Ideas for Australia

[Superbee]

Where should I go for 2.5 weeks - can be anywhere! Either Australia, NZ or somewhere halfway from the UK are the ideas i've had. I only have 2.5 weeks max to be able to take from work - and fancy a something to do on a holiday with some beach action too. I am not exactly on a shoestring budget but don't want to blow a fortune on this holiday. Any ideas?

[thedelbwa]

I'm assuming you mean 2.5 weeks over there?? Or 2.5 weeks away from work - just that it will tkae you about half a week for travelling there and back and transfers, jet lag, etc. Anyway - for Australia, I would suggest somewhere pretty obvious like Sydney, as there's so much to see and do there. Melbourne's a cool city too, but I think for a holiday, Sydney edges it. From there you could travel up the east coast (by the way, I must mention that, given your time restraints, you should also consider internal flights as Australia is just so damn big - took me 4 hours flying from Perth - west - to Brisbane - east). Definitely worth doing is visiting Fraser Island, just off the coast of Hervey Bay in Queensland. This is the world's biggest sand island and you basically hire a 4WD and bomb about the island, camping and bathing in some beautiful freshwater lakes. A 2 day boat trip around the Whitsunday Islands - Airlie Beach being the mainland port for this - about 12 hours' drive north of Hervey Bay. Beautiful islands and beaches abound. Also good for some diving and snorkelling on the edge of the Barrier Reef (which around Cairns is also excellent for, if not much else). I would try and get to the 'Red Centre' too, so a flight to Darwin or Alice Springs to get to Uluru (Ayers Rock). One thing's for certain, I would try (if funds permit) to get an open ticket where you can fly into Sydney, for example, and out of Cairns - that way, you'll not double back on yourself, wasting valuable time.
Obviously I could go on as Australia is such an amazing place, but you have a time schedule to keep to and you want to actually appreciate what you do, so try not to do too much, otherwise you'll feel like you haven't stopped travelling for all of your holiday.

NZ is also fantastic - in fact, I preferred it to Oz, but since I'm at work, and since I have a tendency to waffle, I'll leave that for someone else to discuss and get back to doing some

[thedelbwa]

Thailand / Vietnam....???

Hang on, Bali is superb too. My mate went with a similar timescale and spent 3/4 days in Bangkok (no need for any longer), and the remainder in Bali. Amazing!!!

[jno]

a bit short a time to go all that way, I think; you'd spend several days getting over the jetlag and would probably have to factor in a few days at the end fo the trip to get over it some more. You could do it but it'd be rushed; I'd say probably go to Sydney, the main entry port and maybe fit in a side trip to Ayers Rock/Uluru or the Barrier Reef (some distance and not cheap) or perhaps just to Melbourne or Adelaide; or maybe fly back via Perth and have a few days there. NZ is even further. Now is the time of year to visit both. But Thailand, Dubai or Goa in India might be closer and still fit your requirements, as well as being less jetlaggy. Or how about South Africa or Kenya?

[flipflop104]

2.5 weeks isn't too short.

We flew from Manchester to Kualar Lumpur stayed overnight then onto Perth. Had two weeks in Perth and did the same overnight stop in KL on the way back and we had two full weeks in Perth and the surrounding areas.

Perth itself has loads of places to explore and beaches to go to. And there's Rottnest Island to visit.

We also did a bit of driving south. Took the car and spent 4 nights away from Perth.
Drove south to Bunbury and swam with wild dolphins (not guaranteed because they are truly wild and they don't feed them as encouragement), then went down to Yallingup which was beautiful and spent 3 nights there exporing the surrounding areas - vineyards, chocolate factories, etc. - Margaret River was one of the places - then drove back up and spent the rest of our time exploring Perth again.

Places like Cottesloe beach and the cafes, Kings Park, Downtown Perth, Rottnest Island, Hillarys (where you catch the boat to Rottnest), Subiacco, Swan River, Fremantle all can take a full day each if you do it in true Perth style (relaxed and chilled out).

You can also head up north to Ningaloo reef if you have time (we didn't)

It was relaxing but we had plenty to do as well.

[blueboris]

Thland go for it under �400 return great place great people it has everything you will want and more,not too far to travel either 13/14 hrs tops, whatever you do make sure you do it big
enjoy

[chitchat]

When are you looking at going? We are in the middle of summer here in New Zealand and its lovely 26C at the moment. New Zealand is so beautiful I cant believe how lucky I am to be here. There are loads of things to do here. They love there sports and have a great sense for adventure - bungy jumping etc. The beaches are lovely and clean and surprisingly not at all crowded or commericalised like back home. Everything is spread out and not built on top of each other either. However, the cities - Wellington etc are more densely populated. But everywhere is lovely and clean - no litter. And the people are so friendly. I moved out here last year - my husband got a job and myself and the children just sold the house and moved here. Its the best thing we ever did. You wont be disappointed with New Zealand and generally the cost of living is around a third cheaper than the UK.

[Suzy~Q]

Give South Africa some serious thought - just come back from a 2 week holiday - stayed at just one hotel in Cape Town (absolutely faultless!) and did a few 'touristy' things, but on alternate days so didn't arrive home needing a holiday! A fantastic place, great weather, loads to see and do, great shopping, excellent food, food and drink very cheap. 12 hours flying time from Heathrow and only 2 hours ahead of BST, so no jet lag. Well worth looking into.