Australia journey planning!

Quila

Hi all!

We are looking to go and visit my cousin in Australia for the Xmas and New Year period....

We are looking at dates of outbound 20th Dec and return 3rd Jan but we're flexible by 4 days for outbound flight and as long as we're back by 16th Jan.

Having a lot of trouble finding reasonable flight and accommodation.

Our accommodation MUST be no more than 10 or 15 minutes from Coolum Beach.

All help appreciated! We can fly from anywhere in England and must fly into Brisbane.

malkie76

What's been your best quote so far, and what sort of hotel are you looking for?

Quila

We have found flights for £1742 per person with Qantas. Our ideal budget for all 3 of us is £6k including hotels and flights. We aren't particularly bothered what board basis just as close to Coolum Beach itself as possible.

**curlywurly**

I must recommend this place: http://www.theduporth.com.au/ It is in Maroochydore which is about a ten-min drive from Coolum Beach. We have stayed there twice. As you can see it's not a hotel, it's an apartment, but it is absolutely the best place I have ever stayed and can thoroughly recommend it. It has absolute riverfront views. I have also stayed in a complex in Coolum, can't for the life of me remember the name of it but it was a bit like Australian Center Parcs.

For flights we have usually found Etihad are competitively priced, and we were very impressed with the service (better than Emirates, for example).

Alan_Bowen

You have left it far too late to get cheap flights to Oz for Christmas, they book up 9 months in advance, I can find Emirates flights for a couple of hundred pounds less, and the Qantas flights for £1704 at www.netflights.com There are rumours that Qantas is about to announce a sale as forward bookings have dropped off a cliff because of recent events but this is unlikely to help you as flights for the Christmas period are booked so far in advance.

malkie76

I'm seeing those Emirates flights too, with accomodation at Seachange Coolum Beach or Hyatt Regency Coolum, but coming in at £2600pp
There's a lot of accomodation out there, but it's all coming up at fully booked, which is unsurprising for the time of year.

claire16c

Is there no way you could postpone going until a later date? Because like others have said youve left it very late and now only the most expensive fares are left. 1700 is a crazy price.

I know someone who is going to oz with Air Asia for about £500 but shes going in a few weeks. Going at xmas racks the price up. Although sometimes if you fly on Christmas day itself it can be a bit cheaper

Archergirl

I think you will find that the price for flights to Oz go up in price about the 9 th Dec, so going after this date will be expensive whenever you book, but yes, the earlier the better.