patriciafogle2444

Hello! We are looking into going to Australia next winter (July and August). We will be traveling with kids, 7 and 1 year old. We were looking at the East Coast mainly, but open to the west. Sydney and blue mountains, Brisbane (lone Pine), Cairns/Port Douglas are on are list. Thanks in advance!

Melnq8

How much time do you have to work with?

patriciafogle2444

3 to 4 weeks.

KayF

I guess you mean next year? You'd need to fly between Sydney and Brisbane and then Brisbane and Cairns. Much better use of time if you fly into one city and out of another, saves backtracking. You could hire a car and take a week or so to drive between Sydney and Brisbane. Check if there's a one way drop off fee. If you haven't already, look at distances on Google Maps and add on at least a couple of hours, if it says 6 hours, in our experience it will take at least 8.

There was a discussion on this forum about taking a very young child on the reef trips from Port Douglas/Cairns. You might want to check the rules, especially if that's your main reason for going to that area. Cairns is a big city with lots of accommodation but no beaches, Port Douglas is much smaller, more expensive, with a long, wide flat beach. You can't swim there at certain times due to stingers/jellyfish but they have an enclosed area you can use, or swim at your hotel pool.

If you are only coming to Brisbane for Lone Pine, why not check out Taronga Zoo in Sydney instead? Brisbane is a nice city but more commonly used as a place to travel south (Gold Coast) or north (Sunshine Coast). A day spent on the river in Brisbane is nice, tourist boats as well as the free CityHopper and CityCats where you need to pay using a Go Card. Hope this helps, let us know if you have questions.

Bokhara2

Hello Patricia & welcome to Fodors' Australia Forum.

We'd love to help you get the most out of your holiday, but need a bit more information to work with.
1. Are you planning to come in July & August 2023 or 2024?

2. If it's this year, do you have Visas approved for everyone travelling? If it's this year and you don't, apply immediately - use this link to find the appropriate Visas for your family. VISA FINDER: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visa...sa/visa-finder

3. It will help us give you some context and make relevant comparisons if you let us know where you're coming from - country & city/town.

4. Would you rent a car for excursions out of the major cities or would you be relying on tours and public transport?

5. What exactly would you like us to help you with?

emmamackenzie

Hi Patricia, sounds like a lovely trip! The ages of your children may make it a little harder to experience some of the more popular sights (theme parks etc), but you will have a fantastic time. Be sure to take the ferry over to Manly while you're in Sydney and hop on a train to the Gold Coast while you're in Brisbane. My kids loved the Sydney Aquarium https://www.visitsealife.com/sydney and the Featherdale Wildlife Park https://www.featherdale.com.au/. Will you be visiting the Great Barrier Reef while you're in Cairns? If you can manage it with the kids, I highly recommend it!