Best time of the year to visit Australia?

Best time of the year to visit Australia?

My wife and I (late 40’s) are planning to visit Australia for the first
time.
We live near Los Angeles and are interested in a combined package flying
Quantas
and staying 4 nights in Sydney, 4 in Melbourne and 4 in Cairns-Great Barrier
Reef.

We are considering going either in April (for her birthday) or in late
December, for the
holidays. We know December is the beginning of summer and should be warmer
than
April, but what about rain? We would not want to go in full rainy season, if
there is such
thing. And although we could look up the weather at many other sites, I
believe nothing is
better than to hear from people who have been there.

The question is:

How is the weather in April or December for the 3 cities we plan to visit?
Any additional comment or suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks
Paul

in article , Paul at
wrote on 2/2/05 11:13 PM:

Best time of the year to visit Australia?

Months with vowels 8-)

Seriously, it depends on your interests and where you are going -
personally, I wouldn't do the three spots you mention at any given time of
year. Melbourne can get a little nippy in winter, and the GBR / Cairns
would be extremely wet and conditions (road closures, etc.) can be quite
variable. Sydney would be hot in summer even by LA standards.

I also would suggest that 12 nights would really only give you time to do
two of three properly, unless you are extremely hardy fliers - remember, the
time difference is such that coming back, you land in LA before you leave
Australia! In effect, bank on a day to recover on the trip over to
Australia, unless as I say you have no circadian clock (I'm blessed this
way, but out of the west coast most flights land in Aus in the morning
meaning you are really messed up).

I'd pick April if you are more interested in Australia's east coast,
December if you're more interested in the Sydney to Melbourne horseshoe.

"Paul" wrote in message
...
Best time of the year to visit Australia?

My wife and I (late 40's) are planning to visit Australia for the first
time.
We live near Los Angeles and are interested in a combined package flying
Quantas
and staying 4 nights in Sydney, 4 in Melbourne and 4 in Cairns-Great
Barrier Reef.

We are considering going either in April (for her birthday) or in late
December, for the
holidays. We know December is the beginning of summer and should be warmer
than
April, but what about rain? We would not want to go in full rainy season,
if there is such
thing. And although we could look up the weather at many other sites, I
believe nothing is
better than to hear from people who have been there.

The question is:

How is the weather in April or December for the 3 cities we plan to visit?
Any additional comment or suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks
Paul
For the statistics, go to http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/

April isn't bad normally for Sydney and Melbourne, though it does fluctuate
considerably in terms of rainfall and temperature.
In Cairns, neither month is ideal, on average, as you're either going into
or out of the tropical wet season. It should be quite humid, but in the
tropics you often get heavy showers with a fair amount of sunshine.

Regards

David Bennetts

dont forget the electrical storms during the tropical wet season are
some of the most spectacular you will ever see.

seems you live in a city, why bother with others during so short a
hoilday.

December's great in the southern two-thirds of the country - where
Sydney and Melbourne are. It's not so great in the top third. It's in
the Tropics. Very hot and very humid, with loads of rain, maybe even a
cyclone. Afterall, it's their "Wet" season up there. Best time for
northern third is from late April to October. But you can luck out and
get some fine weather up north during the "Wet". You may not get any
rain at all, or if there is, it'll be heavy but brief, leaving you most
of the day to enjoy, although it'll still be quite humid. That's not to
say you won't get rain in Melbourne or Sydney during December either.
They can get a bit of odd, stormy summer weather during summer, like
yesterday - practically flooded out in Melbourne.

Be aware that during the "Wet", beaches near the shore in the northern
part (north of Tropic of Capricorn) are unsafe due to poisonous
jellyfish. Outer reef okay though. And beaches in Cairns are yukky,
mostly mudflats. Head 20km north and then all along there toward Port
Douglas, to get fantastic beaches. Some beaches have jellyfish nets, so
stick to those if you come in December and head north and want to enjoy
the beach.

Other tips: can't stress sunscreen enough. Our summer sun can be
lethal. Ozzie Osbourne described his 20 minute attempt to get a suntan
during a visit to Perth, as akin to being f****** nuked or napalmed.

As a rule, we don't tip, although I keep hearing that goes on, mostly
in the east. Grrrrr. I'd rather you didn't, as we don't exactly want
this encouraged. We have lots of BYO restaurants (not the posh ones),
so you can save a bit if you want to enjoy a good Aussie wine, or beer,
while eating out, by hitting the bottle-o (liquor store) first.
Restaurants will charge something for corkage.

Use Sydney's ferries as much as you can, it's actually a great way to
sightsee the harbour area which is so pretty. Lots to see and enjoy
there. Melbourne too - they have these great old-fashioned trams but
they're real, useful public transit, not tourist traps.
Have fun. Hope you have a great time.

April is normally well out of the wet season nad cooled down, but still
geeen

April is best both north and south - go APRIL, vote 1 APRIL, in fact any
month that starts with the letter A. (unless its during Easter)



"David Bennetts" wrote in message
...

"Paul" wrote in message
...
Best time of the year to visit Australia?

My wife and I (late 40's) are planning to visit Australia for the first
time.
We live near Los Angeles and are interested in a combined package flying
Quantas
and staying 4 nights in Sydney, 4 in Melbourne and 4 in Cairns-Great
Barrier Reef.

We are considering going either in April (for her birthday) or in late
December, for the
holidays. We know December is the beginning of summer and should be
warmer
than
April, but what about rain? We would not want to go in full rainy
season,
if there is such
thing. And although we could look up the weather at many other sites, I
believe nothing is
better than to hear from people who have been there.

The question is:

How is the weather in April or December for the 3 cities we plan to
visit?
Any additional comment or suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks
Paul
For the statistics, go to http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/

April isn't bad normally for Sydney and Melbourne, though it does
fluctuate
considerably in terms of rainfall and temperature.
In Cairns, neither month is ideal, on average, as you're either going into
or out of the tropical wet season. It should be quite humid, but in the
tropics you often get heavy showers with a fair amount of sunshine.

Regards

David Bennetts

Look at getting a Sydney pass to get around Sydney
www.sydneypass.com.au
Freda

"GTRad" wrote in message
oups.com...
December's great in the southern two-thirds of the country - where
Sydney and Melbourne are. It's not so great in the top third. It's in
the Tropics. Very hot and very humid, with loads of rain, maybe even a
cyclone. Afterall, it's their "Wet" season up there. Best time for
northern third is from late April to October. But you can luck out and
get some fine weather up north during the "Wet". You may not get any
rain at all, or if there is, it'll be heavy but brief, leaving you most
of the day to enjoy, although it'll still be quite humid. That's not to
say you won't get rain in Melbourne or Sydney during December either.
They can get a bit of odd, stormy summer weather during summer, like
yesterday - practically flooded out in Melbourne.

Be aware that during the "Wet", beaches near the shore in the northern
part (north of Tropic of Capricorn) are unsafe due to poisonous
jellyfish. Outer reef okay though. And beaches in Cairns are yukky,
mostly mudflats. Head 20km north and then all along there toward Port
Douglas, to get fantastic beaches. Some beaches have jellyfish nets, so
stick to those if you come in December and head north and want to enjoy
the beach.

Other tips: can't stress sunscreen enough. Our summer sun can be
lethal. Ozzie Osbourne described his 20 minute attempt to get a suntan
during a visit to Perth, as akin to being f****** nuked or napalmed.

As a rule, we don't tip, although I keep hearing that goes on, mostly
in the east. Grrrrr. I'd rather you didn't, as we don't exactly want
this encouraged. We have lots of BYO restaurants (not the posh ones),
so you can save a bit if you want to enjoy a good Aussie wine, or beer,
while eating out, by hitting the bottle-o (liquor store) first.
Restaurants will charge something for corkage.

Use Sydney's ferries as much as you can, it's actually a great way to
sightsee the harbour area which is so pretty. Lots to see and enjoy
there. Melbourne too - they have these great old-fashioned trams but
they're real, useful public transit, not tourist traps.
Have fun. Hope you have a great time.

Think about this.

It is summer in Oz now!

1st February Melbourne's max. temp. was 36º
2nd February was max. temp. 13º
3rd February was the wettest day in over 150 years. Official fall was 155 mm
i.e. 155 litres per square metre. Wild weather with much flooding and
damage.

Are you sure you want to visit Melbourne?

Ross

"Paul" wrote in message
...
Best time of the year to visit Australia?

We live near Los Angeles and are interested in a combined package flying
Quantas
and staying 4 nights in Sydney, 4 in Melbourne and 4 in Cairns-Great
Barrier Reef.

"Ross" wrote in message
...
Think about this.

It is summer in Oz now!

1st February Melbourne's max. temp. was 36º
2nd February was max. temp. 13º
3rd February was the wettest day in over 150 years. Official fall was 155
mm i.e. 155 litres per square metre. Wild weather with much flooding and
damage.

Are you sure you want to visit Melbourne?

Ross

You should base your decision on averages rather than extremes. Average
annual rainfall for Melbourne is 653 mm.
By comparison Sydney is 1217 mm and Cairns 2003 mm (see www.bom.gov.au) .
So are you sure you want to visit Cairns?

Regards

David Bennetts

who cares about the weather, you will have a great time depending on your
adventurous spirit.
cheers
Jeff
"David Bennetts" wrote in message
...

"Ross" wrote in message
...
Think about this.

It is summer in Oz now!

1st February Melbourne's max. temp. was 36º
2nd February was max. temp. 13º
3rd February was the wettest day in over 150 years. Official fall was 155
mm i.e. 155 litres per square metre. Wild weather with much flooding and
damage.

Are you sure you want to visit Melbourne?

Ross

You should base your decision on averages rather than extremes. Average
annual rainfall for Melbourne is 653 mm.
By comparison Sydney is 1217 mm and Cairns 2003 mm (see www.bom.gov.au) .
So are you sure you want to visit Cairns?

Regards

David Bennetts