
Australia
Table of Contents
- 3 days on Oahu
- 29 days in Australia
- 2019 Winter/Spring (back home in North America)
- Summer/Fall (Local)
Australia was the first part of our 54-day trip down under. Even with a full month, there is a lot of Australia to see and distances are long. We narrowed it down to Sydney, Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef, Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road, and Tasmania to visit family. We loved it all and need to go back! We ended our trip with New Zealand.
Food & Beverage $43 per day*
Average per person per day, not including any meals furnished as part of a tour.
Lodging $62-$192 per night
Alice Springs and Yulara were at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Transportation $1,508 per person
This is an estimated amount. We purchased our flights within Australia on Qantas along with our flight to Australia. This got us a discount on domestic flights, but we don't know what each flight cost.
Entertainment $904 per person
Entertainment included opera tickets, three different boat trips, and a full day tour of the Great Ocean Road.
* Costs in US dollars at time of trip
Days 1-3: Waikiki
The Plan: Our stop in Hawaii on the way to Sydney was primarily to break up the long flight from the US.
The Reality: While we planned to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, the weather was a little cool and cloudy so we ended up not going. Instead, we just wandered the Waikiki area. It reminded us a lot of Las Vegas, minus the casinos and plus a beach.

Days 5-9: Sydney
The Plan: Take jet lag into account with a relaxed five days including beach time, walking, and maybe some snorkeling along with some sights. And the opera on my birthday.
The Reality: We lost a day to the International Date Line that I didn’t account for. We were also sick for a day. That didn’t allow us time to do the Coogee to Bondi clifftop walk. And while we visited both beaches we planned to, the weather didn’t encourage lingering.
- Harbour Bridge walk
- Manly Beach
Coogee to Bondi Clifftop Walk- Bondi Beach
- Taronga Zoo
- Tower Eye
- The Rocks
- The Opera
Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Sydney

Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk

Manly Beach

Taronga Zoo
Days 10-17: Hobart
The Plan: Leave any planning to our hosts! It was a bit of a struggle since I so enjoy planning trips, yet it was also freeing to let someone who knows the area, and who likes to travel like we do, come up with things to do.
The Reality: It was great! In addition to all the great stuff that comes with traveling we really enjoyed hanging out with them for a week.
- Mt Wellington
- Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary
- MONA
- Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
- Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
- Salamanca
- Port Arthur
- Tasman Island Cruise
- the tip shop
Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Hobart

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

Port Arthur

Tasmanian Coast Cruise
Days 18-23: Melbourne
The Plan: Spend a day touring the Great Ocean Road and the rest of the time exploring Melbourne, trying to group sites together to avoid retracing our steps too much. And eat Greek food.
The Reality: We were able to see and do everything on our list in less time than we thought. We hit the market, the Royal Arcade, the Shrine of Remembrance, and the Royal Botanic Gardens on our first day. We thought that might take two days. With our “extra” day we journeyed to Yarra Bend where the flying foxes hang out.
- Queen Victoria Market
- Royal Arcade
- Great Ocean Road
- Royal Botanic Gardens
- Shrine of Remembrance
- St Vincent Place
- Sea Life
- St Kilda
- State Library
- Chinatown
- Laneways +
- Flying foxes +
Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Melbourne

Great Ocean Road Tour

Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium

Laneways in Melbourne

Flying Foxes in Melbourne
Days 24-27: Yulara and Alice Springs
The Plan: Seeing Uluru was an essential part of the trip for me. Since we wanted to see more of the outback than just that, and to save some money, we flew in and out of Alice Springs and drove to Uluru.
The Reality: We weren’t quite sure what we would be able to fit in for Alice Springs. We arrived early enough on the way back to visit the Reptile Center. The following day we drove into the West Macs, then turned around when we realized exactly how far away our destination was. And how much gas we would need.
- Uluru
- Kata Tjuta
- Alice Springs Desert Park
- Alice Springs Reptile Centre
- Scenic drive in West MacDonnell Ranges +
Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

The Red Centre

Uluru and Kata Tjuta

Alice Springs Reptile Centre

Alice Springs Desert Park
Days 28-32: Cairns
The Plan: Cairns was all about the Great Barrier Reef. It was totally worth it.
The Reality: The markets at Kuranda were a bit of a disappointment but the trip there and back was beautiful, and we took a nice walk while we were there.
- Snorkeling Great Barrier Reef
- The Esplanade
- Kuranda
Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Resources
- We used Lonely Planet Australia (Kindle format) as our main resource*
- We used the NSW Transport site to research Sydney’s Opal card
- The Public Transport Victoria site helped with Melbourne’s Myki card
*As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. We get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. There is no extra charge to you. The commissions help cover the costs of this blog.