Australia
15 January 2014, 03:57 PM
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Australia
I'm Planning a trip to Australia this April for 3.5 weeks.
Probs going to be flying to and from Melbourne as this seems to be the cheaper option regarding flights.
Had anyone got any advise / recommendations?
We have no real plans except the misses mate will already be out there but up in Cairns and they want to meet up?
Probs going to be flying to and from Melbourne as this seems to be the cheaper option regarding flights.
Had anyone got any advise / recommendations?
We have no real plans except the misses mate will already be out there but up in Cairns and they want to meet up?
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15 January 2014, 07:53 PM
#9
Normally fly via Singapore and do a stopover there
We paid £915 to Adelaide but you can normally pick up flights to Sydney which is fantastic for £700 aprox depending when you go
Do the research on the Internet for prices then pop into your local travel agent who can normally match or beat Internet prices
Sometimes te local independant s are best and have more time and are experienced in different routes to save you money
I normally pay £900 -£1000 to Cebu ph but a independant agent got mr through amersdam / gangourzour (china ) then manilla then Cebu for £520 whic was my spending money for the holiday
Australia is great but expensive but rates are better then they were last year
Most travel agents will do a visa free but some try to charge £30 admin
We paid £915 to Adelaide but you can normally pick up flights to Sydney which is fantastic for £700 aprox depending when you go
Do the research on the Internet for prices then pop into your local travel agent who can normally match or beat Internet prices
Sometimes te local independant s are best and have more time and are experienced in different routes to save you money
I normally pay £900 -£1000 to Cebu ph but a independant agent got mr through amersdam / gangourzour (china ) then manilla then Cebu for £520 whic was my spending money for the holiday
Australia is great but expensive but rates are better then they were last year
Most travel agents will do a visa free but some try to charge £30 admin
15 January 2014, 08:26 PM
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Good tip lordharding, cheers for that, I'll give the agents a shout.
You say it's expensive, I'm looking to take 3-3.5k giving a grand a week, I'd like to do a bit of road tripping so would need to hire a car. (A maloo :-))
Me and the misses are big animal lovers, any hot spots for wildlife?
Any other must do while I'm out there?
You say it's expensive, I'm looking to take 3-3.5k giving a grand a week, I'd like to do a bit of road tripping so would need to hire a car. (A maloo :-))
Me and the misses are big animal lovers, any hot spots for wildlife?
Any other must do while I'm out there?
16 January 2014, 09:38 AM
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QUite a few years back now but my brother and I got invited to a mates wedding in Sydney so we decided to make a holiday out of it and took a month off 
We got a deal with BA/Quantas whereby we got return flights + several internal flights thrown in. You'll need these if you want to go anywhere in Oz as it takes an eternity by car/coach/train etc.
Didn't bother with stop overs, had a direct flight to Sydney with just a brief stop in Singapore for fuel. A long flight but we decided it would be better to get it over with so we could spend more time in Oz itself.
First week was spent exploring Sydney and catching up with out mate and his wife to be. We did all the usual touristy stuff and spent a few days in the Blue Mountains, went to Bondi, etc.
After the wedding the following weekend we flew to Cairns. Stayed in a place north of Cairns called Palm Cove for a week. Again lots of touristy stuff, visited the rainforest (Port Douglas), went snorkelling on the barrier reef, and had a hire car for a few days to explore.
Inland from Cairns to Alice Springs from where we did a three day organised trip to see Ayres Rock, Kings Canyon, etc. We only stayed two nights in Alice Springs itself which was fine as there isn't much to see or do apart from getting scared of drunken Aboriginals late at night.
Final leg of the trip had us flying into Brisbane. From there we had a hire car for most of the week. Explored the Sunshine coast, went on a jeep safari of Fraser Island, went to the Glasshouse mountains and rounded off the week by visiting Steve Irwin's zoo to see crocodiles being fed Finally back to Brisbane and the flight home 
Wherever you go I'm sure you'll love it. Try to cram plenty in but also make sure you do set aside a few days to chill on the beach etc.
We got a deal with BA/Quantas whereby we got return flights + several internal flights thrown in. You'll need these if you want to go anywhere in Oz as it takes an eternity by car/coach/train etc.
Didn't bother with stop overs, had a direct flight to Sydney with just a brief stop in Singapore for fuel. A long flight but we decided it would be better to get it over with so we could spend more time in Oz itself.
First week was spent exploring Sydney and catching up with out mate and his wife to be. We did all the usual touristy stuff and spent a few days in the Blue Mountains, went to Bondi, etc.
After the wedding the following weekend we flew to Cairns. Stayed in a place north of Cairns called Palm Cove for a week. Again lots of touristy stuff, visited the rainforest (Port Douglas), went snorkelling on the barrier reef, and had a hire car for a few days to explore.
Inland from Cairns to Alice Springs from where we did a three day organised trip to see Ayres Rock, Kings Canyon, etc. We only stayed two nights in Alice Springs itself which was fine as there isn't much to see or do apart from getting scared of drunken Aboriginals late at night.
Final leg of the trip had us flying into Brisbane. From there we had a hire car for most of the week. Explored the Sunshine coast, went on a jeep safari of Fraser Island, went to the Glasshouse mountains and rounded off the week by visiting Steve Irwin's zoo to see crocodiles being fed
Finally back to Brisbane and the flight home Wherever you go I'm sure you'll love it. Try to cram plenty in but also make sure you do set aside a few days to chill on the beach etc.
16 January 2014, 12:42 PM
#13
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Do a Forum Search for "Australia" there are a handful of good threads on what to do and see over the years 
SJ you git, have fun and slap on the factor 50
SJ you git, have fun and slap on the factor 50
16 January 2014, 01:36 PM
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My almost daughter in law lives Melbourne now
She's complaining about the heat ( she's african) , says she's had enough vitamin D for a lifetime!
Apparently Adeliade has become the hottest city on earth
She's complaining about the heat ( she's african) , says she's had enough vitamin D for a lifetime!
Apparently Adeliade has become the hottest city on earth
17 January 2014, 02:14 AM
#16
Landed a couple of hours ago, my advice: Travel Business class, you get a better sort travelling up front (plus the free showers at BAI were a godsend!)
...oh, and the lie-flat beds were great considering I had to be in the office for a day's work after landing!
...oh, and the lie-flat beds were great considering I had to be in the office for a day's work after landing!
Last edited by SJ_Skyline; 17 January 2014 at 02:43 AM.
17 January 2014, 10:12 PM
#19
Low 30s dpb, bloody hardest parkrun I've ever done this morning - 700 calories in 30 minutes with my heart running at 180bpm nearly the whole way! Must have been a dodgy pint last night! 
18 January 2014, 12:04 AM
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Lots of things to do in around Melbourne.
If you're there for 3 weeks and hiring a car I'd advise getting on the Great Ocean Road and driving out to see the 12 Apostles. Melbourne = MCG, Young and Jacksons pub for the painting of Chloe and some fine beers, St Kilda beach and a general look around.
If you're adventurous drive from Melbourne to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road. Takes two days.
Adelaide is quiet but pretty. You do have the Barossa and McLaren Vale on the door step. Glenelg has a nice beach as does Semaphore. Windy Point is also a great look out and has a fantastic restaurant overlooking the city. Recommend going to the National Wine Museum as they have the largest cellar in Australia. Adelaide Zoo.
Sydney is the usual Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Darling Harbour etc. Go to the Rocks and if you go look out for the Lord Nelson [oldest pub in Sydney] great beers. Also Ripples Restaurant at the foot of the harbour bridge, you'll have front row views of the bridge, the opera house and Luna Park right behind you. Food aint to bad either and not real pricey. There's a ton of other stuff to do naturally.
Brisbane - Storey Bridge, South Bank, the Gabba, Gold Coast, Dreamworld, Movieworld, Sealife, Surfers Paradise, Sunshine Coast [recommend going up towards Noosa, Eumundi]. Plenty to do, go round South Bank and you have GOMA, Nat Museum, beach [my office overlooks that, sometimes hard to concentrate in summer]
Airley Beach - Gateway to Whitsundays, nice but backpacker country.
Cairns - great barrier reef - nuff said.
Weather in April - Victoria/South Australia will be much like Autumn, bit wet, reasonably warm on some days. WA - don't know as never been. NSW - slightly warmer than Vic and still can be a bit damp. QLD - Warm and generally constant sunshine during Winter.
Water temp [sea] - Vic/SA = cold with BIG sharks, WA = cold, NSW = bit warmer than Vic, QLD = getting cooler than summer but bearable.
Sorry don't know much about WA.
Cost, you mention $3k. Also not clear if you're going on your own. Depending on how you plan to spend you're time and also whether you plan to eat out every day and also include car hire and any flights in that. I'd say budget or be prepared to spend a bit more it's expensive over here even with the better exchange rate.
Note, if you plan to fly plan ahead as far as you can and if you can book flights from Blighty do that. The earlier you book the cheaper [generally] the flight.
Good Luck
Roo
If you're there for 3 weeks and hiring a car I'd advise getting on the Great Ocean Road and driving out to see the 12 Apostles. Melbourne = MCG, Young and Jacksons pub for the painting of Chloe and some fine beers, St Kilda beach and a general look around.
If you're adventurous drive from Melbourne to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road. Takes two days.
Adelaide is quiet but pretty. You do have the Barossa and McLaren Vale on the door step. Glenelg has a nice beach as does Semaphore. Windy Point is also a great look out and has a fantastic restaurant overlooking the city. Recommend going to the National Wine Museum as they have the largest cellar in Australia. Adelaide Zoo.
Sydney is the usual Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Darling Harbour etc. Go to the Rocks and if you go look out for the Lord Nelson [oldest pub in Sydney] great beers. Also Ripples Restaurant at the foot of the harbour bridge, you'll have front row views of the bridge, the opera house and Luna Park right behind you. Food aint to bad either and not real pricey. There's a ton of other stuff to do naturally.
Brisbane - Storey Bridge, South Bank, the Gabba, Gold Coast, Dreamworld, Movieworld, Sealife, Surfers Paradise, Sunshine Coast [recommend going up towards Noosa, Eumundi]. Plenty to do, go round South Bank and you have GOMA, Nat Museum, beach [my office overlooks that, sometimes hard to concentrate in summer
]Airley Beach - Gateway to Whitsundays, nice but backpacker country.
Cairns - great barrier reef - nuff said.
Weather in April - Victoria/South Australia will be much like Autumn, bit wet, reasonably warm on some days. WA - don't know as never been. NSW - slightly warmer than Vic and still can be a bit damp. QLD - Warm and generally constant sunshine during Winter.
Water temp [sea] - Vic/SA = cold with BIG sharks, WA = cold, NSW = bit warmer than Vic, QLD = getting cooler than summer but bearable.
Sorry don't know much about WA.
Cost, you mention $3k. Also not clear if you're going on your own. Depending on how you plan to spend you're time and also whether you plan to eat out every day and also include car hire and any flights in that. I'd say budget or be prepared to spend a bit more it's expensive over here even with the better exchange rate.
Note, if you plan to fly plan ahead as far as you can and if you can book flights from Blighty do that. The earlier you book the cheaper [generally] the flight.
Good Luck
Roo
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