I'm trying to plan my trip to Australia and I'm overwhelmed! I plan on going for three weeks at the end of November.

I'm flying into Sydney but would like to explore the coast. I'm pretty flexible and would like to see as much as possible. Oh, did I mention I'll be going by myself and know no-one?

Suggestions for lodging, sights, etc. would be much appreciated.

Three weeks is not a lot of time to explore Australia. I'm guessing you want to see New South Wales, capital Sydney. Plenty to see around there. Blue mountains etc. Coastline lovely. Plenty of B & Bs and Backpackers style of accommodation. November....PERFECT. Try http://www.sensis.com.au which will find you anything related to Australia.

Cheers, Elly

So many possibilities here as you're landing smack bang in the middle of the eastern seaboard. You can go north to Queensland - its capital city, Brisbane is a cosmopolitan little place but the best beaches are found further north on the Sunshine Coast.

OR...you could go south where the Great Ocean Road will fill your every whim. I love the Victorian coastline....*sigh*

Do yourself a favour. Read, explore the net, work out what you want to see and work from there.

Hi, I waited a while to see if some more Australians responded to your request, but as you haven’t had a lot of information I thought, as a New Zealander who knows Austrlia reasonably well, I’d offer some suggestions. Here’s three different scenarios:
1. Spend the first week in Sydney – lots to see and visit- then hire a car and spend the next week slowly moving up the coast (go to the Hunter Valley Wine area for your first night or 2) to the Brisbane area and stay either south east of Brisbane on the Gold Coast or north east of Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast – both areas are lovely, Gold Coast is rather more built up than the Sunshine Coast, but either area is fine for exploring both and there is lots to see. Brisbane itself is probably worth a day but no more. You may have to fly back to Sydney to get your flight home.
2. If you like big cities then spend 10 days in Sydney (and do a number of day trips out of it) then catch the train or fly to Melbourne for the rest of your stay, with day trips to the Yarra Valley wine area, Mornington Peninsula, etc, and a trip for a few days westwards along the south coast, up through the Grampians and back to Melbourne. Sydney is a big interesting busy city, while Melbourne is not quite so big, but very arty, foodie, and fascinating.
3. And my 3rd suggestion if you really want to explore the coast and see as much as possible is; don’t stop in Sydney, fly on to Melbourne. Spend 3 days in Melbourne then hire a car and over 3 days drive down the south coast as far as Warrnambool or Port Fairy, then inland (north) to Halls Gap in the Grampians, then back to Melbourne and spend the next 4 or 5 days driving up the coast to Sydney, spend 3 days in Sydney, then drive up through the Hunter Valley and up the coast over 4 days to the Gold Coast and spend the last 3 or 4 days exploring that and the Sunshine Coast as far north as Noosa. Fly out of Brisbane or Coolangatta to home (probably via Sydney).
There are lots of variations you can do on the above, but it depends on your interests and as the two people who have commented above have said, you need to search the Internet and read to be more specific about what you want to see and whether you want a slow casual trip or really pack in as much as possible.
Hope this helps a little and if you want any other comments then only too happy to help
Graham

Graham,
I think your 3rd suggestion is the best. The Great Ocean Road is definitely worth a look. Best suggestion for variety outside capital cities, that's for sure.

Elly

Here are two threads
Australia suggestions 1
Australia Suggestions 2

NB. They are a bit out of date as far as prices go.

A few points to remember.
Aus is about the same size as mainland US, so don't waste time travelling. Of course, if you love train travel you might like to take the Ghan from South Australia to Darwin.
Australia's mountains are nowhere as high as the Rockies. Howver, Katoomba in the Blue Mountains is an enjoyable day trip (car or train) from Sydney.
A US paper (can't remember if it was washington or New York) named Sydney the best city to dine in in the world. Both Sydney and Melbourne have good multicultural and Fusion cuisine. Even up here in Mullum there are good restaurants and cafes scattered around.

Speaking as an Englander, Australia has fantastic beaches. I love the Ferry ride from Circular Quay to Manly, but don't think the beach you see from the ferry is the Manly Beach. Follow the people streaming across the promontary to the ocean beach. Or you can enjoy the isolation of the 90mile beach on the Victorian coastline. Ocean beaches have strong surf and you should aquaimt yourself with the local condition before going swimming. North of the Queensland sunshine coast the sea is calmer because it is protected by the barrier reef.

There are lots of good places to go scuba diving and snorkelling, but it is best if you can get to the great Barrier Reef. I love the maxi yacht sailing and diving trips up in the Whitsundays.

The whales are travelling down the eastern coast in November. There are lots of places to see them and whale watching trips to take you out for a view. At Byron Bay, the most easterly point of Australia, they come within a few hundred metres of the shore.

Tell us a little more about the things you like and we might be able to give you some more relevamt suggestions.

We spent 4 weeks traveling in Australia and you really do have to pick a couple of places and concentrate on them. Travel is not always as easy as the US because Australia is the size of the continental US with the population of Los Angeles. Not as many flights as you might want. We truly loved the train ride from Melbourne to Adelaide...

How old are you? I took my first trip to Australia in 1982 when I was in my 20s. I also was travelling alone. I got a Youth Hostel card and very happily stayed in the hostels which are scattered all over Australia. I met a lot of other young people from all over the world and travelled with some for a day or a week and then parted company as we went our separate ways. Great way to meet people but you don't have to be tied down to their schedule. I highly recommend the YHA for your type of travel if you are flexible and don't mind sharing rooms.

I'm about to embark on my 6th trip in August. My favorite places are Sydney and Far North Queensland (Cairns, GBR, islands off the coast) but you wouldn't want to drive between them! Some advice, though, would depend on whether you will have a car or not. I took the trains a lot when I first went there and it would make a difference how you plan to get around.

First off, get a good guide book (for my money Lonely Planet, which as an Australian publisher, makes sense I think) and also visit out www.australia.com, the official tourism site - this will give you plenty to start with. www.hihostel.com is useful, and www.wotif.com lists discount rates for hotels, motels and apartments all over.

All three domestic airlines - Qantas, Virgin Blue and Jetstar - have frequent seat sales, so register for their email bulletins (don't forget that there's no "u" in Qantas!)

While the best I can say about Australian long-distance trains is that they're pretty good for slow travellers, the major cities have good to very good public transport systems.

Driving is a great way to see the country as long as you're not too ambitious with distance and comfortable with driving on the left.

Check www.weatherbase.com for weather conditions at various times. Australia encompasses a wide range of climates, so there's no all-over "best time" to go. I wouldn't go to Uluru in summer, for instance, nor to Tasmania in winter. (Sorry, I can't remember if you said when you're coming, and I haven't yet worked out whether I can get back to your post without losing mine...) Definitely try to visit Far North Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef in your plans.

And ... enjoy your stay.

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This message has been edited. Last edited by: Colleen,

As a Melbourne resident I thoroughly agree with AnG's suggestions.
Oz is a big place and you cannot hope to see more than a fraction of what's here in the time available to you.
As I understand it, our principal attractions are of the natural beauty variety. And that's doubtless true, but there's a lot of boring bits in between. If, for example, you were to land in Cairns and see the reef and Daintree and such-like tropical stuff, you're looking at a mighty long drive through cane fields and bananas southwards before you see anything else remotely interesting.
In a way, if you wanted to see a fairly representative cross section of all that Aussie stuff - from city to outback to tropics - you could do worse than head north from Adelaide to Darwin. En route you've a fair chance of meeting up with everything that flies and crawls in our great brown land. And red dirt and more red dirt. Top quality red dirt. World's best practice red dirt, though I say so meself. Plus other stuff, like, uh, spinifex. And beer. A cow or two. Some dinkum Aussie characters, no doubt. "My name's Phyllis and I lost me teeth in the great depression" etc etc.
But if you can go without the tropics and the red centre, then AnG's suggestion of a round trip through Sydney, Melbourne via the coast, west to Port Fairy then up through the western district will give you a pretty fair idea of what we're about. I'm a big rap for south coast NSW - lovely coastal towns and warmer water than when you get round the corner into Victoria. Inland from there, there's the high country - well, as high as we've got - in north-eastern Victoria: places like Falls Creek, Mt Buller, Bright. There's a road runs right through this area which comes out around Omeo in s.e Victoria, and, lo and behold, you're in the Victorian Riviera around Bairnsdale and Sale. Weather's a bit warmer there than in Melbourne, but the water in Bass Strait comes straight from the Antarctic- brrr.
Coming westwards from there, you can duck down through more temperate rain forest into south Gippsland. Funny little places like Toora and such. Towns in economic decline.
Maybe see what is possibly the most beautiful beach in the world at Walkerville, north of Wilson's Promontory. It is tiny and perfect. (Or was last time I looked).
On to Phillip Island perhaps - join the busloads of Japanese to see the Tiny Penguins. Used to be called fairy penguins, but that changed around the time SF ceased to be best known for hippies.
You want civilisation of a sophisticated sort? Melbourne - most liveable city in the world. We are building a World Class Victoria here, if we are to believe our government's helpful advertising: the very best Victoria in the whole wide world.
If, on the other hand, you want bling, then spend longer in Sydney.
If you were ultimately to go a bit further west than Port Fairy you could see the South Australian wine growing areas and perhaps Adelaide (9-10 hours from Melbourne direct by car, more via the coast). If you wanted flat and dry, you could then head east again towards Mildura - grape and dried fruit country.
I could go on and on and I've probably gone on too long as it is ...
Cheers
Ken