotorua if they wish (usually there isn't time to see both on one day). March is my favourite time to visit NZ, the weather is usually more settled then. We're doing that Solstice cruise - we do it every couple of years so we can catch up with friends and family in NZ.

[SinbadThePorter]

Given the range of places you want to see land based tours are probably the best bet.

 

If you are OK with driving on the proper side of the road :D I would recommend hiring a camper van in NZ for the South Island and also the North Island if you have time. Go where you want, when you want.

 

For Australia you will have to fly. I might be prejudiced, but if you are going to stay in a large Australian city it may as well be Sydney. There is not much extra to be gained from the other cities, even Melbourne.

 

From Sydney you can fly to Uluru or Alice Springs, but remember that it is a 6 hour drive between the two. So I would pick one. If it's Alice Springs, the main attractions are the MacDonnell Ranges which involves a lot of driving.

 

Port Douglas is only a one hour drive from Cairns. If you go to Cairns you get both.

[GradUT]

+1 for Globaliser’s advice.

 

Note that school vacations take place in Australia and NZ in December and January, so places will be more crowded and transportation and accommodation costs will be higher. You may want to travel later if you have flexibility.

 

In addition, you need to consider the weather conditions at some of the locations you want to visit. It will be extremely hot in the Red Center (Alice Springs and Uluru) from Dec -Feb. In Far North Queensland (Cairns and Port Douglas), it will be very hot and humid with a chance of cyclones (hurricanes) during those same months. Plus, it’s “stinger season” in FNQ so you can’t swim off any beaches except within the confines of a stinger net and, advisably, while wearing a stinger suit. But you can snorkel off the Outer Reef as you will be given a snorkel suit to wear by the boat operator. (Stingers are deadly jellyfish).

 

You can still travel to the Red Center and FNQ at this time of year (and many do), but you should be aware of the conditions.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Thank you for all the great advice. We are flexible as to dates. We have driven on the *correct* side of the road in Britain; let's just say it was an experience! I am learning very valuable things from your posts. Planning all of this is kind of overwhelming, which is why I was thinking of a cruise to New Zealand plus an organized land tour in Australia, but maybe we will rethink that.

 

Is March a better month all around for travel to New Zealand/Australia? There are so many wonderful areas to visit; I know we can't see 'everything', just hate to miss the highlights. Plus, although I do a lot of research, I thought Alice Springs was the place to stay for Ayers Rock and the Olgas.

 

Because of the 'stingers', can we do the Great Barrier Reef during this time frame? Is Darwin someplace we should consider?

 

Is the Great Ocean Road not to be missed? We are not particularly in to cities, but of course will want to see some.

[robbie21]

See the italisized comments:

 

 

Thank you for all the great advice. We are flexible as to dates. We have driven on the *correct* side of the road in Britain; let's just say it was an experience! I am learning very valuable things from your posts. Planning all of this is kind of overwhelming, which is why I was thinking of a cruise to New Zealand plus an organized land tour in Australia, but maybe we will rethink that. Driving in NZ is easier that Britain - much less traffic. On south Island you can go a hour without seeing another car. NZ is very compact and we rarely drove more than 3-4 hours between stops. In Australia the distances are the problem. Two or three day drives argue for air travel and that can get expensive.

 

Is March a better month all around for travel to New Zealand/Australia? There are so many wonderful areas to visit; I know we can't see 'everything', just hate to miss the highlights. Plus, although I do a lot of research, I thought Alice Springs was the place to stay for Ayers Rock and the Olgas. March is a good month overall. We spent 6 weeks in NZ in March/April and another 5 weeks in Australia also in March/April. This is late summer, early fall and weather is cooling.

 

Because of the 'stingers', can we do the Great Barrier Reef during this time frame? Is Darwin someplace we should consider? We did GBR out of Cairns in March. Stinger suits are provided. I saw only one stinger on the reef. They are less common there than on the shore. Still dangerous though. Check out Seastar Cruises on tripadvisor. I would not make a special effort to visit Darwin. We were there in March and it was still hot and rainy. Not all that much to see either IMHO. Many Darwinites spend the summer in the south. They were just beginning to return when we were there. However, Perth and Freemantle are well worth visiting so add them to your research.

 

Is the Great Ocean Road not to be missed? We are not particularly in to cities, but of course will want to see some.We were not super impressed. There is some nice scenery and you will probably see some roos and Koalas in the wild. But is is a long day of driving. A good, entertaining guide would make the difference.

 

Keep researching. There is a lot to see in both countries and you will have to prioritize. Good luck!

 

Robbie

[rkr]

We are also in our early 70's and will probably only visit AU/NZ only once in this lifetime.

We just booked the Radiance of the Seas for a Top End and Bottom End of Australia (Feb.9-March14, 2020), then four days on our own, then Voyager of the Seas to the South Pacific (Mar. 18-28, 2020).

This is going to overwhelming to plan, but an incredible experience. I would love to share ports and ideas with you.

You can reach me at rkr_ksan@yahoo.com if you are interested.

 

Thanks,

Kathy

[GradUT]

1. March/April would be a better time overall for this trip as opposed to Dec-Feb.

 

2. Alice Springs is around 300 miles from Uluru. So, if you are just planning to see Uluru, you want to fly into the Ayers Rock Airport (code AYQ). If you want to see more of the Red Center, you could fly into Alice Springs, do some sightseeing there and then drive to Uluru, but you’d want to allow at least 6 - 7 days for a trip like this.

 

3. You can snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef at anytime, but during stinger season (Nov - May), you have to wear stinger suits when you snorkel. The boat operator will provide you with stinger suits. (Note: Stingers are generally found off the beaches, not the Reef.)

 

4. I would avoid Darwin in March. The Wet (hot, humid, rainy weather) runs from Nov -April.

 

5. If you want to see the Great Ocean Road, plan on spending 2-3 days to drive it. There are some tour companies that do day trips of the GOR, but it makes for a LONG day.

[SinbadThePorter]

Thank you for all the great advice. We are flexible as to dates. We have driven on the *correct* side of the road in Britain; let's just say it was an experience! I am learning very valuable things from your posts. Planning all of this is kind of overwhelming, which is why I was thinking of a cruise to New Zealand plus an organized land tour in Australia, but maybe we will rethink that.

 

Is March a better month all around for travel to New Zealand/Australia? There are so many wonderful areas to visit; I know we can't see 'everything', just hate to miss the highlights. Plus, although I do a lot of research, I thought Alice Springs was the place to stay for Ayers Rock and the Olgas.

 

Because of the 'stingers', can we do the Great Barrier Reef during this time frame? Is Darwin someplace we should consider?

 

Is the Great Ocean Road not to be missed? We are not particularly in to cities, but of course will want to see some.

 

Feb/Mar for NZ and Mar/Apr for Australia are the best times. Of course weather will always be a variable.

 

If you want to see Ayers Rock (Uluru) etc, it's much better to fly straight there. Alice Springs is not a very inspiring town, the main interest there would be road trips out to the MacDonnell Ranges. Which are quite interesting, but time consuming.

 

Darwin is very much the Wet Tropics. In summer it rains and rains. In winter it is a very good place to start adventure expeditions to Kakadu and the Kimberley. Which are wonderful places that deserve a lot of time to explore.

 

Out on the Barrier Reef stingers are actually quite rare, they much prefer the inshore waters along the coastline. But you will be required to wear a stinger suit at that time of year as a precaution.

 

The Great Ocean Road gets a lot of rave reviews, but I'm not so enamoured of it. It's OK, but there are just as scenic spots all up and down the coast. Even around Sydney. For instance there is a short drive south of Sydney that actually takes you out over the sea on a coastal bridge.

 

 

As for cities, once you've seen one you've seen them all. Sydney does have a nice harbour though.:D

 

My suggestion is not to overload the vacation. Pick 4 or 5 things that are must-dos, then make a list of as many like-to-dos as you can. Plan the trip around the must-dos, then see if any of the like-to-dos fit into that without compromising the must-dos.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Thanks again everyone. You have given us lots of great advice and lots to think about and explore.

 

Going as late as March is iffy for us as we still run a home building business and while we do build in the winter, it really begins to be busy once March comes along, so Jan-Feb may be more realistic for us to be gone that long. Our son does run the business while we are gone, but it is a lot for one person once Spring begins.

 

All the ideas helps so much!

[boulders]

If you book a cruise, make sure the excursions include what you want to see and do. I was originally looking at a RCCL cruise in the same area, but the shore excursions were like night and day. RCCL's excursions were very active, white water rafting, ziplining etc. HAL's cruises looked much more interesting to me.

 

Holland America's Noordam sails one way cruises between Sydney and Auckland in winter 2019 and 2020, and some (but not all) include Melbourne, Hobart and Port Arthur, plus about 5 ports in New Zealand.

 

HAL's Maasdam will be in Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific in winter 2020. There is a cruise that starts in Sydney in mid-February, goes to Auckland by way of Hobart and several New Zealand ports. The next cruise goes from Auckland to Papeete, French Polynesia (aka Tahiti) and includes small South Pacific countries. Then the Maasdam goes from Papeete to San Diego by way of several more French Polynesian islands and several stops in Hawaii.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Wow, that last cruise especially sounds amazing--wish it was this year. But, I will still check it out. So many options, so little I know!

 

Just choosing a cruise for New Zealand alone is tough; don't know enough about which ports are best, what not to miss, etc. I can see lots of research in my future.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Wow, that last cruise especially sounds amazing--wish it was this year. But, I will still check it out. So many options, so little I know!

 

Just choosing a cruise for New Zealand alone is tough; don't know enough about which ports are best, what not to miss, etc. I can see lots of research in my future.

 

Typically most cruises include:

Auckland, NZs largest city, which is also the embarkation/disembarkation port for one way cruises.

Tauranga, the gateway to the Rotorua thermal region, or Hobbiton for LOTR fans.

Wellington, NZ's capital city, great museum, Zealandia ecosanctuary, LOTR interests.

Akaroa, gateway to Christchurch, very scenic harbour with rare dolphins

Dunedin, NZ's little Scotland, albatross and penguin sanctuaries, Taieri Gorge railway

Fiordland, scenic cruising through some of NZ's most pristine wilderness waterways.

 

Other ports that are sometimes included:

Bay of Islands, very historical, beautiful islands, glowworm caves close by.

Gisborne, easternmost part of NZ, also a major wine region.

Napier, Art Deco city and gateway to the Hawkes Bay wine region

Picton, in the Marlborough Sounds and gateway to the Marlborough wine region.

 

I think that covers most of them.

[Globaliser]

Is the Great Ocean Road not to be missed?

5. If you want to see the Great Ocean Road, plan on spending 2-3 days to drive it. There are some tour companies that do day trips of the GOR, but it makes for a LONG day.

If you haven't already seen it, there is a recent thread with some specific discussion of the Great Ocean Road: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2654132

 

And I agree with the advice about not overloading the trip. It's easy to underestimate the size of these countries. Australia is the size of the contiguous 48 states, so you can't expect to zip around from place to place without spending a lot of precious time in the travel. New Zealand is, similarly, much bigger geographically than you might think.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Typically most cruises include:

Auckland, NZs largest city, which is also the embarkation/disembarkation port for one way cruises.

Tauranga, the gateway to the Rotorua thermal region, or Hobbiton for LOTR fans.

Wellington, NZ's capital city, great museum, Zealandia ecosanctuary, LOTR interests.

Akaroa, gateway to Christchurch, very scenic harbour with rare dolphins

Dunedin, NZ's little Scotland, albatross and penguin sanctuaries, Taieri Gorge railway

Fiordland, scenic cruising through some of NZ's most pristine wilderness waterways.

 

Other ports that are sometimes included:

Bay of Islands, very historical, beautiful islands, glowworm caves close by.

Gisborne, easternmost part of NZ, also a major wine region.

Napier, Art Deco city and gateway to the Hawkes Bay wine region

Picton, in the Marlborough Sounds and gateway to the Marlborough wine region.

 

I think that covers most of them.

 

Thank you! That is so helpful.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I know it is impossible to see 'everything'--just like trying to tell someone how to see the US in two weeks; only a few highlights are possible, with so much missed.

 

Thanks for all the great advice.

[CupcakeSusie]

I’m coming to this thread late sorry - as an Australian who absolutely adores everything about the South Island of NZ (I haven’t ventured to the north island yet) the only bit of advice I have is to plan your driving times carefully. My big mistake was to think ‘oh that’s only 50km away so it won’t take very long to get there’ but it takes ages to drive anywhere because of the winding roads. Not something we’re used to here. Places less than 100km away as the crow flies can take 4-6 hours to drive to in NZ.

[blairknill]

I’m coming to this thread late sorry - as an Australian who absolutely adores everything about the South Island of NZ (I haven’t ventured to the north island yet) the only bit of advice I have is to plan your driving times carefully. My big mistake was to think ‘oh that’s only 50km away so it won’t take very long to get there’ but it takes ages to drive anywhere because of the winding roads. Not something we’re used to here. Places less than 100km away as the crow flies can take 4-6 hours to drive to in NZ.

 

 

 

Um Suzie try 1 hour for 59km distance and two hours for 100 kms distance. Stretching things a bout saying 4-6 hours

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Bpos]

Thanks again everyone. You have given us lots of great advice and lots to think about and explore.

 

Going as late as March is iffy for us as we still run a home building business and while we do build in the winter, it really begins to be busy once March comes along, so Jan-Feb may be more realistic for us to be gone that long. Our son does run the business while we are gone, but it is a lot for one person once Spring begins.

 

All the ideas helps so much!

 

 

You should also bone up on the following thread - little old but still relevant and lots of advice and information there to enrich yourvisit to the downunder

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2362723

[Globaliser]

Um Suzie try 1 hour for 59km distance and two hours for 100 kms distance. Stretching things a bout saying 4-6 hours

CupcakeSusie did say "as the crow flies" for places less than 100 km away.

 

I experienced an extreme version of this earlier this year. From The Divide to Queenstown is just under 50 km as the crow flies. But to drive from one to the other takes about three hours. If you're planning properly, you'll notice this. But the straight-line distance is apt to be deceptive, even if you're alive to the potential problem.

 

This is, of course, the same reason why excursions from Queenstown to Milford Sound take so long, even though the straight-line distance is only about 70 km.

[CupcakeSusie]

CupcakeSusie did say "as the crow flies" for places less than 100 km away.

 

I experienced an extreme version of this earlier this year. From The Divide to Queenstown is just under 50 km as the crow flies. But to drive from one to the other takes about three hours. If you're planning properly, you'll notice this. But the straight-line distance is apt to be deceptive, even if you're alive to the potential problem.

 

This is, of course, the same reason why excursions from Queenstown to Milford Sound take so long, even though the straight-line distance is only about 70 km.

Exactly. Not sure why the previous poster doesn’t understand this.

 

https://www.trippy.com/distance/Queenstown-to-Milford-Sound

[OnTheJourney]

Interesting thread. I tend to agree with those who are on the side of a land tour probably being the best way to see alot of different places in whatever time you have allotted. For years I've been looking at Collette's "Complete South Pacific" tour - 27 days in all (I think it's 16 days in AUS and 11 in NZ). A bit of a hectic pace, but I also feel this will be a once-and-done journey.

 

Interesting that the idea of going in March was brought up. I just wrangled over this because it appeared initially that Collette was dropping the Middle Earth and Hobbiton excursions after March/April next year - both of which are must-sees for me. So I looked at trying to fit this trip in in March. From talking to several people on trip advisor who live there, they suggested March may not be the best time - especially with the Collette tour which starts in Cairns. From the average rainfall charts I've looked at, it appears that pretty much across the continent there is significantly more rain in March than October. I was told October is a preferable time to go, so I'm going to stick with my original plan to go then. I've looked at cruises, but they just don't explore enough of the interior for my taste.