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Vacation in Australia?
Handgimp
R+L=JFamily PhotoRegistered User regular
R+L=JFamily PhotoRegistered User regular
I and a (few?) friend(s) from work are contemplating going to Australia for a week this summer. After reading through a few older threads on here about people moving to Australia, I have a few ideas and am leaning toward Sydney (possibly Melbourne) but would appreciate some input/insight on anything from city, hotel, things to do, whatever. We're all single guys in our late twenties.
Handgimp on
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Personally, I'm honor bound to say that Melbourne is better despite the weather, but I'm from there, originally
It's easy to get around (reasonable PT), decent night-life (Bars/clubs/etc), and plenty of daytime activities.
Sydney always rubs me the wrong way, but the weather is nicer and more stable.
Also we are a superior breed of human being over here, but don't tell those filthy Victorians that.
Sydney is all about large clubs and pubs and so forth. Melbourne has a much more flexible licensing law so a lot of smaller hole-in-the-wall style specialist bars. This has significantly contributed to Melbourne having a more sophisticated reputation when it comes to such things.
Another option is the Gold Coast. But it all depends on what you want to do.
Sydney is the definitive Australia experience, it's where the Opera house is. Where the Harbour is. It's where I am. It's where the Harbour Bridge is.
Melbourne is Melbourne. Either sophiscacted or pretentious depending on who you ask.
The Gold Coast is the most touristy spring breaky area.
If by summer you mean you are coming to Australia mid-year, then go north for good weather and tropical style places (Brisbane/Cairns/Barrier reef etc), go south for oddball interesting places (Melbourne/Hobart(All of Tassie really)). If you want to be really interesting, go inland virtually anywhere that has an airstrip and try not to get killed.
Just don't go to Sydney.
Steam
The Gold Coast is terribad, go to Melbourne. If you come up here, wait until winter and aim for the city or the Sunshine Coast. Or Cairns if you want to do the tropical thing.
To.
Melbourne.
The way I see it, Sydney has postcards, Melbourne has experiences. Fun drunken ones.
having lived in sydney for four years after living in vancouver and england, i can say that you have no idea what you're talking about
sydney is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. its harbour is magnificent and runs through it like a great park; there are over a thousand calm beaches in the inner-harbour alone, many of which back onto quiet, accessible parks. the ferries trundle across it between wharves and you can sit out on their open decks in the sun or in a cold, evening rain.
outside the harbour there are a string of some of the best beaches in the world. you can look over them from a nearby bar with a glass of asahi, or spend the day in the water and then drying off salty on the sand. if it's cold, you can bundle up in scarves and walk, for kilometres, up the waterfront, watching the thunderous clouds roll in and strike lightning at the horizon
it has the second largest fish market, after tokyo, and you can steal away with its fresh seafood and sourdough breads for picnics under norfolk pines in the park; or you could eat out. sydney's often ranked amongst the top restaurant cities on earth, and it hosts many dense districts driven by the love of food: newtown, chinatown, crows nest, leichardt, surry hills, more. the restaurants are creative and dynamic and supported by patrons who know what's good to eat
the wine is good and cheap. the zoo is the one of the world's best. the bars thrum with activity all the time.
there is no easy guide for traveling in sydney. the joys of the inner-city are broken up into hidden suburbs, and the tourist districts are mostly vapid, if pretty. but that's the nature of by-the-book tourism anyway
come to sydney. take advantage of the harbour. eat the food. don't be afraid to get on a bus or a train in search of something obscure. it is an amazing city, if not an easy one.
So, maybe that.
Like I said, it really depends on what you're after.
is well worth it due to the incredible landscape.
oh god, we drink like stereotypical sailors.
..Actually, you really really shouldn't
they are not too expensive to travel in between and it'd be worth the long trip if you did more than one location while you were here
seriously
Sydney and Melbourne both have their own to offer people, you might as well go to both and see what each of those things are, it's really worth it
Except that the limited time in both means you'll be making some hard choices about what to see, but basically, Vivixenne is correct. The flight between melb<->syd can range from about $70 AUD to $150, depending on the specific flight and how full it is.
A friend and I went from Perth to Melbourne on an early morning flight thinking we'd be able to pack more in to our holiday by arriving in the afternoon, but we just wound up being tired for days and days afterwards.
I've never really run into jetlag issues when going to Australia from Seattle, usually just when coming back. A lot depends on your sleep patterns and what time you catch your flight.