Travel Review: Australia Vacation, Sydney, Melbourne, Port Douglas, Mossman Gorge, Daintree Rainforest, Great Barrier Reef

I have friends who live in Melbourne that I have not seen for 6 years. It was as if we see each other everyday. Everyone we met in Melbourne, Cairns and Port Douglas was warm and helpful. Sydney slightly less so but still great.

I would encourage anyone who travels to Australia to do: the Sydney Harbor Bridge climb, snorkeling on the Great Barrier reef and touring Sydney harbor and the Opera House. We had a super tour guide on the bridge.

But my favorite parts of the tours were:  the Daintree day tour which included hiking in the rainforest in Mossman Gorge and swimming in the crystal clear mountain water. We were taught by native peoples and actually went on a hunt for crab and mussels on Cooya Beach and the mangrove swamp. All the guides were good on our trip, but the best one was our guide on our 12-hour bus tour of the Great Ocean Road. Amazing, informative and FUN!  

I thoroughly enjoyed our two-hour 3-course meal on the Tramcar Restaurant in Melbourne. Yum!

We loved staying at Villa San Michele in Port Douglas. The drivers who took us to and from our villa were great fun and full of information and questions for us.

The hotel we stayed at is a great place to stay in Melbourne, close to all the action and easy to walk everywhere.

I even enjoyed the airplane food on Qantas and getting to catch up on movies I had not seen.