Australia, Christmas 2015 - Best Agent?

MDUK

We have just decided to go to Australia next Christmas. We will go for 3 weeks and take in the New Year before flying home probaly around the 2/3 Jan 2016.

I'm looking for recommendations for a tour operator/agent to put it all together for me. We won't go to west cost or Ayers Rock but will want to go up from Melbourne to Cairns/Darwin/Kakadu - Maybe we should do it in reverse so we are in Sydney for New Years?

Happy to drive segments but know we will need to fly some part of the route as the distance is so large. We have been to Oz over 20 years ago and will be going back with our teenage kids.

Don't have a problem driving, would even consider a motor home for part of it, want to take in areas that are good for wildlife. Philip Island, Wilsons Prom, Byron Bay, etc etc

Any other suggestions welcome

Thanks in advance

dawyldthing

I'm looking at oz for next year and keep thinking of using the itenary of some of the companies out there (like contiki etc) as a guide for things to do in each area

johnmcga

I have just arrived home after a very similar trip (our flight back was on 1 January, so I'm still feeling the jet-lag!).

As we booked everything independently, I'm afraid I can't help with travel agent recommendations. However, maybe some of this will help.

We were in Australia from 9 December - 1 January. Our itinerary was:

- Brisbane (three nights)
- Sunshine Coast (three nights, including a family wedding)
- Palm Cove (four nights - near Cairns and Port Douglas)
- Sydney (four nights)
- Great Ocean Road (three nights over Christmas)
- Mornington Peninsula (two nights - including a visit to Philip Island)
- Melbourne (four nights)

We planned everything ourselves, but did book everything in advance rather than just rocking up and taking our chances with accommodation.

In particular, accommodation for between Christmas and New Year seemed to get booked up well in advance.

A couple of other thoughts:

- It looks like you're trying to do a lot in three weeks. It's a hell of a distance from Melbourne to Cairns (never mind Kakadu or Darwin). Take a good look at driving distances and times before you commit!

- We found car hire was super-easy to arrange directly and we had no issues with insurance / damage with any of the four cars we had on this trip.

- Domestic flights are cheap and straightforward. You don't need to get to the airport hours ahead, and security requirements are less stringent than when flying internationally.

- Get out on the reef and do some snorkelling / diving. Our day on a boat was a highlight. This is easy to arrange locally. Likewise, the penguins at Philip Island are super-touristy but still well worth doing (you'll need to book in advance).

- I think you're wise to focus on outdoorsy / wildlife sights and activities. If I was doing our trip again, I'd spend a little less time in cities. In particular, four nights was too long for me in Sydney, but then I've visited twice now and not warmed to the place. Other people seem to love it!

- If price is an issue, we found flight prices rocketed if you wanted to fly back in January. Even booking a flight on New Year's Day (rather than 2 or 3 January) saved us a couple of hundred each on the fare.

- Apartments seem to be widely available to rent short-term in many areas, and this might be a better option than looking at hotels. You see lots of motorhomes around, too.

- Don't forget to consider whether you want to stopover and how that might affect your time in Oz.

- We spent NYE at a rooftop bar in Melbourne. It was more chilled than I imagine Sydney to be (and certainly more relaxed than London). The fireworks were decent, but I would think Sydney's are much more spectacular.

Don't know if that's any help, but give me a shout if you have any more specific questions.

mgdavid

MDUK wrote: »

....
I'm looking for recommendations for a tour operator/agent to put it all together for me. ......

as this is MSE I doubt you'll find anyone being more than lukewarm on this; DIY is our mantra, saves hundreds possibly a couple of thou on a trip like this.

comeandgo

This is our second six week trip to Australia, booked everything ourselves, flights directly with Emirates, internal flights Virgin, hotels direct or using booking.com. I suggest go to Trip Adviser to get some idea of what others have done.

MDUK

mgdavid wrote: »

as this is MSE I doubt you'll find anyone being more than lukewarm on this; DIY is our mantra, saves hundreds possibly a couple of thou on a trip like this.

I take that on board and we often do. We went to South Africa 2 years ago and were doing it independently. A small tour operator that specialized in SA was recommended on here and they got better prices than we did and helped put together a really good itinerary.

blindman

MDUK wrote: »

....will want to go up from Melbourne to Cairns/Darwin/Kakadu .

Doing just that bit (:cool:) of Australia is simple so DIY is theway to go IMHO.

We DIY'ed Perth, Ayres Rock, Canberra,Melbourne, Gt Ocean Rd, Sydney, Cairns,Port Douglas,Kakadu for 5 weeks a few years back.
Simple.

Which ever way you go, as you're going over the popular (read expensive :eek:) time then book the flights ASAP.

We also did a 23hr 30 min stopover (AUK-SYD-IST-LHR) a few years back in Sydney on 31st Dec;)
Saw the Fireworks from the Botanical Gardens "lawn with a View"
Tickets go on sale in the first week of October. Not the cheapest-nor the most expensive-way of seeing the show, but relatively comfortable.

For our 5 week holiday we did internal flights to get around as the distances are huge.
Our UK-AUS ticket included 4 domestic flights IIRC and we've flown with Virgin Australia before.

Real easy to DIY.

ibizafan_2

We spent a month there in September and did it all ourselves, although my son lives in Brisbane and we did base ourselves there. Our itinererary was flying to Cairns, 3 nights in Port Douglas (hire car) visiting Great Barrier Reef, and driving to Cape Tribulation and Mossman Gorge. Also, 2 nights on the Sunshine Coast, staying in Noosa. Apartments are the way to go in Oz as you can get some high quality accommodation. However, we did spend two nights on the Gold Coast on a mystery 5 star hotel deal with Wotif. Also drove to Byron Bay NSW from Brisbane for two nights. At the end of our holiday we flew to Sydney for three nights. Both internal flights were with Quantas. You can get cheap internal flights, and like another person said, they are far more laid back with security which was a nice surprise, and strange to us Europeans! Although we were there for a month, we only saw a small part of the country, but we chose not to try going to too many places. There's always another time, and we did everything we had planned and more. Do check out when Australian school holidays are as it does affect prices and availability. We had hoped to go to Hamilton Island (Whitsundays) but because it coincided with holidays, the cost would have been prohibitive, so we will leave that for next time. We loved everything we saw, and although we didn't get to Melbourne or Adelaide, we don't feel we missed out.

Archergirl

If you do want an agent Travelbag is very good and know about Australia. We did our first Oz trip with them and got several upgrades as they are well known there.
Might be worth going before Dec 6th as its about then flight prices rise, you can book about 330 days ahead.

Red_Tabby

Just flew back in this morning!

Did DIY to Australia for 16 days Christmas and New Year. First week rented a beach house 10 mins outside of Port Douglas, had 2 trips out to the reef and a Christmas day barbecue. Hired a car for the week which was essential.

Second week in Sydney, stayed at Meriton Apartments, which were excellent, used the Opal card for all public transport, New Years eve at Lawn with a View, went to Manly beach, Bondi beach, Featherdale wildlife park, Luna Park and had lazy evenings at Darling Harbour.

Used Qantas for all flights which were booked last February, used Trip Advisor for accommodation recommendations, but had to book early to secure apartment in Sydney for New Year's Eve.