Hello, happy new year to you all! I'm going to Australia on a Trafalgar tour just after Easter (and can hardly wait :-) I've been looking through guidebooks at different 1-day excursions, like Blue Mountain tours and Great Barrier Reef tours. Would you recommend booking these tours online before I go, to avoid the sold-out scenario, or is it fine to wait till I'm actually there.

quote:

Originally posted by thinkin:
Hello, happy new year to you all! I'm going to Australia on a Trafalgar tour just after Easter (and can hardly wait :-) I've been looking through guidebooks at different 1-day excursions, like Blue Mountain tours and Great Barrier Reef tours. Would you recommend booking these tours online before I go, to avoid the sold-out scenario, or is it fine to wait till I'm actually there.

Hello thinkin and welcome to the Bulletin Board. What Trafalgar tour are you doing and does Trafalgar offer any optionals for that particular tour, it might be easier to book an optional if they are offered.

Once I know the itinerary of your tour I may be able to offer you better advice.

As far as the Great Barrier Reef is concerned I wouldn't be pre booking and paying in advance for that area as it is cyclone season at that time and the weather can be very unstable, plus you probably wouldn't get a refund.

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

thinkin ~ This is the official tourism website for the Blue Mountain region.

http://www.visitbluemountains.com.au/index.php

AAT Kings which is Trafalgar in Australia operate day tours all throughout Australia, this is their website below.

http://www.aatkings.com/au/

These are a few websites where you can book tours

http://www.wonderbus.com.au/

http://www.bluemountainsdaytours.com.au/

http://www.grayline.com.au/tourlisting.php?ocb=GL-SYD&c...42&OVKWID=1029341542

http://www.sydneywildernesstours.com.au/blue-mountains-day-tours.shtml.

I live in Adelaide so if you are coming here and need advice on tours please do not hesitate to ask.

Excellent, thanks for your kind advice!
It's the Wonders of Australia tour. It doesn't look like they offer any optional tours, but I won't worry about it

thinkin ~ very good choice of tours, it gives you plenty of time in each area except Adelaide.

The Ghan train trip from Adelaide to Alice Springs is excellent, great food service in Gold Kangaroo.

The weather in Cairns and Alice Springs will be pretty hot at that time but Adelaide and Sydney should be lovely and your accommodation also looks pretty good.

I noticed Trafalgar don't include much in the way of meals on that tour, you will get breakfast and that is pretty much it, we can give you some advice on meals if you need it.

Thanks! The Ghan train trip is one of the things I'm looking forward to the most.

Yeah, pretty short time in Adelaide. The Migration Museum sounds interesting. I'll take you up on your offer of meals ideas when the trip gets a little closer.

Cheers

thinkin ~ The migration museum is wonderful, we have daylight saving till the end of March so you should be able to have a good look around Adelaide, you can even fit a half day tour of the Barossa Valley if you were interested. There are lots of half day tours to choose from.

My email address is travelmissie@yahoo.com.au.

Hi thinkin ~ I don't live very far from the Blue mountains and don't think that you will have a problem, especially if you are visiting outside of school holidays ( I can find out when they are and let you know ).
If you want any more info, don't hesitate to ask.

NSW school holidays are from 11th April to 28th April, 2008.

I live in the Blue Mountains and it's less busy on weekdays than at weekends if that fits in with your plans. We residents of the Blue mountains tend to stay at home as much as possible during the weekends (especially Sundays)as the roads are busy. Many Sydneysiders come up here for Sunday lunch etc.

Bridgette

Thank you!
I'll be in the area at the end of March, so it sounds like I'll avoid the crowds.

Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by bridgette g:
I live in the Blue Mountains and it's less busy on weekdays than at weekends if that fits in with your plans. We residents of the Blue mountains tend to stay at home as much as possible during the weekends (especially Sundays)as the roads are busy. Many Sydneysiders come up here for Sunday lunch etc.

Bridgette

How true!! we usually don't go further than Lawson (for the bushwalking) due to the crowds! I have often spent inordinate amounts of time in traffic when chauffeuring the boys to and from sports events!

Thinki-How did your trip to Australia go?

pretty good, thanks
a few unexpected events... for one thing, I was on the Qantas plane that had to abort its take-off in LA (don't know if you heard about that?) so instead of arriving in Sydney at 7:30 am, it was 10:30 pm. Since I had already booked a Blue Mountains tour, it meant I only had 1 full day in Sydney, haha. So it was: bus tour in the morning, harbour cruise at lunch, Botanic Gardens and Bridge climb in the afternoon, room service at night. Enjoyed the museums in Adelaide, Ghan train was excellent, Alice Springs, Uluru, Cairns and GBR were fantastic. You're in an amazing part of the world.

(loved the smoked crocodile salad w/mango sauce in Cairns)
Cheers

Hi thinkin~ How on Earth did you survive all of that?