A friend and I are backpacking Thailand (accommodations already taken care of) and are also doing 2 weeks in Australia and 10 days in New Zealand (north island) in February. looking for awesome things to do and see. Thanks!!

Chiang Mai was fabulous. Go there, hit up the night markets, the mountains, get foot massages, and do a cooking class!

Fraser Island Australia

Overnight camping tour with company called Drop Bear on Fraser Island
highlight of my 2 years in Australia

Go to the coromandel in the North Island and if you're into hiking, the Tongariro alpine crossing is amazing. Worth the effort. Definitely do the reef and the Daintree rainforest near Cairns, Australia

Bangkok is better than you can imagine. Take the Blue Flag Tourist boat for the river and get the all day pass to hop on and off at all the different stops. Explore all the different areas. Grand Palace, China town, flower market and so much more.

Better still, take a tuk tuk!

Agreed, it is fun to take a tuk tuk. Just a much broader view from the water. I have never been to another country where I have taken every mode of transportation known to man, until I went to Thailand!

Pai, Mae Hong Son, Mae Sot, and Sukothai were my favourite places in Thailand.

If you want nice beaches in Australia look into Gold Coast/Coolangatta. Adelaide, Kuranda and Melbourne have good markets if you are looking for gifts/souveniers. If you visit Sydney then you should check out the Blue Mountains, they make for a good day trip and you can take the train there. If you visit Cairns then Kuranda would make a good day trip and you can take the bus there on your own, no need for a tour. There is a Market there and you can hike along a river. Bondi Beach in Sydney is nice and has a coastal walk where you can get some good pictures.

Agree with all of the above! Melbourne was my favourite city for arts/culture and food. You can do the Great ocean Road drive from there and also see penguin. Cairns for a day trip to Great Barrier reef and Karunda

Elephant Nature Park

I second this. The most magical place I've ever been to!

Me too

Becareful when going to grand palace in Bangkok. Locals will try and convince you that it is a holy holiday and that its closed and try and get you to pay to take you somewhere else. It's a common scam

Blue mountains in Australia south of sydney

Some of the hikes are tough but views are gorgeous

Must do's n Australia, snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns, Philip Island near Melbourne, to see March of the Penguins

2nd March of the Penguins ...it was kinda magical.

Waitamo caves, taupo hot springs, waiheke island, and cape reinga for nz!! Also super cheap to rent a car I highly recommend it!!

Also greAt ocean road for oz

Wow. You're friend is lucky. And probably really pretty.

I had no clue you were part of this group!

Great Ocean Road near Melbourne should not be missed!

Skip North Island and do South Island instead. (I say this as someone who's visited NZ twice.)

What are some places not to miss on South Island? I'm headed there in FEB

If you enjoy Australian wine you should do Hunter Valley

Make sure to get up to pai in Thailand. Its in the north and such a great hippie town. Awesome cooking classes to take too

Whitsunday islands and Fraser Island were amazing. Seeing the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns was also great.

NZ North Island:
1. Black Water Rafting in Waitomo
2. Hobbiton - night tour and dinner feast
3. Rotorua - Waiotapu and red wood forest zip lining
4. Coromandel
5. Bay of Islands and day trip up to Cape Rienga and 90 Mile Beach. Toboggan on the sand dunes.
6. Wellington if you have time.
7. Don't bother with Auckland
8. Goat Island

What part of Oz are you visiting? I used to live near Newcastle (good place to party). A couple of my favourite places to visit was Cairns and Magnetic Island. So much to see and so little time.

We fly into Melbourne and out of Brisbane ... so we have two weeks to make our way up there.

Check out gold coast, surfers paradise and most of all Byron bay. They are all just before Brisbane. Another cool place is Anna Bay to do some dune surfing.

Sean Wilson

A good way to plan for the North Island in NZ is the "Stoked for Saturday" youtube channel. Two Canadians made quick little 2-3 min videos of all the highlights they recommend. Thats what I used to plan my North Island trip and was really happy with it.

For Australia, make sure you go to Fraser Island. I lived in Australia for a while, my favourite places were Fraser Island, the Outback (Uluru, Kings Canyon, Valley of the four winds), Sydney of course- Manly Beach is amazing. Great Ocean Road, Then near Brisbane you've got springbrook rainforest park, Byron Bay, the gold coast, Sunshine Coast, the Australia Zoo.
Arlie Beach and the whitsundays are really pretty but you're looking at spending like a grand each while there its really touristy. I did it, and it was cool too see, but not sure it was worth the money all things considered since theres so much more to see in Australia. I also liked Cairns the great barrier reef, and cape tribulation. All were great to see but you can't swim in the ocean cause of the crocs, so personally id rather spend more time around the gold coast, fraser island, sydney, and melbourne

Michael - your favourites are also mine. Fraser Island, Uluru, Kings Canyon are absolute favourites. The others as well

I just got back from 3 weeks in Thailand and Bali - feel free to message me!