Australia trip suggestions pls!

[dpmother]

Thanks mummymoo,
we are skipping gold coast.

Can any one give hotel recommendations for Syd & Mel - in city center with easy access to public transport? We wont have a rented car. Any serviced apts to suggest? We are looking for low cost options but location is important.

In Mel we would like to do 2 day farm stays? Do you have any suggestions? The ones we checked seem to be quite expensive - AUD200 per person per night! We definitely want to stay on farms but i am wondering if AUD200 is simply too high..

We would stay 3 days in Mel city centre. Any suggestions for hotels / service apt in Mel?

 

[shwetakhanna]

We just came back from a 3 week long trip to Australia. We went to Adelaide initially, after a couple of days we drove to Melbourne, stayed there for a week at a service apartment in the heart if the city, then flew to Sydney from Melbourne, hired a car and drove most of the time there as well. Then back to Melbourne , picked up our car and drove back to Adelaide through the great ocean road. So overall, we had a week each in Sydney Melbourne and Adelaide. Sydney was great fun with kids, we enjoyed the great weather and places around. Melbourne weather was too cold, with rain most of the days. But places around Melbourne were great too. A couple of places like Phillipe island, mornington peninsula , the twelve apostles were fun. driving around did save us a lot of time and energy with kids.
If you wish to see the city, public transport is easy, but if you wish to See the islands or farms it's better to hire a car.
Do let me know if you need any specific information..

 

[howardcoombs]

If I've read and interpreted everything correctly, the OP wants to go to Oz for 10 days. Wants to visit 2 or maybe 3 cities. Perhaps even throw in a farm stay in there for a couple of days. No car, rely on public transport and have an under 2 toddler along for the ride.

This will not be a pleasant nor relaxing vacation for anyone involved. I would suggest pick a, single, 1 destination to fly into and stay there for the duration. From there, you can make all kinds of day time excursions here and there and everywhere. Whichever major city you pick will have plenty on offer to keep a 2 year old and parents busy enough for 10 days. Sydney is nice, Melbourne is fine, Gold Coast is pretty; heck even Perth or Darwin would be cool for 10 days.

 

[mummymoo]

It's not impossible but I think you'll struggle to get to a farm without a car. Agree with Howard, max 2 cities and just weave your way relaxing around the town, there's tonnes to do but being on public transport all day is not it...and let's face it, Australian public transport is not 1/10th the efficiency of HK so you could be waiting ages for your train/tram/bus especially on the weekend.
For a farm experience in the city try the collingwood petting farm
http://www.farm.org.au/

Goodluck! Also I would suggest to head to the nearest supermarket and load up on snacks/bread ect for the kids as cafe food, even really mediocre stuff is extremely pricey in Australia. Basically Great supermarket prices but not as nice (in my opinion).

 

[dpmother]

Thanks mummymoo for d reply & d link. Usually v carry a lot of home cooked snacks for d baby. Does Australia permit us to carry d same? How abt baby formula? What should I keep in mind while packing d food articles?
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[dpmother]

Thanks shwetakhanna & howardcombs for ur replies... Have any of u done farm stay? Any recos on d same?
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[inkmink]

Australia is extremely strict with food items. Your home cooked snacks may not make it into the country. Baby formula is fine but would suggest bringing unopened packs/cans.
http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/travel/entering-australia/cant-take

With a toddler, it will be better if you rent a car even if you are staying in city centre (in Melb). It will be pretty hard and time consuming if you plan to venture out of city centre.

Apart from farm stay, you may want to consider visiting strawberry/berries/apple picking farm if the season is right.

 

[nicolejoy]

I'll second what inkmink said - don't bring in fruit/vegetables or home cooked food. If you bring food in SEALED containers (bought food, never opened) it should be ok - but then you can buy food there for the same price or cheaper anyway so there's no point. Plus if you bring anything edible, you need to declare it and go through quarantine and show it to them etc, so it really slows you down. I prefer to not bring anything and just buy there.

I have no idea about farm stays sorry - but do agree that if you are doing a lot of trips that are outside of the city, it may be wise to hire a car. For cheap car hire, try bayswater - they don't have as many options but are significantly cheaper than hertz etc... I've used them many times and have always been happy with them. They don't have airport pick up though so will need to cab from the airport...

 

[dpmother]

thanks inkmink & nicolejoy for ur inputs

 

[TNT]

I second the recommendation for Collingwood Children's Farm,it is perfect for small children and it is not too hard to get too on public transport. This is in Melbourne. I think you will find it impossible to get to a farm stay without a car and as others have said it is unlikely you'll have time if you want to visit Sydney and Melbourne. Other good things to do in Melbourne are Botanic Gardens (which are beautiful), Melbourne zoo (not as spectacular a location as Sydney but a very good zoo, when we lived in melbourne I had an annual pass and took the kids all the time ). Scienceworks is great as is the Melbourne museum. And around Melbourne are things like Philip island with the penguins. Wandering around the amazing lanes in the city you will find some great shops and cafes. St Kilda is a great area with the beach,playgrounds (the st Kilda one is the best and totally different from anything in Hong Kong, but quite difficult to find - google it for details) and easily reached by public transport.