Cruise vs land tour

[pacheco18]

We are planning a trip to Australia/NZ for early 2012.

We looked at high end land tours (eg Tauck, A&K and a few others) to get an idea of what we could see in 2 - 3 weeks. Those tours include some interior flights and seem to give a good overview of the country (about 20 days).

 

If we booked a cruise, would we miss a good deal of what there is to see in the interior? Obviously, everything worth seeing is not near a port. How far from port do the shore excursions venture?

[Glaciers]

There was another post on this a few months ago. We did a roundtrip Sydney that explored NZ. We would do a land based trip next time. A cruise really handcuffs you to the local area where you dock. On the other hand we did rent cars in a 3 locations which help get us out of the towns and do some exploring.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1162704&highlight=

[Keith1010]

A cruise provides a great overview of the areas so you can see quite a bit in a very short time but to see some of the interior you would need to combine it with a pre and post cruise.

 

Keith

[yarramar]

Cruises are nice but if you are up to it DYI will be far more rewarding, especially with the planning and research and given you have 18 months you will be an expert by the time you get here.

 

If you are coming early in the year i.e. Jan or Feb the northern and interior areas of Australia could become very uncomfortable if you are not aware and prepared. Southern states SA, Victoria & Tasmania will be your best bet and all of New Zealand.

 

If you are looking for luxury inclusions in an Austalian tour take a look at The Ghan railway from Adelaide to Darwin with a stop at Alice Springs for a trip out to Ayers Rock http://www.gsr.com.au/site/the_ghan.jsp

From Darwin take a look at a cruise to Broome http://www.kimberleydiscoverycruises.com.au/

or a tour of Kakadu http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/kakadu/

or a short drive (500 ml) to the famous El Questro staying in the 5 star homestead http://www.elquestro.com.au/

 

You probably already know all about the Great Barrier Reef but an often overlooked World heritage site is Frazer Island well worth visiting on your way up the east coast to Cairns. http://www.fraserisland.net/

 

Other tips for research: Great Ocean Road, Victoria; Barossa Valley near Adelaide and all of Tasmania

[kiwijo]

that two or three weeks is a great amount of time to spend either in NZ or Australia but you'll be moving quickly to get through both. Had you considered doing an Australia-only cruise where most of the key attractions are located on the coasts, and then maybe coming back to NZ and doing a self drive? NZ is one of the best self-drive countries on the planet and it's about the same length as California or UK top to bottom, so I'd recommend the time to enjoy it. The biggest comments I hear from North Americans (and I'm assuming here) is that 'I wish we'd stayed longer'. I know your annual leave is pretty short, so maybe pick one, enjoy the holiday and come back soon!

[room010]

All the major cities in Australia and New Zealand are on the coast so a cruise allows you to visit most of them but it doesn't allow enough time to really explore, let alone venture further inland to see some of the magnificent natural "must see" places. Bear in mind that Australia is a BIG country (about the same area as the USA) so you'll never experience all there is to see in just a few days, or even weeks.

 

By all means take a cruise to get a "taste" but next time you visit you will get to see and do much more if you take a land-based tour and allow yourself plenty of time to cover the vast distances involved.

[papie]

can you tell us where you in which towns you rented a car thank you

[Stelladoro]

Last March, we chose to see New Zealand and some of Australia by land and do a relaxing 16 night cruise at the end of our land trip, from Sydney to Hawaii. For us, this was a great decision.

Not trusting my DH to drive on the other side of the road, we booked a 16 day coach tour of NZ ( with a local company). Our fellow travellers were mostly Aussies and we had a great time with them.

We spent a total of 10 days visiting Melbourne, Cairns and Sydney. Due to distances and our time constraints, air travel was a must. Arranged wonderful day trips in each city.

 

We'll have to return to Oz, such a big country and so much to see!

[Glaciers]

can you tell us where you in which towns you rented a car thank you

 

We rented cars in Dunedin and drove to the Moeraki Boulders and also in Tauanga where we drove to Rotorua.