has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

Dh and I are thinking about going within a year or so and would love to hear of experiences...

I want Australia and New Zealand...he wants to go to Tahiti or Fiji

did you go with a tour? travel agent?

where would you say you have to go...where would you skip?

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

we went to french polynesia (tahiti, moorea and bora bora) for our honeymoon. we went through a travel agent since we had no experience or knowledge of the area. next time we'll definitely do it ourselves though because you can get better deals with some good research.

don't waste time in tahiti .. moorea is good for activities. good for renting a car / jeep safaris / water activities / etc.

bora bora you cannot pass up. it is the most gorgeous place in the world. and you have to stay in an overwater bungalow to truly appreciate it. it's breathtaking

FM me for any other details

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

Erica, Jeff and I honeymooned in Tahiti....it was amazing. FM me - I'd be happy to give you a link to our pics and tell you more about it!

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

Sonia, I think you mean 'breathtaking!'

YES - it totally was!

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

I was in Aussie for a month last year. We stayed in Sydney for most of the time then traveled up to Cairns. Sydney had so many places to go-was soooo beautiful!!! Cairns was beachy and relaxing-you should definitely go to both!!!

People I traveled with went to Fiji and New Zealand afterwards-they said Fiji was very quiet and there wasn't much to do but the beaches were amazing. They said New Zealand was amazing-even better than Aussie.

If you decide to goto Aussie let me know-I can tell you places to go!!!

You have to do the bridgeclimb!!

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Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

haha Claudia .. i got so excited thinking about it i forgot how to write!! im sure you understand

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

I wish we could do this all at once...but I don't think we will be able to...unless we took a month...

DH is slowly swaying towards Australia/NZ....do you think stopping in a So Pacific Island for 2 days would be worthless?

what airlines did you take? what hotels? I would like to do this as much on my own as possible to make it less expensive...


thanks for all the help..

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

I took United-got a REALLY cheap fare from STA travel-they are a travel agency for students and it cost me about $1100.
I stayed at St. Marks Lodge in Randwick. It was about 10 walking distance minutes from Coogie Beach, and about 20 by bus from downtown Sydney. The best part was it cost about $18 US dollars a night and was SOOO clean!
Not sure what kid of accomodations you're looking for, the lodge wasn't luxurious, but I only used it for sleep and showers! Their email is [email protected]
Oh they have a website too-
St. Marks

I have a ton of tourist books, let me know if you need any info!

ETA-I stayed at a friend's house in Cairns, so I have no accomodation info!

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

thanks for the info...I wonder if United has vacation deals...I think we are going the more luxury route...I've done the backpacking and hostels...and don't want to do it anymore...

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

in my opinion i think a 2 day stopover on the island wouldn't be worth it. it's a trip in itself so i'd save it for your next one

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

We went to Fiji for 3 weeks, and loved it! I've also heard great things about the Cook Islands. Tahiti itself isn't so great (best friend went there for a while), but Bora Bora and Moorea are gorgeous. Fiji is great for adventure as well as relaxing, I'd recommend spending time on more than one island (we hit 5). Diving was great, snorkelling. Taveuni is a beautiful island, but we loved our stay at the J.M. Cousteau resort too (best diving).

We got our 1st week stay (cousteau) at www.luxurylink.com, and we spent the other 11 days winging it. FM me if you want specifics, but first check out www.frommers.com and www.lonelyplanet.com for more specific info on destionations.

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

I stayed in Australia for a month a couple of summers ago. I stayed in youth hostels, so I can't recommend any hotels, but I highly, highly recommend that you fly Qantas Airlines. Australia is a huge country and if you book a flight on Qantas, you can take advantage of their Boomerang Pass, which entitles you to fly to different areas of the continent for a low price. I spent a lot of time in Sydney (probably too much time- you don't need to spend more than a week there). You must go to Ayers Rock, which is in the middle of the Outback. I also spent time in Cairns, which is the jumping-off point to the Great Barrier Reef. I didn't make it to Melbourne, but I heard that's also a great place to visit. When I went three years ago, everything was so cheap because the American dollar was very strong. I'm sure it's still cheap over there. If you have any questions, FM me. I want to go back there so desperately!!!

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

ThreeTwenty- How scary was the climb up the Sydney Harbour Bridge? I saw people do that and there was no way I was going to do it. But the view must have been incredible!

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

OMG I could barely drive over some bridges let alone CLIMB one!

Is this a regular passenger bridge that you can just climb? Sounds scary!!

Erica - I haven't been to either of those places but either one sounds great right about now

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

Teri...you and James should come!!!

I have been doing a little searching and it seems that for about 10-12 days in Melbourne, Cairnes and Sydney...in deluxe hotels (but not luxury) is about $3000 pp....

I think we may put it off until next winter though...b/c of the price - we're not ready to go this winter...and I think its best to go when its summer there...right?

I'm totally into that bridge...as long as I am harnessed...

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

Julybaby we had SOO much fun doing the bridgeclimb! Our guide was hysterical!! It wasn't too scary bc you are harnessed onto the bridge and theres no way to release yourself from it.

I want to go back sooo bad!!!

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

I have tons of family in Australia. a few of my cousins we keep in close contact with via email especially.
Let me know if you have specific questions.
I'll email them..

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

anna...where is your family? DH's uncle grew up in australia from 6-18...near canberra

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

Erica - we'll see you there!

We're planning on a Australia / New Zealand trip next winter (2004-2005)! We may wind up with just New Zealand- we haven't done any planning yet.

We using AA miles to fly first class but I've heard United offers some good fares. I've been reading up on the locations on fodors.com chit chat, but I don't know enough yet to offer any advice.

Re: has anyone been to Australia? or south pacific?

ooooh lisa...you'll have to keep me updated on what you are doing...I've heard that NZ is better...but I really want to see some of australia