Hi

In answer to your question you will have to fly to these places and get tours from each place, the places you have mentioned all are different and have things to see and do and are the most popular places to see out here the two companys we have used are
http://www.aatkings.com.au
http://www.greyline.com.au
We have found them both very good just remember you will take hours of your day flying to different places and getting to and from airports so do not book to much that day if you want any more info on Australia just ask and I will try and help.

hi saint2e
Chubby is our expert for Australia and New Zealand
For stopover options have a look at our Far East forum. I can certainly recommend Hong Kong. Bangkok and Singapore are also popular stopovers.
What a great holiday

We did Hong Kong, Brisbane, Alstonville/Lennox Head/Byron Bay, Sydney, Ayres Rock, Cairns and Singapore.

We flew with Qantas included the internal flights and stopovers. I wouldn't recommend Qantas as we didn't find them to be very good. A local travel agent organised everything from the itninerary we gave them. However if I was to do it again I would probably use a company like Travel Bag as I've seen some very good itineraries for them.

luci

We did Hong Kong, Melbourne, Sydney and then drove (pre-organised itinerary) up to Cairns. Flew to Uluru, Alice Springs, back to Sydney for a
couple of days, Hawaii and San Francisco. A trip of a lifetime as you can imagine. As it was such a mammoth trip we booked through our local travel agent who was very helpful and we flew on a round the world ticket with British Airways/Qantas. We are now saving up to do the west coast. Stating the obvious, Australia is very big and to see everything would take for ever. As it was we were in oz for a month and could have spent another month just travelling up the east coast.

You will need to decide on how long you will be in Australia and then work out what you really want to see.

Babs135

Saint2e

Wow, thats alot of destinations and the crucial factors are time and money. If you hae plenty of both then its no problems because you can fly everywhere.

I have travelled nearly all of OZ in 2 trips, 1 in 2 weeks and the other in 6 weeks. Sydney is probably where you will arrive and you really need a minmum of 4/5 days there to cover the basics and get over the jet lag. Cairns is great and very humid, you will need a minimum of 3 days if you are going to head to the reef, but also remember it is 4/5 hours flight from Sydney so that is a days travel

Do you really need to go to Brisbane? There is not a lot there apart from the Suncorp, Gabba and Castlemaine brewery, I would avoid it if you can.

Alice Springs is culturally interesting and thats about the best I can say about it, I would recommend splashing for a decent hotel if you stay here, because there is a lot of crime.

Ayers Rock is amazing but very very expensive, you need to see it at both Sunrise and Sunset, so with flights you will need to be there at least a couple of days.

Adelaide is dull, there is nothing there, I wouldnt bother

Melbourne is great, has a real british feel to it. Great seaside resorts as well.

Perth......not a lot I can say positive about it. Its a long way from anywhere and theres not a lot to see when you get there. Apart from the pinnacles which are cool.

New Zealand is great. Especially the South Island. You dont need much time in Auckland because its just another city, but Christchurch is lovely. Queenstown is well Queenstown, great nightlife and plenty of activities, Milford is remote, but well worth the visit, especially if you are lucky enough to get a Whale in the Sound like we did.

Have a great time, but remember that lots of flights are very tiring.

Saint2e

You are forgeting the best part of Australia... Tasmania. I reckon you would need at least a month to see it. It may only be a small island but there is much more to see here than the rest of the country.

I didn't find Adelaide at all dull, very laid back and there are some fantastic museums, shopping, restaurants in the city and it is a stopping off place for loads of trips into the Outback, Kangaroo Island, The Clare and Barbarossa wine growing areas, the Flinders Range etc. etc. It really depends what you are looking for in the holiday. I spent a couple of days in Brisbane and quite enjoyed it, there are loads of nearby attractions,i.e Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. The Sunshine Coast, The Gold Coast etc.
I have visited Australia twice now and have only seen a small amount of the country, can't wait to see more. I think it would take the best part of a year to see everything I want to see without rushing around.
Don't try to do too much , Australia is a large country and distances are huge, just pick out a few areas that really interest you and then work out an itinerary.
On my last trip I flew with Malaysian Air, I think they are one of the best airlines they have the certainly have more legroom and we had a stopover in Penang on the way out and Kuala Lumpur on the way back. Of course as a previous poster stated if you fly with Quantas you get internal Australian flights free which of course is a bonus, though I believe you can only have a stopover in Singapore with them.
My first trip to Australia was part of a round the world and we stayed the majority of our time in New Zealand. A country I fell in love with.
If you want to have a stop off in HongKong you will probably fly with either Cathay, BA or Air NewZealand. Cathay and BA have very cramped seating, not pleasant on 12hr+ flights, or Air New Zealand who offer more leg room. As a previous poster said try talking to a company like TravelBag they can book a tailor made itinerary for you, or just part of the trip, leaving you to do your own thing for part of the time.
Do you have room in your suitcase for a stowaway?

Hi all
I agree what Judith has said is the truth about Austalia you can only see as much as time and money will let you the best way to see this country is to pick out parts and fligh to them and see that part you want to see no matter where you go you will not see it all and someone will say did you see that there but main thing is you ask what is there to see in an area and that is what a forum is all about to get answers so ask

Good advice. Here's what I've decided on:

Hong Kong
Tokyo
Cairns (with a trip to the Great Barrier Reef)
Port Douglas
Kuranda Village
Brisbane
Noosa Heads (Sunshine Coast?)
Auckland
Coromandel Peninsula
Rotorua
Queenstown
Milford Sound
ChristChurch
Sydney

I'd like to head over to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Ayers Rock, but perhaps I'll save that for another trip.
Gonna see about dong a round the world trip and having a few nights stopover in Honolulu.

Thanks for all your advice!

How much time are you going to spend on the whole trip?
I'm assuming you are going to take day trips to Port Douglas and Kuranda during your time in Cairns. I preferred Port Douglas to Cairns and would stay there or Palm Cove if I ever get to visit again. Though I did enjoy my 5days in Cairns.
I didn't visit Noosa but it is supposed to be lovely. If you have a car it's easy to get to. Otherwise its a couple of hours on the train and bus from Brisbane. The public transport system in Brisbane is pretty good. I used the local train service to visit out of town places when I was there and it was cheap and fast.
Are you hiring a car in New Zealand or taking an escorted tour? New Zealand is very easy to drive in, empty roads (apart from Auckland) though you can't take a hire car from one Island to the other. No problem though as the hire car firms operate near to both ferry terminals.
I stopped off at Honolulu on my RTW. It was great to relax for a few days after a hectic holiday.

Basically the whole thing is an escorted tour.

I'll link the tour, but apparently the forum doesn't know if I'm a spammer or not. Let me build up a couple posts before I link the full tour.

Obviously I'm modifying/adding in some stopovers, but that's essentially the tour I'm doing. The tour itself is 20 days I believe, so I'll only see a smattering, really. But it'll do me good, all the same. I'll probably want to go back later.
edit to give link

http://www.coloursofoz.co.uk/escorted-australia-tour/full-itinerary.php?id=8
Fiona ht mod

Well all I can say is it is going to see it all in that trip the only thing in Sydney if you have time go to the centre point tower you get the best veiws of the city up there it is on the corner of Market and Pitt street you have got to see it is like a big gear stick in the air
Hope you have a good time in Aus and NZ

Good point. I'm also gonna do the bridgeclimb thing as well, so I'll have a killer view of the harbour/opera house/etc.

Sounds great, hope you have a holiday to remember. Reading your itinerary has made me want to start planning another trip down under.
Enjoy