Advive / Tips for Australia and Indonesian

[RobBar, Canada]

We will be doing a 28 day cruise around all of Australia next month including a one day stop in Bali plus flying direct into Sydney from Vancouver.

1) What items are forbidden to take off a plane as in fruit / snacks , items you normally have in ones hand luggage.

2) Do taxis take credit cards to / from the airport or is everything cash

3) As we wil be in Syney for three days what are some great places to see aside from the Opera House and walking the Bridge. Was thinking about a helicopter ride

4) Has anybody ever done a wine tour in I believe Burnie?

5) Any good places to see in Australia as we will be touching all the spots

6) Would you $US be accepted as a tip on an excursion in case you ran out of A$

7) What cash should you take in Bali or what is accepted in tourist areas and aside from buying articles , what would be thought to be enough cash to have on you while on an excursions.
Has anybody done any excursions in Bali

Cheer
On we just got our visas today, so good to go for Australia
Is tipping in Australia not a major expectation or is their some areas having an expectation

[Wilba]

We will be doing a 28 day cruise around all of Australia next month including a one day stop in Bali plus flying direct into Sydney from Vancouver.

1) What items are forbidden to take off a plane as in fruit / snacks , items you normally have in ones hand luggage.

2) Do taxis take credit cards to / from the airport or is everything cash

3) As we wil be in Syney for three days what are some great places to see aside from the Opera House and walking the Bridge. Was thinking about a helicopter ride

4) Has anybody ever done a wine tour in I believe Burnie?

5) Any good places to see in Australia as we will be touching all the spots

6) Would you $US be accepted as a tip on an excursion in case you ran out of A$

7) What cash should you take in Bali or what is accepted in tourist areas and aside from buying articles , what would be thought to be enough cash to have on you while on an excursions.
Has anybody done any excursions in Bali

Cheer
On we just got our visas today, so good to go for Australia
Is tipping in Australia not a major expectation or is their some areas having an expectation

I can only help with Bali Rob.

The currency is the Indonesian Rupiah, a volatile currency that can have large fluctuations on a day to day basis. Because of this most coach/boat tour operators only advertised in US Dollar, this being a stable currency. ATM's are widely available if you need it, but we found shops, bars and taxi drivers were eager to accept US Dollars (real money) in preference to their own.

I spent 10 days there, but if I was only 'cruise stopping' for a day I wouldn't bother with their currency............Wilba

[RobBar, Canada]

I can only help with Bali Rob.

The currency is the Indonesian Rupiah, a volatile currency that can have large fluctuations on a day to day basis. Because of this most coach/boat tour operators only advertised in US Dollar, this being a stable currency. ATM's are widely available if you need it, but we found shops, bars and taxi drivers were eager to accept US Dollars (real money) in preference to their own.

I spent 10 days there, but if I was only 'cruise stopping' for a day I wouldn't bother with their currency............Wilba

Thank you Wilba,
That is good information as I was getting conflicting information from my TA and Princess as to currency to have on hand for the day.
What did you enjoy while you were in Bali, course we will be arriving at seaport away from it.

[Wilba]

Thank you Wilba,
That is good information as I was getting conflicting information from my TA and Princess as to currency to have on hand for the day.
What did you enjoy while you were in Bali, course we will be arriving at seaport away from it.

I enjoyed everything about Bali, the climate, the people, the beaches, the terraced Tea plantations, the Wood Carving workplaces (unbelievable skills), Monkey Jungle, Jimbarran Beach for an evening meal, far too much to see and do in a day...........Wilba

[Mrs M]

We will be doing a 28 day cruise around all of Australia next month including a one day stop in Bali plus flying direct into Sydney from Vancouver.

1) What items are forbidden to take off a plane as in fruit / snacks , items you normally have in ones hand luggage.
You'll be told on the plane prior to landing about how paranoid [and rightly so] the Australian government is on bringing food stuff into the country. Your snacks and fruit will be binned on the plane. Your wrapped Werthers should be OK...but ask the flight attendants.

2) Do taxis take credit cards to / from the airport or is everything cash
Yes, they accept CC but I think you might pay a bit more for using them

3) As we wil be in Syney for three days what are some great places to see aside from the Opera House and walking the Bridge. Was thinking about a helicopter ride
Concert at the Opera house [check box office for returns on your tour] Ferry over to Manley,..City tour...Undarra Lava tubes...Blue mountains and Jenolan Caves...Hunter Valley wineries

4) Has anybody ever done a wine tour in I believe Burnie? Hunter Valley

5) Any good places to see in Australia as we will be touching all the spots

Which spots? I've been three times and just skirted the surface of the east coast

6) Would you $US be accepted as a tip on an excursion in case you ran out of A$
Don't know as we used CC and made sure we had enough A$

7) What cash should you take in Bali or what is accepted in tourist areas and aside from buying articles , what would be thought to be enough cash to have on you while on an excursions.
Has anybody done any excursions in Bali

Cheer
On we just got our visas today, so good to go for Australia
Is tipping in Australia not a major expectation or is their some areas having an expectation

.........................

[the kaptain, winsford]

We will be doing a 28 day cruise around all of Australia next month including a one day stop in Bali plus flying direct into Sydney from Vancouver.

1) What items are forbidden to take off a plane as in fruit / snacks , items you normally have in ones hand luggage.

2) Do taxis take credit cards to / from the airport or is everything





3) As we wil be in Syney for three days what are some great places to see aside from the Opera House and walking the Bridge. Was thinking about a helicopter ride

4) Has anybody ever done a wine tour in I believe Burnie?

5) Any good places to see in Australia as we will be touching all the spots

6) Would you $US be accepted as a tip on an excursion in case you ran out of A$

7) What cash should you take in Bali or what is accepted in tourist areas and aside from buying articles , what would be thought to be enough cash to have on you while on an excursions.
Has anybody done any excursions in Bali

Cheer
On we just got our visas today, so good to go for Australia
Is tipping in Australia not a major expectation or is their some areas having an expectation

Watch out for the crocodiles cruising down Main Street in Darwin around noon any day.

[Ferdie, Windsor]

Whilst in Sydney,take a ferry to Manley from Circular Quay, great place for lunch. Or lunch at Quay which is in the cruiser terminal with magnificent views of the harbour bridge and opera house and also fantastic food.
I dont think that taxies take credit cards, we paid cash.
Tipping isn't high on the Australian agenda but we find it is readily accepted.

[Mrs M]

Whilst in Sydney,take a ferry to Manley from Circular Quay, great place for lunch. Or lunch at Quay which is in the cruiser terminal with magnificent views of the harbour bridge and opera house and also fantastic food.
I dont think that taxies take credit cards, we paid cash. Admittedly, it's a few years since we were in Australia, but taxis in Sydney took CC when we we there.
Tipping isn't high on the Australian agenda but we find it is readily accepted.

....................

[RobBar, Canada]

Thanks all,
These are the ports the 28 day cruise will be at
SYDNEY , BRISBANE, AIRLIE BEACH, PORT DOUGLAS, DARWIN , BALI (BENOA)
PERTH (FREMANTLE) , BUNBURY, ALBANY
ADELAIDE, MELBOURNE, BURNIE , HOBART

Lots of sea days

[Aussie Cruiser, Perth Australia]

There are money changers on every corner in Bali if you change a $100 you will become a milionaire in rupia. it will cost you $25 usd for a visa a lot of money for one day.take a good mossy reppelant use day and night they have deghu fever stay away from the monkey forrest and dogs they have Rabies stay away from the girls and boys very high percentage of HIV and Aids there has been outbreaks of legonairs desease. drink bottled water. its not all doom and gloom i have been to bali 20 times some times just for the w/end i will be doing same cruise with Radiance.use only Blue bird taxis they are government and not a rip off .you will enjoy Bali remember be careful what you put in your mouth

[Diva18, UK]

Rob

We enjoyed a trip up the river in Brisbane to the koala sanctuary, took just oiver an hour, nice and leisurely with some great views en route. We then took a bus back to the centre. This was DIY, not a ship's tour.

Beware, those koalas are very heavy and have claws that hurt! But they are ever so cute.

From Circular Quay it's just 30 minutes on the ferry, from Pier 3 when we were there, to Manly. We also did the Sydney Tower, great views.

We had a good meal at a restaurant in Darling Harbour- would have preferred to eat in the Circular Quay/Rocks area but it was Valentines Day and many restaurants were fully booked.

[cornish girl, falmouth]

Hi Rob nothing more to add , been there and thorughly enjoyed it Brisbane was my favourite city, I am sure you will have a marvelous time CG

[spartan, kent]

There are money changers on every corner in Bali if you change a $100 you will become a milionaire in rupia. it will cost you $25 usd for a visa a lot of money for one day.take a good mossy reppelant use day and night they have deghu fever stay away from the monkey forrest and dogs they have Rabies stay away from the girls and boys very high percentage of HIV and Aids there has been outbreaks of legonairs desease. drink bottled water. its not all doom and gloom i have been to bali 20 times some times just for the w/end i will be doing same cruise with Radiance.use only Blue bird taxis they are government and not a rip off .you will enjoy Bali remember be careful what you put in your mouth

Make sure you buy the water on the ship or fill a bottle before you go ashore

That reassuring clrrick as you open the bottle is sometimes glue

They refill empty plastic bottles and a tiny dab of glue on the thread so when you twist you hear that clrrick noise

Bad water will make you very ill

[Aussie Cruiser, Perth Australia]

Bottled water from the shops in Bali is ok possibly cheaper than the ship. if you are going to do your own touring i would give Dempasar a miss take a taxi to Kuta Or Legian for the girls there are some very good spars avaliable. the guys good cheap Bintang beer.be very careful when walking the footpath has huge holes in it that cover the drainage.the weather will be hot about 30c when on the ship get advice from Aussies that have visited Bali before there are eight flights from perth Bali every day thats not counting flights from other states. would you like me to do a DIY Perth and Fremantle ???

[RobBar, Canada]

Bottled water from the shops in Bali is ok possibly cheaper than the ship. if you are going to do your own touring i would give Dempasar a miss take a taxi to Kuta Or Legian for the girls there are some very good spars avaliable. the guys good cheap Bintang beer.be very careful when walking the footpath has huge holes in it that cover the drainage.the weather will be hot about 30c when on the ship get advice from Aussies that have visited Bali before there are eight flights from perth Bali every day thats not counting flights from other states. would you like me to do a DIY Perth and Fremantle ???

Thanks all,
On the water side I agree treat Bali like we did Mexico. I have a wee hunch that we might be the only ones on the ship holding a Canadian passport though our birth locations are very diverse and not of.
DIV Perth / Freemantle , some ideas would be great and would you know this is the one port we have some cousins who live in Perth and we hope will meet us but depends on their schedule.
Cheers

ps: just bought some OZ dollars for cash ($0.96 to our $1.00) and of course it costs us more now had it been US $ we would have gained.
Better than Swiss Francs I hear..