Trip to Australia

by Linda C
(Spring, Texas USA)

I will be traveling to Australia in June with my collage age daughter and a girfriend of hers. We would love to go to Ayers Rock and Alice Springs but several things have me a little cautious of the outback - long stretches of road, little gas, car trouble, etc.

My question is: is it reasonable for us to drive in a rental car from Sydney to Ayers Rock and Alice Springs then take the drive via Mt. Isa to Winton and back to the coast? From there we would continue up the coast with Cape Tribulation our last point. I look forward to hearing from you. Linda from Texas, USA

Response to: Trip to Australia

Dear Linda,
Before talking about vehicle trouble and gas stations I want to make sure that such a drive is really what you want to do.

Do you really want to spend most of your Australia visit in a car driving?

My guess is that you are underestimating the size of Australia. You are looking at a whole continent, not some tiny island. The trip you have in mind involves about 8000 kilometres (5000 miles) of driving. That is about 16 days of driving if you want to keep the driving to a reasonable limit per day.

The costs for car hire and gas would be astronomical, too.

You give no indication of how long you want to spend on that trip and what else you want to see.

If all you want to see is Sydney, Alice Springs/Ayers Rock and the highlights of the east coast, then it doesn't make sense to spend weeks just driving between those places.

Instead I would fly to Alice Springs and hire a vehicle there. You still need to drive several hundred kilometres from Alice Springs to Ayers Rock so you certainly get that experience of driving through the Outback.

I would then fly to the east coast and again hire a vehicle there.

Regarding your concerns about mechanical trouble and gas stations: there is no lack of service stations along our highways. There is also no lack of other vehicles. Mechanical trouble is always a nuisance, but it should not be a major issue if you are in a reliable and fairly new hire vehicle.

It is because of the overall distances involved that I think it does not make sense to drive all that way.

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Trip to Australia

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Upcoming Trip to Australia
by: Linda C

Thank you so much for putting this in the proper perspective for me. Being from Texas you would think that I understand "big". I like your idea about the two rental car transactions.

Let me ask if you can recommend the most inexpensive way to tour Ayers Rock. Would it be to fly from Sydney, Brisbane or another city?

Right now our plan is to arrive in Sydney, spend 5 days in this area and begin driving up the coast, ending up at Cairns.

My itinerary at this point is

Sydney (and area to include Blue Mountains) 5 days
Drive and spend night at Byron Bay
Drive and spend night in Brisbane
Drive and spend 2 nights in Rockhampton
Drive and spend 2 nights in Winton
Drive and spend 1 night in Townsville
Drive and spend 3 nights in Cairns
Drive and spend 2 nights in Daintree

Drive back to Cairns to fly to Sydney to connect to Los Angeles and then home.

Where would you take away or add to?

I estimate the mileage and driving time to be

Sydney to Byron Bay 450 miles appx 9-10 hrs
Byron Bay to Brisbane 90 miles 2.5 hours
Brisbane to Rockhampton 300+ miles appx 9 hours
Rockhampton to Winton 300+ miles appx 9 hours
Winton to Townsville 165 milles 5 hours
Townsville to Cairns 170 miles 5 hours
Cairns to Daintree 60 miles 1.5 hours

Are these realistic?

I have 2 more days I could insert if necessary and can rearrange come from within the itinerary.

Thanks for help.

Your friend from Texas,

Linda

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Submitted by: Linda C

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Thank you so much for putting this in the proper perspective for me. Being from Texas you would think that I understand "big". I like your idea about the two rental car transactions. Let me ask if you can recommend the most inexpensive way to tour Ayers Rock. Would it be to fly from Sydney, Brisbane or another city? Right now our plan is to arrive in Sydney, spend 5 days in this area and begin driving up the coast, ending up at Cairns. My itinerary at this point is Sydney (and area to include Blue Mountains) 5 days Drive and spend night at Byron Bay Drive and spend night in Brisbane Drive and spend 2 nights in Rockhampton Drive and spend 2 nights in Winton Drive and spend 1 night in Townsville Drive and spend 3 nights in Cairns Drive and spend 2 nights in Daintree Drive back to Cairns to fly to Sydney to connect to Los Angeles and then home. Where would you take away or add to? I estimate the mileage and driving time to be Sydney to Byron Bay 450 miles appx 9-10 hrs Byron Bay to Brisbane 90 miles 2.5 hours Brisbane to Rockhampton 300+ miles appx 9 hours Rockhampton to Winton 300+ miles appx 9 hours Winton to Townsville 165 milles 5 hours Townsville to Cairns 170 miles 5 hours Cairns to Daintree 60 miles 1.5 hours Are these realistic? I have 2 more days I could insert if necessary and can rearrange come from within the itinerary. Thanks for help. Your friend from Texas, Linda

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East Coast
by: Birgit

Hi again Linda,
"Let me ask if you can recommend the most inexpensive way to tour Ayers Rock. Would it be to fly from Sydney, Brisbane or another city?"

I'm sorry, but you are talking to just another traveller and not a travel agent. I don't do pricing and itinerary preparation or anything like that. You'd have to search for quotes on flights yourself.

I would expect the best deals to be available out of Sydney as there is the most demand, but you could be lucky and get a super special elsewhere, you just never know. Pricing is stuff for travel agents.

I also can't tell you much about your itinerary. You are asking about the east coast. This has nothing to do with my website any more.

It is a totally different topic, different driving, different traffic, different everything.

(A bit like asking on a Texas website for tips for a drive from New Jersey to Maine, if that comparison helps...)

Sorry that I can't be of more help!