Visiting Australia!

[Syzygy]

1)
For anyone who has been before, can you share about the main differences (...and your favorites!) between these islands:

- Lord Howe Island
- Norfolk Island
- Kangaroo Island, South Australia
- Freycinet, Tasmania
- Hamilton Island

2)
How would these compare to the beach destinations in Western Australia? (i.e. Margaret River, Esperance, Exmouth, etc)?

3)
From everything listed above, what is your subjective favorite? (...based on whatever you'd like).

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[Agent 86]

Lol. You might have more luck asking this in another forum.

To be honest, travelling within Australia can be time consuming and expensive, so I'm not sure too many Aussies will have visited some or all of those places. I've only ever been to Hamilton Island and that was over 20 years ago! And I've never been to Western Australia because it's about the same flying time to Perth as it is to Japan!

I also find Trip Advisor to be a great resource when planning holidays.

With Australia, just keep in mind that the distances between destinations can be HUGE. A lot of people seem to think that they can *see* all / most of Australia in a week - that's just not possible unless you want to spend that entire time in airports or on flights without actually seeing anything.

 

[Syzygy]

Thank you for your input and kindness. I greatly appreciate your insights!

 

[masterpabu]

Agent 86 is spot on, Australia is pretty huge in terms of distances! I'm still learning about places I've never even heard of before LOL
it's less time consuming to just pick one side of the country to spend most of your time in.

It also depends on what you're looking for/what your interests are, how remote of a location you'd like to be at, for example Lord Howe Island does not have any mobile reception, only internet and landline phones at resorts etc

One thing I can vouch for is that the beaches really are awesome, I've never been myself but Western Australia beaches look incredible
Also the Whitsundays, still hoping to go there one day!

Traveling within Australia is actually pretty expensive as previously mentioned, and why most of us have been overseas but haven't even seen our own country

 

[Syzygy]

Agent 86 is spot on, Australia is pretty huge in terms of distances! I'm still learning about places I've never even heard of before LOL
it's less time consuming to just pick one side of the country to spend most of your time in.

It also depends on what you're looking for/what your interests are, how remote of a location you'd like to be at, for example Lord Howe Island does not have any mobile reception, only internet and landline phones at resorts etc

One thing I can vouch for is that the beaches really are awesome, I've never been myself but Western Australia beaches look incredible
Also the Whitsundays, still hoping to go there one day!

Traveling within Australia is actually pretty expensive as previously mentioned, and why most of us have been overseas but haven't even seen our own country

Thank you for your kindness and insights!

It sounds like WA beaches & the Whitsundays are high on your list! They look beautiful! So, for a bit of fun ... if you had a "Top 3" places on your Australia wish-list ... what would they be?

 

[masterpabu]

That's no problem! It's nice being able to contribute what little knowledge I have about the country I was born in!

My personal top 3 places wish list would be: The Whitsundays, Rottnest Island, and I can't even think of a 3rd place though haha!

 

[newkie]

I live in Tasmania, so have had the pleasure of visiting Freycinet, but only on day trips. It's pretty magical, but it would be a long way to come just to do that. I'd only venture down here if you wanted to see more of the island. Port Arthur, MONA, some wineries etc.

I've also been to Perth and Rottnest Island, both of which I loved, but the last time I went was about 17 or 18 years ago now, so I'm guessing a lot has changed.

Really, the time of year you want to go will matter. It's very hot in WA and Qld in summer, but only moderately so in Tassie. I wouldn't come to Tassie in the winter to do Freycinet, it would be cold and rainy and just not a nice time to do any sort of hiking.

I can't comment on Hamilton as such, I've only done some of the other QLD islands and again, it was a long time ago now. No idea on Kangaroo Island, Lord Howe or Norfolk sorry.

 

[ozliz]

So true. I’m Australian and I consider myself to be quite well travelled both within Australia and internationally. I’ve only been to Hamilton Island on your list. The main reason is the travel times and costs. I do want to do Rottnest Island one of these days but in many places getting off the mainland is time consuming and in remote areas the transport options can be limited.

Having said that, I did enjoy Hamilton Island and the Whitsundays more broadly. If you want a beautiful beach take a day trip to Whitehaven Beach (they leave from either Airlie Beach or Hamilton Island).

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

I have been to Kangaroo Island, and while it is pretty, it is eye-wateringly expensive and a pain to get to from Adelaide, where you would likely fly into. If you want to see the scenery and wildlife, there are places on the South Australia coast, nearer to Adelaide, that will give you the same experience.

Alternatively, may I suggest Philip Island, about 2 hours from Melbourne, as a comparable but easier alternative. We only did a day trip there from Melbourne to see the penguins, but we saw loads of wild kangaroos, wallabies, penguins, koalas and lots of birds, just in the hour we spent on the island before the penguins.

As others have said, don’t underestimate the size of the country and how long it takes to get between cities. For example, I believe it is 5 hours between Perth and Adelaide (South Australia). It’s an enormous country, and internal flights are expensive. It’s really not somewhere that you can “do” in one trip, anymore than you could see the whole of the US in one trip. If you are set on Western Australia then I would suggest that you consider just staying on the west coast, and maybe venture north. If you wanted to switch to the eastern half of the country you could probably see more, but WA/Perth is pretty isolated from the rest of the country.

I lived in Adelaide and still visit every year, and while I love the city, I would suggest that you drop South Australia from your itinerary entirely. If you want to head south, you would be better going to Tasmania. I feel really bad saying this, as I loved my time in Adelaide, but unless you have 6 weeks or so to explore Australia then South Australia, nice as it is, is not the best use of your time.

 

[cindernat]

+1 for Hamilton Island, it is out favourite place in Australia to holiday. Do take care not to go in cyclone season however (Feb-March). You have to like swimming/beaches and/or water sports!

KI - take it or leave it
NFI & LHI - have not been but would love to go to LHI
Freycinet - a bit cold for my liking ... I would prefer somewhere more Northern

Also a must visit - Darling Harbour.

If you're considering WA - Broome? Depending on time of year.

The rest - totally depends on your interests & what you want to see!

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

I agree with @cindernat about Darling Harbour. Outside of that waterfront area, Sydney is mostly a working city - you could see plenty in a few days there. The hop on, hop off bus tour in Sydney is really good.

 

[Our Aussie six]

As others have said it's expensive to travel within Australia. I've lived in south Australia my whole life and I've never been to kangaroo island, because it costs a lot to get over and I can go interstate for the same price.
Have been to Western Australia about 10 times(3.5hr flight from Adelaide) and they have got the most gorgeous beaches, Rottnest Island is also a good day trip to do.
My must do destination is the Whitsunday's and Great Barrier Reef, it's definitely on my bucket list. Of course now I've taken my family to Disneyland, we just want to keep going back, so not sure when we will ever get to the Whitsunday's.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

I haven't been there but have friends and rellies who have and Norfolk is a much quieter kind of place - later middle aged to older people tend to visit there. Not a lot to do unless you are interested in the history of the place and want a very quiet laid-back holiday. I have never heard anyone goes there for beaches - I think it is mostly too cool for them really and they are not why people visit. Lord Howe (again from rellies) has more spectacular scenery and good snorkelling off the beach but cheaper and more accessible are other spots e.g. the areas off Port Douglas off the Qld coast and areas off the WA coast. Been a long while since we were last on Hamilton Isd - I prefer some of the other Whitsunday islands but it does have the most facilities with range of accommodation styles and prices and eateries. Beach nice but others eg ones accessible from WA just as nice. Depends on time of year you were visiting - weather in Perth (winters cold & wet and not beachy) vs weather in Qld (winters warm but the sea is still quite cold but summers very hot and humid and can be very wet with cyclone activity while Perth in summer is hot and dry). Tbh seems an odd sort of question to ask as they are all so very different. Freycinet is stunningly pretty and beautiful beaches but also expensive if you stay in one of the eco-lodges in the national park and again in winter you can get snow. You can visit from more affordable nearby Coles Bay area. So its down to what time of year and what are you really looking for?

 

[KingCrusher]

Great thread, I've learned a lot so far. I'm considering a trip in Sep/Oct 2019.

I get the whole "it's not really a country you can see in one trip." The only thing to keep in mind is that Australia is, for a lot of people, a once in a lifetime trip. Due to the distance and the cost, there is a good chance that people just won't be able to get back there.

 

[sjmac42]

Great thread, I've learned a lot so far. I'm considering a trip in Sep/Oct 2019.

I get the whole "it's not really a country you can see in one trip." The only thing to keep in mind is that Australia is, for a lot of people, a once in a lifetime trip. Due to the distance and the cost, there is a good chance that people just won't be able to get back there.

Well travelling almost anywhere is as far or further for Australians so don’t fall into the “I have to see everything in one trip” trap because
1) you can’t
2) what you do see will make you forget about what you don’t.
3) no sense spending sometimes tens of thousands of dollars to do a tour of highways, roadside services and airports by trying to jam too much into a “trip of a lifetime”
All the best.

 

[Vicky2jeff]

Hi, just wanted to say yay for travelling to Australia and as I live in Exmouth, WA I wanted to say that it is a spectacular part of OZ. Stunning beaches and ranges and all the native wildlife in between..
Happy Planning ..xxx