Australia Dec 10 > cheapest travel options?

743347 · 6 February 2010 at 5:55PM

Hi everyone,

I've been trawling the internet for many hours over many days looking to find the cheapest flights, best ways to book, best airlines, whether to use travel agent etc for many long hours and I'm all searched out - help!

Does anyone have any advice on the cheapest way to get to Australia?
We are a family of 4 (mum, dad, 7 and 5yr old) looking to go on holiday in or around December 2010. We're looking to go on a round-trip cruise from Sydney to NZ on the 17th Dec for 13 nights which are our only fixed terms.
We're hoping to do a road trip either from Brisbane to Sydney BEFORE the cruise, or alternatively Sydney to Brisbane AFTER the cruise. As such flights will be on a one-way basis either going to brisbane and from sydney, or vice versa.

We're hoping two weeks will be sufficient for our road trip -more than a month off work would be really pushing our luck!

I hear it's cheapest to book sooner rather than later - is this generally correct? Are there any special deals or offers anyone knows of? We have no airmiles or similar.

Is it cheaper to book direct or are travel agents cheaper as they have more scope? Does anyone have any recommendations?

Brainflustered!

richardw · 6 February 2010 at 6:05PM

'Inclusive tour' fares might be good.

743347 · 6 February 2010 at 6:12PM

Willing to fly from; wherever is cheapest

is this usually heathrow?

I've found a flight with travelpack on tue 30th nov from heathrow to brisbane for;
2 x Adult Tickets £668.00
2 x Adult Airport Taxes and Charges£340.44
2 x Child Tickets £506.00
2 x Child Airport Taxes and Charges£340.44
Total£1,854.88

This is the cheapest I've seen so far... the flight prices go up as you go into december...Does this look fairly reasonable or is this beatable?

743347 · 6 February 2010 at 6:14PM

richardw wrote: »

'Inclusive tour' fares might be good.

thank you, will look into this also. Do you have any suggested sites or companies?

view · 7 February 2010 at 8:03PM

Is departing in December and absolute must? travelling on the 1st Dec to end Jan is considered 'christmas high/peak' season. Even if you can leave a few days beforehand you'll notice a decrease in fares.

check all the flight comparision websites - not just one or two. use roomratecompare.com for hotels.

2 weeks is ample for a road trip between Sydney and Brissy (12 hours without stopping - obviously you wouldn't do this!). Make sure you plan hotels/b&b's etc.. before you go and plan the stops accordingly.

Don't use a travel agency - do the research and book it directly.

For internal flights look at virginblue.com.au etc.. (search budget flights on google.com.au) don't just use Qantas

and please please ensure you have full travel insurance for everyone, absolutely essential.

put aside a few afternoons/evenings to research properly. Think about what you want to do / see. Check distances carefully - it's a huge country. make lists of places that are good for the kids too.

finally - when you've done your research go through a cash back site (ie: topcashback.co.uk)

fifeken · 7 February 2010 at 8:36PM

743347 wrote: »

I've found a flight with travelpack on tue 30th nov from heathrow to brisbane for;
2 x Adult Tickets £668.00
2 x Adult Airport Taxes and Charges£340.44
2 x Child Tickets £506.00
2 x Child Airport Taxes and Charges£340.44
Total£1,854.88

£463 per person is a good price for Australia - take it while you can. Look for open jaw tickets if you want to return from a different place - the good agencies will offer these or you can get them direct from the airlines. Whatever airline you choose, join their frequent flyer program to earn miles. Different airlines hike the price on different days for the Christmas peak. I've found the 9th December much cheaper to leave than the 10th for example.

Australia Dec 10 > cheapest travel options?

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