Hi,

I'll leave the qld part of the trip for others to critique. The sydney section looks fine given your intentions regarding pace. To see some koalas on the 31st my recommendation would be Sydney Wildlife World in darling harbour as you can fit that in with exploring the rocks and maybe some resting time before a big night out for the celebrations.

There's an abundance of options for dinner on the 30th and an abundance of threads with recommendations. Search the sydney forum and you'll get stacks to consider.. searching on romantic restaurant would probably do the trick... you can also get an idea from www.eatability.com.au

Happy planning..

Dont know what others think, but driving from Port Douglas to Airlie in one day is a pretty long drive. Our highways are generally (very unfortunately) only two lane roads. I would think of leaving PD in the afternoon and stopping at Mission Beach or even Townsville for the night.

Dont know about the two days at Airlie; I think of it as more of a hopping off point to the Whitsundays. Would recommend more research on that one!

Great choices there, langside.

Assume you have accommo booked in Sydney for NYE?

What sort of place do you want to say in the Daintree/Cape Trib? I mean, what is your budget?

Agree with the person who said it's a long way to drive from PD to Airlie, but she/he didn't offer alternatives. And that's because they aren't many. You need time to travel by bus or train so the only alternative is air, and both the cheapies concentrate on traffic from south to north; not the other way around. Virginblue do fly Cairns to Hamilton Island but it's not cheap.

My one big recco would be to think again about spending 2 days R&R in Airlie Beach. Airlie is a small boring sort of place. Far better to spend your extra days in FNQ.

But ... but .. and nobody has mentioned this - Jan is not really the best time for FNQ, being the start of the rainy season.

re boats in the Whitsundays - again - need an idea of budget and expectations.

All the best.

I'll start with a suggestion for the Daintree Rainforest. Fly into Cairns and drive about 2 hours to Cockatoo Hill Retreat set in the middle of the rainforest. I stayed last year in one of the four 'treehouses' with fantastic views of the rainforest canopy and coral sea. It has a small pool and beautiful gardens filled with exotic butterflys, birds and the odd cassowary walking by. Check out the reviews and pics on this site for Cockatoo Hill as well as their web site. It is one of the most beautiful and unique places I have ever visited. This area is worth a few days, do a guided tour of the rainforest, a river cruise to spot cros and explore the beaches, however you cannot swim there at that time of year because of the jelly fish.

The jelly fish are also a problem at Port Douglas and I believe Airlie Beach. What I would recommend is that you fly to an island in the Barrier Reef from Cairns. Lizard island is beautiful with snorkling right off the beach, it is however quite expensive. There are many other islands, Dunk and Hamilton to name a few. Fly from Cairns to one of the islands or to Airlie Beach and charter a boat to visit the Whitsunday islands, again no problem with jelly fish if you are on an island.

The Bridge walk is excellent and worth the money. To have your picture taken with a koala I would suggest you take a ferry to Taronga Zoo, wonderful way to see the harbour and a great little zoo with fantastic views of Sydney.

Go to Manly by ferry, quick tour of the Rocks, Paddington is also a great place to explore and Watson Bay with a walk over to the cliffs for some dramatic views of the harbour. Go to the Bontanic Gardens next to the Opera house and walk along the path to Mrs. Macquaries (sp?) chair for a great view of the opera house, bridge and harbour. Also very popular for the fireworks but I believe you need to get there fairly early in the am for a spot.

Re restaurants, I took my husband and teen daughther last year to Pier for a birthday dinner. Considered to be one of the best seafood restaurants in Sydney and it was, also several meat dishes and really, really good desserts. Each table has a wonderful view of Rose Bay. Other recommendations: Bather's Pavilion Restaurant, Catalina on Rose Bay, Est., Icebergs on Bondi, Quay, Rockpool Tetsuya's. My all time favourite however is a bistro style restaurant called Sean's Panaroma on Bondi Beach. You will need a reservation as it's always filled with locals, they know a good thing when they see it.

A good travel guide is Style City Sydney which lists places to visit, eat, drink and stay at. It was invaluable for me and not boring like Fodors.

Blue Mountains is beautiful and I would recommend you drive yourself and stay a night of two. Great hikes into the valley floor. Stop at Featherdale zoo on the way up and have your picture taken beside a koala and pet and feed kangaroos that roam about in an open area. Of course there are lots of other animals and birds there.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

You need to organise hotel for Sydney when you arrive as peak holiday time (as is everywhere). Same for organising flights as all of oz is on holidays amd travelling.

If you could fly to Tokyo from Cairns then it would make much more sense to go from Sydney to Airlie Beach and then up to Port Douglas (PD) and then fly out from Cairns.

The drive from PD to Airlie is 700km and min 10 hours driving non stop. plus the road has had some pretty big smashes for tourists over the years.

Maybe a boat cruise for NYE on the harbour but again need to book early.

Cairns will be hot and humid with possible rain as wet season.

You will need to book your harbour climb reasonably early for that time of the year, Especially as you are doing it at twilight. This is very popular time of the day to do the walk. You may also think of going into the minus 5 bar at circular quay. Last time we went it was free to get in if you were there on the day of your birthday. I am sure that you will have a great time in Sydney.

G'day Mary

Look i think you have conme up with a great itinerary. just a few observations.

The drive from Cairns to Airlie Beach will take you about 8 hours and that is not allowing for stopping off at some beautiful rainforest,waterfalls, great country towns and beaches.

Two days at Airlie might be a bit much, yes a nice small town which has become very busy - backpacker heaven, the surrounding areas and islands are beautiful.

Lastly the most beautiful beaches in Qld are to be found in south east Qld, the Sunshine coast or Gold Coast might offer you better chill out beaches. Of course beautiful Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays is well worth a visit....

Since you have only allowed one day for the Blue Mountains you might consider a tour to maximise your time. Most of the popular tours go to Featherdale Wildlife park enroute so you could "tick off" the koalas on the same trip.