Australia and New Zealand Cruise

Australia may be a continent, but it's also an island. Therefore, it's a great cruise destination for anyone looking for a longer, more exotic cruise. And, if you are planning a trip to Australia, don't overlook New Zealand. I've heard absolutely wonderful things about this smaller island nation that is also in the South Pacific. Some cruises visit both Australia and New Zealand, but note that both countries certainly deserve more of your time than just a few days!

I think the history of Australia and New Zealand and their distance from most of the rest of the world has given the area a mystery and made it a "must see" on every travel lover's list. Certainly there are tourist sites in Australia and New Zealand that are not accessible via cruise ship, but cruise lines offer pre or post cruise add-ons to capture a trip to the outback, the Great Barrier Reef or to see some of the wonderful natural sites in New Zealand. Because of its location, Australia is a land of plants and animals seen nowhere else in the world.

Who doesn't think of koala bears and kangaroos in connection with Australia? This isolation from the more populated continents makes Australia and New Zealand even more intriguing to me. Movies ranging from the chilling 1959 doomsday movie, On the Beach to the hilarious Crocodile Dundee have whetted our appetites for Australia. The Australian national song "Waltzing Matilda" can bring tears or laughter, depending on how it is sung. More recently, the three "Lord of the Rings" movies, which were set in New Zealand, transformed this exotic island nation into Middle Earth. If anyone out there hadn't already thought of Australia as a vacation destination, the 2000 Olympics in Sydney certainly raised the awareness of this corner of the world.

The Opera House in the harbor of Sydney

There are basically four different types of cruises in Australia and New Zealand. First, you can fly into a major airport in Australia or New Zealand (normally Sydney or Auckland), embark on a cruise of 10-15 days to various ports in Australia, New Zealand or Tasmania, and then fly back home. Second, you can book a segment of 15-100+ days of a world cruise that includes Australia and/or New Zealand ports. Third, you can take a repositioning cruise between Southeast Asia and Australia. Finally, you can fly to Australia and book a cruise of a week or more on a small ship that cruises only in the South Pacific. Let's take a look at some of these in more detail.

The skyline of the dynamic city of Sydney, Australia

You probably won't see any kangaroos from a cruise ship, but that shouldn't keep you from choosing to cruise to this intriguing continent. Cruise lines have discovered that many cruise lovers want to cruise down under, and many people have the time off to vacation from North America or Europe to Australia and New Zealand.

Most cruises to Australia are in the fall through the winter months. Since the seasons are reversed, it's perfect weather for cruising. Some cruise lines base one ship in Australia for the prime cruising season, and leave it there until it is time to reposition to another part of the world in March. With the number of cruise ships built over the last few years, you have a wide variety of cruise ships to choose from for the late fall and winter in Australia this year.