An Australian Getaway
Our latest visit to Australia was wonderful. What an extraordinary country. Here are some ideas to help you to get the most out of a visit, based on our experiences:
Fly directly into Melbourne for the least expensive air fare. When we went it was cheaper by $175 compared to any of the other airports
Best to go in summer, ours of course, (their winter), unless of course you’re hoping to surf the waves off the Gold Coast. It’s easy to buy prices for $100 less in winter. This time of year it’s not too hot in the south, about 70 degrees, best temperature for seeing the sights.
When you need maps and/or ideas for places to visit look into the tourist information centers. They are extremely excellent.
Rent a car! No kidding, you need to ?rent? a car. It’s so simple travel about in Australia if you do. It’s the most affordable way to travel around, you can observe far more and it’s easy and fast. Here’s a few example charges:
Car hire Melbourne (far South): $36 to $71 per day.
Car hire Gold Coast (close to Brisbane, the famous surf area): $34 to $60 per day.
Car hire Darwin (far North): $42 to $60 per day.
We made a straight line to car hire Melbourne at the airport straight after arriving. The car hire process was so rapid we were on the highway in about fifteen minutes. Around an hour?s drive from Melbourne are the Yarra Valley and the Dandenong Ranges. Well worth visiting, as are the many museums that Melbourne boasts.
Brisbane was the next venue on our schedule. We travelled from Melbourne and the minute we hit the ground made directly for the car rental Gold Coast. Then we passed some time driving, visiting all around the Gold Coast. There are a whole lot of outstanding seafood dining places and the scenery is second to none.
From Brisbane we flew to Darwin. You’ve beaten me to it! Right to the car hire Darwin at the airport terminal, after that to Mindil Beach Sunset Market. Darwin’s much further north and the weather was much hotter, in the 90’s, but it didn’t seem so hot due to the ocean breezes. Waiting around for a cab or coach in that sort of heat wouldn’t have been any fun; so pleased we rented a car.
Australia’s so big there are so many things we couldn’t see. It was a fantastic visit however and I’d really like to go back.
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