Hi everyone, we are heading out to Sydney for Christmas and have a week before we meet with family - we would love to do a really special trip. Normally we like to "self travel" but as we only have up to a week, we believe it is better to go with an organised tour of some sort. We are completely open to ideas - we prefer off the beaten track, the "real" Australia but will of course want to see one of the wine regions etc. We would love some ideas of where are "must sees" and if anyone can recommend good tour operators and/or sites we would really appreciate it. The other option may be train journey ourselves - we are just open to any any ideas at all. Thanks everyone
Posted by
8236 posts
The trains are not great in Australia, some end at province boundaries.
I suggest two day trips from Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the wine country north of Sydney.
For a longer trip, consider Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island.
Posted by
Singapore
551 posts
My thoughts as an Australian ... and a few questions just to clarify, are you intending to stay in NSW? If so, wine-region-wise you should consider the Hunter Valley (the major wine region, easily accessible from Sydney) and probably also Mudgee and Orange.
With a limited amount of time, I'd recommend a self-drive trip to either the Hunter Valley, or to the Southern Highlands. I love the Highlands - lots of beautiful small towns, lovely green countryside, amazing locally-grown food, arts and crafts, antiques etc, and all a couple of hours from Sydney. Lots of amazing little B&Bs and small hotels to stay in. Towns to look for - Bowral, Moss Vale, Burrawang and Bundanoon.
To be fair, both the Southern Highlands and Hunter Valley are expensive, trendy bits of Australian countryside. 'Real' rural Australia is something you'll further out - definitely if you go to Dubbo, Mudgee etc.
Sorry I'm not familiar with tours, so can't really recommend, but I feel you can't really go wrong hiring a car. Trains are more limited to a few big towns, and you'll need a car anyway when you get there to explore.
Posted by
Chicago
1135 posts
It sounds like your dates are set. I would start by seeing if organized tours exist for them.
AAT Kings and Bunyip out of Melbourne are major tour operators although I have not done multi day trips with them. I was pleased with Bunyip for a couple day trips.
So many Australia highlights. I never know how people define “real” aspects of a country. I used to live in an area included in Chicago's Grayline bus tours. I guess I was the tourist’s view of the “urban Mom out for a walk with baby in stroller/pushcart/pram”. To me, it was just my neighborhood.
What do you and your family enjoy?
Posted by
Chicago
1135 posts
There are a couple of on-going and recent threads that might be helpful. Some generous posters have given detailed descriptions and ideas.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/australia-tips-and-advice-please