thanks a lot guys...!!! that was very informative. Looks like i may haf to change my plan to 3n sydney and 3n melbourne considering the long list of places. hehehe!!!
Anything else which are:

must eat (good food / titbits)?

must buy (good souvenirs / cheap stuff) - eg what brands are cheaper in Australia compared with Malaysia?

must drink (good drinks)?

must see/experience?

thanks a lot guys...!!! that was very informative. Looks like i may haf to change my plan to 3n sydney and 3n melbourne considering the long list of places. hehehe!!!
Anything else which are:

must eat (good food / titbits)?

i liked the anzac biscuits. the chips are good there. i bought the safeway brand stuff sometimes too. damn cheap still pretty good. everyone goes for the tim tams, but you can get those in kl. souvlaki on chapel street is good (melbourne) fish and chips port melbourne is good. ice cream. is really nice in australia. italian food is good on lonsdale, (melbourne)

must buy (good souvenirs / cheap stuff) - eg what brands are cheaper in Australia compared with Malaysia?

magnets are the normal choice. heheh. if you in melbourne go to DFO. there are two. i think the one in the city is not as cheap as the one that is far out. the brand rivers is decent price. target is ok for all kinds of stuff. cd's at "dirt cheap cd's" are cheap and good quality. i always bought the second hand cd's and dvd's that they got around in melbourne.

must drink (good drinks)?

VB? hehe. NT beer? hehe. these are real experiences. up to you to decide if they are good or bad.
nice drinks are lift, solo. the juices are good.

must see/experience?

cool stuff they got there that i liked were stuff like live jazz bands in the small alleyway coffee houses. restaurants. oh. the fire show at the crown casino. great ocean road. grampians. bush flies (you gotta experience this otherwise you wont get a taste of true australia heheh). wine. pizza. coffee.  i love the coffee

Mate, i'll be heading to Melbourne and Victoria (only!) from end April to early May and can tumpang this thread ya...

What do u guys think of the YHA Hostels all over Victoria? I am considering staying in these hotels in places like the Great Ocean Road as well as Melbourne, to save cost...

all in red dude.

..... i didnt realise i wrote so much. hahahaha. 

...i put lygon on my last post..... is it lygon or lonsdale. damnit i forgot the road already. .... whatever that italian road is called .you gotta go there. especially for icecream. doesnt matter the weather hot or cold. icecream is always available and always nice. hahahah.

thanks. that's what we're going to do coz tiks for two from kl to melbourne is RM5.8k while if i take tiger airway and fly via singapore to melbourne its only RM4k. Huge difference !

Calling all Aussie, Australia goers and Australia potential tourist!

Just wanna share & exchange feedback on planning a family tour to Australia in particular Sydney & Melbourne in 2009 with those who are interested in visiting Australia.

Initial plan is to visit Sydney & Melbourne sometime in Oct-Nov 09 to coincide with Spring time.

Feedbacks or ideas most welcomed on:

1) the timing, whether Spring time is a good time to visit? Hows the weather like? Cold & Rainy?

    Expected :
    Rain is mostly just small drizzles.
    Weather changes pretty quickly when dusk comes
    Sydney-cap & sweater
    Melbourne-a water resistant jacket/wind breaker, jeans and boot
      weather this winter/spring very extreme! extremely cold this week, and hot the week after.
      it usually rains alot there, and it far much colder than Sydney.

2) would a 3N sydney & 2N Melbourne be sufficient

3) any great itinerary to include for places within the region of Sydney & Melbourne and opinions?
List of possible places compiled:-

SYDNEY

Day ONE
-Paddy's Market
    a) Haymarket -open from friday - sunday :Must buy Cherries -Cherries won't be available til mid spring as the earlier batches r mostly unedible/sour
    b) Tee-shirts, souvenirs, hats, koala/kangaroo/sheeps etc. Check shirt quality before u buy. Haggling and bargaining is a MUST. Estimated 3 hours easily.
    c) Top floor - food area
-Chinatown -Can reach by Tram, stop at Haymarket) -200m stretch of road
    a) Food court (next to Haymarket) - cheap & big portion chinese delicacies
-Darling Harbour
    a) Maritime Museum-history class & good place to snap picture.
    b) IMAX theatre,
    c) nature park &
    d) sydney aquarium
    e) shopping centre :Must try Kebabs
    f) Star City Hotel & Casino : Time for gaming
    g) Sydney Harbour Cruise : Recommended during evening or morning cruise
    h) OR short ferry ride from the ferry terminal to darling harbour. Quite Cheap. Nice view, esp at night. Although if 
    you going for the blue mountains tour, most include a river cruise back fr Olympic Park in the evening, so can skip
-Sydney tour bus -hop on hop off bus to all the main tourist spots in Sydney. (2 lines, red and blue. 1 is for the city area, while the other bus goes to Bondi etc, at bondi, there's a walk that can take you from Bondi to the next stop, going around the cliffs next to the sea. Beautiful scenery)

Dining: I'm Angus: a full bay-view here, nice and romantic

Day TWO : east and north of sydney
-Hyde Park :biggest park in sydney city
-St Mary Cathedral :old Church & lots of govt. building
-Botanical Garden
-Sydney Opera :scenic pictures-best time sunset @6pm
-Harbour bridge : Bridge climb; pillars projected with image. Hmmm... wat image?
-King Cross Rock Area : Backup only for drinking with aussies
-The Rocks Market : under the shadow of Sydney Harbour Bridge, open on Sat & Sun btw 10:00-17:00
-George Street :
    a) Queen Victoria Building--QVB (a Malaysian House restaurant, sells superb laksas and curry)/ Grace
            Bros' shopping
    b) High class shopping area
    c) 2 Famous Chocolate Shop : darrel lea and Haigh's.
    d) Sydney Tower
-The Strands
-Paramatta-shopping "mid valley" size
-King's Cross : Red Light District, visit with caution: High crime area
-Paddington Market - Every Saturday 10:00-16:00 on route to Bondi Beach
-Bondi Beach -Bondi Beach Market, Every Sunday inside Bondi Beach Public School
-Museums
-Tour (hand feed sharks and rays -> http://www.ozsharkandray.com.au/)
Day THREE
-Blue Mountain
-Scenic Cableway
-Katoomba
-Featherdale Wildlife Park aka Zoo
Note : 1 day Blue Mountain tour available for around A$70 for a 1 day tour. Heavy walking: Wear a comfortable shoe

Must buy: 3 sisters wine. cant get it outside of 3 sisters hill, not even in katoomba.
Must visit : Coles supermarket, hmmm.. where is the nearest Coles?
                Woolies, more varieties to buy and see, cheap cloths
                Kmart and BigW
                QVB

Accommodation: World Tower / Chinatown / Sydney City Center / YHA Railway or Chinatown (to get Youth Hostelling International Card from YMCA)
Remarks: Shop closed early from monday-wednesday. Not much activity after 9pm except bars.
Alert: Sydney and Melbourne aren't crime free, beware of pickpocket or con-men

websites: http://www.sydney.com.au/
                     

MELBOURNE

Day FOUR
-Victoria Market
-Chadstone Shopping (backup plan)
-Shopping at Melbourne city: Myer; David Jones; factory outlet (DFO) beside Southern Cross station.
-DFOS for cheap and branded clothes
-Botanic Garden @ CDB
-flea market in St Kilda
-Eureka Tower (view melb from 88th floor)
-cherry blossom bloom in the city

Dining: greek food at Stalactite

Day FIVE
-Yarra Valley
-Puffing Billy Steam Train
-Koala Conservation (Heallesville Sanctuary?)
-Tesselar Tulip Festival : Mid Sept - Early Oct.

-Melbourne Zoo
-Ballarat gold mining town
-or Warrantina Lavender Farm : Nov
-skiing/snowboarding at Mt.Buller (AUD$139-1day) -www.mtbuller.com.au / Falls Creek
til end Sept

Dining: Crown Casino, fish&chips @5AUD etc

Day Six
-Great Ocean Road (12 Apostle - now left with Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea),  heehhehe
    a) london bridge (collapsed already), forest walks, waterfall etc
    b) whole day tour (est. 3-5 hrs drive one way)
    c) not suitable for rainy, cloudy or foggy days
    d) 40+AUD for great ocean road tour / drive
-or Grampians (climb rocks, see wildlife, waterfalls, bush walks)
-Phillip Island (72-99AUD)/ Penguin Parade (Not recommended -Penguin MIA) -As backup


Accommodation: Quality Batman's Hill on Collins St @ CBD/ Crowne Hotel / less than AUD30 per nite; http://www.hostelworld.com/findabed.php?Ch...untry=Australia / Malaysia Hall
Must eat/drink: krispy kreme donuts, Max Brenner there is nice! the waffle + ice cream +chocolate dip, aussie milk,
                      Toohey's beer, lemonade-solo/lift
To buys: FCUK shirts, cadbury chocolates, nougat

Hertz Car Rental -AUD50-70 a day / 8days < AUD500
Thrifty Car Rental -AUD200+ / week

      - edited with suggestion, courtesy of Enferno, finkl1, sinichi_v, kikurazz, Xziled, Cas, jchong, Quasar etc. 


4) flights - which is the better choice in terms of budget & flight? AirAsia-Melbourne OR MAS-Sydney OR QANTAS OR SIA-Sydney OR Jetstar-Sydney

   
5) which method of ideal transport btw Sydney-Melbourne? Domestic flight OR Bus OR Rail (if any) OR rented car (with GPS)


      Recommend: Virgin Blue  /  Jetstar
      Sydney to Melbourne flight : 2 hours 
      Estimated cost : AUD80-200

      Note: Avoid booking the last flight of the day due to high risk of flight cancellation.



6) how far or how long btw sydney and melbourne?

      Driving 7-8 hrs

7) any decent 3-4 star hotel in City Centre with good location or close to convenient public transport? perhaps close
to Chinatown.

8) any other nice flower show/park/festival to witness the best of spring blooms such Tesselar Tulip Festival?

9) any nice farm to experience on hand plucking and tasting of spring fruits? What r the fruits in season in Oct & Nov

hi,

Im going to Sydney next monday (18/5/09). 5 of us including me.

should we drive or follow the local to blue mountain? we are staying at Haymarket. 
Initial plan:
1st day- arrive sydney in the morning (19/5/09). walk or take train.
suggestion: darling harbour, opera house, chinese garden for friendship, the rocks,fish market,paddy's market,QVB. (enough time for all the places? what i know most of the places are quite near to each other)

2nd day-we are planning to go blue mountain. still considering whether we should go with 1day tour or rent a car and drive. tour around aud68/pax. is there any entrance fees?

3rd day-walk around city. suggestion:hunter valley. or any other interesting place to visit? plannng to go manly beach.

4th day- leaving sydney to melb at 10am.
can anyone here help me with the itnerary? first time to sydney.

thanks