So I will going down under in a few weeks to visit my daughter who is at University of Sydney. I will be there for 11 days which we are going to spend in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. I wanted to go to Cairns/GBR, but I don't like to rush around and that squeezed our schedule too much. I know Canberra is not a preferred tourist destination, but I lived there in the 60’s and wanted to go back and see the old house and neighborhood. So the plan is 5 days in Sydney, train to Canberra, 2 days there, one of which will be a side trip to the Kosciuzco mountains, fly to Melbourne, and 4 days in Melbourne before flying back to Sydney and returning to the States. I thought the Kosciuzcos might be less crowded and more interesting than a day trip from Sydney to the Blue Mountains – thoughts? I have decent google skills, so I know about most of the highlights in those cities (Sydney Opera House, bridge climb, etc). I am looking for recommendations for off the beaten path stuff and for good cheap eats (the cheaper the better but at least under $15 head for lunch and under $30 head for dinner not including drinks). Ethnic food (Thai, Greek) is great. Also we will probably go to one nice restaraunt in each city, so expensive places are OK too. We are interested in art and history museums, historical places, shopping (her, not me), and local culture/color. National forests and beaches and scenic hikes. Again, more off the beaten path than big crowds. Wineries. Not the big name stuff but small family vineyards. Microbreweries. Pubs. Also, I am training for the Houston marathon in January so recommendations for scenic runs (preferably not all hard surfaces) of 6 – 15 miles would be appreciated. Hope to find a race to run in while I am there. Sydney zoo or Melbourne? Thanks mate.
Don't miss out on Melbourne - most cosmopolitan city in Oz. I love the Fitzroy neighborhood. Bar hopping in Melbourne's alleys are great.. their coffee, if you're into beans, is awesome -- better than San Francisco or Seattle. The food is also really good there too.
I was in Sydney this summer and the place has gotten really expensive due to currency exchange. Its almost one to one. All the cheap eats were in Chinatown.
IN before single fellas ask for pics. Have a good time, sir. I would say Sydney and do the bridge thing.
Never been to Australia but dated an Aussie for awhile and have hung out with a lot of Aussies. They are good people and it sounds like a great place. My mom is possibly going to Perth for half a year so I might make it there sometime.
Being THE Aussie here, I have a suggestion. Enjoy Sydney, ditch Melbourne and instead head up to Brisbane as you can also see some of the Gold Coast while up there as well. I live in Sydney, its a great city and seriously, you'll find a billion things to do. Melbourne is boring. Been there, would pay to not go back. I really liked Brisbane, I'm heading up there next weekend. Its a nice place and an hour south by train is the Gold Coast which can be fun. Canberra will have changed a hell of a lot since you lived there. Its still just a very big country town though.
I've never made it to Melbourne, but I spent about 6 weeks in Oz last summer, and it was fantastic. If you get a chance to somehow make it to Brisbane, I strongly suggest it. It's a fun city with a lot of culture, and some really neat night spots. If you're into live music, there are a TON of places to go check out some local bands. Cairns is also a pretty cool spot to go to. The mixture of the rain forest and the beaches is really special. The Great Barrier Reef is pretty badass. And you're heading to Sydney as it is, so I'm sure you've read up on all the places. Check out the Rocks. It's a cool place to go have a pint. Their red light district (I think it's called King's Cross....) is also sight to see at night. Probably not a place to take the family though....ha.
I'm from Perth so I can't tell you too much about getting off the beaten path in Sydney and Melbourne. Don't listen to Christopher - Melbourne is a fantastic place and full of culture by the sounds of your "likes", I think you would enjoy it. An American friend of mine just go back from 2 weeks in Melbourne and Sydney. They visited wineries in the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula an loved it. It is getting towards summer, so you might get some nice weather. Enjoy! Are you flyng Qantas? Might want to check it out if you are flying on an A380 out of LA.
Thanks for all the feedback. I am just a youngster compared to Deck, but once you hit the north side of 50 the years all blend together ..... :grin: The division on Melbourne is interesting in that it mirrored a similar discussion in my family, with my parents saying skip Melbourne (my dad lobbied for Hobart) and my daughter wanting to go back (she loved it). Wish I could go to Brisbane, but not this trip ....
Being from Perth I can offer a non biased opinion on the eastern states of Australia. My personal preference is visting Melbourne more so than Sydney, Never been a huge fan of Sydney the numerous times I have been there where as Melbourne is just a great place to visit and really incorporates all the different "cultures" and makes the most of what they have.
if you like vegas or cancun, go to the gold coast. if you like san francisco or austin, hit up melbourne. brisbane is good, but smaller than sydney or melbourne. byron bay is also decent if you like to surf -- lots of backpackers though. Oz is huge though, so if you have limited time i would stick to 2-3 spots.
