Singapore to Sydney

[ClaudiaF]

Anyone taken this cruise and have any private guides or great places not to miss to share with us?

Would be for these ports: Singapore, Java,Bali,Komodo,Cairns , Sydney,Brisbane, White Sunday Island, Darwin,Thursday Island (Australia)

Thanx!

[shoshona2]

Hi Claudia,

 

Have you looked at the "Ports of Call" section towards the bottom of this board? I know lots of people have posted about private guides and things to do in these ports. I did a search there for Iceland and the Shetland Islands and had a nice response from last year's cruises.

 

Sheila

[douganswerphone]

Anyone taken this cruise and have any private guides or great places not to miss to share with us?

Would be for these ports: Singapore, Java,Bali,Komodo,Cairns , Sydney,Brisbane, White Sunday Island, Darwin,Thursday Island (Australia)

Thanx!

 

Hi Claudia:

 

We were on the Sydney to Bangkok last year with my parents. Our experiences as follows:

 

1. Komodo you have to take the ship's tour to go ashore. $69 (relatively expensive for a 2 hour walking tour with local guides) we saw 4 dragons. Worth every penny. This was the only ship's tour we took.

 

2. Singapore: hire a taxi for half a day and tour the ethnic neighborhoods like Indiantown. We had a cabbie who spoke decent English and it was fabulous. He made a point of taking us to a couple stops off the main tourist track(s). We also skipped around on the subway a couple times; modern quick & clean.

 

3. Java: The 2 port calls here, on one, I think it was Semarang, we hired a taxi and went to Borobudur, a huge temple that's older than Angkor Wat. It was maybe 2 hours each way. We got there the same time as the ship's buses, had a much more colorful time, and paid a total of $50 (plus a generous tip) for 4 people. The other port, there's a a big town about an hour's drive; we took a taxi there too for a fraction of the price. There are swarms of taxis (and their touts) near the dock at all the Indonesia ports (except Komodo, where shoe leather was the only choice).

 

4. Can't remember what we did in Bali, but we had fun. Several of the Balinese crew got off there.

 

5. Brisbane: We rented a car and drove up the coast. It was a nice drive.

 

6. Cairns: I bought combo tickets online for the Aboriginal Cultural Park, the SkyRail and the train. About 109 $AUD pp online, less than half the ship cost. 3 very different experiences in one day, all fun. The cultural park was very educational as well.

 

7. Darwin: we rented a car and drove out to the National Park. There were heavy rains and the park roads were flooded out after only a few miles. We saw some huge termite mounds before we had to turn around. None of the ship's tours made it either. Darwin's downtown is small enough you can walk it. There's a couple of small parks far enough out you might want a taxi.

 

8. Thursday Island: The main village is quite small and easily walkable. I hiked up to the old fort, on a hill several hundred feet above the town. The fort was the main stop on the ship's tours, which were about $60 pp.

 

9. Whitsunday Islands: the weather was poor the day we were there, so all the snorkelling and diving excursions were cancelled. The only thing to do was walk around the town. There was a free shuttle which drives around the island. It's a pretty small island.

 

10. Sydney: There are a lot of choices there. My personal favorite was visiting the Maritime Museum.

 

The cruise has a wonderful itinerary. You'll have a great time.

[ClaudiaF]

Hey Doug.. thanks for the info.. had to cancel last year as we were busy doing everything else..finally getting to australia.. will pick your brain again in a few months.

Regards to Sherrie..:)