Australia - Melbourne to Sydney

boblibarn

Hi my son who is 18 is visiting his sister for two weeks (has Alevels so can't stay longer , she is in Australia for the year working )

they want to visit Sydney , he is unsure if he should do it on the last part of his journey and fly back to uk from Sydney . Or will it be worth returning to Melbourne due to flight costs ( hopefully flying from Birmingham)

Also does he need any type of visa for a two week holiday ,

Any must sees whilst in Melbourne and Sydney ?

Is Sydney worth visiting or worth going elsewhere, they will be using public transport/ planes and staying in hostels

Sorry for all the questions

mgdavid

He's British?
Then he needs an ETA (electronic travel authority).
Start here:
http://www.australia.gov.au/information-and-services/immigration-and-visas/short-term-visas

and if you google make sure you don't hit any of the scam sites that charge you for something that's simple and free.

slinga

Was in Australia for a month last November.
Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney.

Was never keen on Australia before my missus forced me to go to Perth a few years ago.

Had high hopes of Melbourne but was disappointed.
Adelaide and the hills was very good but Sydney was terrific.
The Opera House and the Bridge really surprised me about how good they looked.
The ferry to Manly was worth it.
Blue Mountains by train was enjoyable.
Sydney fish market was well worth it.

bigadaj

It's a long time since I've been to australia and everyone's opinion will vary.

I wasn't keen in Melbourne, maybe too British, Sydney was great, especially as a tourist. Presumably your daughter is working in Melbourne, it's one of the places I'd give a miss.

There wouldn't be any point him returning to Melbourne, it's several hundred miles and virtually all of the carriers will fly to both. If you want to fly into Birmingham then that slightly restricts things, for easy flight connections you would be limites to Emirates and Qatar (or is it etihad), or potentially Turkish, air France or Kim. Many of these airlines will have two stop options, possibly one with the middle eastern carriers, and will also code share with far eastern and Australian airlines. Skyscanner will give you a good overview of flight timings and approximate costs, Google flights is better and itc is the best but a bit fiddly. Normally recommends to book with the airline direct as intermediaries aren't perfectly reliable.

comeandgo

I love Australia and Sydney is always visited by us. Melbourne is on our list for this years visit. I find it is cheaper to do a return flight from UK and fly internally in Australia, their internal flights are relatively cheap.
If you are booking internal flights use an Australian web page to book them and use a credit card that does not charge you for paying in dollars.
Sydney is expensive but so beautiful.

PeacefulWaters

£1,500 return business class flights when combined with a hotel stay (1 night) on Malaysian. Worth investigating.

Starts in London.

victor2

boblibarn wrote: »

Also does he need any type of visa for a two week holiday ,

Yes, but it's free. See http://www.border.gov.au/trav/visa-1/651-

littlereddevil

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

£1,500 return business class flights when combined with a hotel stay (1 night) on Malaysian. Worth investigating.

wow that's a bargain

Neil49

I think Melbourne is a great place, as is Sydney, so it just goes to show that you will only know for definite if you go there yourself.

Either way, you will have a great time.

mgdavid

victor2 wrote: »

Yes, but it's free. See http://www.border.gov.au/trav/visa-1/651-

Already answered in post #2.
Why would you recommend a 651 instead of the 601 (ETA) which is easier to apply for, and is usually issued faster, often within an hour or two.

gettingtheresometime

Just came back from a stay that involved 5 days in Sydney.

All I can say is Sydney is bl00dy expensive - it's the soberist I've been for a long time lol!


We did all the touristy things - climbed the bridge, went on a tour to the blue mountains (absolutely beautiful) & bondi (mega disappointing) and walked from bondi to coogee along the coastline where we came across far nicer beaches than bondi.

Got from the airport to the Sydney's CBD on the train - took about 20 minutes but cost about aus$17.