I lived in sydney for a few years. I would definitely do sydney and melbourne, but you probably only need a morning flight from sydney to melb, that day & the next day and then either return to sydney on a late flight or the next morning. Domestic flights are quicker and easier than the US b/c you don't have to budget quite as long for security, etc. (side note - when I first moved there, they still didn't even have security for domestic flights! I flew more than once for work on a domestic ticket that didn't even have my name on it.)

Depending on the age of the grandparents, you could break up the cities w/ a trip to the great barrier reef and just stay in one place there. We took my parents to Hayman Island for a few days, and everyone loved it. You can still do boating and everything from there, but you don't need to explore around for different towns or restaurants.

I would spend the most time in sydney b/c there are so many great museums and different areas. You can also explore a lot of different beach areas. I'd go to Bronte and Manly. Take the city ferries for great views.

If anyone in your family is very into wine, 2 days in teh wine country is also fun, but that might be boring for teenagers.

What month?

Look up "stinger" season for Cairns.

Research reef bleaching for the Great Barrier Reef. It cost a fortune to take a boat out there and was really lack lustre compared to Kauai. I wouldn't do it again.

Remember summer in the US is winter in Australia. Winter in Melbourne can be grey and cold while it will be more tropical in Cairns.

We flew back from Cairns via Auckland.

Anonymous wrote:Grandparents want to pay for a huge family trip to Australia, which is amazing and we've always been great travelling together. But they defer to me for direction because they think I'll know best what the teens will like. No idea where to start here. We're all active and like outdoor adventures, love great restaurants and all nerds who also like cultural tours and museums. What should we absolutely do or don't do? I'm currently thinking 4 days Sydney, 4 days Melbourne and 4 days near the Great Barrier Reef. Help me get started! Am I on the right track?

Two important questions:

What time of the year? This will determine where you should go and activities.

How many days in Australia (ie not including travel time)? Keep in mind the minimum flying time is about 21 hours including connection. On the way over you also lose 15 hours in time difference. So if you leave at 7 pm on a Wednesday, you’ll arrive around 7am on a Friday.

I would skip the Red Center and I might even trade Cairns for Tasmania.

Anonymous wrote:The flights within Australia are easy and you don’t have to spend hours at the airport beforehand like here. Just fly back to Sydney, spend a night, and fly home from there (assuming that’s your entry point).

Adelaide was my favorite city in Australia but I didn’t visit Melbourne. My impression of Melbourne is that it’s a more “regular big city” kind of place.

Noooo! I've been to all 3 (Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide) and Melbourne was my favorite by far. It's the least "regular big city" kind of place. It's got character compared to regular cities, the way New Orleans and Savannah have character.

I will qualify this statement with the fact that I went in 2010 so it could have changed immensely and become overdeveloped or something between then and now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Australia is huge. They are prepared to pay for internal Australia flights, I hope?

Melbourne to Sydney is a little over 500 miles, about the same as DC to Charleston. Cairns (to get to GBR) is another 1,000 or more. If your itinerary there does not include domestic flights I might consider dropping Melbourne or Sydney. Of the two, I would keep Melbourne as it is more authentically Australian IMO

Cost not an issue. They’ll pay for all flights. Sounds like I should plan a full travel day for each flight within Australia, right? Kind of want to end in Cairns but not sure about flying home from there. Does that change any advice?

Then I think your itinerary is fine. Sydney is kind of like any big international city, but it has the icons you want to see -- Opera House, etc. I think there's still some bridge walk you can take if you're thrill seekers. There's the Taronga Zoo across the harbor. The Blue Mountains are gorgeous if you fancy a day trip -- lots of tours combine some of those things. If you really believe this is a once in a lifetime trip, you'll want to check the box and see the landmarks, just like you'd want to see the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Melbourne is my favorite city in the world -- I just love the state of Victoria. The kids might like Queensland -- Surfer's Paradise, but yeah, if you have the opportunity to go to the Reef, I'd take it. It's a shame you don't have more time, but for 8 or so days, I think you kind of have to stick to the Tasman Sea coast.

Continuing....suggest Sydney, Uluru, Cairns/Port Douglas.

Sydney is absolutely do not miss. You can do ferry trips to Manley, do the Bronte to Bondi walk, see The Rocks, day trip to the Blue Mountains. We never get tired of it. Museums, art scene...great food.

Port Douglas is a good base for the Reef and Daintree. Fly to Cairns.

I would skip Melbourne.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Australia is huge. They are prepared to pay for internal Australia flights, I hope?

Melbourne to Sydney is a little over 500 miles, about the same as DC to Charleston. Cairns (to get to GBR) is another 1,000 or more. If your itinerary there does not include domestic flights I might consider dropping Melbourne or Sydney. Of the two, I would keep Melbourne as it is more authentically Australian IMO

Cost not an issue. They’ll pay for all flights. Sounds like I should plan a full travel day for each flight within Australia, right? Kind of want to end in Cairns but not sure about flying home from there. Does that change any advice?

Probably not- you definitely can't fly directly to the US from Cairns, but there are now a number of flights from Brisbane, which is about a 2 hour flight from Cairns, and you can easily connect same day. Brisbane is a good deal close to the US than SYD/MEL because it's so far north, so that's a perfectly reasonable strategy- with the caveat that there aren't as many flight options from Brisbane to the US, so some optimal connections on the US side might be tougher. Example- there are no flights from Brisbane to DFW, but there are from SYD, which makes connections to DC a lot easier.

Our first and possibly only trip took 20 days. We did Daintree rainforrests, Great Barrier reef, Sydney, Melbourne, fairy penguins, Ulahru

I think I would spend less time in cities, but I only was in Australia briefly. I think the wildlife and plants are the coolest part so I would try to get out of the cities.

The flights within Australia are easy and you don’t have to spend hours at the airport beforehand like here. Just fly back to Sydney, spend a night, and fly home from there (assuming that’s your entry point).

Adelaide was my favorite city in Australia but I didn’t visit Melbourne. My impression of Melbourne is that it’s a more “regular big city” kind of place.

Anonymous wrote:Australia is huge. They are prepared to pay for internal Australia flights, I hope?

Melbourne to Sydney is a little over 500 miles, about the same as DC to Charleston. Cairns (to get to GBR) is another 1,000 or more. If your itinerary there does not include domestic flights I might consider dropping Melbourne or Sydney. Of the two, I would keep Melbourne as it is more authentically Australian IMO

Cost not an issue. They’ll pay for all flights. Sounds like I should plan a full travel day for each flight within Australia, right? Kind of want to end in Cairns but not sure about flying home from there. Does that change any advice?

Australia is huge. They are prepared to pay for internal Australia flights, I hope?

Melbourne to Sydney is a little over 500 miles, about the same as DC to Charleston. Cairns (to get to GBR) is another 1,000 or more. If your itinerary there does not include domestic flights I might consider dropping Melbourne or Sydney. Of the two, I would keep Melbourne as it is more authentically Australian IMO

Grandparents want to pay for a huge family trip to Australia, which is amazing and we've always been great travelling together. But they defer to me for direction because they think I'll know best what the teens will like. No idea where to start here. We're all active and like outdoor adventures, love great restaurants and all nerds who also like cultural tours and museums. What should we absolutely do or don't do? I'm currently thinking 4 days Sydney, 4 days Melbourne and 4 days near the Great Barrier Reef. Help me get started! Am I on the right track?