Great Barrier Reef

[lcs]

We are seriously thinking of an Australia curise on Princess. They seem to be the most reasonably prices. Does anyone know if they offer tours to the Great Barrier on either Diamond or Sapphire? Thanks in advance for your response.

 

Linda

[galelynn]

Only as part of their tour package. The ship does not sail up there.

[lcs]

Thanks for your reply Galelynn. I looked at the add on tour but it seems quite expensive. I may have to talk to a travel agent and find out how to go about going a couple of days early (not 5 as the cruise tour is) and make the arrangements.

[Globaliser]

I may have to talk to a travel agent and find out how to go about going a couple of days early (not 5 as the cruise tour is) and make the arrangements.

The problem is that from any of the major cities, it will realistically take you a whole day to get to the Reef and a whole day to get back again. Clever scheduling might shave some time off that, but you actually want to spend some time there, don't you?

[lcs]

Yes we would, but I don't think I can take that much time off work at one time. It appears I may have to take 17 days, don't know if my boss is that nice, although she may want to come with us! I definately have to do some homework. Thanks for all the information.

 

Linda

[Aussie Gal]

From Sydney, Cairns which is the starting point for most boats out to the reef it is a good three and a half hour plane trip and that is only if you manage to get a direct flight. Otherwise it can take up to 5 hours.

 

If you look at a map of Australia, Sydney is three quarters of the way down the East Coast and Cairns is nearly to the top, so they are quite a few kilometres apart.

 

You will need one day to fly up, another to return and then you need to go out to the Reef. Three would be a bare minimum and five would be great as there is a lot more to see in Far North Queensland than just the reef.

 

If you decide to come to Australia, try and give yourself more than 15-17 days as there is jetlag to consider and it is not worth the huge flight for such a short time. Also you are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. (or paradise!)

 

Jennie

[lcs]

Jennie,

 

Thanks for the great information. We have so much to think about. I'm going to contact our travel agent in the couple of days to discuss the options of cruising or land vacation. I think your are correct in that we will need more than 15-17 days to see as much as possible. I'm just not sure about getting that much time off work in one stretch. Boy, I sure wish I was retired, but then we may not be able to afford the trip.

 

It appears from what you stated that renting a car in Sydney and driving may also be out of the question, especially with jet lag. I'll post here as soon as we decide what we'll be doing. As my DH says, why go all the way and not see the Great Barrier Reef! Thanks!

 

Linda

[Globaliser]

It appears from what you stated that renting a car in Sydney and driving may also be out of the question, especially with jet lag.

I'll say! If you were thinking of driving from Sydney to the Great Barrier Reef, you should bear in mind that Sydney to Cairns is about 1,500 miles and probably about 35-40 hours driving (without counting breaks). (That's also about the distance from London to Moscow, or a bit further than Los Angeles to Houston.)

 

If you were to fly in to Brisbane, you could cut that down to about 1,000 miles and about 20-25 hours driving.

 

This is a BIIIIG country that you're visiting!

As my DH says, why go all the way and not see the Great Barrier Reef!

But you really want to see it properly if you go. I'd make this suggestion: If you're really set on doing a 10-14 day cruise, go and just do the cruise. Keep the Reef and all the other bits of "must see" Australia (of which there are very many!) for the next trip. Once you've been once, it'll never seem that far away again.

 

I went to Sydney for the first time in September 1989, on a "once in a lifetime" trip. I've been back about twice a year ever since. And it's further from the UK than it is from the US.

[lcs]

OK, so driving is out! But, going on the cruise and saving the Reef for later is another consideration, thanks for that idea. Also, do you or Aussie Gal know what the weather is like in March and April? Accu Weather states it's in the 80's but the Princess website shows 60's. We would like to go when the weather is warmer. Maybe you could suggest a "best" time to go? All your help is appreciated!

 

Linda

[Globaliser]

Also, do you or Aussie Gal know what the weather is like in March and April? Accu Weather states it's in the 80's but the Princess website shows 60's. We would like to go when the weather is warmer. Maybe you could suggest a "best" time to go?

Again, this depends very much on where in Australia you want to go.

 

Cairns is essentially in the tropics - March and April average highs are in the mid 80s Fahrenheit, not really varying a huge amount during the year, but it can be very wet at this time of the year. It's slightly cooler and drier in the middle of the (southern) winter, which is when I would do this.

 

In Sydney, average highs in March and April are in the mid 70s, dipping to average highs of low 60s in June and July. However, I can tell you from much personal experience that it can get much, much colder than that in Sydney at that time of the year even without freak weather - just from the normal variations you get in any oceanic city. So what's a good time for Cairns is not necessarily a good time for Sydney, which is probably best in September/October and April.

 

By the time you get as far south as Hobart, average highs in March and April are more like mid 60s. And so it varies around the country. The weather varies across the country really as much as it varies from, say, Michigan to Texas - and for the same reasons.

[lcs]

Globaliser, that's kind of what I thought. Since Australia is so big I thought the weather pattern may be like it is in the US, you just never know! Do you know if New Zealand is coldeer than southern Australia or about the same. Should we think of going earlier in the year?

[Globaliser]

Do you know if New Zealand is coldeer than southern Australia or about the same. Should we think of going earlier in the year?

Parts of NZ are likely to be a bit colder than southern Australia, but not all. If you want to do places like Tasmania and the South Island of NZ, then January and February will probably be your best bets (though much of this is also local holiday time for obvious reasons). If you want to do Cairns or other parts of Far North Queensland, or the Northern Territory (eg the Top End, Darwin, Alice Springs and Uluru) then you're probably best off going in June/July. So much depends on the itinerary for that particular trip.

[Aussie Gal]

Linda,

 

Cairns in mid March and April will still be very warm and humid from anywhere between 85-90F. From December to March it is the cyclone time of the year up north and therefore there is always a lot of rain. By mid April the weather is losing its humidity and is a much nicer climate.

 

Sydney in March is also very humid and in the 80's. By April it is beautiful and there are many glorious days around 75F. This is a lovely time of the year to visit.

 

March in Melbourne is the very best, around mid to high 70'. We do not get the humidity of the northern states and the weather is very settled without wind. Just wonderful sunny days with the cooler nights. April is also a good month but there are days when it can be cooler and you would need a light jacket.

 

Hobart is further south and that would be in the low 70's and April would be even cooler.

 

I would also think of just doing a cruise the first time and having a look around. Then returning at a later date with more time and seeing more of our country. I must admit the Great Barrier Reef is fantastic. We have been to many islands in the Pacific with reefs including Tahiti and nothing beats the colours and fish of our reef. As Globaliser said once you have done the journey it never seems as far.

 

We first went to Europe in 1994 and since then we have been every year. That is now 11 trips and each trip takes between 27-36 hours flying time and waiting at airports etc. I love Europe so much that the joys of what I am going to see makes up for the long hours in the plane. You have to weigh up what you really want to do and what you are prepared to go through to do it.

 

Jennie

[Jane110]

If you're going to be diving the Great Barrier Reef, keep in mind that you can't get on an airplane the day after the dive. The pressure could be dangerous. You need to wait 48 hours.

 

Jane

[Janman]

We first visited Australia on a RCCL cruise from Auckland to Sydney in 2000 and decided that we must return to do an Australian land tour. This past Sept/Oct we returned for 3 1/2 weeks and in that time was only able to get 1/2 way across the continent. We began with 3 days in Sydney (had spent a few days there in 2000) then flew to Caines (Port Douglas 4 nights) for a visit to the Daintree Rainforest, Barrier Reef and Kuranda then on to Darwin for visits to Kakadu and Litchfield Parks. We then flew to Ayers Rock before taking the Ghan Train to Adelaide. After two days on Kangaroo Island we then rented a car and spent three days driving via the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne from where we then flew home. We felt we saw a lot but we were really pretty rushed to do what we did. It would be like starting in Savannah, flying to New England, then on to Minnesota, Kansas, down to Texas and then driving to Florida. It is a big country!

I began planning by checking various tour company brochures to see how many days they allocated to each location on their tours and then pretty much duplicated their itineraries. We booked our own air, hotels, B&B's cars and tours.

It would be quite easy to book your own air (Qantas or Australian Air) from Sydney to Caines. I think it cost us $135 US booking a few months out. If you book a rental car it is about a one hour drive to Port Douglas, a lovely town and closer to the reef. There are a number of boat tours to the reef in PD and some great restaurants and you can easily do a daytour to the rainforest. As previous posters have said you need to plan a day each way for air and then would want at least two full days there.

Janet

[RevSmith]

the seas about the reef tend to be very choppy...Only if you are cruising around the southern part of Australia would you cruise the reef and I don't think any of your ships do that.

[Hlitner]

We just returned from the Diamond Princess cruise last month. We did the Auckland to Sydney route and spent 8 days in Australia at the end of our cruise (we made all the arrangements on our own). When we got off the ship we spent two days in Sydney (we did the fabulous bridge climb) and than we flew from Syndey to Cannes on Virgin Blue (Qantas also flies this route). We than spent 4 days in Cairns where we took two full day trips out to different parts of the reef. We easily made all the arrangements on-line and everything was close to perfect. Keep in mind that the reef is quite a ways off shore (most trips take you out about 30 miles) and the best reef trips are from the companies that have anchored large floating platforms on the reef that you use as a base for snorkeling and/or Scuba. You can get decent full-day reef tours from either Cairns or Port Douglas.

 

Hank