Oz rough itinerary opinions

MarkY91

Hi guys so my brother and I are going to australia for 3 weeks and 1 week to Thailand when on the way.

We have an uncle with settled family there in pottsville (1.5 hours south of brisbane)

The plan so far is to go from Bangkok to Sydney, stay about a week there and see the attractions, party etc, we will stay in hostels the whole month (except for a few days in my brothers home).

Is it worth taking land transport toward brisbane or flying? Is there much to see oh the way and worth staying a night or two? We're interested in tourist attractions and nightlife etc.

We plan to stay in Brisbane in a hostel once we rest a bit at our uncles. We will stay about a week in Brisbane like sydney then head north a bit but not up to Cairns as I don't think 3 weeks is enough to do the sydney/cairns trail.

We will be 26 and 24 when going in either February, March or April. My uncle says we will need 5000 dollars each excluding flight money.

I have loads of places in mind like byron Bay, surfers paradise etc in mind but wouldn't mind some in depth opinions as right now I'm clueless and it's a bit daunting as my brother is leaving me with the planning and just wants to head to the nearest nightclub once we hit sydney so the actual tourism side of the month is all down to me.

pete4130

I think its worth the drive. It's a boring 90 minutes on the plane.

You can go to imoova.com and get a free rental return car from Sydney to Brisbane, probably have 2-3 days to do the drive but if you take a day or two longer you only get charged for the extra days. Means you can stop places, spend a night here or there. Byron is only about an hour South of Brisbane anyway once you are up there.

Surfers Paradise can be a bit like Temple Bar on crystal meth. Can get a lot of muscled up, tattoo'd meatheads (to generalise of course).

$5000 each is probably excessive depending on how much partying, drinking you choose to do.

Places like Fraser Island where you can book 4WD camping tours are worth it.

MarkY91

pete4130 wrote: »

I think its worth the drive. It's a boring 90 minutes on the plane.

You can go to imoova.com and get a free rental return car from Sydney to Brisbane, probably have 2-3 days to do the drive but if you take a day or two longer you only get charged for the extra days. Means you can stop places, spend a night here or there. Byron is only about an hour South of Brisbane anyway once you are up there.

Surfers Paradise can be a bit like Temple Bar on crystal meth. Can get a lot of muscled up, tattoo'd meatheads (to generalise of course).

$5000 each is probably excessive depending on how much partying, drinking you choose to do.

Places like Fraser Island where you can book 4WD camping tours are worth it.

Neither of us drive (my brother chose this holiday over saving for a car) so I was thinking getting greyhound hop on hop off tickets that goes up the toast?

that $5000 I assume he meant included our trip to Thailand too. I'm thinking of doing a scuba diving course when there which is $500 minimum to obtain the open water certificate so that'd be a big chunk gone already.

Surfers paradise does sound like our cup of tea (Magaluf partying wise) as does the big clubs in Sydney etc. But I don't what to spend a month drinking, I want to experience australia and see as much as possible and visit dozens of beaches.

And BTW I wouldn't like them meatheads neither lol

CabanSail

Pottsville is only just over the Qld/NSW border. The closest airport is Coolangatta which does not have flights to Brisbane as it's then the next closest airport to you.

The Gold Coast is full of nightclubs etc. It is close enough to where you will be staying. Byron Bay is just down the road to the south. Plenty there as far as beaches and nightlife too, also loads of hostels. Brisbane is just another city in my opinion.

You only have three weeks here. This is a big place. I would stay in just two places and spend a bit of time in each. If it were me I would go DUB - BKK - BNE - SYD - DUB. The reason is that you will have some time in Bangkok to get over the time shift. Pack light and buy your summer clothes there. Get out of Bangkok too and see some more of Thailand. Then on to Brisbane where I assume your uncle will pick you up from the airport. You will then get some local knowledge while you explore that area (Gold Coast, Byron Bay, Nimbin, Mount Warning etc.) There is also many beaches around here. You can even pat some of the marine wildlife. The local shark interaction experience is quite popular now. You can then fly to Sydney and spend a few days there before flying out on the trip home.

If you try to see too much then what you will see most is the inside of a coach/train. Not being able to drive can make things a bit more difficult to get around here.

Even if you are doing the trip on the cheap make sure you have good travel insurance, especially for Thailand. A couple of years ago I got a bit of a cold up there. It turned into pneumonia and I ended up in a Bangkok hospital for a week. I was covered but otherwise it would have cost me US$5000 and a missed flight plus upgrade to business class due to travel restrictions. As it happened I was fully covered.

MarkY91

CabanSail wrote: »

Pottsville is only just over the Qld/NSW border. The closest airport is Coolangatta which does not have flights to Brisbane as it's then the next closest airport to you.

The Gold Coast is full of nightclubs etc. It is close enough to where you will be staying. Byron Bay is just down the road to the south. Plenty there as far as beaches and nightlife too, also loads of hostels. Brisbane is just another city in my opinion.

You only have three weeks here. This is a big place. I would stay in just two places and spend a bit of time in each. If it were me I would go DUB - BKK - BNE - SYD - DUB. The reason is that you will have some time in Bangkok to get over the time shift. Pack light and buy your summer clothes there. Get out of Bangkok too and see some more of Thailand. Then on to Brisbane where I assume your uncle will pick you up from the airport. You will then get some local knowledge while you explore that area (Gold Coast, Byron Bay, Nimbin, Mount Warning etc.) There is also many beaches around here. You can even pat some of the marine wildlife. The local shark interaction experience is quite popular now. You can then fly to Sydney and spend a few days there before flying out on the trip home.

If you try to see too much then what you will see most is the inside of a coach/train. Not being able to drive can make things a bit more difficult to get around here.

Even if you are doing the trip on the cheap make sure you have good travel insurance, especially for Thailand. A couple of years ago I got a bit of a cold up there. It turned into pneumonia and I ended up in a Bangkok hospital for a week. I was covered but otherwise it would have cost me US$5000 and a missed flight plus upgrade to business class due to travel restrictions. As it happened I was fully covered.

Thanks alot for the detailed reply!

Yeah maybe you're right abut going to brisbane first, we could use it as a few days in my uncles torest from a crazy week in Thailand.

Last time I checked for flights to brisbane from bkk, I don't think I found direct flights (there are direct for sydney) and the connecting flight was in Sydney. I'll keep checking skyscanner but it's a little hard to find the right price when the stopovers in dubai are usually less than 1.5 hours (surely not enough time?)I'm thinking of staying in dubai 2-3 nights as I feel stupid NOT seeing the burj khalifa as I'm fascinated with skyscrapers. I would have to meet my brother in dubai airport though as he can only get the month off so I'm thinking of heading off to dubai a few days beforehand.

The wildlife tours sound good, especially the shark one. I can't wait to visit Steve Irwins zoo!

So I think we will just base ourselves in Sydney for a week or so, pottsville(found out my uncle moved to there recently) for a few days to a week, brisbane for a few days, surfers paradise then home. Not in that order.

MarkY91

An example of flights on a likely date of going.

Bkk to Sydney were direct and about our hours.

For that reason would you scrap going to brisbane first if you were the one going?

Prices show up more or less the same Wethersfield going to Sydney or brisbane first so that's not an issue.

CabanSail

I am flying BNE BKK direct with Thai. Then BKK DUB via HEL with Finnair. The Thai flights were quite a good price.

The "Shark" tours was not serious. We have had quite a few attacks off the beaches of Byron and Ballina recently.

MarkY91

CabanSail wrote: »

I am flying BNE BKK direct with Thai. Then BKK DUB via HEL with Finnair. The Thai flights were quite a good price.

The "Shark" tours was not serious. We have had quite a few attacks off the beaches of Byron and Ballina recently.

Doesn't you think we should fly from bkk to Sydney and start off there?

Work our way up toward my uncle in pottsville and eventually into brisbane then into surfers paradise then eventually back down to brisbane to fly home

I do hear however that there isn't much to see goijg from Sydney to Brisbane? There is a hop on hop off coach for us to use isn't there?

Less of the shark talk, I'm already nervous enough in the sea at bray let alone at byron and Ballina haha

duffman13

MarkY91 wrote: »

Doesn't you think we should fly from bkk to Sydney and start off there?

Work our way up toward my uncle in pottsville and eventually into brisbane then into surfers paradise then eventually back down to brisbane to fly home

I do hear however that there isn't much to see goijg from Sydney to Brisbane? There is a hop on hop off coach for us to use isn't there?

Less of the shark talk, I'm already nervous enough in the sea at bray let alone at byron and Ballina haha

If you havent been to Sydney definitely start there but it's budget sapping so try limit yourself to two or three days. You've two options for buses greyhound (better) and premier (cheaper). Have a look online at the likes of peterpans, you can book your whole trip up as far as Cairns with accommodation, buses and trips to Fraser and Whitsundays etc included. Depending on time of year and how adventurous you wanna get you could pay anywhere between 1600 dollars and 2500 dollars, definitely room to negotiate.

The only place you'll probably stop on the way from Sydney to Brisbane will be Byron and Surfers. I was petrified of sharks but you would be very "lucky" to see one. If your diving you'll most likely see a reef shark but you'll be grand. Definitely include Fraser, Whitsundays and Cairns in any itenary. Whitsundays is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

I did Cairns to Sydney in 18 days and probably could have cut a couple of days out if tight for time. Depending on time of year your going but id have a look at jetstar today and Tiger, regularly have sales and could save money and time by flying from Sydney to Brisbane rather than going over land

Edit:
http://peterpans.com.au/backpacking-holidays-australia/18-night-east-coast-party-combo

Have a look at that, 1559 for the whole trip and 425 to add on the hop on hop off bus. You can tailor those packages like possibly dropping 1770 for two nights in Sydney. There's shorter options too

MarkY91

duffman13 wrote: »

If you havent been to Sydney definitely start there but it's budget sapping so try limit yourself to two or three days. You've two options for buses greyhound (better) and premier (cheaper). Have a look online at the likes of peterpans, you can book your whole trip up as far as Cairns with accommodation, buses and trips to Fraser and Whitsundays etc included. Depending on time of year and how adventurous you wanna get you could pay anywhere between 1600 dollars and 2500 dollars, definitely room to negotiate.

The only place you'll probably stop on the way from Sydney to Brisbane will be Byron and Surfers. I was petrified of sharks but you would be very "lucky" to see one. If your diving you'll most likely see a reef shark but you'll be grand. Definitely include Fraser, Whitsundays and Cairns in any itenary. Whitsundays is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

I did Cairns to Sydney in 18 days and probably could have cut a couple of days out if tight for time. Depending on time of year your going but id have a look at jetstar today and Tiger, regularly have sales and could save money and time by flying from Sydney to Brisbane rather than going over land

Edit:
http://peterpans.com.au/backpacking-holidays-australia/18-night-east-coast-party-combo

Have a look at that, 1559 for the whole trip and 425 to add on the hop on hop off bus. You can tailor those packages like possibly dropping 1770 for two nights in Sydney. There's shorter options too

I really appreciate all of this!

I actually found that peterpans website when looking for alternatives to contiki.

Basically I can't make such decisions like choosing to do a guided tour until I discuss it with my brother whom won't agree once he sees the price tag. He basically wants to drink the whole time. So I'm trying to basically end up staying in a hostel with good nightlife around when we stop off.

I would love to do sydney to Cairns but I feel that we both want to kind of base ourselves in Sydney, surfers paradise, uncles home in pottsville and brisbane within the 3 weeks so I don't think we will end up much further than brisbane.

The greyhound hop on hop off is $135 each from Sydney to Brisbane which is fine.

So basically, we can choose to get off at whatever stop we choose..do we need to pre-book a hostel or can we stroll right in and get a bed? (We prefare twin private room but 1 night in a dorm would be ok I guess)

It all sounds so less daunting now that I seen the greyhound route.

I've a feeling we will spend a little more time in surfers paradise than we should lol

MarkY91

http://www.hostelworld.com/blog/from-sydney-to-brisbane-australia/

Amazing! I can't wait to do some of the recommended things in the link above

What are these "alternative medicine" places between surfers paradise and sydney? Lol

duffman13

MarkY91 wrote: »

I really appreciate all of this!

I actually found that peterpans website when looking for alternatives to contiki.

Basically I can't make such decisions like choosing to do a guided tour until I discuss it with my brother whom won't agree once he sees the price tag. He basically wants to drink the whole time. So I'm trying to basically end up staying in a hostel with good nightlife around when we stop off.

I would love to do sydney to Cairns but I feel that we both want to kind of base ourselves in Sydney, surfers paradise, uncles home in pottsville and brisbane within the 3 weeks so I don't think we will end up much further than brisbane.

The greyhound hop on hop off is $135 each from Sydney to Brisbane which is fine.

So basically, we can choose to get off at whatever stop we choose..do we need to pre-book a hostel or can we stroll right in and get a bed? (We prefare twin private room but 1 night in a dorm would be ok I guess)

It all sounds so less daunting now that I seen the greyhound route.

I've a feeling we will spend a little more time in surfers paradise than we should lol

That peterpans is tour sounds kinda like what your brother wants, your pretty much staying in hostels and doing some great sightseeing with backpackers between about 21-30. Obviously your conflicted for time but north of Brisbane I feel is definitely a better trip Fraser/Whitsundays and the great barrier reef are on my top 10 things I've seen on my travels.

You'll find it handy enough with hostels as most people tend to go for dorms for the social aspect but it can get a bit much. I presume the alternative medicine place is nimbin. It's a day trip from Byron Bay which is one the strangest places I've ever been (it's basically a community who live in the hippy era). Nightlife in Sydney and Surfers is pricey so just be prepared to pay $9-10 a pint. If you have the budget consider at least flying to Airlie Beach for 4-5 days and do a boat cruise on the Atlantic Clipper or the New Horizon. Both boats are full of young people travelling and have a great party vibe while bringing you on a tour of the whitsundays and doing some dives. If you plan on coming back to oz you can do it a different time but whitsundays is spectacular.

Yeah hop on and hop off the bus wherever you want, you usually just reserve a seat the night before your travels. Also while your travelling check out a revolut card, loads on boards about them but so handy when travelling outside Europe, much better exchange rates compared to home banks. What time of year you going?

MarkY91

duffman13 wrote: »

That peterpans is tour sounds kinda like what your brother wants, your pretty much staying in hostels and doing some great sightseeing with backpackers between about 21-30. Obviously your conflicted for time but north of Brisbane I feel is definitely a better trip Fraser/Whitsundays and the great barrier reef are on my top 10 things I've seen on my travels.

You'll find it handy enough with hostels as most people tend to go for dorms for the social aspect but it can get a bit much. I presume the alternative medicine place is nimbin. It's a day trip from Byron Bay which is one the strangest places I've ever been (it's basically a community who live in the hippy era). Nightlife in Sydney and Surfers is pricey so just be prepared to pay $9-10 a pint. If you have the budget consider at least flying to Airlie Beach for 4-5 days and do a boat cruise on the Atlantic Clipper or the New Horizon. Both boats are full of young people travelling and have a great party vibe while bringing you on a tour of the whitsundays and doing some dives. If you plan on coming back to oz you can do it a different time but whitsundays is spectacular.

Yeah hop on and hop off the bus wherever you want, you usually just reserve a seat the night before your travels. Also while your travelling check out a revolut card, loads on boards about them but so handy when travelling outside Europe, much better exchange rates compared to home banks. What time of year you going?

We are going in march. Start of autumn and temperatures go down a bit according to my Google searches.

I've seen them revolut cards mentioned. So I should put all my money into it (about 5000 dollars) and use it in all 3 countries to take cash ot at Bank machines?

I'll look into the peterpans tours, they do sound great!

MarkY91

My brother confirmed today that we will set off on 1st March until 1st April

This isn't set in stone with amount of days in what country or what aussie city yet but:

Dubai for about 1 or 2 full days

I always wanted to stand below and view the observation deck of the burj khalifa so that's just about the only must do on my list there.

Bangkok for 7 days give or take a day

We basically plan to party there (I'm thinking of staying on Khao San road) but I also what to see the sights and some temples (you can kind of see that I'm the "traveller" while my brother is just a partyer)

Australia for 3 weeks

Starting in Sydney and ending in Brisbane

I'm a good idea of the route now and feel very confident on planning this aussie trip and the whole trip in general.

CabanSail

You can also look into taking the train from Sydney up to Brisbane or get off at Casino and then there is a transfer bus to Byron. I did this a while ago when I had some large packages to bring back which would not fit in a plane. The advantage of the train is that you can move about rather than being stuck in your seat.

Often it is cheaper to fly. The route from MEL - SYD - BNE is very busy and so lots of flights. If you pick flights outside of the popular times you can get some bargains. Often the flights to OOL (Coolangatta) can be just as cheap and it's very close to Pottsville.

To compare flights I look at Webjet to get the prices but find that then booking directly with the airline saves the booking fees.

eg. Sample booking SYD - OOL Thurs 9th March 2017

Tiger (+15kg bag) $60
Jetstar (+15kg bag) $80
Virgin (+23kg bag) $89
Qantas (+23kg bag) $119

duffman13

MarkY91 wrote: »

We are going in march. Start of autumn and temperatures go down a bit according to my Google searches.

I've seen them revolut cards mentioned. So I should put all my money into it (about 5000 dollars) and use it in all 3 countries to take cash ot at Bank machines?

I'll look into the peterpans tours, they do sound great!

Don't put all your money on it incase you lose it or anything, top it up as you need it, its the safest way to run it. I know you've only got a week in Thailand but maybe book a flight to Phuket or Samui, return to phuket is cheap and at least you'll get a bit of beach. Also if you are staying in Khaosan (I loved it) stay in D&D hotel, rooftop bar and pool, good young crowd.

MarkY91

Thanks for the advice!

Booked the trip today with my brother.

Can't wait to go now.