Australia ABD trip advice

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Sharonkurland, you have provided great information.

We arrive in Sydney 4 days before our tour starts and have 2 days afterwards, so I have a clearer idea of how to spend our time. We will definitely head to the Blue Mountains for a day trip, but I need to think of more day trips to do.

I tried surfing in Hawaii and it's one sport that's just not for me. I fell hard so many times that I was sore from head to toe (the pictures are pretty funny)! I will definitely try the body boarding - that sounds like a lot of fun!

Petting a koala and riding a camel are both "must dos" for us. Do you recall the additional cost for these activities?

 

[Cousin Orville]

Sharon,

Did they have the mini submarines out at the Great Barrier Reef?

 

[sharonkurland]

One question at this point, did you not go to Kata Tjuta before leaving for Sydney? Or was the camel ride the only thing that morning before the flight?

We did go to Kata Tjuta before leaving for Sydney. The day went Bag Drop, Breakfast, Kata Tjuta then airport. For those doing the camel ride, they had to have bags ready early but were back in time to grab breakfast at the hotel and join the tour.

Sharon

Great info! How was your weather? I'm looking at going in October as well and I'm curious how it was. It is hard to grasp the seasons being flipped from what ours are. Sounds like you had a fantastic time!

Cairns was comfortable in the 70-80's in the day and high 60's at night.
Uluru was around 100 in the day and somewhat cooler at night for the stargazing. We understand that this was unusually hot for this time of year.
Sydney was in the 70's and pleasant
Tazmania was the coolest place only reaching the high 60's in the day and getting down to the 40's at night. Port Arthur was cold and almost everyone wished they had warmer clothes.

Petting a koala and riding a camel are both "must dos" for us. Do you recall the additional cost for these activities?

It is $17 AUD to enter the Koala Gardens but the package to hold the Koala and get a picture is around $40.

We didn't do the Camel Ride but a quick web search found this page. It looks to be $125 AUD per person.

Sharon,

Did they have the mini submarines out at the Great Barrier Reef?

The tour to the great barrier reef is run with quick silver. They do have the mini-submersible out on the pontoon. To get a better idea of what this pontoon is, check out their website.

Oh, one last thing. I am actually Mr. Sharon. I logged into her account to reply accidentally.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Sharon/Mr. Sharon ,
Thanks for the great info. So did you have a great time? Who were your guides? Did you stay any pre or post nights?

 

[tgeorge]

Mr Sharon

Thanks for the info. I figured the further south the cooler it would be since it is their early spring, but hearing it first hand was definitely helpful. I'll make sure to remember to pack a little of everything.

 

[pixiepirate]

Mr. Sharon, thanks for all the really useful info, especially the weather as we will be going about that time next year. How large was your group? Did you feel you had adequate time to see everything? It sounds like your days were pretty full.

 

[HavinABlast]

Mr. Sharon, thanks for all the really useful info, especially the weather as we will be going about that time next year. How large was your group? Did you feel you had adequate time to see everything? It sounds like your days were pretty full.

We were on the trip December 2013. We had about 25 people on the group with 2 guides, Kira (Disney) and Glenn (local), who were both fantastic! Kira is there now. She has a Facebook page and routinely posts pictures. She is an amazing guide - I hope you get her assigned on your tour.

I felt like we had adequate time to see all the sites and did not feel rushed at any time. There are a few very early mornings to catch flights, but otherwise everything was planned quite well. Disney has done an excellent job with this tour, you will see the best Australia has to offer on this tour. If you feel it is too rushed or you aren't interested in a particular activity (e.g. some opted out of the harbour cruise or hike to Wine Glass Bay) you are free to do so.

For those of you looking to pet a koala - you will have a free opportunity to do so in Tasmania. People on our tour who opted to do it in Kuranda felt it was a rip-off.

We went on the Camel tour in Uluru. I would highly recommend - especially if travelling with children. A "once in a lifetime experience" for sure. Right up there with dog-sledding on a glacier in Alaska.

 

[HavinABlast]

Can anyone comment on the snorkeling in Cairns and surfing lessons in Sydney? My 10 yo son has been taking swim lessons for years now, but just is not the best swimmer. I'm sure he gets my lack of coordination. For snorkeling, how deep is the water? The ABD Australia video on YouTube makes it look pretty far out as opposed to Hanauma Bay Hawaii style snorkeling. For surfing, I assume that involves going out into the ocean where you would need to be a good swimmer. Is there an alternative activity or should we just plan to have some free time that morning in Sydney?

Just a quick note about snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef with children. The depth of water is irrelevant - it's the current you need to watch out for. When we went, the current was unbelievable. My children have been in swim lessons since they were two and one is a pre-life guard and they were having trouble fighting the current. My youngest was holding on to the buoy ropes the whole time and at one point she let go while I was adjusting her mask. In the 20 seconds it took me to do that we travelled about 20 feet - and a hard swim back. Stay very close to your children - there are lots of people there to help you, but who wants to take any chances?

The trip in is about 90 minutes (over rough water) if I remember correctly. We took anti-nausea medication before we went on board and were fine. A few folks on our tour that didn't made use of the complimentary bags that were lining the side of the ship.

In regards to the surfing, they separate the children from the adults and work very closely with them. My girls were very hesitant and we were assigned one teacher for the two of them. The teacher takes them out about 30-40 feet from the shore line one at a time and a teacher is with them at all times while they are in the water. It was very safe. You don't have to be a great swimmer - the trick is getting onto the board and balancing. You will be provided with a wet suit and a life jacket. You, of course, can opt out and just go for a walk on the beach. Lunch is provided after the surfing, so if you opt out of the activity all together and stay in Sydney, you'll be on your own for that meal.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Just a quick note about snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef with children. The depth of water is irrelevant - it's the current you need to watch out for. When we went, the current was unbelievable. My children have been in swim lessons since they were two and one is a pre-life guard and they were having trouble fighting the current. My youngest was holding on to the buoy ropes the whole time and at one point she let go while I was adjusting her mask. In the 20 seconds it took me to do that we travelled about 20 feet - and a hard swim back. Stay very close to your children - there are lots of people there to help you, but who wants to take any chances?

The trip in is about 90 minutes (over rough water) if I remember correctly. We took anti-nausea medication before we went on board and were fine. A few folks on our tour that didn't made use of the complimentary bags that were lining the side of the ship.

In regards to the surfing, they separate the children from the adults and work very closely with them. My girls were very hesitant and we were assigned one teacher for the two of them. The teacher takes them out about 30-40 feet from the shore line one at a time and a teacher is with them at all times while they are in the water. It was very safe. You don't have to be a great swimmer - the trick is getting onto the board and balancing. You will be provided with a wet suit and a life jacket. You, of course, can opt out and just go for a walk on the beach. Lunch is provided after the surfing, so if you opt out of the activity all together and stay in Sydney, you'll be on your own for that meal.

Thanks for the good advice. We'll be sure to bring anti-nausea meds with us. From the sounds of it, we'll probably just do the mini submersible/submarine when we're out at the Reef. My son has been taking swimming lessons for years, but is still only 10. He'd probably prefer that anyway.

How early is the camel ride? Is it near Uluru?

 

[pixiepirate]

We were on the trip December 2013. We had about 25 people on the group with 2 guides, Kira (Disney) and Glenn (local), who were both fantastic! Kira is there now. She has a Facebook page and routinely posts pictures. She is an amazing guide - I hope you get her assigned on your tour.

I felt like we had adequate time to see all the sites and did not feel rushed at any time. There are a few very early mornings to catch flights, but otherwise everything was planned quite well. Disney has done an excellent job with this tour, you will see the best Australia has to offer on this tour. If you feel it is too rushed or you aren't interested in a particular activity (e.g. some opted out of the harbour cruise or hike to Wine Glass Bay) you are free to do so.

For those of you looking to pet a koala - you will have a free opportunity to do so in Tasmania. People on our tour who opted to do it in Kuranda felt it was a rip-off.

We went on the Camel tour in Uluru. I would highly recommend - especially if travelling with children. A "once in a lifetime experience" for sure. Right up there with dog-sledding on a glacier in Alaska.

Thanks for your response. I just recently returned from the Backstage Magic tour where our group numbered 27. That gives me a good idea of what the Down Under tour could be like. Some of those days were very jam-packed so I was a little concerned about being rushed through the sites. I've had a bit of experience with that on the Ireland tour I took. I am happy to hear your high praise of this tour. I did a lot of research and chose ABD because I felt they offered the best experiences.

I know my girlfriend and I will be opting out of the surfing at Bondi Beach. Would we be better off spending more time in Sydney and skipping the beach walk and Lifesaver's Club?

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

The thing I was most happy we packed was this voltage converter.

It plugged into the australian outlets and gave us enough USB to charge our phones and plugs to charge our toothbrushes. ..

I'm wondering why you needed a voltage converter to charge phones and toothbrushes? These should have charged fine with just a plug adapter.

 

[sharonkurland]

I know my girlfriend and I will be opting out of the surfing at Bondi Beach. Would we be better off spending more time in Sydney and skipping the beach walk and Lifesaver's Club?

The Lifesavers Club isn't anything to speak of. Just more a history of surfing culture in Australia. You go right from there to the surf shop to change. Bondi Beach was nice. If you have something in Sydney you really want to do, it might be worth it to skip. YMMV.

Just a quick note about snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef with children. The depth of water is irrelevant - it's the current you need to watch out for.

The trip in is about 90 minutes (over rough water) if I remember correctly. We took anti-nausea medication before we went on board and were fine. A few folks on our tour that didn't made use of the complimentary bags that were lining the side of the ship.

They were actively handing out dramamine and ginger gum on our tour, even telling someone "You look like someone who would need it". Frankly, they should have been more concerned with the people from the Chinese tour group.

We were on the trip December 2013. We had about 25 people on the group with 2 guides, Kira (Disney) and Glenn (local), who were both fantastic! Kira is there now. She has a Facebook page and routinely posts pictures. She is an amazing guide - I hope you get her assigned on your tour.

For those of you looking to pet a koala - you will have a free opportunity to do so in Tasmania. People on our tour who opted to do it in Kuranda felt it was a rip-off.

We had Kira and Alyssa as our guides. The pictures on Kira's Facebook are from our tour. They decorated the coach for Halloween and made sure every stop that day had candy for us. Remember, this was an Adult only trip

How large was your group? Did you feel you had adequate time to see everything? It sounds like your days were pretty full.

We had 16 in our group, including us. We had time to see everything we went to. There may have been more to see at every place we went, but that gives a reason to go back and explore on your own.

Sharon/Mr. Sharon ,
Thanks for the great info. So did you have a great time? Did you stay any pre or post nights?

We had a fantastic time and plan on going back to see more of Sydney and also Melbourne (which you do not see on the tour). We planned one pre-night in Cairns on our own. This was more to get over jet lag and we've found allows us to enjoy our trips even more.

 

[pixiepirate]

The Lifesavers Club isn't anything to speak of. Just more a history of surfing culture in Australia. You go right from there to the surf shop to change. Bondi Beach was nice. If you have something in Sydney you really want to do, it might be worth it to skip. YMMV. .

Thanks. I talked with my friend last night and we may just choose to spend extra time in Sydney. She thought I might like the Chinese Gardens which I do not believe are part of the tour.

We had Kira and Alyssa as our guides. The pictures on Kira's Facebook are from our tour. They decorated the coach for Halloween and made sure every stop that day had candy for us. Remember, this was an Adult only trip

How very cool. We will also be touring during Halloween on the Adults only trip.

We had 16 in our group, including us. We had time to see everything we went to. There may have been more to see at every place we went, but that gives a reason to go back and explore on your own.




We had a fantastic time and plan on going back to see more of Sydney and also Melbourne (which you do not see on the tour). We planned one pre-night in Cairns on our own. This was more to get over jet lag and we've found allows us to enjoy our trips even more.

I am hoping for a smaller group. Sometimes the photo ops can get a bit long with the larger groups. We have planned one pre-night in Cairns and will be spending a few extra nights in Melbourne after the tour ends.

 

[sayhello]

I am hoping for a smaller group. Sometimes the photo ops can get a bit long with the larger groups. We have planned one pre-night in Cairns and will be spending a few extra nights in Melbourne after the tour ends.

My experience with Adults Only trips (which tend to be in either the shoulder- or the off-season) is that the groups are smaller. Which I agree can help with the "lag time" associated with photo ops and bathroom breaks (and gelato stops!)

Sayhello

 

[tgeorge]

This is great news! That is the trip I'm looking at too since it will also be over my birthday. Although. I have to admit that it would be pretty amazing to take the trip over Christmas and take the extra time to stay for New Years. Although that would be much more expensive. It would definitely be warm It will be an amazing trip any time. Very much looking forward to it

 

[tgeorge]

Was one night in Cairns prior to trip enough to help with jet lag? I've never traveled that far before (most was 6 hour time difference when I went to Hawaii). Just curious if you would recommend more than the one day?

 

[sharonkurland]

Was one night in Cairns prior to trip enough to help with jet lag? I've never traveled that far before (most was 6 hour time difference when I went to Hawaii). Just curious if you would recommend more than the one day?

For us, it was much easier to get adjusted to the time in Australia than coming back home. We found the one day plus the DAY 1 of the ABD tour to be sufficient for us. Here's how our day went.

The first day there, we checked into the Sea Temple around noon and our room was ready for us within 15 minutes (a nice plus). After a little unpacking and looking around the hotel, we took a nap for about 3-4 hours. After waking up, we finished unpacking and cleaned ourselves up to head out to dinner. We walked along Palm Cove's beachfront and checked out places to eat. After a leisurely dinner, we headed back to the hotel and went to bed around 10PM. I woke up the next morning around 5 AM. I got dressed and walked out the beach and took pictures of the sunrise (I didn't notice the WATCH FOR CROCODILES!!! sign until walking back). After heading to the hotel gym at 6AM, I started rest of my day which included sitting at the pool bar and reading a book. We saw the Guides setting up in the lobby and stopped by to say hello. We then took an early afternoon nap and woke up for our welcome dinner. After that, we were fine the rest of the week.

We found it very similar to taking a transatlantic flight since you cross the date line, thus we used a similar plan to when we visit England. Returning home it took over a week before we stopped waking up at 5AM and being tired at 7-8 PM.

 

[HavinABlast]

Was one night in Cairns prior to trip enough to help with jet lag? I've never traveled that far before (most was 6 hour time difference when I went to Hawaii). Just curious if you would recommend more than the one day?

I agree with the post above. Coming back and getting adjusted to your normal time zone is far more difficult.

Try to get back into your time zone when you are flying back home if you can. Our kids bounced back within a day or two, but it took my DH and I two or three days to get back to normal.

 

[abdgeek]

Thanks everyone for all the great info. I'm doing the Australian ABD over Xmas 2015 and have already started planning. Just wanted to let anyone know who's thinking about staying in Sydney over NYE that it appears mostly all(except maybe the hotel airport) the hotels have minimum stay requirements of 3-7 nights. Even the hostels require a minimum stay. As OP said, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I'm trying to see how I can make it work. If anyone else has done this, please let me know what you did.

 

[tgeorge]

Yes, that is true. A couple of years ago I looked into going to Sydney and Melbourne (before I knew about ABD) and was thinking how cool it would be to be there over New Years.mi was looking at VRBO (vacation rental by owner) and found a really cool apartment. The owner was willing to work with timing since we were looking at spending more time in Melbourne since we have friends there. That trip never worked out and since then I've talked my husband into the ABD trip, but maybe checking out the VRBO and see if the owners may be willing to allow a shorter stay could be something that will work for you.