I'm planning a trip tp Australia, leaving SF ~June 1st. Plan to stay 4-6 weeks.

 Who has the best airfare deals?

What are the "must see" spots of the Australian continent from a local's point of view?

Who has some good advice for a (straight) single-guy traveling solo?

-Brian 

hmmmmmm..... I have no idea abt airfares...

There are lots of must see spots, depending on your interests. Care to share any?

I'll leave the last one to the guys I think

Qantas may have some decent fares from SF as Australia is going into winter.  You should see if you can get a package deal on airfare and bundle some domestic flights into the int'l fare.  For reasonably priced domestic airfare try virgin blue  http://www.virginblue.com.au and jetstar.com.au.

I've got Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney and Cairns on my list so far....

Bill Bryson famously wrote "Canberra: Why wait for death?"

HAHAHAHAHAHAH

Well, there really isn't much to do there.... but enough to fill a day or two

War memorial is great, as well as the new national museum. 

The city centre at night always helps me to imagine what it would be like to survive biological warfare

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I can't believe you said that! The thought always crosses my mind when I'm there!

You guys are unkind!  Canberra is a nice place, in small doses.

not even the Prime Minister will live there Erik.

I didn't say I'd live there, but if you're into museums and galleries it's fun for a 3 day weekend.

Two days, one night are enought for you to start craving civilisation

That's about right. 

A Day trip makes you feel like you escaped something really bad

I agree. 2 days are good. 

Epy, tell us about previous trips round the world you've loved?

Well...Canberra, Our Nation's Capital (ONC), has an airport that does not have instrument landing - so you might not get there if there is fog.  There is only one airline going there so expect to pay the equivalent of a flight to New Zealand for the pleasure of a 40-minute flight.  After you arrve then you will share a taxi with somebody because there are not enough taxis.  You could of course take the train from Sydney but there is only one per day and it takes four hours and doesn't actually go to Canberra - it goes to Kingston: see note on taxis above.  It takes three hours to drive from Sydney to Canberra so lets forget about the train will we?   so, a six-hour round trip for the day leaves you lots of time and energy to see the Museum,  the Art Gallery, the War Museum, Questicon, Parliament House, The Botanic Gardens, Black Mountain, Canberra Zoo - hey, I've just added another 100k to your journey.  The good news is that there is a taxi rank in the city centre/the bad news is there is no taxi rank at ANY of the tourist destinations.

I've driven down to Canberra (from Sydney) many many times..... In this case, it really is about the journey and not the destination

But seriously, it's a nice drive.

I might do it again this weekend come to think of it

The drive is really easy,  just watch for the cops with radar on the Federal Hwy from Goulburn to Canberra. 

Yeah, I know where they are

I'm really interested to learn about experiences to be had in the rainforests by Cairns and islands off the east coastline. Anyone care to suggest some things to see or do there? Besides the barrier reef of course

Other trips I've enjoyed? Hmm, so many.

Seeing some of the Castles in Denmark.

Taking a glider plane up above Hamburg Germany and the Black Forest. 

Touring the English countryside near around Bath, ancient druid sites and giant chalk figures,e tc.

 Seeking out Etruscan remains in Northern Italy, then having some fine wine or beers and a nice chat with the locals.

Examining/pondering cultural interactions in Tel Aviv and enjoying fresh caught fish from an on-beach cafe. 

Biking down volcanoes in Hawaii

Wreck dives in Grand Caymen

Doing nothing but raising the drink flag on the beach in St Lucia.

Hiking at Banff in spring.

Playing soccer in East Berlin. Sadly, no longer possible to be stopped mid-game by MIG jets breaking the sound barrier over your head. (Those tricky German buggers took advantage of stunned Americans to score a point) 

Trying not to get my camera stolen in the Paris metro (he almost got it)

 Amsterdam .... 

New Orleans before Katrina ...

Watching the sun set over Cuba from a boat dock on Key West 

Daintree rainforest north of Cairns is nice, but a bit touristy.  I've been out to Brampton, Dunk, and Green Islands off northern Queensland and they're nice, with a resort atmosphere.  There are many islands and each has it's own flavour from five star to backpacker, so google around for whitsunday islands and you'll get heaps of information.

I bought a ticket, here I come Australia

Woo hoo!!

Magnetic Island - off Townsville is one of the only places you cango for a walk and see wild Koalas. Just been. Beautiful island.

Maggie rocks.  Where did u stay?

Island Leasure resport

I'd got to Ayers Rock. It's like the Grand Canyon - you have to seeit to be wowed by it.

Also see that you're not doing Perth - Margaret River, south ofPerth is a very beatiful region. Different to anything on the EastCoast.

Perth? Where's Perth?

Inverted Gran Canyon

The ying of the yang

Maggie sounds like fun

If you have the time, I agree with Mr. Phil, and you should go outwest to Perth, maybe do a loop south to Margaret River, Augusta,over to Albany and back to Perth.  Some of the best wines comefrom Margaret River area. 

And Albany also has some nice wines. It will be winter though so lots of the great stuff about SW WA won't apply. It will be a bit chilly to get wet for instance...

You could always head north for the sun. Ningaloo Reef in June is beautiful. I think it may be Whale Shark season too. You can get in the water with your snorkel and let the current slowly take you south and enjoy the marine view (I think there are packages and you get picked up at the other end). Coral Bay/Ningaloo

Swim with dolphins at Monkey Mia. Kalbarri is also nice. Has some pretty gorges, horseriding on the beach, great fishing and the best seafood BBQ in Oz (Finlay's).

I think The Art gallery in Melbourne has some great exhibitions on in June/July. Melbourne is a great place to visit. Go for brekkie at the Degraves just near the main train station - Flinder's Street. Hit the shops in Richmond on Church Road. Go for a late night drink at The Supper Club or The Kitten Club. Ca6tch a game of Aussie Rules football in the footy capital of Oz!

Enjoy your trip! 

Oh, and hang out at the quirky shops, bars and cafes on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy - also Melbourne...

along the east coat are two train systems, the tilt and the sunlander. can anyone highlight the differences in these services for me?

go to NT, best time of the year for it

Tilt and Sunlander? Huh? Never heard of them... Sorry...

In case anyone is interested http://28daysinoz.tumblr.com/

Cool!

Hey. Great itinerary. Enjoy yourself! I can recommend Lonely Planet if you still need another guidebook.

I sawa pic epony posted on his site..... WOW! is all I can say....

Lucky you!

Hey, you should say come over and say hi.... after all, we are in the came city for once! 

Happy we didn't keep you so long eponymousX that you missed the flight. Enjoy your month in Oz.

Tangler HQ is just a short stroll from Central station! You could pop in for a coffee and famous brownie and then head off to Chinatown for a Yum Cha lunch! Hang on... this looks like all I do is think about food. Oh yeah. I do!

ummmmm brownie....

Haven't had it for sometime now

I think he landed yesterday? Epo? you around?

No Tangler link on your Tumblr?

You will not be visiting us here until this is remedied!

Take him to Nandos for some peri-peri!

I think he landed two days ago

Ummmmmmm......... Nandos

Guess who made it to Tangler central today?

Or a nice pie at Pie in the Sky in Cowan. Yum!