Best place to visit in Australia

[JamieandJamie 3]

hi all, i was thinking next time i go to NZ (which will be pretty soon) Id really like to spend some time in Australia either before or after. What city is the must see place? I also read an article about all the small islands surrounding aus and those sounded pretty fun too. any suggestions? thanks

[KLS2010 30]

Haha....you might start a war with the question 'what city is the must see place'? lol. People from NSW will probably say Sydney, those from VIC will tell you Melbourne.

I am from NSW, but I will remain impartial lol. It really depends on what interests you have I guess.

Sydney, as you are probably aware, has a lot of the well-known tourist attractions ie the Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge (you can do bridge climbs if you are so inclined!), Darling Harbour.

Melbourne on the other hand is probably better known for their food. If you're a foodie, then you may like Melbourne better. I have only been to Melbourne once so can't really comment....but I'm sure some locals will jump in and give you more info!

Back to NSW... again, depending on your interests and how much time you have.... but there are a couple of places I would recommend. The Hunter Valley is one. Best known for wineries, it is a very pretty spot to spend a couple of days. There are lots of little B&Bs, cabins and hotels in the area, and some nice restaurants too. You can go hot-air ballooning, horse riding, or do a cellar door tour (some are done on horse-drawn carriages).

Another area is Port Stephens. Depending on the timing of your visit, you could do a whale-watching cruise with one of the many operators in Nelson Bay. Dolphin watch cruises run all year round, and there is even one company that runs a program where you can actually get in the water with the dolphins. There are also plenty of companies that run 4WD or quad-bike tours through the dunes of near-by Stockton Beach.

Queensland is also another good place to visit....the Gold Coast has theme parks like Sea World, Dreamworld and Movie World, as well as beaches and shopping and nightlife; the Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday Islands ( Hamilton Island, Daydream Island and Hayman Island probably being the best known ones), etc.

These are just a couple of suggestions. There are great places to visit all over Australia. Hope you have a good time when you visit!

[Amanda and Josh 12]

I'm a Queenslander so i'm going to say Queensland particularly the gold coast and sunshine coast

[JamieandJamie 3]

Thanks KLS, all of those places sound great, I guess no matter where i go itll be fun Im gonna save all that info you gave me, to look into those places, thanks again for the info appreciate it!!

[KLS2010 30]

Thanks KLS, all of those places sound great, I guess no matter where i go itll be fun Im gonna save all that info you gave me, to look into those places, thanks again for the info appreciate it!!

Your welcome!

Maybe you can return the favour?? Any suggestions on places to visit in NZ? My husband would love to visit there, and I've never been either.

[JamieandJamie 3]

Your welcome!

Maybe you can return the favour?? Any suggestions on places to visit in NZ? My husband would love to visit there, and I've never been either.

Sure! I myself havent been to the north island yet, but my fiance says the best place to go there is wellington, he says auckland is just like any other big city. So really the only place i can speak about with any knowledge is the south island. queenstown is really nice (small, but touristy, lots of places to shop and eat, and its a little more upscale too. oh and it also has bungee jumping, shotover jet, and more kind of extreme sports if thats your thing). a MUST see is milford sound, so beautiful, lots of hiking, kayaking, or boat tours. If you like camping or backpacking thats a great place to do it, but even if you dont just a day trip is totally worth it. Another outdoorsy destination would be mount cook and all the glacier fed lakes near it. Again, just stunning, and if you enjoy hiking and nature i wouldnt pass that up. Theres a really nice hotel at mount cook, the hermitage, so you get the best of both worlds (nature and luxury lol). I also really loved Christchurch, but havent been back since the last big earthquake, so Im not sure how it is now. Before, it was like a big little city, had all the amenities of a big city but still felt nice, clean , quaint, had some neat museums and things to see. But I know it suffered a lot of damage I would also recommend going in the spring, things are in bloom, and little baby animals all over the place. Hope that helped a bit! Maybe some kiwis can add to this too, especially some info about the north island

[KLS2010 30]

Thanks for that!!

I'll keep those places in mind!

[noremac 3]

all of south east queensland, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast, etc..

[VanessaTony 3,567]

In Vic, the Zoo's (of course), food and shopping, Phillip Island (Fairy penguins), luxurious spas in Daylesford (not super expensive and great country views)... lots to do in Vic. I liked Byron Bay in NSW (I found the bridge an Opera house a bit boring honestly ) and Gold Coast, Noosa (HOT!!) in QLD of course

[JamieandJamie 3]

oh i really want to go see the penguins!! Ive read about that place before!

[Amanda and Josh 12]

Sure! I myself havent been to the north island yet, but my fiance says the best place to go there is wellington, he says auckland is just like any other big city. So really the only place i can speak about with any knowledge is the south island. queenstown is really nice (small, but touristy, lots of places to shop and eat, and its a little more upscale too. oh and it also has bungee jumping, shotover jet, and more kind of extreme sports if thats your thing). a MUST see is milford sound, so beautiful, lots of hiking, kayaking, or boat tours. If you like camping or backpacking thats a great place to do it, but even if you dont just a day trip is totally worth it. Another outdoorsy destination would be mount cook and all the glacier fed lakes near it. Again, just stunning, and if you enjoy hiking and nature i wouldnt pass that up. Theres a really nice hotel at mount cook, the hermitage, so you get the best of both worlds (nature and luxury lol). I also really loved Christchurch, but havent been back since the last big earthquake, so Im not sure how it is now. Before, it was like a big little city, had all the amenities of a big city but still felt nice, clean , quaint, had some neat museums and things to see. But I know it suffered a lot of damage I would also recommend going in the spring, things are in bloom, and little baby animals all over the place. Hope that helped a bit! Maybe some kiwis can add to this too, especially some info about the north island

Wellington is acutally pretty boring, Auckland is better (and I am originally from Wellington so that's saying something), from Auckland it's easy to get to Lake Taupo which is just beautiful and Rotarua which has all the hot mud pools, maori cultural centres and hot springs, very very much worth the trip. You also have the Bay of Plenty on the North Island is just lovely. People tend to go to the south more often because of the snow but there is lots of great stuff mid north.

[CareBear 18]

And if you're headed up the Auckland way (where I'm from) you have to add side trips out to the Coromandel (gorgeous beaches) and even further up north to 90 mile beach. Lovely driving and little out of the way spots to stop at

As for Oz I was from the Gold Coast in Queensland - great spot for a tourist, lots to see and do.

[Dave and Shannon 9]

im a qlder too (gold coast)... gold coast has a few things to do like theme parks and beachs and so forth... i really liked Cairns... theres heaps of things to do there, like the great barrier reef, see the nice beachs (really white sand and really light blue water) croc parks, really nice rainforests, white water rafting, etc, very tropical.. but dont go in summer as it rains alot... just depends what you would like to do

[Xanax 349]

Where did you decide?

I personally love Melbourne as I am from there / here, but Queensland is lovely, warm and has theme parks on the Gold Coast. Sydney has it's perks too, shopping, the bridge (you can walk it)!! Country New South Wales has some beautiful beaches. Hell WA is beautiful as well, South Australia has the country feel and some of the nicest people I have ever met.

Guess I'm not much , but anywhere you go you will have a lovely time, I am sure.

Edited March 18, 2012 by BrittandDan

[Visitor 90]

Where you visit will probably depend on your budget, how much time you have and where you will fly into.

If you fly into Sydney and only have a few days then I recommend you take a cruise around Sydney harbour and go look at The Rocks area at Circular Quay. Sydney really does have a lovely harbour.

If you have more time and money head north to Queensland and maybe go to one of the resort islands but be warned, they are quite expensive to visit. If you are strapped for time and are on a budget but would still like to see an island perhaps you could go to one of the closer islands like Stradbroke Island where you can feed the wild dolphins, Moreton Island or Fraser Island all of which give a great feel of Aussie wilderness. Stradbroke, however is far more heavily touristed because everyone loves dolphins and it's one of very few places where you can have the wild dolphins swim around your feet and they take a couple of fish right out of your hands...all strictly monitored by the officials there. Can get noisy and crowded at the resort but worth the dolphin experience.

I'm from the Gold Coast and all the international guests I've had visit me there have preferred the Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast. (just saying what I've been told from my visitors). Again the Gold Coast has been affected heavily by tourism but not so much on the Sunshine coast. The best thing about the Gold Coast is the beautiful beaches and temperate subtropical climate and oh I almost forgot..... no pollution.

I'm sure you'll find anywhere you visit is always great first time around. Have fun and safe travels.