Australia Travel Review: Sydney, Port Douglas, Great Barrier Reef, Kuranda, Aboriginal Cultural Park

Review by traveler

Claudia H.

1.28.2014

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Australia

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

I have always wanted to go to Australia, but since I do not know anyone who lives there, I did not really know where to start. I found Zicasso on the web and sent an email, and had an immediate response from two travel agencies. After about 2 weeks of back and forth questions will all agencies, I decided to go with one of the Australia tour companies. Most of the planning was done via email, which I can write/respond at any hour of the day which was great. I basically sent my thoughts on what areas I wanted to travel too, and thru email decided on the places and itineraries suggested by my travel agent. Once we decided the dates and locations, I had booked my own flights since I had some frequent flier mileage to use. But everything on from landing to take-off was arranged by the travel agent. And I have to say, I did not have any issues. I am a very punctual person and every shuttle/ tour/ etc was right on time. I stayed at the Sydney Menzies, which was fine. Transportation was very convenient with buses, subway and taxis right outside the door. It was a 10 minute walk to Darling Harbor and The Rocks & Circular Quay, which was wonderful since I spent most of the time at those places. I then went to Cairns/Port Douglas. I decided to rent a car since I was staying in Port Douglas, which is a very small town, but walking distance to the beaches which is what I wanted. You really do not need a car as everything was really only within a 10-15 minute walk. But I enjoyed the experience of driving on the left side of the road :)

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

The Sydney Bridge Climb was fantastic. Not too hot and a nice clear day. Beautiful views. I really enjoyed the Blue Mountain tour. My driver did an outstanding job. They try to go just a little bit earlier to beat the crowds and I will tell you it was worth it. We had more than enough time at each location and did not feel rushed. And it was very special having the owners of the company meet us at the end of the day with a nice cold bottle of water before we returned on the ferry. I did a 1/2 daytour through Sydney and local areas to Bondi Beach. Only disappointment there was I thought we would have more time on the beach. Some of the guests were a little late for pick up, so we really only had about 45 minutes on the beach. The hop-on-hop off cruise was something I chose to do, but it was basically just a ride around the harbor and in retrospect I should have gone with a lunch or dinner cruise as the travel agent had suggested.

I was 2 blocks away from 4 mile beach, which is nice, calm, flat so you could take a very nice walk on day or night. Which I did...

The Great Barrier Reef tour was amazing. I was a bit skeptical when I saw the amount of people getting on the boat, but for the most part I did not feel crowded or rushed. If you plan correctly, you can do all they offer. I was able to take a 10 minute helicopter flight, I did the sub ride around the reef and took the reef tour with a marine biologist. It was definitely worth the extra charge. I also did the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, the show was enjoyable,my favorite part was throwing a spear and boomerang! The skyrail to Kuranda was a nice way to get some great views of the forest, falls and gorge. I booked the scenic railway back, which was ok, but I think I would have spent a lot less time at Kuranda if I could have just taken the skyrail back. It's just a lot of souviner shops and flea market type areas.

That was all I got to do as my trip was cut short due to a family emergency. Thank goodness I ALWAYS purchase travel insurance!

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

I would find out about wifi options before I left. It seems like wifi is like gold in Australia, not as convenient as I thought. I had free wifi for 1/2 hour daily in the lobby of the first hotel. But of you use it at 6:00 AM, you cannot use it again until 6:00 AM the next morning. It made it difficult to look up things at night (restaurants, events etc). Or for change in weather( I planned to go to the beach on a rainy day). The second hotel in Port Douglas, the Hibiscus Resort had free wifi during your stay, but it was very spotty and barely worked in the reception area, which was outdoors, so after dark it was a mosquito feeding frenzy. I might have not had to use wifi outdoors, but unfortunately, I had a family emergency and had to leave immediately, booking flights, contacting the travel agency, insurance carrier, etc. was difficult without wifi. I had access to a phone in my room, but no wifi, so I had to keep going back and forth from the reception area to my room to make arrangements which was frustrating. That being said, I contacted the sister company to our tour operator in Australia on a Saturday afternoon due to my emergency. Their service called me back immediately! I was shocked they returned my call so quickly. They took care of canceling all my other tours, hotels, etc...and had I booked my flights with them, would have also taken care of those arrangements. I believe after this experience, I will certainly book ALL my travel arrangements with this travel company. For the first time trusting someone else to make my travel arrangements, it was a wonderful, worry free experience.

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Australia Travel Review: Sydney, Port Douglas, Great Barrier Reef, Kuranda, Aboriginal Cultural Park

General Info

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

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