Suggestions for 3 weeks

Old Jul 25th, 2017, 06:51 AM
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Suggestions for 3 weeks

My sister and I are planning a trip to Australia/NZ in April, 2018 using the Star Alliance Circle Pacific Fare. I realize the requirements of the Fare. I will note here that my sister is 58 and I am 60. This is a once in a lifetime trip as we are celebrating my recent retirement. We would leave from the Los Angeles area. Would anyone care to share a 3- 4 week itinerary? I don't really care to go to China, but Japan is of some interest. Given the flight time, which makes the most sense--flying to NZ or Asia first? We have not been to this part of the world before. I am interested in hearing whether you stayed in a hotel or maybe used airbnb/VRBO
We both enjoy natural beauty, but also love history. I love the sound of the ocean and am in awe of things like the Grand Canyon, Notre Dame, and Yellowstone! I loved Ireland and the Cliffs Of Moher,but enjoyed the elegance of The Orient Express from Paris to Venice.
Not interested in an Around the world trip, but if you have used the Circle Pacific Fare, what was your experience? Particular Airlines? We will fly business class.
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 09:56 AM
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We did 6 weeks in New Zealand and didn't have time to "see it all". With only 3 weeks I suggest you spend it all touring New Zealand and Dave other countries for a later trip.

We flew Air New Zealand and were very pleased with aircraft and service- would not hesitate to fly them again.

During our trip we started in Auckland and made our way by rental car to Wellington on the southern tip of the North Island. We planned our trip so we drive to a new location every 3 or 4 days and we never drove more than 3 to 4 hours to reach each destination. That allowed us plenty of time to see the sights, visit many points of interest and travel at a leisurely pace. From Wellington we flew to Nelson and rented another car and did the same type of 3 to 4 day stays in different areas ending in Christchurch. From Christchurch we flew to Queenstown and spent the rest of our time touring the southern art of the South Island. We flew back to Auckland for the last 2 days of our trip before flying back to the US.

With the exception of a hotel in Auckland we stayed in lodges and B&B's. We made sure we did at least one organized tour or activity in each location such as whale watching, private guided tours, flightseeing trips, boat charters, etc. and the rest of the time we were free to explore on our own.

In 35+ years of travel we've been all over the world and our trip to New Zealand was by far the best trip we have ever taken. We'd go back on a heartbeat.
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 01:45 PM
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Could you please clarify whether your 3-4 weeks is for the total trip or just the NZ and/ or Australia section?

As a starting point in the meantime, suggest you read up on Australia on https://www.australia.com

New Zealand on tourism.net.nz

You could have a very quick glimpse of both countries with 2 weeks in each, but really to do either full justice, 3-4 week in one would be best.
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 02:04 PM
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I would focus more on the route to and from Australasia rather than the actual airline. Flying business class there is not likely to be a huge amount of difference is using one of the major airlines.

3-4 weeks is not a huge amount of time in the context of the distances involved and I would certainly go for 3. Rather than 4 weeks, even longer if possible.

Could you stop over in different Asian cities in each direction? If so a few days in Tokyo or Kyoto would provide a flavour of Japan, although there is a such a huge amount to see, it would probably leave you wanting more.

My other favourite Asian option at that time of year would be Taipei, very easy to get around, again, a huge amount to see. We were there recently and packed a lot into 4 nights. Great food! Eva, the national carrier are a very good airline.

Like roamsaround we love New Zealand and have spent two, two month trips there, each time hiring a campervan, flying into Christchurch and out of Auckland. With 3-4 weeks I would just visit the South Island, although a whirlwind trip of the two island would be possible, I think it would be a mistake. The scenery is incredible! We chose the campervan route because of the additional freedom it provided of not having to book accomodation everywhere, not having to constantly pack and unpack, plus we really enjoy the experience itself. Perfectly possible to do a similar trip using a rental car and B&B.

If you are happy to do some reasearch, it is easy to plan yourself as there is a huge amount of information online via the NZ tourism, the Dept. Of Conservation etc. In fact there is so much stuff available, the difficulty for most is filtering it down to manageable amounts.
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 07:44 PM
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My first thought is that 3-4 weeks isn't enough time to take full advantage of a circle pacific fare as it would just give you a glimpse of your destination. We used a Oneworld circle pacific in business on our first trip to Australia but that was mostly because at the time it was less expensive than buying a roundtrip LAX-SYD business class ticket plus intra-Australia flights. We actually started planning the trip using a Star Alliance circle pacific and quite literally on the day I had my route completely planned and ready to purchase, there was a huge fare hike without advance notice so I had to completely start over from scratch with Oneworld (I have a long thread about it in the archives of the airlines forum). Since that trip circle pacific fares on Oneworld have gone up significantly as well. I would carefully look at whether a circle pacific fare is really cost effective for your trip.
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 10:37 PM
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Australia is a big country - nearly as big in size as the USA. Getting around takes time.
New Zealand is long and skinny but with narrow roads and Cook Strait separating the islands so getting around here takes time as well!
I would forget Japan for this holiday. It's about an 8 hour flight to/from NZ and probably longer to Australia.
It's 3 hours to fly across the Tasman and Australia is 3 hours behind us in time (I live in NZ)so getting between the 2 will take up a whole day.
From your list of things you like the Great Ocean Road trip in Victoria is great. Sydney is a lovely harbour city and many great beaches. New Zealand was described by a charming waitress we met at a restaurant as 'just like Ireland with the sun out all the time'. We have lovely beaches, lakes, walks in the bush and mountains. If you have been to Yellowstone don't bother with Rotorua. Head for Queenstown and the South Island. If you have not seen any fjords then you can chose between Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound (they are actually fjords being glacier formed but were named sounds in error.
I really liked Cairns and Far North Queensland (FNQ)as it was very tropical which is something different to NZ. The Kuranda Railway was great and we did an outer reef snorkelling tour which was awesome.
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 10:45 PM
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4 weeks would be better for your holiday if you can swing it.
Sydney for 5-6 nights Blue Mountains, beaches and a zoo to see all the unique animals
Cairns for 5-6 nights - go to a crocodile farm!
Melbourne - hire a car and do the Great Ocean Road (5 nights...2 nights Melbourne and 3 on the road)
Fly Melbourne to Queenstown 3 nights
Te Anau 2-3 nights and do a fjord trip from here
In Australia you will have to fly between those cities. In NZ you could hire a car or get the bus.
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