Do you just need a break from the hum drum of every day life? Escape from the city, for a weekend, or a longer getaway!

The average Australian takes holidays twice a year, and most often we travel with families and friends, including children, according to recent research commissioned by Take A Break Away.

Australian holidaymakers most often choose to stay in self-contained accommodation, either an apartment or a house, followed closely by bed and breakfast properties and guesthouses. It seems we like access to self-catering facilities so we can do our own thing, relax and fire up the barbeque.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
How do we decide where to go? We look at location and availability, as well as personal recommendations from friends and relatives. More and more we are using the Internet to help us find a place to stay, including search engines, Internet accommodation directories and tourist information websites.

Where to Go?
There are so many places to see and things to do within driving distance of Sydney that you will never be able to do them in one trip. Pick one or two places and allow time to see them properly. Favourites include:
• Sydney Sightseeing itself – Manly Beach, Taronga Zoo, the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.
• The Hunter Valley – treat yourself to great food and wine.
• The Blue Mountains – fantastic views, nice and cool at most times of the year and just the place to snuggle up by the fire.
• The Southern Highlands – great outdoor scenery and historic Berrima and Mittagong make this trip a delight.

Or, further afield Canberra, Mudgee, Port Stephens and the Eurobodalla Coast.

When to Go?
School holidays or not school holidays? Can you only get time off in the peak season or do you want to plan for something a little less busy? Traffic in and out of Sydney during peak times can be a major headache, so if you have no other choice, think carefully about when you might leave for your trip away. Heading out of town on any Friday night can be slow, so why not take off early and get a good head start…

Where to Stay?
So, what do we look for when we look for a place to take a break? We prefer holiday properties with a few of those extra facilities – pools or spas, nearby dining facilities and local attractions, and more often than not, something that caters for children. “I need to know if there are activities for children nearby, that is all part of the ideal holiday experience” says Ben Govett of Castle Hill.

On the flipside, are those who specifically look for places to stay that do not cater for children. Now, some would say that’s a real break away!

Decided where you want to go, but not sure where to stay, or still undecided about where to go?

TakeABreak.com.au  lists a range of accommodation that you can book online. If you are after a particular type of holiday experience, eg beach holidays, diving holidays, fishing holidays and farmstay holidays, TakeABreak has theme pages that allow you to search on any of these topics. If you want to take your dog, there is a pet-friendly section too. Or, you can simply search by region and local area, or by type of accommodation – B&B, Self- Contained House or Apartment, Luxury Resort or Hotel

Whilst there is a range of online solutions available, something that you can use to search for facilities, size, location, type of property and number of beds as well as communication of specials/deals is important. Take A Break Away (www.takeabreak.com.au ) was developed specifically in response to this research. It is an online Australian holiday accommodation portal designed to provide an easy to use, easy to book search facility for holidaymakers in Australia. And it’s free for holiday makers to both search and book.