A wonderful trip to Australia
Australia
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Jan 13 - Jan 25, 2025
My wife and I just completed a wonderful trip to Australia. It's been a lifelong dream of mine to visit ever since my sixth-grade teacher showed us slides of her trip to the other side of the planet.
I worked with Paula to plan our trip. Paula is a superstar! Her expertise in planning our lifelong bucket-list trip to Australia was invaluable. She took the time to determine our capabilities as an active couple in our 60s, as well as our travel preferences, including our preferred level of hotel accommodations and general interests. The information she gathered led to a perfectly paced trip. Long daily excursions were interspersed with shorter ones, and a day off around the middle of the trip was greatly appreciated. The accommodations Paula booked were wonderful, ranging from very nice to luxurious. Breakfast was included at several of the nicest hotels, providing an incredible start to our day. To be honest, some of the best food we had was found at these hotels. Another area where Paula exceeded our expectations was transportation. Throughout our entire trip, our transportation was expertly planned. Buses, air travel, and personal car service went flawlessly; not having to rent a car and drive on unfamiliar roads was a huge stress reliever.
Highlights of our trip included riding camels, interacting with kangaroos, snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, and viewing sunrise and sunset at Ayers Rock/Uluru. Most importantly, we learned more about Australia, its people, and its history. We found the people of Australia to be, in general, more polite and at ease than what we are used to experiencing. Our trip preceded Australia Day by one day, so we saw some of the preparations for their annual day of national celebration. The theme this year was "Reflect, Respect, Celebrate" – we found these three words very refreshing. Our trip, thanks to Paula, has led to a deep fondness for Australia and its people.
Hotel Reviews
Great Hotel with an unbelievable breakfast buffet. We were there for the Australian Open and the venue is walkable from the hotel.
This is my all time favorite hotel. The location, style and service was some of the best I've experienced in my 66 years.
Sails in the Desert was a nice stay. The outdoor area was beautiful, and I appreciated the complimentary breakfast. However, it didn't wow us like the Hyatt hotels did, but that might be due to the desert setting. The hotel had some minor issues with the doors not fully sealing shut, but we've experienced that in desert hotels before, so it wasn't a big deal for us.
The Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple Resort & Spa is a gorgeous place with lots of potential. We loved the plunge pool in our room and the main pool area was fantastic, but the resort was terribly short staffed during our stay. Staff were eager to help, but there were issues like a broken safe, non-working phone, and bugs on the counter. The food quality was exceptional, though there were only two servers who struggled with the demand. I believe they are hiring and will improve as they sort staffing issues out.
Activity Reviews
I highly recommend this activity. The camel ride at dusk is spectacular. You also have time to interact with the camel you rode after the excursion.
We absolutely loved interacting with the Koalas and Kangaroos.
Well worth having to get up very early. The quiet and peacefulness was amazing.
We very much enjoyed our time on the boat as well as in the water. The company did an amazing job taking care of all our needs.
The Full Day Daintree Cape Tribulation tour was very nice despite some road delays due to a cyclone that had hit the area previously. Our guide was friendly, and we had some engaging conversations. It was a peaceful way to explore the rainforest, though waiting in one-lane traffic was a bit tedious.
