It all depends on how much time you have allowed yourselves. Tour buses give, in 30 days or so a tour around the whole country, but it is a lot of travelling. Or you can fly long distances and tour an area. There is a company that does this or you can plan your own route with various airlines . Or hire car/campervan and do your own thing all around the countryside - depending how much time you have. There are numerous rail trails you can cycle along or join a group for different cycle tours. We met up with 2 German tourists in Tasmania cycling everywhere, and they do have some steep,winding hills in Tas.

Possibly August, September, October may be your best time to visit, starting in the northern states and travelling to the south.

Can you pick up some brochures from a tourist agency. This will give you and idea as to where coach companies will take you and the time they take.

Follow lots of TA answers. Tet from Uden gives some good replies, but has visited different areas on different occasions.

AAt Kings. Australia Pacific, Bora bora, Greyhound, there are so many.

Concentrate on two states e.g. NSW and Tasmania. If you are not comfortable with driving on the other side of the road, do a tour, otherwise you will have so much more flexibility by hiring a car.

Sea Cliff Bridge south of Sydney is awesome.

Thanks Gardenboffin, always nice to hear from a fellow poster and yes Bikelover, how long are you coming and what time of year is best for you? Do you fancy driving on the "wrong" side of the road? Trains, Planes and Automobiles...great movoe!

Do it yourself

travelling in australia is no more difficult or exotic than california

best time of year is late spring or late autumn.

do three destinations in two weeks..usually

sydney

outback

reef.

Since you're from Washington DC I thought I would mention that you could easily include a couple of days in Canberra, which is only a short flight from Sydney. Day tours from Sydney are also available but I think two days is better. Like Washington, Canberra is a planned capital city. The winning plan was the work of a Chicago architect, Walter Burley Griffin. Most attractions are located around the main central lake which is named after him. It's a great place to ride a bike around.

http://www.mrspokes.com.au/

A good time to visit Canberra is spring, when Floriade is on. This is the website for this year's festival but the dates will be similar next year. I've posted a few photos of Floriade here.

http://www.floriadeaustralia.com/

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/members-photos/MacKnee

Best time - September. (heaps of different itineraries you can do) For example:

14 days. - city/ outback/ tropical reef experience.

5 days Sydney

2 days Uluru

2 days Alice Springs

5 days Cairns/ Great Barrier Reef/ Daintree National Park

or

4 days Sydney

2 days Uluru

4 days Cairns/GBR

3 days Whitsunday Islands

Do it yourself. Take day tours once there.

Domestic Airlines. www.qantas.com.au www.virginblue.com.au www.jetstar.com.au

Use Qantas Air-pass - visit 4 cities for the price of one.

qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/am/specials/us/aus…

I would suggest October/November as a time to come with the following sugestions:

Stay is Sydney 4 days

Drive to the Blue Mountains about 2 hours from Sydney, beautiful area, think a treed grand canyon, a day or two.

Fly to Cairns and conncect with a small airline and fly to one of the Great Barrier Reef Islands. Lizard is a beautiful spot but expensive. There are many others in various price ranges.

Fly back from the reef island to Cairns and drive 2 hours north, beatiful drive to the daintre rainforest, the worlds oldest and absolutely breathtaking. I stayed at a wonderful boutique hotel called cockatoo hill retreat.

I did this in three weeks but can be done in two. Or perhaps you might miss the Blue Mountains and visit Ayers Rock instead. It is a big country and if you really want to see a lot you will need to fly. Last year Qantas flights were very reasonable, I'm sure they've gone up but probably still a good deal.

You might want to consult a travel agent in your country who specializes in Australia or use a tour guide and ta members.