Would you go to Australia on your honeymoon and if so where would you go?

detoxkid

Hi there. So as the title suggests we are thinking about going to Oz for our honeymoon. TBH it is my dream rather than my oh's- so we also might stop off somewhere in Asia en route for him. Australia is one of those things that everyone has done, but I never did it and it seems like a once in a lifetime opportunity to do it but I have no idea where to go etc. What do ye think? Would you go to Oz on your honeymoon and if so what route would you take in three weeks? Thanks for any feedback

Shelga

I don't care how many people have been there, it's been my dream too to go there since I was about 15! Haven't been yet but looks like I will get to go before the end of the year. I would start off in Perth, fly to Alice Springs, do the drive to Uluru, drive to Adelaide via Coober Pedy (looks like a cool place to visit!), then take in Melbourne, Sydney and finish up in Gold Coast.

Sigh! Sadly the budget doesn't stretch to that. Would also like to see the north coast as well but they'd be the main places I'd like to go. Although I am influenced by the fact that I have friends in Perth and Gold Coast. Enjoy your honeymoon, whatever you decide!

hussey

it's a bit of a loaded question as most people here will say yes

where depends of the when, came you give us a time frame?
as the weather along the coast can depend on the season

Pisco Sour

detoxkid wrote: »

Australia is one of those things that everyone has done,

Depends. If you are referring to Melbourne to Cairns, up along the East Coast, then yes everybody and his/ her dog has done that.

However, much less people have travelled from Perth to Darwin, along the West, through the Kimberleys. I haven't met many who have travelled Adelaide to Darwin, through the Flinders Ranges, Red Centre and Kakadu, and even less who have done the trip from Adelaide to Perth and camped in the Nullabor.

Australia is the size of Europe and there is much more to see that the general tourist trail along the East that everybody does. You could spend a year here and not see it all.

The exchange rate is terrible though at the moment so be warned.

EDIT: If you have 3 weeks I would suggest the following:

Start in Melbourne and then do a 18 day trip from Melbourne to Darwin with Adventure Tours which includes Great Ocean Road, Adelaide, Flinders Ranges, Coober Pedy, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon, Kakadu among others.

http://www.adventuretours.com.au/victoria/melbourne-to-darwin-package

You can upgrade to a private room also as I am sure staying in a dorm on your honeymoon wouldn't be so romantic:D Some nights you will be camping in swags, but that is the fun of it all.

Cooperspale

Totally agree with answers posted.

The Top End dry season is May through October and the honeymoon destinations up north I would pick are:
http://www.hamiltonisland.com.au/
http://www.portdouglas.com/
http://www.cablebeachclub.com/
You can go other times but it'll be more humid and wet and you can't be sure of cyclones. This year's cyclone is still having a knock on effect on tourism in QLD.

The typical honeymoon destinations here:
http://www.honeymoonguide.com.au/australia.html


Fly as much as you can, distances are loooooooooooooooong. And who wants to spend their once in a lifetime honeymoon driving or sitting in a tour bus for hundreds of kms?
But each to their own.

detoxkid

hussey wrote: »

it's a bit of a loaded question as most people here will say yes

where depends of the when, came you give us a time frame?
as the weather along the coast can depend on the season

True true, but so many people say it's overrated, though from everything I've heard about it I know I would LOVE it. We would be going mid July 2012 to early August, good point re seasons. Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I really appreciate it!

Tigerandahalf

If you are going in that period the weather will be much better up north. It depends on what you want to see really. Perhaps you want to see the big cities of Melbourne and Sydney. Check out Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory and the National Parks of Kakadu and Litchfield in the NT...the national parks are beautiful. You need a permit to get into Arnhem Land as it's Aboriginal Land but from what I've read it's meant to be beautiful, a lot of culture and history there. The weather will be lovely that time of year..30 plus degrees and blue skies.
It really depends on what ye are looking for.

Black Swan

If given a choice, I would rather honeymoon in nearby New Zealand during spring or fall.

Pisco Sour

detoxkid wrote: »

True true, but so many people say it's overrated,

That is something the really gets on my goat. How on earth anybody can say this beautiful country is overrated is beyond me. Incredible wilderness, immense natural coastal and bushland scenery, Unique wildlife, friendly people.

Methinks your friends who said that didn't leave the cities with the exception of a little trek up the East Coast's beaten path, staying in such places as Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Surfers Paradise... The quintessential aussie experience :rolleyes:

June/July is in the middle of dry season for a trip from Perth to Darwin. If you did this you would cross the Kimberley region. It is the size of California and has just 41,000 people living there. One of the richest countries in the world has some of the most remote and undiscovered places on this planet It really is an amazing country.

Read Bill Bryson's book "Down Under" (It's called "In a Sunburnt Country" in the USA and Canada). If that book doesn't get you itching to be on the first flight out here then nothing will.

detoxkid

04072511 wrote: »

Read Bill Bryson's book "Down Under" (It's called "In a Sunburnt Country" in the USA and Canada). If that book doesn't get you itching to be on the first flight out here then nothing will.

Oooh, must check out

Pisco Sour

detoxkid wrote: »

Oooh, must check out

Such a hilarious and enjoyable book. Great travel writer he is.

bills

Hey Detoxkid,

My answer is yes- GO.
Heading there myself in July for my honeymoon & really cant wait.
Looking forward to it so much. We are heading to new zealand also.
We are just doing the east coast of oz starting in port douglas & working our way down to sydney. Would love to do more but alas, time & money stopped that!

If you have anymore specific questions, feel free to ask away.

pclancy

All suggestions are good but one thing nobody has suggested is...slow down when your're there and relax! Its a massive country with really really long driving times or flights, remember you want to enjoy yourself and not spend ever hour of the day travelling. Some people try to cram as much as they can into a small visit and get burnt out so i'd really recommend choosing a handfull of destinations you'd enjoy and concentrate on those. As youre going in winter i'd probably recommend Queensland or the north of New South Wales. As well as the big cities there are tons of national parks, miles of lovely coastland, numerous islands to visit, snorkelling, rainforests, animal parks etc.

If you werent already set on Oz i'd HIGHLY recommend Fiji as a honeymoon destination, its total paradise and can be cheap if you research it well.

Zambia

We have at least one boardsie who came on honeymoon and migrated a few years later.

old_aussie

Sydney, Gold Coast and Darwin

Zambia

One of the problems with this is that depending on budget the answer will always be different.

For example I would love to take a few train trips on Sleeper Cabins. But they are not cheap.

In summer I would love to see more of country Vic up into The yarra ranges etc. However at this time of year Darwin is indeed the go. House was freezing this morning.

detoxkid

bills wrote: »

Hey Detoxkid,

My answer is yes- GO.
Heading there myself in July for my honeymoon & really cant wait.
Looking forward to it so much. We are heading to new zealand also.
We are just doing the east coast of oz starting in port douglas & working our way down to sydney. Would love to do more but alas, time & money stopped that!

If you have anymore specific questions, feel free to ask away.

Not long for you now! How long are you staying in Oz? Are you hiring a car and working your way down

bills

Only in oz a couple of weeks. We just had to limit our time unfortunately!!

We are flying between different destinations down the coast mainly to save time as we have so little time. Really looking forward to it now.

We booked through trailfinders & found them great. Only thing is some of their hotels were expensive so we booked some of these ourselves.

mandrake04

Anyway got married meself a few weeks ago, went to hamilton Island on a sort of 7 day honeymoon (my parents and my bestman and his wife came as well).

First time staying at Hamilton Island but have flew into the Airport before because I went to Daydream Island in June 2009, was staying at the Reefview Resort which I found to be excellent. Got 3 nice big rooms on the 18th Floor and had a good view of Catseye bay.





Hamilton Island has only got about 3 or 4 cars and same in small buses, the main mode of transport is the golf buggy which you can hire out to get you around the Island.

There is plenty of restaurants, bars and a few shops. A great golf course, a Go-Kart track, Rifle-Range and of course plenty of watersports.

I would recommend the Denison Star cruise http://www.hamiltonisland.com.au/dinner-cruise-denison-star/ which is a floating restaurant and leaves the marina 1/2 hr before sunset. Its amazing having a few drinks and watching the sunset and the food was fantastic as its all cooked fresh onboard. (the kitchen has huge window all around)

To be honest the food was fantastic in all the places we went, a slight bit expensive (I would say tourist city prices) but you get huge portions. Beer costs about $6.5 - $7 for a Pure blonde.

Did a day trip to Whitehaven beach on Whitsunday Island, (3rd time for me) and of course you can take a trip out to the Gt Barrier reef. Its also a great place to base yourself for a bit of sailing.

There was 2 other things things that impressed me about Hamilton Island that other destinations that I have been to lacked.

1. The level of service was fantastic and the staff were really nice. They were all Aussie, Kiwi, English and a few Irish. The locals are not beggers (far from it) no one is trying to scam or rip you off.

2. The cleanliness of the place was unbelievable, the wasn't a piece of rubbish or crap lying around anywhere. (seen a few cigarette butts buried in the sand on the beach but that was about it.)

All in all it is a very relaxing place stuck on the end of one of the 7 wonders of the world, but there is still plenty to do. Couldn't spend more than 6 or 7 days there or you could suffer from cabin fever.

mandrake04

A few more








Also the General Manager of the Hotels and Resorts at Hamilton is a very lucky Irishman called Ciaran Handy, he is also a fantastic photographer.

Check this out.... he captures Hamilton Island and the Whitsunday Islands beautifullyhttp://ciaranhandy.com/