Planning to go Aussie for a vacation

fatone SG

I nv been to Aus before and wld like to go with my family(my mom and bro) during the yr end. I would like to know which are the die die must visit places such as Wet'n'Wild Water World, Warner.Bros Movie World and Sea World. I understand it would be better to go in a tour group due to being totally unfamiliar with the place but before i go book for one, i need to know which places are really damn good and need to visit so that i can book correctly. btw i understand some tourist attractions are in gold coast and some r in sydney so will i have to choose between either one or issit close enough to travel?

thanks~

btw i'm looking at around a 10 day vacation.

thanks again:D

fatone SG

i found this on chan brothers, is it worth it and good?

http://www.chanbrothers.com/index.cfm?id=ebro_tour&tour_code=AU07F&p=comprehensive.gif&t=most%3Cbr%3Ecomprehensive&tour_desc_id=34&region=Australia

To fly by Qantas Airways it would be $1938

To fly by SIA it would be $2163

Is this the standard price or since it's Chan Brothers they r jacking up the price?

SINGAPORE – BRISBANE (Meals on Board)

Assemble at Singapore Changi Airport for your flight to Brisbane.

BRISBANE – GOLD COAST (Meals on Board/Dinner)

Upon arrival, head to Dreamworld and enjoy thrilling rides like Wipeout, Thunderbolt, and the 38-storey Tower of Terror. Visit Tiger Island and admire the big cats playing and swimming. Head for the Australian Wildlife Experience to see its resident animals like koalas and kangaroos in their natural habitats. Watch the Australian Farm Show for a look at the Aussie rural way of life. Check out the new FlowRider and watch the Flowboarding demo to see the experts ride the perfect wave. Also not to be missed is a thrilling ride on The Claw.

GOLD COAST (Breakfast)

Spend the day at the exciting Warner Bros. Movie World, known as “Hollywood on the Gold Coast”. Take the most advanced and thrilling suspended coaster ride in the southern hemisphere on Lethal Weapon or try the heart-thumping and thrilling ride, Superman Escape. Enjoy the Police Academy Stunt Show, or go on the scariest, spookiest, most spine-tingling rollercoaster ride on Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster.

GOLD COAST (Breakfast)

After breakfast, you can spend the day at leisure. Join an optional tour to Sunshine Coast or spend the day at Sea World at your own expense. In the evening, take an optional tour at your own expense to Springbrook National Park to see Australia’s largest glowworm colony or see the new Australian Outback Spectacular which showcases the rugged outback, complete with daring stunts, wild horses and stampeding cattle. Enjoy an Aussie BBQ dinner while you feast on the action.

GOLD COAST – BRISBANE – SYDNEY (Breakfast/Dinner)

Depart for Sydney by flight. Upon arrival, embark on a city tour of Chinatown, St Mary's Cathedral, Darling Harbour and King's Cross. Continue your sightseeing at The Rocks, a charming waterfront precinct with beautifully restored buildings. See the famous sails of Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Make a stop at Mrs Macquarie's Chair for a superb bird's-eye view of the magnificent Sydney Harbour. See a vast collection of marine life at Sydney Aquarium. See the largest reef display at the Great Barrier Reef Oceanarium and come face-to-face with huge stingrays, sharks and schools of fish at the Open Ocean Oceanarium.

Note

If you are taking an early morning flight to Sydney, boxed breakfast will be arranged.

SYDNEY – BLUE MOUNTAINS – SYDNEY (Breakfast)

After breakfast, visit the vibrant Sydney Fish Market, Australia's only working fishermen's market. Set off for the scenic Blue Mountains National Park. Enjoy the gorgeous scenery of the densely forested Jamison Valley and see the giant sandstone pillars called “The Three Sisters”. Shop to your heart’s content at Direct Factory Outlet (DFO) with many individual outlets and well-known labels under one roof. You can buy fashion apparel, footwear, accessories and more at discounted prices.

SYDNEY – SINGAPORE (Breakfast/Meals on Board)

If time permits, you can do some last-minute shopping before you transfer to the airport for your flight home

fatone SG

upss

fatone SG

ups again

Meia Gisborn SG

Hang in there! I'm sure one or more of our Australian contingent will chime in shortly with advice and/or suggestions.

fatone SG

Hang in there! I'm sure one or more of our Australian contingent will chime in shortly with advice and/or suggestions.

wokays thanks:D

105090 SG

i dont really like Gold Coast 'cos its mostly theme parks (man-made attractions)

Sydney is great, but its the most expensive Oz state

Kuali Baba SG

That tour is pretty good value actually, although you might want to find out what kind of people go with them. I'm not a fan of travelling in groups because they tend to eat in Asian restaurants, talk about little aside from everything back home and there are usually a few slappers who embarrass the rest with their behaviour.

Try to visit the beach and the nearby malls in both cities as well. It will be hot and sunny so don't forget the protection!

caleb_chiang SG

The best way is travel on your own and not on tour package... You would not get enough time to enjoy doing what you really want to. By the time you start enjoying, they ask you to pack your bags and leave the place.

The best is to find out what you really want to do in the vacation. A rush sight seeing or just to hang out and relax with your friends even if it means that you will need to see those places you wanted on your next trip. I'd choose the second option.

breytonhartge SG

I would actually not bother to go with a tour, fly down yourself, and rent a car and go exploring, also, you can get those 3 in 1 theme park passes. Don't like the Gold Coast much either, too much like Florida in the USA. You can actually drive form the Gold Coast to Sydney, it will probably take you a day and a half, but you get to see some interesting sights along the way.

If you really want a great place to go visit, I would suggest that you eschew both the Gold Coast and Sydney and go to Tasmania, do something you cannot get in Singapore, enjoy nature.

If you are set on going to the Gold Coast, and seeing as it is you would be in QLD, I would suggest renting a car and taking a road trip to Carins or visit the Whitsundays and check out the great barrier reef a world heirtage location! On the way to carins, make your stop in Rockhampton, the beef capital of Australia, they serve the best steaks in town there. I still remember whist coming back from Mckay, the wife and I made a stop over at Rockhampton, we both ordered the fillet steak and it was great and it only cost $12AUD then. It was about 2 years ago... the steak was so good we both ordered another one. : )

Another suggestion is to visit Port Douglas. Its quite quaint and nice up there a change of pace and scenery.

Don't spend your whole holiday in theme parks... its just not fun. Remember that year end is our summer and it will be HOT and be prepared to learn the aussie salute. Hehe.

In terms of accommodation, hop on the net and search for serviced apartments, it is the way to go and much cheaper for accommodation and it gives you more flexibility.

Just my two cents...

ceecookie SG

As with breyton, i do not advise taking tour because in Gold Coast, the beaches are so tempting to just lie there the whole day and relax and i think the idea of being rushed into tour buses is not very nice.

I do recommend staying at Surfer's Paradise in Gold Coast,its a very pleasant beach with constant low wind which make it ideal to relax.For a place to stay i recommend renting a apartment at Gold Coast so that the beach is nearby. Renting a car is recommended so u can shuttle to Brisbane with ease as it is about half an hour drive away.

If u are a action fan,would recommend movie world and sea world.Dream world is more for theme park fans if u are one ;)

GHoST_18 SG

drive to the countryside and visit the small towns...

GIB SG

Sea World and Dreamworld not really that worth it. Movie World is nice though. There is also a casino inside Conrad Jupiters Hotel somewhere in Gold Coast. But basically not much else to do in Gold Coast unless you like surfing or shopping or eating seafood. The small Ripley's there is not worth visiting. If you are in Brisbane, u can check out the parliament house.

Sydney, start with Darling Harbour, there you can visit Maritime Museum (used to have a submarine there), Star City Casino, Fox Studios (can go for tours), Aquarium, Chinese Garden. Then you can move on to Sydney Opera House, next to it is Circular Quay where you can take a ferry to visit the zoo. You can also drop off from the ferry halfway to the zoo to visit Fort Denison which is in the middle of the harbour. Next to Circular Quay is The Rocks area which has a nice weekend open air bazaar. Also a few eating places there as well as the Bounty which is an old wooden ship that you can actually have dinners on as it goes around the harbour (not sure if it is still around). On the other side of the Opera House is the Botanical Garden.

Near to Darling Harbour is Chinatown which is also near to several major shopping complexes. Don't forget to check out Queen Victoria building. It's a small shopping mall but very nice building. If you like red light district, there is King's Cross area where they have the annual Mardi Gras parade.

Hunter Valley and Blue Mountains will take a few hours to reach by bus from the city. While you are in the Blue Mountains, nearby there is Jenolan Caves where you get a guide to take you through the caves. The lightings light up the caves pretty nicely.

If you are in Sydney around Christmas, u can attend the Carols In The Domain. It's a free open air concert in a huge field. During New Year Eve, go to Opera House and watch the fireworks in the harbour as well as on the bridge itself.

ceecookie SG

Speaking of small town, if u are a wine lover will recommend u driving to Boonah, a town about 1-2 hours drive from Gold Coast. There's a nice winery there

redDUST SG

for 10 days, i would recommend a self-drive from sydney to melbourne, or the other way round. i did a sydney - adelaide self-drive last year during winter and it was a tremendous experience.

depending on what you want to see, i am sure you will be able to sample a very diverse australia as well.

australia is very easy to drive around. i would recommend that you call the tourism australia office to get some road maps to plan your trip. they are located at goldhill plaza. i popped by their office last year and their staff are generally very helpful.

for accomodation, my recommendation would be youth hostel. it is a bit spartan, just beds and a simple table, but it works for me. i typically requested a room for my family, sometimes we get lucky, as we were given room with attached bathroom. what i like about youth hostel is most have a big kitchen that allows you to cook. we did a lot of self cook to save money, plus you can only eat out so many times...the YHA folks will also typically know where to go and what to see. you can check some B&B as well as they offer reasonable prices for their rooms.

the key to a good hols down under are the following, imo,

1. plan well, i.e. familiarize yourself on roads to take

2. book your accomodation early, ideally thru' the web while in sgp

3. try not to pack too many things on your itinerary. australia has so much beauty in the various location that sometimes it is just better to take an extended few hours to soak it in.

4. rent an suv if possible.

many years back, my and a few of my buddies drove from brisbane to byron bay, a hippie town by the coast. it was a 3.5hours drive, i think. it is absolutely a cool place to hang out. i read last year that byron bay is now very commercialized.

ChiBet SG

its winter in melbourne now

honeymouse SG

Hi fatone,

It really depends which parts of Australia you want to see. If you would like to see only those popular ones in one place, then it might be worth hiring a car to look around.

But if you want to stay at one place for a few days and fly to another, then just organise day trip.

(1) Gold Coast - the different worlds

(2) Sunshine Coast - Australian Zoo (Steve Irwin's zoo)

(3) Sydney - Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Sydney Aquarium, cruise around the harbour

(4) Melbourne - Great Ocean Road (12 apostles), Penguin Parade (Phillip Island), Vic Markets, Wineries

If you can confirm the date you want to come, you can get domestic flight at pretty good price (www.virginblue.com.au or www.jetstar.com.au). Same applies for accommodation (www.wotif.com.au).

It might work out to be cheaper. If you need any help, just let me know. I am happy to help you to plan/organise. The earlier you set a date, the cheaper everything will be.

Enjoy planning! ;-)

viciouskitty74 SG

for a first timer to ozz, i think the package is okay.

just try not to cramp all the visits in one day. they tend to only allow u 15 mins to move around. Best if you visit one spot/world per day as easly as 7am to board yr busses.

2oz SG

I suggest Sydney. Book a apartment rather then a hotel that way you can bring lesser clothing.

Do blue mountain tour (day tour - can book online),

Opera house if on sunday opps side usually have street stall. (use train)

Hunter valley and some fruits plantation. (day tour too)

Darling harbour , Circular Quay for dinner (use train)

Bondi beach (use train)

The rocks for tea and shopping (use train)

just some of the must see place....

Time your stay for 31 dec 08 and go see the fireworks at the harbour. Very nice.

I am sure your mom will like sightseeing and city shopping more then theme park...

viciouskitty74 SG

if you are planning for gold coast or anywher with beaches, do try to put insect repellent religiously on your body & face.

I was bitten by sand flies and my face swelled to interesting proportion.