koryn

Not sure if this is the best place to post my question - but I'll try it here and see! Husband and I would like to make the following trip in Jan '13. Travel from our home in upstate NY to Honolulu (4 or 5 nights), on to Sydney and then up to Cairns for some diving (14 days, maybe longer?), on to Hong Kong (4 or 5 nights) and then return home. We've done a fair amount of travel to Great Britain, Egypt, Bermuda, etc. - so we're not exactly strangers to international travel. That said though, I feel that a trip like this with a variety of airlines and connections, various hotels, visa requirements in diffrerent countries, etc. all point to the need for using a travel agency or company that specializes in a more complex trip experience. I think I would feel better if there was someone that had all the details of the trip at their command so to speak, so if a flight were delayed somewhere along the way that they could be working out the problems that delays could cause with respect to the bookings for the rest of the trip - things of that nature. Is there a "top notch" travel company that I should be working with? For years I've received mailings from Goway Travel and have just recently looked into reviews for them and didn't see alot of good things said about them (which is greatly disappointing as I thought they'd be a natural for putting together a trip like this!). Have also looked at Travel Wizards on line and they look promising but there's no substitute for personal experiences! Would appreciate any suggestions you can offer!

Melnq8

Doesn't sound that complicated to me. Suggest you look into a RTW (Around the world) ticket. You have to book them through travel agents anyway. If you're a US citizen, you'll only need a visa for Australia, which you can get online in about five minutes.

http://www.immi.gov.au/

tt7

I would second Melnq8's comment - your suggested itinerary isn't that complicated and I'm not sure what value a travel agent would provide. Over the last 30+ years, I've lived in the UK, the US and Australia and have traveled extensively between them and in Asia and in Europe and have never, ever used a travel agent for anything.

Visas - I agree with Melnq8. Assuming you have a US passport, you only need a visa for Oz, which you can obtain online.

Flights - Again, Melnq8's suggestion of a RTW ticket is worth investigating. I use them regularly for my Oz/US/UK/Oz trips. Do you have any allegiance to any particular airline? If you're in the AA camp (and I wouldn't worry about the fact they just filed for bankruptcy protection - they're only doing what all the other major US airlines did years ago) then I'm familiar with RTW tickets on AA/oneworld airlines, which can be booked online (see http://www.oneworld.com/ or http://www.oneworld.com/flights/roun...orld-explorer/). If you can identify if you have some airline allegiance, we can point you in the right direction for more information. The price of RTW tickets varies based on what class you fly (F/J/Y) and what country you start in (the US is expensive for F or J, not too bad for Y). Think outside the box - you may want to take a flight somewhere (the UK?), start a RTW ticket ex-UK by flying back home to the US, then do some flying in the US (returning home) and then later do the Home-HNL-SYD-CNS-HKG-back-home-via-the-UK route, flying home on the back half of the ticket to the UK you originally left on. Alternatively, there are "Circle Pacific" tickets (http://www.oneworld.com/flights/mult...ircle-pacific/) that would cover your itinerary (Home-HNL-SYD-CNS-HKG-Home).

I should also put in a plug for Melbourne. Sydney has the harbour, the bridge, the opera house and the "glitz and the glamour" but Melbourne has everything else - it's the sporting / shopping / dining / cultural capital of Australia - come visit - http://www.visitmelbourne.com/ or http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/Pages/Home.aspx

Diamantina

I agree with the others that you do not need to go through a travel agent to book such an itinerary--unless you just don't want to bother with this yourself. January 2013 is a long ways off, so maybe some of the schedules are not even available for booking yet.

I have bought several Circle Pacific tickets through air ticket consolidators (this was more than 12 years ago). This allowed me to stop in Hong Kong or Japan or Hawaii, before continuing on to countries in Southeast Asia and then from there on to Australia before returning home to San Francisco. The travel section of our local newspaper had several ads for consolidators advertising "Circle Pacific" or "Round the World" airfares. I had good luck with one consolidator, from which I bought several tickets (I don't think they are even around anymore). Now I think you can probably get some great deals on multi-city tickets from online travel sites.

You can also check out Star Alliance, but the price will be high--maybe this doesn't matter?
http://www.staralliance.com/en/booking/book-and-fly/#

Keep in mind, the more complicated your itinerary, the more time you will waste sitting in airports, waiting for flight connections. Why not consider a separate trip to Hawaii? I see Hawaiian Airlines has a special on direct flights from NY (JFK Airport) to Honolulu right now.
http://www.hawaiianair.com/Specialof...-pos1_20111115

This would simplify things for you. That way your later trip could just concentrate on Australia and Hong Kong. You could check out Circle Pacific fares for this, or check out the fares on Qantas and/or Cathay Pacific (which is based in Hong Kong). Australia is a fantastic country. I could never tire of visiting new places there.

Another thing to consider is the weather. January will be the rainy or wet season for Hawaii and Cairns--doesn't necessarily mean you will get rained or not have a good time, but it is something to consider. January should be perfect for Sydney and Hong Kong, though no guarantees on this either.
http://gohawaii.about.com/cs/travelp...n_to_visit.htm
http://www.frommers.com/destinations...781020006.html
http://www.cairns-australia.com/cairns-weather.html
http://www.visitcairns.com.au/faq.htm

Jennifer_Buchanan

I would use a travel agent to book this trip - and I would imagine they will save you time, money and find you better accomodations and connections for your trip. I would search for a AAA Travel member agency - they are very good. You could do a google search for travel agents who specialize in scuba - Australia - and go from there. Sounds like a GREAT trip - have fun!

Melnq8

There was a time you couldn't book RTW on Star Alliance w/o a travel agent, but it appears that has changed. We were just playing with the Star Alliance website a few days ago and it seems you can now book RTW online. Woo-hoo!

Bokhara2

Here's a link to certified specialist travel agents for Australia. http://www.australiatravelspecialist.com/

Jackie_Dusang

I'm a travel agent and a certified Australia/South Pacific Specialist. I'd be happy to help you with your travel plans if you're still looking for an agent to help you. My email address is [email protected] You may want to consider cruising for part of your trip rather than flying from place to place...just a thought.
My website address is www.jackiedusang.cruiseshipcentrs.ca

toastandbutter

Just a warning about travelling to Cairns and seeing the Great Barrier Reef. January is in the middle of the monsoon season, so you're likely to have rain and cloudy skies every day, and humidity will be very high. While it's OK to swim out on the reef at this time of year, it's not recommended to swim off Cairns beaches, in fact most of these will be shut, due to the prevalence of stingers. Best to forget the beach and use the hotel swimming pool.