Which city to visit on a layover between Paris and Sydney + where to rent a van on the West Coast?

Hello,

Our daughter has gone to Sydney, and we’d love to spend the end-of-year holidays with her. The plan is to leave from Paris or Brussels and break up the trip with a 3- or 4-day layover to "split" the journey in two. Then head back to Sydney, explore the East Coast in a van, celebrate Christmas and New Year’s in Sydney, and finally return to France with another layover.

My questions: Which city should we choose for the layover (we’ve already visited Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and would like to see a different city)? Both on the way there and back? Which agency should we rent a van from? What sites should we visit on the East Coast?

If you’ve done this kind of trip before and have any tips or advice, I’d love to hear them.

Thanks

Hong Kong? Bangkok?

yes, Bangkok without hesitation

Hi there,

For Hong Kong or Bangkok, it all depends on the airline you book to get to Australia.

To rent your van, you can check out websites like https://www.camperdays.fr/ or https://www.campstar.com/. These sites work with rental companies like Apollo. We’ve used them all three times we’ve been to Australia (three Apollo campervan rentals, and everything always went smoothly).

The East Coast is huge—really huge. It all depends on how long you plan to rent the campervan, since distances between cities in Australia are pretty big.

Jean-Pierre

Hi there, It’ll depend on where you have to change planes based on the airline taking you from Paris to Sydney. You can turn that connection into a stopover of several days when you buy your ticket. Here’s a full list of current options (some cities require a visa):

Doha on Qatar Airways, Bangkok on Thai Airways, Colombo on SriLankan Airlines, Dubai on Emirates, Perth on Qantas, Delhi on Air India, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) or Hanoi on Vietnam Airlines (you can mix the two cities—one on the outbound, the other on the return), Xiamen on Xiamen Airlines, Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways, Guangzhou on China Southern Airlines, Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, Nanjing on China Eastern Airlines.

On top of that, there are options with two different partner airlines for the first and second legs. I won’t list them all because there are too many possibilities, but you can still buy the ticket as a single booking even if the airlines are different.

You can either prioritize the airline (for example, if you’re looking for the best airfare) and accept the stopover city where the connection happens, or you can do the opposite—prioritize the stopover city regardless of the airline.

Bangkok is a great choice. The two Vietnamese layovers are also worth considering.

to this list you can add Johannesburg (South African Airways) Mauritius (Mauritius Airlines) or even Jakarta and Denpasar, not forgetting Manila (Philippine Airlines) or Tokyo! That said, Paris to Sydney via the Pacific is also doable and offers other layovers to explore...

Hi there, For the stopover, everything’s already been said—I won’t add to it.

For the van on the east coast, be careful with campsite bookings for that period. You can’t (logically) do wild camping in Australia, and at this time of year, all the campsites are packed (it’s summer holidays for Australians). I actually gave up on renting a van because of that (and also because prices skyrocket at the end of the year).

For info, the travel journal is on my profile.

Thanks! We’re considering Bangkok and Beijing.

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks, I’ll be careful!

On the way out, I’d recommend Bangkok or Tokyo—perfect for a dynamic and cultural 3–4 day stopover. On the way back, Hong Kong or Abu Dhabi work well to break up the long journey home.

For van rentals, there are comparison sites like Motorhome Republic or Camper Champ (to compare all offers), as well as direct rental companies like Jucy, Travellers Autobarn, or Apollo (great for road trips along the east coast).

Some must-visit spots include Byron Bay (surfing, laid-back vibe, and iconic lighthouse), Fraser Island/K’gari (the world’s largest sand island, best explored by 4x4), the Whitsundays & Whitehaven Beach (turquoise waters and white sand beaches), the Great Barrier Reef (departures from Cairns or Airlie Beach), Brisbane, and the Gold Coast.

hi there, if you don’t want to stop along the way, Qantas is about to launch a non-stop direct flight from Sydney to London with a specially fitted Airbus A350-1000. The flight will take 19 hours. Personally, I’d never do such a long trip 😉

Personally, I’d never take such a trip 😉

Never say never!

Hi there,

Thanks, we’re considering Bangkok and Beijing

Just so you know, Beijing’s freezing in winter. Big temperature shock compared to Australia and Bangkok 🥵

We’re taking this trip in December with a 2-day stopover in Saigon on the way out and a stopover in Bangkok on the way back. Have a great trip!

Hi Catnad,

Thanks for the feedback. It’s true I hadn’t thought of Saigon. I’ll do some research.