IvyMaria

We are planning for a 15 days trip to Australia in the coming January. It's the first trip after the birth of our baby, and hence we have no idea or experiences of such. As the baby is too small, please let us know if there are any extra procedures we have to be aware of when we travel and stay there.

The Great Barrier Reef is my biggest dream place to visit there, those who visited Australia or live there can share any valuable suggestions of tourist attractions or about nice staying options.

Eagerly waiting to hear from you all.

Ivy Maria

dreamon

I'm not aware of anything special about travelling to or in Australia with a baby. Of course, s/he will need a passport and whatever visas apply. Have you checked about vaccinations with your doctor?

On a practical level, a pouch or sling for baby will be super useful and breastfeeding will make life a LOT easier. It can be hot, so you'll need to keep an eye out that they don't get too hot.

KayF

I guess a passport for the baby? Also if you go out to the reef, one of you will have to stay with the baby or take turns going into the sea. There are three main areas where people stay - Cairns, Palm Cove and Port Douglas. If it was me, I'd pick Port Douglas but if you find accommodation there too expensive, then try Cairns which is much bigger and will have cheaper options. Port Douglas has a lovely beach, no beaches in Cairns. You'll also need either a hire car to reach Port Douglas (and pre-order a baby seat/capsule) or pay for transfers (not cheap). You'll need to let your accommodation know there is a baby as well and there might be age limitations on any boat out to the reef.

IvyMaria

Hi dreamon,

Yeah! we have taken a passport for the baby but, didn't discuss with the doctor about vaccinations. Thank you for pointing out that and as you mentioned we already planned to take a pouch bag for the baby to carry throughout the journey.

IvyMaria

Hi KayF,

Thank you for your concern about the baby. We will consider the situation and plan accordingly when we travel to the reef. As per your suggestion regarding the stay, let me check the resort in that three areas and check the rates and facilities which can afford by us.

IvyMaria

Hi Guys,

As @KayF have mentioned that we won't be able to cover all the places or explore fully my dream destination, obviously, the Great Barrier Reef, I think it's going to be a concern throughout the trip to take proper care of the baby.

Can you guys let me suggest some options which will help me enjoy the trip while not compromising on giving care to my baby

KayF

I'm not really sure what you're asking. Do you have flights booked already? January is not the best time to visit as it's in the peak summer / school holidays period when prices are high and availability low. Also probably warm to hot everywhere (cooler the further south you go). You could visit Sydney and the NSW coast though accommodation on the coast would be hard to get. What about Tasmania and hire a car? It would be cooler than up near Cairns, maybe save the reef for another time. If you do decide on a driving trip, before you book anything non-refundable (like flights), check you can get a car with baby seat. There are not as many hire cars as pre-covid.

IvyMaria

No, we didn't book the tickets yet, want to do more planning wise. Me and my husband want to make the most out of the trip, hence we are aware that any planning mistakes may cost as dearly. Both of us are getting the leaves at the same time, so thinking about another time to visit is most probably not going to happen.

As you have suggested, we will consider hiring a car, so that we can make it easy to travel from place to place, obviously look for a car with a baby seat. Our entire travel plan was based on enjoying The Great Barrier Reef and dropping that from the itinerary is mostly like dropping our travel plan.

I have looked for some suggestions in a moms group and got one nice idea to have the services of a nanny to care for the baby during the trip.

Is it going to be a good option?

KayF

For most visitors, they spend only a day going out the reef, have you other plans for the rest of your time? You could go out one day each, separately, so one of you is always with the baby. I don't think finding a nanny is practical or a good idea. Have you checked if you can take the baby with you on any of the day trips? If so, you just need to make sure one of you stays on the boat while the other is snorkelling. If children that young are not allowed, and the reef is the main reason for your visit, maybe you could postpone for another time. If you haven't already, take a look at Green Island and Fitzroy Island. Not the same as the outer reef but they are options.

IvyMaria

Yeah, we are also planning the same, to visit the reef for one day and planning to visit other places on other days. As it is a two weeks trip we will try to cover almost the main spots in Australia like Green Island, Fitzroy Island Sydney as mentioned by you. Also the Opera House,Blue Mountains National Park,Melbourne's Culture,Bondi Beach, Daintree National Park, and Kakadu National Park are some of our priorities.

northie

Ivy Maria you need to go back to the drawing board as there is no way you can all that in 15 days. Plot these places on a map of Australia and you will see the distances involved and then decide what you really want to do.
Its peak holiday time in Australia then. There's no way Id go to Kakadu at that time of the year with a new baby.
You probabaly wont need a car as to do all that in 15 days you'll be flying everywhere.

KayF

If you are serious about visiting in January you need to get on to booking now. As mentioned, January is the peak holiday season - middle of summer and the main school holiday period for the year. Hire cars have been more difficult to get than normal, since covid, so if you really need a vehicle, book that first.

Also I completely agree with northie, you need to check a map and the distances involved. Flights between states can be long, distances by road once you arrive in each state can be long too. For 15 days, stick to one or two states and you'll need to fly between them. I don't know which country you are from but check visas too.

IvyMaria

Looking at the suggestions and recommendations from you guys and some of our friends, we are aware of the distances to cover and the rare possibility of moving ahead with our current travel plan. So now we are in a process to choose some states to target during our trip, and we need your help to finalize it.

@KayF, we are travelling from United Arab Emirates. As I have shared before about our plans to hire a nanny to care for the baby during the trip, we have got a nice person (from here) willing to help us for the duration. I have a question for you, as you have mentioned about visas, is there any other required processes to apply for visa for our nanny? or can we do it following normal travel visa processes?

Bokhara2

Ivy Maria, do you have your Visas approved?
Your Nanny will have to do her own application - and bear in mind that she will be working while in Australia, so she will need a Working Holiday Visa.

I would apply for any Visas required NOW. Do not wait until the last moment as someone in your party will not be making the trip if they don't have a Visa approval in time - and there are currently delays.