Australia - are we seeing and doing the best things with the time that we have?

My main thoughts here as a former Sydney resident is that you'd be better off hiring a car for your Blue Mountains trip. While public transport is excellent in the city, it's very limited in the countryside, and it's not a place where I'd want to rely on taxis. Once you're clear of the city, it's an easy drive, and a car will give you flexibility to enjoy the places you see along the way.

Does your Philips island tour include seeing the penguins come ashore in the evening? One of my best memories from australia.

Former Melburnian here. Considering you have done Cinque Terra and other coastal drives, I would skip the Great Ocean Road. If you want to see Melbourne culture I love the South Melbourne markets for food and atmosphere. If you like hiking or old steam trains, the Puffing Billy train has a scenic ride through the Dandenong Ranges and the scenery quite a contrast to the great nothingness of the Outback. Hopefully you can still visit Port Philip Island as we gave an outbreak of bird flu, but the penguins are going to be vaccinated. If you are interested in history the Ballarat goldfields is a good day trip. It was the scene of a bloody battle between the workers and the authorities and you will see the Eureka flag flown on most construction sites. But as said before skip the drive and wander Melbourne. It was once described as the end of the world when the movie On The Beach was filmed.

Skip GOR unless you have 3 to 4 days. I would suggest staying in or near Phillip Island if you are visiting. The "Penguin Parade" is at dusk.
Not a fan of Melbourne personally even though I was born and bred there. Plenty do like it though.

Your Tassie plans look crammed but all great places to visit. The Cascades Womens Factory is interesting but not extraordinary. If you are in Hobart with time maybe head out to Richmond instead.

A car in the Blue Mountains is a good idea. I never stay in Sydney much rather stay in the Blue Mountains. Great area.

Melbourne has a couple of really good gardens-I forget their names.

Possibly the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Fitzroy Gardens?

If you fancy visiting beautiful gardens in Victoria Forest Glade on Mt Macedon is wonderful. Beautiful exotic garden blending into the stunning subalpine forest. It is private so does cost. Great nearby pub and also a delightful cafe in the village store. Easy drive out of Melbourne. From there travel onto bohemian and historic Castlemaine and beautiful and quirky Maldon. Then into the finest of Victoria's cities Bendigo, awash with history.

@CMB

Tasmania. Again, do not know.

However, Autumn is the perfect time to visit South-East Australia. 1st March to 25th April is the sweet spot for Tasmania.

Should be lucky and spot the humpbacks transitioning from Antarctica to the tropics on a Pennicott cruise down Port Arthur way. They love breaching.

Sadly, for me at present the main tourist attractions highlight the brutal nature of the English when colonising the Great South Land. I am hopeful that time will change this attraction. Cannot take myself to see the (mis)treatment the women were subjected to at the Women’s Factory at the Cascades. The English were absolute bastards. Little did they know that the political dissidents from Ireland, Scotland and Wales branded as convicts were just the tough types to survive in this, at times harsh yet rich continent. And prosper to the point that now Australia’s sportsmen/women regularly give the POM’s a right royal thrashing at cricket. At the recent Commonwealth games in Glasgow dominated the medal table and easily finish above the UK at the Olympics. Not the outcome the Eighteenth Century English were hoping for.

Perth is my favourite town and Western Australia my favourite state. But this is a wonderful island, and I spend a lot of time here.

I have had the absolute pleasure of being able to take a couple of ladies who contribute to this forum to places around where I live and places tourists are not taken and to meet some of my family members for afternoon tea/coffee. Maybe we can do a similar thing. Fair warning, I am a hopeless rubbish guide. Did not get to Guiding 101. Failed the Introductory course. I will definitely be in Melbourne for the special 150th anniversary Test Match 11th -15th March 2027.

I look forward to further questions on Tasmania.

You may be surprised by a European Queen and a princess or two mingling with the locals at Salamanca Market.

Regards
Ron

@CMB

This might be useful for planning. Easter weekend 2027. Good Friday 26th March and Easter Monday 29th are Public Holidays. Over this time employed workers will be paid a minimum of 2.25 times normal hourly rate. Some more depending on Awards (Ratified Employer/Union agreements).

Autumn 2-week School Holidays 2027

In Victoria from 26 March to 11th April.

In Tasmania from 11th April to 25th April

Air fares, ferry, and others will be higher than usual due to the high demand. Advisable to book early, even for business class. I have already booked my flights around this period.

Most families will have planned a year in advance and have already booked their flights and accommodation.

Not many people know that.

Regards Ron

I have deleted my reference about Penguins. Due to Avian bird flu spreading in Southeastern waters.

We used the train and all public transportation from Sydney to Katoomba, so there was really no need to rent a car. The train is about a 2-hour journey, and then the bus system in Katoomba is very straightforward. There is a hop-on-hop-off bus that will take you everywhere you want to see, and other public buses that will take you to other little towns.

Parking a car and the cost of the rental would be unnecessary in my opinion; having done this, we found the public transportation very easy to use.

The Great Ocean Road was a fun day for us too, we took a Get Your Guide day trip from Melbourne, it was a long day, but we saw some beautiful countryside, the 12 Apostles, koalas, kangaroos, beautiful bird life and stopped for a really nice lunch in a little restaurant that we would have not found on our own.

Have you considered Cairns, rather than Port Douglas?

We used public transportation to do a day trip to the Blue Mountains from Sydney and thought it worked out great. This was in 2019, so perhaps things have changed?

Our trip was also in March, and like you, we decided to roll the dice on the weather. It was great, EXCEPT… there was a cyclone a few days before we got to Port Douglas. It was over 2-3 days before we arrived, but the ocean was still very rough. Our boat out to the Great Barrier Reef still went, but the rough seas made me very seasick. I truly was miserable. I was bound and determined to snorkel anyway, thinking once I got in the water, I’d be fine. Unfortunately, bobbing up and down in the waves kept me really sick. I was still able to see the reef…between bouts of throwing up in the ocean. I was happy to at least see everything, but I can’t say it was enjoyable. I felt like I wanted to die.

We also had booked a tour of the Daintree rainforest, but it was cancelled. The storm had taken out a bridge and there was no way to get there.

It was all very disappointing, but you know what? We still had a wonderful time. Port Douglas is a wonderful town with a funky beach vibe. We are not beach people at all, but we loved it. We walked around a lot (we had four days) and we had great casual meals.

I tell you this to help you decide if you want to risk bad weather. Had I known about the cyclone, I would have picked somewhere else to go, but we didn’t know and were able to make the best of it.

I hope you have a great trip!

We visited the little blue penguins at the St Kilda Pier by public transportation when we were staying in Melbourne in 2020. There are good instructions for a timed ticket for viewing and public transportation directions on their website. https://www.penguins.org.au/attractions/st-kilda/. In 2020 a timed ticket wasn’t required. The pier was shut down for while during Covid for major improvements to the viewing experience and free, timed tickets are now required. It seems like it may be difficult to reserve tickets when they are released every Tuesday for the following week. We will be in Melbourne in January 2027 and I’m going to try to get tickets to see them again.

Listen to Tassie Devil for everything except being a rubbish guide. You should be so lucky as to be a recipient of his (and family) hospitality! And Tasmania was wonderful. I’d love to go back. Van Diemens Land Creamery is on my list of the top two places for ice cream I have been.

We rented a car at the Sydney Airport to drive to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, where we spent 2 nights. I highly recommend having a car. Stayed at the Kurrara Historic Guest House in Katoomba. We did visit 2 botanical gardens while in the Blue Mountains, which we enjoyed very much: Wildwood Gardens and Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens. Drove to Cahill Lookout for spectacular views! And, of course, the Three Sisters.

The Great Ocean Road was a highlight for us, but I do agree trying to see it in one day is difficult. We spent 3 nights on the GOR. The Twelve Apostles and the Razorback, to name a few, are spectacular! The GOR far surpasses the Florida Keys Overseas Hwy, but I agree it seems like you have driven along many coastal routes.

If you don't visit the GOR, and you have an extra day, the goldmining towns of Ballarat and Bendigo are very, very interesting. If you are wine drinkers, visit the Yarra Valley for wine tastings. These are daytrips from Melbourne.

It's too bad you don't have more times in Sydney, but I realize you can't do it all. It's one of my new favorite cities. A highlight was taking the ferry to Manly which takes you through the harbor with close-up views of the Sydney Opera House. Sydney also has some amazing museums, such as the Australian Maritime Museum, Art Gallery of NSW, and the Australian Museum. Be sure to go to Circular Quay at night. The views of the bridge, the harbor, and the opera house are absolutely stunning at night.

In May we spent 4 nights in Sydney and 4 in Cairns (easier and larger than Port Douglas) and had a great time in both. Unfortunately, our time in Australia was constrained due to work obligations. In hindsight, I would have liked to have visited the Outback and an indigenous community - the latter of which likely requires a permit and guide. If there's a next time in Australia for me I'll make the effort to experience a first nations area.

In October 2027, credit card surcharges will be abolished in Australia. I believe international credit cards will still attract a surcharge until April 2027, when the fee will be reduced to 1%. Some hospitality businesses - pubs and cafes are kicking up about this and are stating they will accept cash only. Probably wise to bring some Aussie dollars or have a card with access to an ATM machine.

Given how cashless Australia is, they're going to go out of business pretty quickly refusing card transactions. Personally I don't ever use cash when I'm in Australia - I don't even bring any.

I agree with Simon. I can't remember the last time that I used cash. I don't even pull my card out as I always just tap my phone or watch. Even when spending $2 at a 7 Eleven for a coffee

My advice is going on the interviews with some pub owners in Adelaide who say they will only be accepting cash. Also, my strata company sent us (and clients both in OZ and OS) stating they will no longer accept credit card payments as they can longer slug the 4% credit card fee. How many small businesses follow suit remains to be seen - but be warned