3 weeks in Australia
based on 5 votes
We went to Oz for our honeymoon for approx 3 weeks in May. We went all over to experience as much as we could. Very busy trip! Below are a few of the things that we did that we enjoyed, although we did MUCH , MUCH more.
I had hoped for a semi-relaxing HM, but my husband really wanted to go to Australia. We were on the go alot and no real relaxation yet. I hope Fiji is in our future :)
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Explore locations featured in this Traveler List:
Sydney, Mosman, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Yulara, Cape Tribulation, Daintree, Great Barrier Reef, Palm Cove, Beerwah, Gold Coast
- Category: Recent trip
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Traveler type: Sightseeing, Shopping, Active/Outdoors, Never been before
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Appeals to: Honeymooners, Singles, Families with small children, Families with teenagers, Large groups, Seniors, Students, Budget travellers , Active/adventure, Tourists
- Seasons: Fall
- Tags: Australia, Ayers Rock, Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation, Honeymoon, Palm Cove, May, Sydney
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1. Qantas Airlines
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| Qantas was wonderful! We purchased the Airpass and got the roundtrip international flights and 3 internal flights for a great price ( I think) within two zones. Our stops were: Sydney, Ayers Rock, Cairns and Brisbane. I asked for the vegetarian option and I was SO pleased. I think the meal was better than the normal meal offered. They also gave us a bottle of champagne to enjoy in Sydney for our honeymoon. I booked one of the only two seat options in the back of the plane and it was great. Lots of room and it was just the two of us, so no climbing over people to get up and down. For seats look at seatguru dot com. This was the most pleasant 15 hour flight I have ever taken. |
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Sydney was our first stop for 4 days. Sydney was like any other big city. We are not really city people, so 4 days was enough for us. Lots of places to shop and get around easily by public transportation. |
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3. Four Seasons Hotel Sydney
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Ave price:
$312
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This hotel was located in Circular Quay and the Rocks. I loved the location! Everything was nearby. I booked a Bridge and Opera House view, which I was glad we did. The rooms here are pretty small, but comfy beds and pillows. The pool was nice, but the spa by the pool was really cold. We only used room service for the food once and it was nice. |
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| What a nice surprise. I didnt think this zoo would be very big because I dont see it mentioned very often. It was a wonderful zoo, with wonderful views. We really enjoyed it and the ferry ride to it as well. |
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5. Royal Botanical Garden, Sydney
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| Big park with tons of fruit bats (flying foxes). We were amazed by all the bats just hanging around in the trees. We loved looking and watching them so much that we went twice. |
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| We flew to Ayers Rock for 2 days. Uluru is a beauty! Uluru reminded me a bit of Sedona, Arizona with the red rocks and soil. Uluru was so massive and my husband did climb the rock (against my will). Many tourists climb the rock ( I was surprised!) There were lots of flies in May, so purchase some repellant or fly net. I saw a wild dingo one morning, which was cool. 2 days was enough for us and we were ready to escape the flies by then. It was also a great place to give a try driving on the opposite side of the car and road for us first timers. Not alot of people on the road and aroudn the resort. |
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Ave price:
$284
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This hotel was interesting. It was decorated very modern, with no tv. That was okay with me, but not my DH :) The rooms were smallish and the bed not very comfy, but we were only there for 2 days. The grocery store near the hotel was a nice touch, so we could easily buy cereal and snacks for the morning. |
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8. Uluru Camel Tours
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| We did the Camel to Sunset tour and it was alot of fun. They have other options to do too. If you have never been on a camel before, give it a try! |
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9. Sounds of Silence Experience
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| This was one of our favorite experiences of our trip. I was hesitant at first because of the cost, but decided to book based on others rave reviews. This was a wonderful dinner and experience. Good food and drinks, great staff, wonderful scenery, good conversation with other travelers, etc etc. |
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| We flew into Cairns and drove to Cape Trib (about 2 hours away) for 4 days. This is where the reef and the rainforest meet (only place in the world). It is a really quiet town and we planned on staying 4 days, but after 3 days we left to Palm Cove. It was too quiet and with the rain we didnt have alot of options. |
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11. Coconut Beach Rainforest Lodge
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Ave price:
$266
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I booked 4 days at this place, but after 3 days we were ready to leave. It was a nice place, just too quiet. There are no telephones, TV, or internet, which would be okay if the rain stopped and we could explore. I gave the hotel 24 hours notice of our wish to cancel the last day, but they would not let us and we lsot our money. I guess they have a 72 hour policy, which I have never heard of before. I was not too happy! We also tried to book massages when we arrived and the following day but they were all booked. Also, if you want to use the hotel restuarant then you must make reservations, which I found crazy because there were only about 5 couples here at any given time. The breakfast buffet which came with our hotel rate, was great though. Just dont expect to see anyone at that time. |
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Both my husband and I are divers. I must say that the GBR was a bit disappointing to us. The visibility was not that great and we didnt see that much diving, even though our dive operator was good. The crew said that visibility is not that great, even on sunny days. My husband and I expected a dynamic site with lots to see and lots of color. Not the case for us. I opted to snorkel and not do the second dive and I saw alot more in 15 mins of snorkeling than I did 50 mins diving (although still not great vis). The coral was so diverse though. |
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| We loved this little place. So quiet and perfect for a honeymoon. We arrived early after leaving Cape Trib a day early and were here for 4 days. This is a great relaxation spot, especially if you stay where we stayed. |
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14. Peppers Beach Club & Spa
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Ave price:
$267
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LOVED THIS PLACE! This was our favorite hotel. I paid an extra $20 to get upgraded to a larger room with a washer and dryer. What a treat!! Large rooms, wonderful space, bathroom, bathtub, etc. The pool was to die for. White sand and swim up bar. Ahh. Even though they arrived early they had a bottle of wine on ice waiting for us. This was the only hotel that even acknowledged our honeymoon. The staff was so nice as well. One day I got a massage and it was good too. |
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| We did not plan to go to this zoo, but because it was rainy, we decided too. A nice little surprise. A cute little zoo with great staff and cute animals. I got a picture with a koala here and I was so glad I did ( I planned on doing this in Brisbane, but plans changed). |
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16. Sunshine Coast
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| The plan was to spend 4 nights here and 2 in Brisbane, BUT we could not find a room in Brisbane due to a tourism conference. So we spent 2 days on the Gold Coast instead. It rained for our stay here, but it was beautiful. Our hotel was in Moolalaba, which was a nice area, lots of places to eat. I dont recommend the hotel we stayed at, but will post seperately on that. This area has a very nice, large beach. |
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| Finally, a stop at the Steve Irwin zoo. We are huge fans of the Croc Hunter and his family and love all the conservation he has done for animals. We did a echidnea and wombat encounter here. It was fun! The zoo is smaller than I had imagined, and to me, was not any better than the Taragona Zoo in Sydney. Although here, you can have more encounters with animals. All the zoos we went to were great in their owns ways. |
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| After initially planning on staying 2 days in Brisbane before our departure, we headed to the Gold Coast because there were no avail hotels in Brisbane due to a conf. I think the Gold Coast had one of the prettiest beaches of our trip. The waves and the color of the water was what I pictured all of the beaches in Australia to look like. There are lots of places to eat, shop, and shop some more. It was also one of the cheaper places in Australia for food and gifts. I read that this is part central, but we never encountered it. Probably because we are not night owls. |
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Compliment MauidAmy
MauidAmy
Honeymoon
