Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne or Sydney?

[anmas]

Hallo Everyone,

I am hoping to visit Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney or Perth some time this year. I am only able to visit 1 city, at most 2 because my leaves are limited (only around 7 days, maybe only 5 days) Any suggestion which city is a better choice? I am looking forward to a nice cool weather, with nice architecure and people friendly city. Greatly appreciate any advices or suggestions from those who have been to the cities.

Thanks in advance

Once again, thanks to Koelsch and yyD70S for directing me to the correct thread

 

[anmas]

Thanks yyD70S. Melbourne seems to be a better choice Is it cold in Melbourne? I am thinking of May or June. Besides the Great Ocean Road, anything to do or place worth visiting in the city area?

 

[yyD70S]

You are most welcome, anmas.

They have an official homepage. Take a look.

http://www.visitmelbourne.com/

Taken from the above website, you could actually 'design your own tour' ...

http://www3.visitmelbourne.com/displayObject.cfm/ObjectID.0001F49E-C037-1A7F-A7B580C476A90000/vvt.vhtml

... coupled with some day &/or side tours (just in case you missed something)...

http://www3.visitmelbourne.com/displayObject.cfm/ObjectID.49893AAF-2D82-4A7C-B8AD63ECCD349DB5/vvt.vhtml

And I strongly advise you to go over to the Victoria Tourism Office or email them for brochures and ideas now so that you can do your advanced planning.


The month of May would be late autumn. In a word, ideal... except that your daylight hours would be a little shorter.


I leave it to the rest of the forum members to enlighten you more.

Cheers!

 

[ernest_ted]

I've been to all four.

Your best beat is Melbourne and Sydney.

Melbourne is more colonial. Sydney is more cosmopolitan.
The 2 cities are not far apart.
If u travel by road, Canberra is in the middle.

Perth can get quite wet during winter.

 

[ywh]

Anmas,

Autumn in Melbourne can give you relatively dull light at times (winter is not excellent too). There are times however when you will get the most gorgeous sunsets and sunrises (real erratic) in these 2 seasons but the nights are longer and the sun sets around 1730. If you're there on a photography trip, head down in late Feb where it's near the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. The days are still pretty long and lighting is fine. I have been to the Great Ocean Road a couple of times and the best lighting I had was in Nov (spring) and mid April (autumn). Join a day tour that brings you to the 12 Apostles and the surrounding areas. There is one tour that promises to reach the 12 Apostles are sunset (Eucalyptus tours i think) and I have been with there once and they were fantastic. The rest of the trips were self planned and travelled.

Let me know if you need more info.

 

[centuryegg]

Never been to Perth and not too familar with Sydney so I won't comment.

For Melbourne

Weather wise
May to June turning cold and might be a bit damp. Air is dry so need to vaseline your lips and nostrils. If not will get cracked lips and nose bleed especially if you exert yourself.
If going to Great Ocean Road, take note it is very windy so wear wind breaker and something to protect your head from the icy wind

Attractions.
Nature
1) Grand Ocean Road
2) Gramphians Mountain Range
3) Whale Watching at the coast

Attractions
1) Ballarat (Gold Rush Town with Gold Mine Museum)
2) Victoria Market (Lots of activity esp on Sunday Mornings)
3) Melbourne City Centre (Lots of performing artists)
4) Crown Casino (The river walk is nice and romantic and they have an hourly performance by the gas towers. There a few towers outside the casino, every hour they spew out large balls of fire in a programmed pattern)
5) Lyon Street (Little Italy, can get good italian food)
6) Brunswick Street (Alternative culture apparel)
7) Chapel and Church Street (Shopping Belt of Melbourne)
8) Richmond (Little Vietnam)
9) Wine yards in Yarra Valley

Hope it helps

 

[ernest_ted]

1 more to add.

Penguin island gets damm cold. *brrrrrrrrrrrrr
During winter, not many penguins come up to shore.

No flash photography allowed (at least i remembered that 7 yrs ago).
u prob need to push ur iso to 1,600

 

[anmas]

You are most welcome, anmas.

They have an official homepage. Take a look.

http://www.visitmelbourne.com/

Taken from the above website, you could actually 'design your own tour' ...

http://www3.visitmelbourne.com/displayObject.cfm/ObjectID.0001F49E-C037-1A7F-A7B580C476A90000/vvt.vhtml

... coupled with some day &/or side tours (just in case you missed something)...

http://www3.visitmelbourne.com/displayObject.cfm/ObjectID.49893AAF-2D82-4A7C-B8AD63ECCD349DB5/vvt.vhtml

And I strongly advise you to go over to the Victoria Tourism Office or email them for brochures and ideas now so that you can do your advanced planning.


The month of May would be late autumn. In a word, ideal... except that your daylight hours would be a little shorter.


I leave it to the rest of the forum members to enlighten you more.

Cheers!

Thanks yyD70S. Shall visit the sites you have mentioned

 

[anmas]

Thanks ernest_ted, ywh & centuryegg

Seems Melbourne is a favourite destination for many. Cold weather is nice. Is Melbourne colder than Hong Kong or Tokyo during Winter? Any recommended hotels in Melbourne? I am looking for around A$120 a night for 2. Maybe I should visit Sydney or Canberra too since they are not too far way from each other. Sydney better choice or Canberra?

 

[ernest_ted]

Thanks ernest_ted, ywh & centuryegg

Seems Melbourne is a favourite destination for many. Cold weather is nice. Is Melbourne colder than Hong Kong or Tokyo during Winter? Any recommended hotels in Melbourne? I am looking for around A$120 a night for 2. Maybe I should visit Sydney or Canberra too since they are not too far way from each other. Sydney better choice or Canberra?

Canberra is a 'planned' city. ie all the buildings and city layout is like lego planning (if u know what i need). Canberra is designated as a political / capital city. Its a stop along way to Sydney and vice-versa.

Perhaps it will be good if u do some research on the respective tourists boards

 

[centuryegg]

Thanks ernest_ted, ywh & centuryegg

Seems Melbourne is a favourite destination for many. Cold weather is nice. Is Melbourne colder than Hong Kong or Tokyo during Winter? Any recommended hotels in Melbourne? I am looking for around A$120 a night for 2. Maybe I should visit Sydney or Canberra too since they are not too far way from each other. Sydney better choice or Canberra?

Not too sure about hotels. But if you are comfortable with driving. Can rent a car from Avis or Hertz. They are good car rental companies that provide cheap rentals for as little as 28 dollars a day. (At least that's what I remembered) Only thing is you must have your credit card and no P license, must be a full license. Included in the cars are Melways or Melbourne Street Directionaries. Only tricky thing about Melbourne is the hook turn. Abit hard to explain in text. Anyone have a drawing? Or know how to upload a drawing so that I can draw one? Driving can give you flexibility to get around and I forgot to say one thing, cabs are VERY VERY expensive in Melbourne. Distance of from Far East Plaza to City Hall can cost you about 16 to 20 dollars. And after 12.... all you have are cabs....


If you want to make a trip to Sydney and stopover at Canberra, you are better off driving. Trains and internal flights are not cheap.... But note its a gruelling 9 hour drive from Melbourne to Sydney. And frankly Canberra is quite a quiet place, it is their political capital and basically where their politician live and work. with only 7 days on hand, I would advise you to stick to one place and spend more quality time there than driving all over. Especially if you are not used to driving long distances, then don't because its really tiring and dangerous... Many people died cos they felt asleep behind the wheel. All over the Melbourne to Sydney Highway, you can see signs asking you to take a nap if you are tired and many rest stops meaning shelters with toliets for people to doze.....

 

[anmas]

Not too sure about hotels. But if you are comfortable with driving. Can rent a car from Avis or Hertz. They are good car rental companies that provide cheap rentals for as little as 28 dollars a day. (At least that's what I remembered) Only thing is you must have your credit card and no P license, must be a full license. Included in the cars are Melways or Melbourne Street Directionaries. Only tricky thing about Melbourne is the hook turn. Abit hard to explain in text. Anyone have a drawing? Or know how to upload a drawing so that I can draw one? Driving can give you flexibility to get around and I forgot to say one thing, cabs are VERY VERY expensive in Melbourne. Distance of from Far East Plaza to City Hall can cost you about 16 to 20 dollars. And after 12.... all you have are cabs....


If you want to make a trip to Sydney and stopover at Canberra, you are better off driving. Trains and internal flights are not cheap.... But note its a gruelling 9 hour drive from Melbourne to Sydney. And frankly Canberra is quite a quiet place, it is their political capital and basically where their politician live and work. with only 7 days on hand, I would advise you to stick to one place and spend more quality time there than driving all over. Especially if you are not used to driving long distances, then don't because its really tiring and dangerous... Many people died cos they felt asleep behind the wheel. All over the Melbourne to Sydney Highway, you can see signs asking you to take a nap if you are tired and many rest stops meaning shelters with toliets for people to doze.....

Thanks for your valuable tips centuryegg.

Don't think I'll rent a car, 'cos intend to experience their public transport such as tram and train, maybe not taxi if too expensive. Think you are right, maybe I'll just stick to 1 city and explore the city more fully. Most likely to go Melbourne, but Sydney looks good too.. the harbour bridge and opera house view seems to be quite spectacular. Hmm... maybe can apply for unpaid or advance leaves or not

 

[anmas]

Anmas,

Autumn in Melbourne can give you relatively dull light at times (winter is not excellent too). There are times however when you will get the most gorgeous sunsets and sunrises (real erratic) in these 2 seasons but the nights are longer and the sun sets around 1730. If you're there on a photography trip, head down in late Feb where it's near the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. The days are still pretty long and lighting is fine. I have been to the Great Ocean Road a couple of times and the best lighting I had was in Nov (spring) and mid April (autumn). Join a day tour that brings you to the 12 Apostles and the surrounding areas. There is one tour that promises to reach the 12 Apostles are sunset (Eucalyptus tours i think) and I have been with there once and they were fantastic. The rest of the trips were self planned and travelled.

Let me know if you need more info.

Not exactly a photography trip, but I will definitely bring my camera along. So, maybe Melbourne during winter or late autumn is not a good time to take photography? Is it very cold in Melbourne during winter or late autumn?

 

[Koelsch]

My cousin is in the tourism line and she does all these kinda stuff. I'm sure she could give ya some good advise on where to go and everything. But for me personally, after being to various countries like US, LA, LV, Europe, Korea and Australia, i think each countries have their own attributes, why limit yourself to australia? my point is, there're still alot of other neighbouring countries to visit too. =)

 

[adamadam]

I personally prefer Perth, but that's because I was born here and grew up here, so it's my home
I've been to the other cities,and out of those, I enjoyed Melbourne the most, followed by Sydney. Melbourne is good to experience all weather in a day I remember Christmas 2000 - it was 40 degrees in the morning followed by a thunderstorm in the afternoon! exciting.

Perth, compared to the other cities, is very small, very quiet. The city parking is a lot cheaper, there are a lot less people. The traffic is less, everything is less. If you like busy-ness, then I'd recommend Melbourne

 

[Virgo]

In my opinion, you should go for Melbourne and Sydney, cos the 2 are near each other. About 1hr+ by flight. Internal flights are pretty cheap, around A$100 per person per trip. Unless you prefer driving, it'll definitely save you a lot of time by air.

Both cities have a lot of good spots for photography. CSers here have already made the list. You may like to take a look at the photos I've taken during my trip there in '04. Click here.

 

[ywh]

Not exactly a photography trip, but I will definitely bring my camera along. So, maybe Melbourne during winter or late autumn is not a good time to take photography? Is it very cold in Melbourne during winter or late autumn?

Be prepared to dress for both ends of the scale. Jeans are good overall and a windbreaker and a sweater will be fine. Winter nights can be pretty cold. I have been by the beach shooting with strong winds blowing and even though it was only 10 deg, I was freezing my pants off....and I was wearing only a tee. Thus bring a sweater/windbreaker whereever you go and you should be fine.

I have experienced 3 deg temp in Nov (spring 6am) and it was so cold that I had to take cover in a bush even though a sweater was on. The temp soared to 38 by 11 though! This was at near the end of the Great Ocean Road though and the winds came from the South Pole as I was told.

 

[Chiang]

also thinking to going sidney n melbourne

some link to share
http://online.smartvisitcard.com/melbourne.html
http://www.seesydneycard.com/

will be going after mar 16 06 for honeymoon, so still thinking of whether self tour or package tour will be better , cause if i miss plan it , my wife will kill me .

 

[centuryegg]

If you are going to Melbourne, just remember to go eat Vietnamese Pho at this place called Mekong on Swanston Street, Chinese food at Dragon' Inn at Chinatown, donuts at Victoria market, pizza at la porcetta (chain pizza place), gelato at Lyon Street.... damn Im getting hungry!

 

[anmas]

In my opinion, you should go for Melbourne and Sydney, cos the 2 are near each other. About 1hr+ by flight. Internal flights are pretty cheap, around A$100 per person per trip. Unless you prefer driving, it'll definitely save you a lot of time by air.

Both cities have a lot of good spots for photography. CSers here have already made the list. You may like to take a look at the photos I've taken during my trip there in '04. Click here.

Nice photos you have there Virgo. You went to Melbourne in February, how's the weather like?