Trip Report Australia - 12/22/24-12/31/24

[Jason Martin]

Ok since I've been looking at comments about Australia for the past two years figured I'd add some feedback from my trip. I'm not the picture taker of the family so I won't be posting pictures but giving a overview and not ruin the surprises

Day 0 and travel Departed my home airport of IAD and after layovers in SFO and BNE arrived in Cairns 29 hours later as scheduled. It was a quick and easy ride to the Flynn hotel. Walked around the area which is very easy to get around to and there are plenty of nice restaurants and the night markets opened at 4:30. As a recommendation we had dinner at Salt House and our family split a Australian Tomahawk steak which was amazing and well presented

Day 1- since they removed Hartleys crocodile from the itinerary we decided to do it ourselves. Made a reservation for a koala breakfast as my family wanted to do that. Ended up taking an Uber each way (about $110 AUD and 40-50 mins). At the breakfast there were only 3 families so we had a lot of opportunity to pet and take pictures (not hold - more on that further down). Got back to the hotel around lunchtime and met our guides Mel and Amber

The tour started with a twilight tour of the aquarium when it was closed to just us. The group dinner was at Salt House (so ate there twice in a row which was fine since they served different food and it was served family style.

 

[Jason Martin]

Days 2-3

Day 2 was our trip to the Great Barrier Reef. A later morning (9am start - not that this matters as I'm still waking up between 4-5 each morning). Short walk over to terminal. The tour as we knew in advance was not private (just not practical with the reef set up and the personnel required but we did get many Disney preferences. First we did not have to wait to board (think Lightning Lane or fast pass type queue). We had a reserved area on the main level (inside and A/C). Included was lunch as 4 drink/ice cream coupons each. It was a 2 hour trip each way to Moore reef with a stop at Fitzroy island. Once we got to the pontoon we had 4 hours. We had a reserved area of sitting on the boat and Disney guests with food allergies were allowed to go to the buffet before other guest. Each family got a 30 min private snorkel tour, they also had semi submersible trips every 20
Minutes and glass bottom boat tours (we had a private reserved time). After a 2 hour trip back we disembarked around 6:15 and then we were on our own for the rest of the evening

Day 3 - started with a 45 min drive to Rainforestation. We had a duck tour through the rainforest in an amphibious vehicle made during WW2. After that we painted boomerangs and while they dried had a demonstration from on of the aboriginal hosts in playing the digeridoo, spear throwing and we each had a chance to do boomerang throwing. Then there was a nice show and we headed to kuranda for lunch and free time. Afterwards we headed towards the Kuranda skyrail. Unfortunately it was closed due to a pending thunderstorm. We attempted to wait it out for about 45 minutes and with the long backup line they made the decision to cancel. We did get ice cream and a nice souvenir from the guides and were told they would make it up to us later in the trip. Being in a tropical climate in the summer there is always that risk. The prior trip had their reef trip cancelled and replaced with a glass bottom boat tour because of bad weather conditions so we were more fortunate. After we got back to the hotel around 4 and had free time until dinner

Dinner was the JA nigh and adult dinner at the hotel. Unlike other ABDs we had been on where they did staggered reservations for each couple, we had a long table for everyone so we had a chance to meet those that we hadn't chatted with yet. Family style Italian dinner where everything was great.

We have a group of 34 of which there are 12 teenagers between the ages of 10-17 along with a few college age.

Now it's Christmas morning here and we have to have bags out in 1 hour for our flight to Melbourne more later

 

[Jason Martin]

Day 4 - Melbourne (Christmas Day)

With all of the concerns about what is open on Christmas Day with most restaurants closed as well as the Old State house and Jail ABD absolutely knocked this one of the park.

First things first - traveling from Cairns to Melbourne - started with 6am bags out, 7am departure for a 9:05 Jetstar flight to Melbourne. Landed in Melbourne around 1:30 (note they gave us a box lunch at the hotel which we threw away and ended up getting meat pies at the airport and on board as an alternative). Once we landed we drove about two hours towards Philip Island first stopping at a Koala Conservation center. It was a bit sad that they only had 9'koalas on site which speaks to the reduction in population. BTW it's only legal to hold a Koala in QLD so your best bet to do that is at the Rainforestation park or Kuranda on day 3. After that we did a quick drive to the Nobbies visitor center to see the birds on the rocks and other wildlife (wallobys) on the scenic drive. From there the highlight - the Philip Island Natire Centre.

We went to the center for a semi-private dinner in reserved seating. It was an Australian BBQ served family style. At 8:30 we took our position for the special underground viewing for the Penguin parade which was amazing. Not sure the final count of penguins but the night before it was over 1700. There are two rangers that keep that stat every night. The show goes for about 50 minutes from the first penguin siting. Very good show. Afterwards we took the bus back to the hotel and arrived right at midnight. A long day but quite worth it. Wish they could make this a permanent change for tours during the Australia summer

 

[jensen]

You left us hanging!

 

[DjmNash]

Day 4 - Melbourne (Christmas Day)

With all of the concerns about what is open on Christmas Day with most restaurants closed as well as the Old State house and Jail ABD absolutely knocked this one of the park.

First things first - traveling from Cairns to Melbourne - started with 6am bags out, 7am departure for a 9:05 Jetstar flight to Melbourne. Landed in Melbourne around 1:30 (note they gave us a box lunch at the hotel which we threw away and ended up getting meat pies at the airport and on board as an alternative). Once we landed we drove about two hours towards Philip Island first stopping at a Koala Conservation center. It was a bit sad that they only had 9'koalas on site which speaks to the reduction in population. BTW it's only legal to hold a Koala in QLD so your best bet to do that is at the Rainforestation park or Kuranda on day 3. After that we did a quick drive to the Nobbies visitor center to see the birds on the rocks and other wildlife (wallobys) on the scenic drive. From there the highlight - the Philip Island Natire Centre.

We went to the center for a semi-private dinner in reserved seating. It was an Australian BBQ served family style. At 8:30 we took our position for the special underground viewing for the Penguin parade which was amazing. Not sure the final count of penguins but the night before it was over 1700. There are two rangers that keep that stat every night. The show goes for about 50 minutes from the first penguin siting. Very good show. Afterwards we took the bus back to the hotel and arrived right at midnight. A long day but quite worth it. Wish they could make this a permanent change for tours during the Australia summer

Day 4 - Melbourne (Christmas Day)

With all of the concerns about what is open on Christmas Day with most restaurants closed as well as the Old State house and Jail ABD absolutely knocked this one of the park.

First things first - traveling from Cairns to Melbourne - started with 6am bags out, 7am departure for a 9:05 Jetstar flight to Melbourne. Landed in Melbourne around 1:30 (note they gave us a box lunch at the hotel which we threw away and ended up getting meat pies at the airport and on board as an alternative). Once we landed we drove about two hours towards Philip Island first stopping at a Koala Conservation center. It was a bit sad that they only had 9'koalas on site which speaks to the reduction in population. BTW it's only legal to hold a Koala in QLD so your best bet to do that is at the Rainforestation park or Kuranda on day 3. After that we did a quick drive to the Nobbies visitor center to see the birds on the rocks and other wildlife (wallobys) on the scenic drive. From there the highlight - the Philip Island Natire Centre.

We went to the center for a semi-private dinner in reserved seating. It was an Australian BBQ served family style. At 8:30 we took our position for the special underground viewing for the Penguin parade which was amazing. Not sure the final count of penguins but the night before it was over 1700. There are two rangers that keep that stat every night. The show goes for about 50 minutes from the first penguin siting. Very good show. Afterwards we took the bus back to the hotel and arrived right at midnight. A long day but quite worth it. Wish they could make this a permanent change for tours during the Australia summer

Any more information? Were you in Australia for New Year's Eve?

 

[Jason Martin]

Any more information? Were you in Australia for New Year's Eve?

Yes but not part of ABD. We did two more days in Melbourne including Sovereign Hill and Ballart Wildlife park and canoeing on the Yarra. Our time in Sydney was amazing. The tour ended the morning of NYE and we had booked one of the NYE fireworks cruises and left on 2 Jan. Did Manly beach on our own NYD

 

[Poohlie]

Ok since I've been looking at comments about Australia for the past two years figured I'd add some feedback from my trip. I'm not the picture taker of the family so I won't be posting pictures but giving a overview and not ruin the surprises

Day 0 and travel Departed my home airport of IAD and after layovers in SFO and BNE arrived in Cairns 29 hours later as scheduled. It was a quick and easy ride to the Flynn hotel. Walked around the area which is very easy to get around to and there are plenty of nice restaurants and the night markets opened at 4:30. As a recommendation we had dinner at Salt House and our family split a Australian Tomahawk steak which was amazing and well presented

Day 1- since they removed Hartleys crocodile from the itinerary we decided to do it ourselves. Made a reservation for a koala breakfast as my family wanted to do that. Ended up taking an Uber each way (about $110 AUD and 40-50 mins). At the breakfast there were only 3 families so we had a lot of opportunity to pet and take pictures (not hold - more on that further down). Got back to the hotel around lunchtime and met our guides Mel and Amber

The tour started with a twilight tour of the aquarium when it was closed to just us. The group dinner was at Salt House (so ate there twice in a row which was fine since they served different food and it was served family style.

This trip report is super helpful! We are booked for the August 2025 departure and I am currently looking in to booking OYO activities and would love to hear your opinion on a few things.

Did you think the Hartleys Crocodile Koala breakfast on Day 1 was worth it? Or even just a visit to Hartleys without the breakfast? My daughter is 22 but still loves zoos (not necessarily reptiles though!)

We are also considering a sightseeing flight over the reef on Day 1 so not sure we could do both the breakfast and the flight. Did anyone on your trip do that and have feedback?

You mentioned that it's only legal to hold a Koala in QLD so our best bet to do that is at the Rainforestation park or Kuranda on Day 3. Is this something you did and if so did you book it in advance or was this part of the ABD?

Did you go to Southern Highlands region? That was eliminated from the 2025 itineraries so we are considering a day trip to the Blue Mountains on a post day and wondering if you thought that was a worthwhile substitute.

Finally, do you have recommendations for the OYO dinners in Melbourne or Sydney? There are a lot of those for 2025.

Any feedback would be super helpful - thanks in advance!

 

[Jason Martin]

This trip report is super helpful! We are booked for the August 2025 departure and I am currently looking in to booking OYO activities and would love to hear your opinion on a few things.

Did you think the Hartleys Crocodile Koala breakfast on Day 1 was worth it? Or even just a visit to Hartleys without the breakfast? My daughter is 22 but still loves zoos (not necessarily reptiles though!)

We are also considering a sightseeing flight over the reef on Day 1 so not sure we could do both the breakfast and the flight. Did anyone on your trip do that and have feedback?

You mentioned that it's only legal to hold a Koala in QLD so our best bet to do that is at the Rainforestation park or Kuranda on Day 3. Is this something you did and if so did you book it in advance or was this part of the ABD?

Did you go to Southern Highlands region? That was eliminated from the 2025 itineraries so we are considering a day trip to the Blue Mountains on a post day and wondering if you thought that was a worthwhile substitute.

Finally, do you have recommendations for the OYO dinners in Melbourne or Sydney? There are a lot of those for 2025.

Any feedback would be super helpful - thanks in advance!

The breakfast at Hartleys with the Koalas was well worth it. There were only 3 families so we got extra time with them. They do also have options to hold a koala or reptile that you can schedule there. The koala experience at Rainforestation we set while we were there. Finished the boomerang activity and walked to counter to inquire. We were late for the show at the end but it was worth it. Warning it was like 110-120 degrees in there.

There was an option to book a helicopter flight during the time during the excursion on the reef along with snorkeling. You are there 4 hours and can pretty much do what you want while there

We did go to Southern highlands and Fitzroy falls. Didn't do blue mountains that was one of things we missed. We did Bondi beach during the on your own morning time.

In cairns we ate at a great Greek place next to hotel. Melbourne we went to 11" pizza and Chin Chin which were both great.

Sydney - we went to Sea Rock which was located right at the entrance to the jet boat and also 6 Head - great steakhouse on otherwise of harbour.

 

[Poohlie]

Thank you so much for your quick and helpful response!

I am definitely going to book the Koala breakfast and attempt to book the helicopter during the GBR excursion.

We already had another itineracy change - I just got an email that surfing at Bondi was moved from Day 8 to Day 9 which was our OYO morning. They added the Taronga Zoo to the morning of Day 8 which is fine with me! Good thing we booked our bridge climb on our post day rather than during our OYO time on Day 9 (not our first ABD rodeo)!

 

[Jason Martin]

Thank you so much for your quick and helpful response!

I am definitely going to book the Koala breakfast and attempt to book the helicopter during the GBR excursion.

We already had another itineracy change - I just got an email that surfing at Bondi was moved from Day 8 to Day 9 which was our OYO morning. They added the Toranga Zoo to the morning of Day 8 which is fine with me! Good thing we booked our bridge climb on our post day rather than during our OYO time on Day 9 (not our first ABD rodeo)!

We did the bridge climb on day 8 as well. What time did you book it for? We did 7:15 which while we had enough time to get there we had to rush dinner (ate at the hotel bar) after we returned around 5:30. Didn't get to the zoo. Thought about it for our full day after the ABD ended which was NYD. Ended up taking the ferry to Manly and some shopping. Another tip. Pack an extra bag. We ended up bringing a duffel and buying a full size suitcase in Sydney. Came with 4 checked bags and left with 6. They advised us to buy very little in Cairns and Melbourne with the domestic luggage limits. You will fly Jetstar from Cairns to Melbourne most likely and they have a 44lb limit

 

[Jason Martin]

You left us hanging!

Sorry just seeing this

Day 5 - started with kayaking on the Yarra which was really cool. For those that didn't want to do it they could have a lazy morning and meet the group at the Skydeck at 11. We got early access and got to go to the 88th floor an hour before it opened to the public - then we walked around the CBD and had lunch at a tavern near Flinders street station and then a walking tour of the city. We finished around 4 and then were on our own. My 2 DD had been talking about wanting to see Pesto the penguin who had gone viral on TikTok and was at the Sea Life aquarium so we did that and dinner.

Day 6 - early morning for a trip to Ballart Wildlife park where we got to see koalas and interact with Kangaroos, and see some scary crocs. Afterwards a trip to Sovereign hill which is historical mining area with lots of activities. For those of you who have been to Colonial Williamsburg it was a mix of that and a Wild West town. Lots of fun and great private meal and lots of other surprises.

Day 7 - fly to Sydney. Flight was about 10 am and we got there right before lunch. Did everything the itinerary says Botanical garden, jet boat tour. About half of the group opted out of the bike tour and opted for a walking tour of the Rocks. I was told it was a challenge so not recommended for novice cyclers. We stayed at the Shangri La but they changed the hotel going forward to the Four Seasons. Both hotels are great - though the Four Seasons is not as long of a climb up.

Day 8 - Fitzroy falls and Berima Village. Really cool National park and tour and lunch stop which was owned by the family that runs the alpaca farm. Kids enjoyed that interaction. We did the bridge climb upon our return as it was 12/29 and it's closed 12/30 and 12/31 for the fireworks and set up

Day 9 - on your own morning - we had to meet to go to the opera house at about 3:30/3:45. We took an Uber over to Bondi beac. Evening was a guided tour of the opera house and dinner inside.

Day 10 - NYE - after saying so long to our fellow adventures it was a shopping day downtown. Went through most of the city, had lunch at the mall food court which blew away anything I'm used to seeing stateside and the Sydney eye. The roads back to the hotel were closed so after many attempts we had to walk several blocks with all of our souvenirs. Night time we did a fireworks cruise which was incredible - can provide more details if you would like.

Day 11 - NYD. Went to Manly and dinner on the harbour

Day 12 - flew home. ABD provided transfers. A little bit of a backup checking in. Flew United. They have 3 flights that all leave within the same hour or so. Passport control was long - didn't feel like we had enough time to shop and eat. Most of the food is pre security and limited choices otherwise. In retrospect wish I had another 30-45mins

 

[Poohlie]

We did the bridge climb on day 8 as well. What time did you book it for? We did 7:15 which while we had enough time to get there we had to rush dinner (ate at the hotel bar) after we returned around 5:30. Didn't get to the zoo. Thought about it for our full day after the ABD ended which was NYD. Ended up taking the ferry to Manly and some shopping. Another tip. Pack an extra bag. We ended up bringing a duffel and buying a full size suitcase in Sydney. Came with 4 checked bags and left with 6. They advised us to buy very little in Cairns and Melbourne with the domestic luggage limits. You will fly Jetstar from Cairns to Melbourne most likely and they have a 44lb limit

We booked the 3:15 Twilight (sunset is at 5:23) but it’s on our post day so we don’t have to worry about the tour schedule.

I’ve been reading about the Jetstar baggage fees so thanks for the tip! I am an overpacker so packing for this trip is going to be a challenge!