This is a great Australia itinerary - I was just going to do Perth, but got a bit sidetracked!

I’ve spent a great deal of time in Australia and I’ve kept this trip to a few weeks that allows you to visit Perth, Melbourne (including a drive along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide), a brief stop in Adelaide before heading to Sydney. You can do the Great Ocean Road in less time, but personally I think it is such a beautiful place, why rush! I’ve visited myself in March/April time and it’s my favourite time of year. The weather isn’t too hot and the crowds aren’t as bad as in summer.

Flights are with Etihad or in some cases code share with Virgin Australia. I've flown with Etihad to Australia, Bali amd Nepal to name a few and I love the airline. I've also flown business class and if you book these flights contact Etihad and ask to be put forward for the their 'bid to upgrade' option and if they have seats spare they will contact you and offer you the opportunity to put in a bid for business class. There is a minimum lowest bid which I can't remember but each time I've been successful using the lowest bid. You can also so just one leg you don't have to upgrade all legs. I'm sat here with a lovely Etihad business class blanket that reminded me. The free Spa at Abu Dhabi is amazing with free treatments too.

27th March
Fly from Manchester to Perth with Etihad airways, with a short stop in Dubai.

28th March-2nd April
Arrive into Perth. You have 5 nights in Perth (I’ve allowed extra time in Perth over the other destinations due to the jet lag you’ll likely to be suffering) and I’ve picked a great hostel. Perth can be really expensive and I’ve stayed in this hostel, but it has become pretty well known, with consistent good feedback and is currently No1 on Tripadvisor. Head over there and check out "Wickham Backpackers". Rooms have shared bathrooms, but they are clean and well maintained so do not worry about the term ‘hostel’. There is also lots of ‘extras’ included in this hostel, such as laundry, pasta, breakfast all included in the price. You will save a fair bit of money and I really recommend this hostel. You can check it out by visiting TripAdvisor . 5 nights in Perth is a great amount of time to adjust to the jetlag and explore this cosmopolitan city. Some things I’d recommend doing is taking the ferry over to Freemantle to explore the spooky prison, similarly you can also visit Rottnest Island which is easily accessible from Perth. If you get bored of city life, head out for a day or couple of days to Margaret River, explore the caves and many vineyards [hic]!

2nd April – 6th April
Take the short-ish (4 hour flight) over to Melbourne. You will stay in Melbourne for 4 nights. You could stay longer, depending on how much you like cities, and Melbourne is a great city. Take in a sports events if you can one, or a concert, or just enjoy a relaxing cruise on the Yarra River. Of course, you can look at trips from Melbourne such as Phillip Island or some of the many nearby beaches, but this trip will get you out of Melbourne heading to the Great Ocean Road where you will see many beaches and coastal views.

You’ll stay in Melbourne for 4 nights at City Tempo, a great near 5 star rating on Tripadvisor with great reviews. This studio apartment is in a central location and is a great base to explore.

6th April
Pick up the hire care today in Melbourne (not the cheapest but not the most costly car, you can pay extra to upgrade if needed). You can take the Sorronto Ferry to Queenscliff and pick up the Great Ocean Road, which I’ve done, or you can just go straight towards Geelong and pick up the GOR this way. I’ve done both, and it all depends on time and how fussed you are on taking a ferry. There is plenty to do, such as visiting the surfing towns of Torquay and Bells Beach (if you are lucky you may catch the Ripcurl surfing competition as we did). Finish your day in Lorne, where you can relax on the beach in this lovely place I've picked - Chatby Lane B&B Apartments, another fantastic rated apartment.

7th April
Make your way from Lorne to Apollo Bay, spending time at Otway National Park where you could easily spend a day (or longer). Waterfalls and tree top walks are attractions here. End the day in Apollo Bay, a quiet fishing village. You’ll stay in Big4 Holiday Park, which has great reviews. The cabin does not have ensuite, but for a little extra you can upgrade to a better cabin if you wish.

8th April
Back on the Great Ocean Road, you can stop to take in the many sights, including looking for Koala Bears. It’s a 2 ½ hour drive to Port Fairy, but a great spot en-route for lunch is Warrnambool. Don’t forget the 12 Apostles too which you will also pass as well as Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge. You’ll overnight at Port Fairy. I stayed at the YHA, but I wasn’t able to check prices online. Instead I’ve chosen the Belfast Holiday Cabins for 1 night which have good reviews too.

9th April
You’ll drive today to Robe, via the gorgeous Mount Gambier. It’s a fantastic place to visit and you could rejig this itinerary so you do an overnight here, but I’d also recommend the lovely village of Robe instead, stopping at Mount Gambier en route. In Robe, there is a fantastic chilled out place to eat called ‘Coconut Robe’ which I’d suggest stopping at. It's very budget friendly with a quirky menu. Overnight at the Guichen Motor Inn. I’ve stayed here myself, it is basic but clean and staff are friendly. It also has a pool and free parking.

10th April
You’ll drive to Adelaide today. There are a couple of options, either on the highway, crossing the Murray River or cross the Murray on the car ferry at Wellington and drive through the Langhorne Creek wine area and Adelaide Hills. Arriving into Adelaide, you’ll return the hire car and stay in the city centre for just 1 night at the Grand Chancery Court. You could extend this, but I wasn’t all that impressed with Adelaide (just my opinion).

11th April-14th April
You’ll fly from Adelaide to Sydney. To keep the cost down I’ve based you in Sydney for just 3 nights. This should be enough time to visit attractions such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and catch the ferry over to Manley. In Sydney you’ll stay in the Russell Hotel in ‘The Rocks’ one of my favourite locations in Sydney to stay as it is so close to the tourist sights. Rooms have a shared bathroom, but if you are after similar in the Rocks with a private bathroom check out the YHA Sydney Harbour which I stayed in on New Years Eve, private ensuite rooms with views of the Opera House, literally about 30 steps from the Shangri-La for significantly less (it’s around £260 for 3 nights if you want this as an alternative)! It was also great to have fantastic kitchen facilities to use. I did however spend a fair bit of time in the Russell and it is great place for food and drink, and rooms are great value too. You also get breakfast.

14th April – Fly home!
**Holiday Breakdown**

Flights (Manchester>Perth>Melbourne>Adelaide>Sydney>Melbourne>Manchester £1270/£635pp @ www.expedia.com (note you can’t fly straight from Sydney to UK, the price doubles, so you have to go Sydney to Melbourne to Manchester). I did try a variety of dates, but I gave up in the end trying to avoid stopping in Melbourne again!

5 Nights in Perth @ Wickham Backpackers £199.90 Book Direct with Hostel

4 Nights in Melbourne £209.19 @ www.venere.com (use code PREF12Q42015)

1 Night in Lorne £45.17 @ www.venere.com (use code above)

1 Night in Apollo Bay £46.04 @ www.venere.com (code doesn’t work for this property)

1 Night in Port Fairy £47.36 using code above @ www.venere.com

1 Night in Robe £45.29 using code above @ www.venere.com

1 Night in Adelaide £45.79 using code above @ www.venere.com

3 Nights in Sydney £198.08 using code above @ www.venere.com

Car Hire £100.32 @ www.easycar.com

Total £2207.14/£1103.57pp
If you go through Topcashback and you manage to get Venere to track (even with use of a code) at 13% this could easily knock around £100 off this price. I have had recent transactions track with the code so you could be lucky!

You can adjust this itinerary, but I think this works well. I've checked all hotel ratings and got the cheapest price for all them and hunted down codes too.