Sydney and ____? from the US

[mamadragona]

Hi all,
I live on the East coast of the US. For Disney destinations, we've been to WDW 1x, DCL 1x, and DLP 1x with the fam (DH, DD6, DS9). I have a conference in Sydney in early/mid July 2018. The kids will be 10 and 8 by then, and I'd like to continue the exposure to people beyond my little rural state. The trip from BOS to SYD will be many hours, so I'm thinking about combining SYD with some additional side trips, both to break up the flight and also because I have no idea when we are ever going to get a chance to go to the other side of the world again. My son really wants to go on another DCL (or any cruise of similar kid club fun I would guess) and really hates crazy crowds in hot weather, and my daughter likes swimming. Both like meeting new people and traveling.

Some stopover/itinerary options I've considered & I appreciate thoughts:
- I can route through LAX on my preferred carrier American Airlines (I have to use a US carrier for work) - that could mean a DL side trip. I also have some family in the area I could see. My hesitation is the heat and crowds in July.
- Stop in Hawaii. I've never been to Hawaii. We could do Aulani or perhaps this is when we should try to cruise so that we can see all the islands (NCL?).
- Stop in Tokyo. This is a bit of a stretch, but of course there is Disneyland Tokyo, and I'd really like to go to Japan. This conference may return to Japan in 2022, so it is possible I will have another chance to get here.
- Stop in Cairns. I would be disappointed to go all the way to Australia and miss seeing the GBR. Plus in July I was hoping perhaps the north coast might be warm enough for beach time? yes or no?
- I looked into cruises to/from Australia and July is limited for off season - so far I'm finding options with mediocre ratings. I'm not sure how they would stand up to DCL. But if anyone has recommendations...

I appreciate any/all advice and ideas. Thank you in advance!

 

[aussie shaz]

My choice would be Disneyland or Hawaii. I love Disneyland and would be happy to go anytime. It may be busy in July but you can get by easy enough by using Ridemax. Don't think this would be good for your son though, who doesn't like heat and crowds.
Second option would be Hawaii. Weather should be nice for swimming etc. and it breaks up the trip.
Maybe you could do one each way?

 

[mamadragona]

I guess if my real goal is to pause in flights then Hawaii and LA/Anaheim make a lot of sense as per your recommendation. I didn't know about Ridemax, so I'll have a look. I'm guessing both will be quite busy at that time.

If my goal is to enjoy the South Pacific region and Australia while I'm in the neighborhood, Cairns and Hawaii or maybe even Fiji or Tahiti should probably be what I do. For something on the north coast by the GBR, I was looking at the Coconut resort. It doesn't have to be Cairns - this is just what I came up with while Googling.

Thank you for the help brainstorming. I know it is a long way out, which makes it hard to really plan. I am also thinking some of the cruise schedules are still being released that far out, so maybe I'll find something that fits our constrained timing.

 

[aussie shaz]

If you're wanting the GBR, just remember that the weather may not be suitable the day you want to go out. We were in Cairns a few years ago and planned a trip out to the reef. The day we had planned, the weather was bad and the trip was cancelled. So maybe try for your first day or so, and then you'll have more chance to go if the weather isn't good on the day you choose.
I'd also maybe stay in Port Douglas or Palm Cove. Cairns is really just a small city. Not very relaxing like the other places I mentioned.
Fiji is nice, but there's not too much to do. For just a stopover it would be nice. We've been a few times. There's a nice Cultural Centre there and you could take a day trip to one of the islands and snorkel.
I guess a stopover would also depend what kinds of airfare you could get. I've thought about flying via Hawaii on our trips to the US, but the flights were a lot more expensive, so we've just flown direct.

 

[Our Aussie six]

Maybe you could do a GBR cruise. We have friends who did this last year and said it was amazing, they got to go snorkelling and visit the beautiful rainforests.
I'm pretty sure the GBR cruises leave from either Brisbane or Sydney. It would a great way to see the reef.

 

[kaitmaree]

How long will you be travelling? Hawaii sounds like a good idea to break up the trip, especially for a Disney fix, but as you mentioned re: DLR it will be very busy wherever you go that time of year. The weather might be milder, though? As an aside, you might want to try and avoid Australian school holidays if you can: http://www.nswschoolholiday.com.au/index.php/nsw-school-holiday-dates-2018.

If you want any tips for when you're in Sydney, I've lived here for 23 years and counting so just let me know.

 

[BecBennett]

Chances are you're going to have to stop at LAX on your flight to Sydney anyway - I'm pretty sure the only direct flights between Australia and the US are to LA, Dallas, San Fran and Hawaii, however most flights from SYD will land at LAX. So the cheaper option would be a DLR side trip.

However having said that, I would probably recommend Hawaii. If you're wanting to expand your kid's horizons you can submerse them in the Hawaiian culture and the historical side of Pearl Harbour. I don't know if you can get direct flights from Boston to Hawaii, but you can get them from Hawaii to Sydney, and it's sort of in the middle, so it's a good way to break up the flight.

My reasoning for this is 1. It breaks up the flight. 2. Hopefully you can see Japan in a couple of years. 3. The GBR and Northern QLD are beautiful, but the cost of flights to Sydney will be expensive. 4. Anywhere inside mainland USA isn't really going show your kids what the rest of the world is like.

Let us know what you decide!