Help with trip to Australia please.

Jami74

Hubby is being sent to Australia for about six weeks with his work. Me and our two children are desperate to go too but are on an extremely tight budget. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions to make it affordable?

Flights look to be costing about £2k for the three of us on first glance. We only need basic accomodation with somewhere to sleep and access to a bathroom.

merlinormartin

Think you need to be more specific regarding dates and location if you want quotes/recommendations.. ..

starting point for flights ,,,
Skyscanner
Netflights
Jetabroad -- OZ site

richardw

http://www.airasia.com/gb/en/travelinformation/routemap.html

http://www.jetstar.com/gx/en/flight-info/route-map.aspx

Jami74

Thank-you both, it would be for the month of October but flexible by a couple of weeks either side.

Gloomendoom

My SIL uses Air Asia as they are cheap. Apparently, they have sales from time to time with some very cheap flights on offer. You need to take your own food though.

It depends where in Australia you are going, but another option she has used is to get a cheap flight to Singapore and then a short haul flight from there to Oz.

olias

As far as accommodation is concerned, your best bet is probably a backpackers type hostel. Most of them have lodges or chalets that are really nice, clean and affordable and are geared up for families to stay in. They should have one or two bedrooms, bathroom, and a small lounge and kitchenette. A bonus is most of them are in nice locations and have a swimming pool and a snack bar or cafe.

Where in Australia will you be?

Olias

Jami74

Hi Olias, it will be Melbourne.

Bananabelly

I am originally from Melbourne. It's a shame for you that the pound is so weak as that makes everything more expensive. As others have said, look at airasia for flights.
For accomodation, can you not stay with your husband? ie sometimes work arrangements are a bit flexible for you to add a bit extra to upgrade to a larger room. Otherwise I would suggest either a backpackers place, or consider staying in the suburbs a little bit to lower your costs. The other option would be an apartment so you could cook and keep costs down that way, but it can sometimes be pricey. If you give an idea of what you might like to do or where your husband will be based we might be able to help a bit further.

Jami74

Bananabelly my husband would be there for the Melbourne Cup (horse race). We have no idea what his accomodation will be like. It could be anything from a bed in a dormitory to a hotel room or an apartment, I really have no idea at this stage. Obviously if it was an apartment then we might be able to squeeze in too and that would be ideal.

olias

Why doesn't your husband tell his employer that he would like to take his wife and kids with him and askif his employer be prepared for your husband to pay the difference to upgrade the accommodation that would have been provided for him for accommodation suitable to include his family.

The employer would lose nothing financially and you would in theory end up paying less than if you booked your accommodation independently.


Olias

Bananabelly

Jami74 wrote: »

Bananabelly my husband would be there for the Melbourne Cup (horse race). We have no idea what his accomodation will be like. It could be anything from a bed in a dormitory to a hotel room or an apartment, I really have no idea at this stage. Obviously if it was an apartment then we might be able to squeeze in too and that would be ideal.

Ooh, interesting. So he is likely to be in the city or flemington (which is not far out) unless he is looking after one of the international horses, then in theory he could be anywhere in Victoria?
I would book flights ASAP with airasia if you want to keep costs down, it looks like they have returns from Stansted in October for around 400 pounds. Then see if you can find out what accomodation your husband is in and whether there is some flexibility there. While it is a busy time in Melb, it is not so busy that you have to book accomodation right away, you have a bit of time (though the cheap stuff will start to go).