Calling All Australians (Australianites?

I'm wanting to take a visit to Australia, and would like some guidance.

I am attempting to visit at the best time of year, which I would assume would be summer. Since you live on the wrong end of the Earth, your summer season would be ending around February, but I will probably have time constraints and might not be able to travel until much later. When do the opportunities to dive the Reef close? That is one of my main goals.

Also, I don't like being a typical tourist. I'm sure the big cities such as Sidney are amazing, but I'd like to see and do a few things that maybe foreigners don't get a chance to do. Any recommendations? The trip wouldn't be very long, if I can afford it maybe two weeks but more than likely one.

And, last but most definitely not least, where do the pretty girls go, other than everywhere?

1 or 2 weeks is very short. With the time change and everything, try to consider a month over there.

On the where to go that is not a tourist thing. Well, the Reef is. It's a nice thing to see, no doubts. Most go to Port Douglas for that. I went to Palm Colve which is not far from Port Douglas.

What type of activities did you have in mind? The wine tours are great and you can possibly book one from any of the big cities.

1 week is indeed very short. Please bear in mind that Australia has the size of the US without Alaska...

As a non local (I moved here 12 years ago) and somebody who has travelled a bit, I would say that the true beauty of Australia besides it's super friendly people is nature. Even the most amazing thing about Sydney and some of the other cities is the fact that they have spectacular beaches.

As for time: I would certainly NOT recommend summer here - unless you are into very hot and in the north, very hot and humid weather.

I would say the best time is now (Spring) for most parts of the country, in winter for the north (Darwin, North Queensland, northern Western Australia) and maybe summer in Tasmania.

If you want truly Non-Touristy and unique you have to take a 4WD/4WD Campervan through the Australian Desert (Outback). My cousin from Austria was here last year and did Broome to Perth for example.

If you want it a bit easier (like roads and every couple of hours a house or 2) you could do Adelaide to Darwin, do the Ayers Rock region (yes there are tourists there, but if you walk a bit you will be on your own) and the National Parks around Darwin (Kakadu for example).

Another great drive (very easy and there will be people, but well worth it) is Melbourne to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road, the Grampians and the Coorong National Park.

And of course if you want to do the Barier Reef, you cold combine it with far north Queensland (very challenging drive as well, but I heard also spectacular).

If you are really that pressed for time, I would take one of the biggies (Rock, Reef, etc.) and then try to get a couple of days in the outback of that region.

Hope I could help and let me know if there is anything else

If you only have a week then just do The Reef and some hinterland sightseeing. You barely have time to get to anywhere else. You'll lose most of a day just getting from civilization to Pt Douglas and vice versa. Assuming you fly...

I don't recall any seasonal restrictions on diving erc, that's the plus side of being north of the Tropic of Capricorn, but it's a long time since I was up that way. But February is the tail end of cyclone season so you can expect storms. At least they break up the jelly fish and keep the sharks out in deep water and the crocs inland, as my Dad used to say.

You should find plenty of pretty girls up there. It's prime backpacker country. The last time I was in FNQ it was hip deep in Danish nurses. I have no idea why either, maybe they wanted to holiday somewhere they could get experience with serious tropical diseases?

Summing up: with only a week or two don't plan on covering much ground or you'll just spend all your time travelling.

^^^ - this.

Seriously, my wife is currently on a study tour in Europe and in a week did some serious work AND sightseeing across four countries - but that is not going to happen in Australia.

The flight from LAX to SYD is a nonstop flight and typically takes around 14 to 15 hours. Apart from the length of the flight, you will cross the International Date Line which further messes up your body clock. This means that you can board a flight in Los Angeles on a Monday night and arrive in Sydney on Wednesday morning. From the East Coast of the US via DFW is even longer!

Allow pretty much the rest of that day to get to anywhere else in Australia like the Reef or Darwin or Uluru. You could certainly do just the Reef and stay there or nearby and fill up a week easily or you could do one other area but probably not a lot more. There is heaps to do but we would need to know more about your likes and dislikes to give more suggestions

+1 Don't go to North Queensland in Summer. It is way too hot (even for locals) and you can't swim in the ocean due to the potentially lethal Irukandji jellyfish and it is cyclone season.

Winter is beautiful all over Queensland, Spring and Autumn for Central/Southern Qld and Summer on the Sunshine Coast/Gold Coast beaches.

Avoid August -November in QLD and NSW, as that is when the drop bears are mating, and are particularly territorial.

If you head to Melbourne in spring time, that is when the spider racing carnival takes place. You always see plenty of pretty girls at spring spider racing carnival.

Thanks for the wealth of information gentlemen.

On the subject of the time zones, I am currently in Korea. That shouldn't be an issue. I am authorized one month total for some vacation, but having to pay for a place to sleep for a whole 30 days isn't cheap in any way.

If your going to be in melbourne during the racing season, November 4th, is cup day. Melbourne is mostly closed on cup day.
oh and Legion is right, SSRC is the place to see and be seen, thus pretty ladies.
Or Bondi, or surfers paradise, hot chicks there too.

Hire a camper an and see the sights. Do the great ocean road. Plenty of babes down south. If you are going to travel all the way to our great country take the time to see the sights.

Greek said:

Thanks for the wealth of information gentlemen.

On the subject of the time zones, I am currently in Korea. That shouldn't be an issue. I am authorized one month total for some vacation, but having to pay for a place to sleep for a whole 30 days isn't cheap in any way.

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Korea to Oz is more sensible. I've done that non-stop SYD-LAX and its easily the worst long haul I've ever experienced. Actually, the return was probably worse. Never again.

If you are willing to spend a major part of the month leave here's my suggestion:

Fly into Sydney or Brisbane, get drunk to get over any jet lag then hire a camper and drive north. Pro Tip: do this next day - never try to hire a camper at night over the phone, while drunk. Forget the rest of the country if you really want to dive The Reef (tm). You can come back and do it later, we'll still be here. Don't skimp on the hire - the really cheap ones are all boonger Toyotas with a million miles on them that even newly minted plumbers wouldn't buy. Avoid Wicked Campers unless your idea of a fun holiday is sitting by the road watching your ride slowly empty its sump onto the soft shoulder. Try to get a look at the van before parting with any money and make sure its a diesel engine. But I digress...

Allow a week to drive to Pt Douglas. That should give you time to get used to driving on the wrong side of the road, see the sites, get a feel for what you are doing and generally have a pretty relaxed trip. Spend a week in FNQ. For a contrast with the coast, head up to the Atherton tablelands for the drive back. Keep the schedule loose 'cause even starting at Brisbane you are talking about a 3,000+ km round trip. You'll probably find places you want to just stop for a day or so.

As a rough guide, you an cover about 800km a day on Aussie roads without killing yourself, but you won't have time for much else as that will be 10 to 12 hours actually on the road.

I'll leave suggestions of time of year to others because I lived in Darwin so I'm not fussed by 90%+ RH and tropical storms.