Hi Alena,
My husband and I are planning our delayed honeymoon in Australia. Unfortunately we can "only" spend 3 weeks on the island. Nevertheless, we would like to see some nice things. I already gathered some information and we are planning to travel along the east coast from Sydney to Cairns. Unfortunately, there are so many information that I do not see the wood for the trees. Therefore, I thought you may have some usefull tips for our trip. We are very grateful for any input!
Travel period: September: 3 weeks
Destination: Sydney - Cairns
Way of Travelling: Backpacking, low-budget
Which is the best means of transport?
What should we see on the route?
We like animals and would like to go diving for about 3 days on the way.
Thank you for your help.
Best regards,
Charlette and John
In any case, I would love to hear from you after your trip and how you both liked it in OZ ;-)
Take care!
Thanks a lot for you detailed response. I will get back to you if any further questions will arise.
Best wishes!
Hi Charlette,
Good to hear from you. Spending 3 weeks in Australia is a good time for doing a road trip along the east coast and visit some nice places!
There are simply two different ways of travelling up the east coast. You can either take a hop-on hop-off bus or rent a mini van or camper. When taking the bus, I would suggest to choose the Greyhound Bus- I did it this way. They are pretty comfortable and stop in several cities along the east cost. However, they drive only once a day from Sydney up to Cains. Therefore, you are very bounded to their departure times. A ticket will cost you about 400AUS$ per person.
Taking a minivan gives you a lot more freedom and flexibility. However, you should also consider that you can not spend the night with a camper everywhere in Australia, as you may be used to from other countries and you always need to find a campsite. This might be a little challenging in larger cities, as they are all far out. Moreover, when you are driving in larger cities a camper is more of a hindrance. Driving through the big city traffic is really no fun- but it is really up to you. Campers or minivans cost different amounts depending on the season, place of takeover and place of return, duration of the rental, etc. Prices usually start from 500AUS$. However, fuel in Australia is much cheaper than in Switzerland (1,1AUS$ per litre). For the distance between Sydney and Cairns (2700 km) you will have to pay about 300AUS$ for fuel- the typical backpacker car is usually quite a gas-guzzler ;-)
What should you see on your route?
I am not a fan of rushing through every city and would rather suggest to choose less but spend a few more days in each city. Otherwise you holidays will be very stressful. I would definitely include the following cities on you road trip:
Sydney - Byron Bay - Brisbane - Rainbow Beach - Fraser Island- Whitstunday Island - Mission Beach - Girringun Nationalpark -Great Barrier Reaf (Diving) - Cairns
If you then still have got time left, it is worth to a little further north and visit Cape Tribulation where you can see nice wildlife and enjoy the beautiful nature.
Hope that helped. Let me know if you have any other question.
Safe travels!
Alena