Review: Tour of Australia, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Kangaroo Island, Barossa Valley Wine Tour, Blue Mountains

5-Star Travel support to Australia!--

 Our agent coordinated a spectacular initial visit to Australia for our anniversary celebration.  Some highlights:
-- EVERY ground transfer was flawless.  Drivers were professional, arrived early and safely got us to every hotel and airport.  Your initial impression of a location is frequently from the driver/taxi operator.  All our Australian connections were superb ambassadors.  Our thanks to all the companies that supported us in Sydney, Adelaide, Cairns, Port Douglas and Brisbane.
-- Hotel accommodations were on target. Perfectly located to encourage walkable touring. Modern and comfortable.  A special note to the charming boutique hotel in Port Douglas.  Ocean view, welcoming staff really went the extra mile and a solid restaurant.
-- Tour operators had all our info; operated on time and the recommendations were spot on for our visit. Notably:
  ---Sydney Opera House: Good timing, had a chance to hear the Symphony practice (We probably should have pre-booked tickets to a performance; my oversight)
  ---Blue Mountain tour: Good size for group; very knowledgeable guide. Beautiful views.
  ---Taste of South Australia: Barossa full day- This turned out to be a private tour, individualized route, winery and selections to our particular taste.  This one was exceptional.
  --- Kangaroo Island: Flew in and out, an efficient way.  Tour with only one other couple.  Beautiful weather, superb lunch and we saw Australian wildlife in their own setting; not a petting zoo or in cages.  A most memorable day.
  ---Sail in Port Douglas: A minor disappointment for us as the boat was very full with a lot of kids.  Snorkeling tour was crowded and hard to avoid both coral and people.  If I did it over, I might have looked to snorkel in the outer reef rather than the inner one but the tour operated professionally and on time; just didn't fit our taste.
  ---Daintree: Very memorable taste of indigenous culture.  Guide was THE senior elder who set up the walkabout process in its current form.  He's a treasure.  Great lunch and river cruise to follow.
  ---Brisbane visit: This was mostly positioning to fly out of Australia.  Had I to do it over, I would have stayed longer.  An energetic city, striking mix of historic mix and modern.  We took an OK river cruise to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.  With our experience on Kangaroo Island, this fell a bit flat for us and we should have spent a bit more time in Brisbane proper.

Again,  every arrangement worked as advertised.  Our agent was open, communicative, responsive and most helpful in coordinating one of our most memorable visits to any country.