nevermind

We are just about to &quot;purchase&quot; our award flights to Australia. The plan is to travel in September and go to Sydney, Ayers Rock, Cairns, then back to Sydney. (Originally we had planned to go <i>everywhere</i>, so I'm proud of us for becoming more focused!!). We have been reading our 3 inch thick guide book, pouring over our map, spent hours on the internet and are feeling overwhelmed!

We have award flights, so I think we can not get an Aussie Pass, since no money will pass hands in acquiring our passage to Oz (we will be flying Quantas). Does anyone have any good, reasonably economic tips on flying about the country? Also, we're considering taking trains and/or driving at least a portion of our visit. What are the pros and cons of traveling this way?

Before I actually make the final move in getting the tickets, is September a reasonable time of year to be traveling in Australia? I know it gets very hot in the summer which would be, I think, December and January. We'd like to avoid extreme heat and humidity, if possible... We plan on spending 3 weeks in Australia.

I guess what I'm asking is:

How is September for travel in the areas we're considering?

Is travel by train recommended?

Are there any driving routes that are sensational?

Any suggestions for reasonable rates in air travel?

Thanks!

Melnq8

&lt;Does anyone have any good, reasonably economic tips on flying about the country?&gt;

Jetstar!

www.jetstar.com/

DownUnder

Nothing wrong with September. It is Springtime here and those places never really get cold except fot Ayres Rock at nightime. They are vast distances though and the only way is to fly. Train travel in Australia is reasonable, but not in the same league as train travel in Europe for instance. The Ghan and Indian Pacific are international standard trains, but the rest are slow because of the poor infrastructure. To drive those distances would take days and the only leg that you might consider is Cairns to Sydney, but allow a week to do it.
www.webjet.com.au or www.flightcentre.com.au will give you all options if you can't get an Aussie Pass.

fuzzylogic

Great to see someone thinking about alternatives to flying. But sorry, no trains between Sydney and Uluru - and I wouldn't recommmend driving it!!

There are trains between Sydney and Cairns but have you checked the timetable? It's a long journey and perhaps not appropriate for someone with only 3 weeks.

I think it's just great that you want to travel overland - so may I suggest?

Fly from Sydney to Cairns (or fly to some point inbetween and hire a car and check out a particular area) and fly on. Jetstar and Virgin Blue are the places to go.

From Cairns you can travel overland to Alice Springs if you want (check out Desert Venturer on Ausralian google) and then fly back from there to Sydney.

VBlue once offered this route but sadly no more. But Qantas do.

longhorn55

Be aware that school holidays for most of Australia begin on September 22nd. If you will be traveling after that time, be prepared for larger crowds and higher rates. You will definitely want to have your transportation and lodging booked in advance.

nevermind

Thank you for your responses. I am so glad that September is generally a good month for travel, and I will tweak our plans just a bit to avoid the school holiday. I'll book our flights to and from Australia immediately, then do more research using suggestions based here.

Again -- thank you. It is exciting to watch our trip begin to take shape!!

DJE

How long do the school holidays last that begin in late Sept.? We thought that the busiest time would be in Dec. for resident tourism.

We have left some accommodations open between Brisbane and the Hunter Valley as we thought it would be nice to just stop randomly along the coast for 3 overnights. Will this be a problem?

All other accommodations for the trip are pre-booked.

Bokhara

Here's our holiday schedule:
www.oztourism.com.au/ozhols

Bokhara

Sorry: wrong link ... try this one.

http://www.takeabreak.com.au/HolidayDates.htm

DJE

Bokhara,

Thanks for the link. Did not know about the spring break holidays. I guess maybe we should secure reservations even for the coastal trip from Brisbane to H. Valley?

Bokhara

DJE, I wouldn't bother. Provided you're prepared to be flexible, I'm sure you'll be fine on that leg. There's ooooodles of motels, hotels, resorts, B&amp;B's along the way. In the HV, you might need to call a day ahead (or if you're really keen on a particular spot, do book ahead to make sure you get in there.) For the rest, I think the freedom of not being committed to a particular place in advance far outweighs the risk of not getting exactly what you want. Just don't leave it until 7pm to start looking (LOL).

DJE

Bokhara,

Thank you so much for your additional comments. It would be nice to just be flexible with those few days as all other accomms. have been pre-arranged including the H.V.

Is spring break a big time for families to travel or does this predominantly take place during the summer break? ( I was aware of that timing )

We usually try and avoid traveling during the busier school holiday times where ever we go and had I known this beforehand, I may have altered the dates to start our vacation in mid Oct. We were looking to book for a time with good weather in the Great Barrier Reef and rainforest areas so thought mid to end of Sept. would be preferable.

Bokhara

DJE: Probably in the Christmas break, as it's longer. Lots of people rent flats &amp; houses, visit friends &amp; family, or the resorts on beaches etc., so unless you're heading for a prime &quot;kids holiday&quot; venue, I really doubt that you'll have a problem. I drove Sydney - Gold Coast via Pacific &amp; New England Hwys a couple of days before Christmas &amp; had no problem anywhere.

&quot;Fortune favours the brave&quot; (LOL) Besides, we've got some pretty nice park benches if you luck out!