I’m v. poor - help me find cheapest UK to Oz flight Oct/Nov?

GlynG

Hi everyone, I’m clueless about booking passage on the metal birds – I’ve only travelled once on a short trip on one and that was arranged by someone else.

I want to travel one way from London to Australia, preferably Melbourne, or somewhere on the South-Eastern edge of Australia (I’ll have a bike with me and plan to cycle between some of the cities during a year long working holiday).

How could I find the cheapest budget flight ideally anytime this October? (or possibly November if the latter would be much cheaper). I’m not sure how best to search for the cheapest out of a wide time range rather than specific dates but I’m very poor (literally zero income all year and about to become homeless as I can’t afford rent) so I could really do with finding the cheapest possible.

Thanks in advance for any replies/advice!

Glyn

jamesbrownontheroad

Air Asia (a low cost airline based out of Kuala Lumpur) has a long haul service to London Stansted that operates a few times a week. You can connect from there onto their low cost network, including Melbourne.

One-way flights are available from Stansted - Melbourne (connecting in KL) for £411 including taxes at various dates in October. Beware, however, that it's Ryanair-style low cost, so you have to pay for all food, blankets, entertainment etc. Check carefully whether they can take your bike as luggage and prepare to pay for checked items. To keep costs down, take food and a good book!

111KAB

Forget the bike for a start! Unless you are super-fit you will not be cycling between cities plus if you were to take a bike on the plane transport costs would probably be excessive. Also look into taking a flight say to Brisbane and getting an inter-connecting - this can work out the same as getting a direct and you will have seen Brisbane without having to bike from Melbourne. Air Asia as JBOTR suggested is a good starting point- October likely to be cheaper than November.

KiKi

Qantas tend to drop their prices around 13 then 7 weeks prior to any date to fly. I've never paid more than £700 return with them, usually over the Aus summer.

Don't forget you'll need a WH visa (assume you're under 30) which you'll need to pay for, too. Cost of living is very high - food exceptionally so at the moment due to the floods. Accommodation will be cheaper if you stay in hostels, obviously, but it's still an expensive lifestyle. And you'll need to save enough to come home - immigration won't let you in if they think you have no way of paying your fare back to the UK.

Cycling between cities? Do you realise how big Australia is?!!? Melbourne to Canberra is 670km, which is around an 8 hour drive, plus breaks - let alone cycling! Another 4 hour drive to Sydney on a good day (via a motorway, though - no cycling there), then another 12 hour drive to Brisbane by car - again, on a motorway. And you're not yet half way up the East Coast!

Take the train!

KiKi

GlynG

Thanks all!

Looking at the site there are taxes on top of the £411, but it seems fairly reasonable for the distance I guess. Unless anyone else suggests anything better I’ll book it in a week or two after I’ve finished selling off things or at least got the point I'm clear finances are ok enough. Since I’d be changing in Kuala Lumpa anyway I thought I’d see how much more it would cost as two single flights, to have a few days to stop over there and oddly it seems to work somewhat cheaper that way, so I reckon I’ll do that.

111kab - I’m certainly not forgetting my bike! I’ll rely on it to get between places and see anywhere. The costs of taking it on a plane are apparently $35, so not too bad. I’m pretty unfit at the moment but I’ll be doing physical outdoor work there for a year or two (and then on for the rest of my life) and doing a lot a lot of cycling, so I should build my fitness back soon enough.

KiKi - WH visa is relatively cheap and of obviously needed. Thanks for the warning but I’ll hopefully manage by bike - people have cycled all round the edge of Australia and I’m only looking at a thousand mile or so stretch from Melbourne to Brisbane. I’m sure I could do that in a few months, really experiencing the area on the way. I have a credit card with a limit of £3,000 which I can use as evidence to show the majority of the funds to enter the country (I won’t actually use it there) so should be fine. I’ll be doing some WWOOFing while there, so I won’t be homeless. I figure I can always camp in the desert and wash in the sea while cycling to save money. I’m planning to learn how to crew sailboats while I’m there with the intention of trying to hitch a lift on a boat over to Central America after I’m done as my future goal is to save up and buy land there to become a subsidence farmer / forest gardener. If things work out especially well I may never return to the UK.

Judwin

GlynG wrote: »

If things work out especially well I may never return to the UK.

If you're contemplating cycing around Oz, it's VERY likely you won't be returning to the UK, or anywhere else for that matter. If I were an Australian immigration officer, and you told me you were going to cycle around the country, I'd put you back on the next plane to Heathrow.

The place is HUGE - and the there are large distances between any inhabited places. I'm not sure how far you think you can cycle in a day, but Perth, Alice Springs, Darwin, and Adelaide are all non starters IMHO. The distances between (what passes for) civilisation in Oz are just too far. Melbourne, Sydney and then up the coast to Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns may be possible, but it's VERY hilly, and can be very hot and humid.

If you must go interstate, check out Virgin Blue and Jetstar's web sites. These are the Ozzie equivalents of Easyjet and Ryanair. Last year we got a 4 flight airpass from Perth->Adelaide->Melbourne->Sydney->Brisbane for $AUD200 - or about £150.

johnnybondfinger

Ring up emirates, they normally let you take a bike for free (I am guessing if you are trying to do these sort of distances you will be a seasoned cyclist and have a lightweight frame bike?), but it counts towards your 30kg baggage allowance. They just ask you to remove the seat, handle bars and pedals.

photome

GLyn

How far can you cycle in a day.

What will you do when you are exhausted and in the middle of nowhere

They wont let you stay, might not even let you in when you tell them your plan

martinthebandit

as others have posted, its a big place

scotty1971

i'm sure when i went backpacking in australia i had to have a return ticket,i knew of people who only got a one way ticket and were sent back home,but that was back in 1999,.

HappyMJ

scotty1971 wrote: »

i'm sure when i went backpacking in australia i had to have a return ticket,i knew of people who only got a one way ticket and were sent back home,but that was back in 1999,.

It's still the same today and you need money. You won't be allowed into Australia without money. You need to be able to support yourself without claiming or in the event you can't find work. It only needs be a small amount $5,000 is the minimum. As the OP can't pay the rent I don't see this idea going very far.

Just googled the cycling thing. It took 3 riders two cycles and a car 4 weeks to cycle from Melbourne to Brisbane for charity. It's 2500km. At a speed of 15km/h that would be 166 hours of cycling time about 8 hours a day so about 21 days solid riding.