Tariqalsada

Hello,

After receiving very helpful advice from the members here I have come up with the below itinerary

- Sydney
- Queenstown (NZ)
- Gold Coast
- Cairns
- Sydney (returning to Sydney to fly home)

After checking the best ways to travel between these places I noticed that we will need to travel a lot as the distance is large, so what is your best advice? are there any other recommended transportation options that we can use?

for now, we will have to fly from Sydney to Queenstown, then fly from Queenstown to Gold Coast, then again from Gold Coast to Cairns then fly back to Sydney, so 4 flights in total in addition to our very long international flight from our country, we are a family with one young kid so we are a bit worried about getting tired from all these flights.

I need your advice on the above please and your help is much appreciated.

tripplanner001

How much time do you have? What time of year are you visiting? Where are you coming from and traveling to? With limited time flying is the best option as distances are large. I would suggest dropping Queenstown from your itinerary. Also consider booking open-jaw tickets flying into one city and out of another to avoid backtracking.

Tariqalsada

Thanks for your reply

We are coming from Qatar, Middle East, and we are spending a month from July to August

I am thinking of the same idea that you suggested, dropping Queenstown, but I wasn't sure as many people are recommending us to visit Queenstown

I will book open-jaw tickets as well as per your advice

tasmangirl

"After checking the best ways to travel between these places I noticed that we will need to travel a lot as the distance is large, so what is your best advice?"
Australia is a BIG country as I answered for your other questions.
To cut down on the travel you will have to visit less places.

Bokhara2

You said you wanted to ski. Queenstown is a good place for that time of year. It's easy enough to drop it & keep your travels in Australia - hence fewer flights & destinations.

Good idea to fly into Cairns & out of Sydney ( or vice versa) if you can make that work. None of the flights on your Itinerary is particularly long, but the time getting to & from the airport, security & boarding etc., can certainly add up to 1/2 a day by the time you are in your next accommodation.

Bokhara2

In Sydney, use Opal cards to access the excellent public transport system. Trains, buses and best of all, ferries. Only rent a car if you want to do a day/overnight trips out of the city.

At the Gold Coast & Cairns, I would rent a car for ease & flexibility.

Vroomvroom will show the rates. Book direct with the operators.

Tariqalsada

Thank you all once again for the advice and help, this is much appreciated.

Diamantina

I agree with Bokhara2, book directly with the airlines, not with a third party, and with tripplanner001 that you should speak to the airlines that you will be taking from Qatar to Australia about an open-jaw ticket.

When you book your flights between Australian cities (and possibly Queenstown), make sure that your fare includes checked luggage, or that you pay the extra charge for checked luggage. If you don't pay for the extra cost of checked luggage when booking your flight, it'll cost you more at the check-in counter, sometimes much more.

Some of the airlines are not considered as reliable.

If you choose to fly between Australia and New Zealand on Air New Zealand, you'll notice the cheapest fare will be "seat" (carry-on only), the next cheapest "seat and bag" (carry-on and checked bag), the next step up would be "the works" (carry-on, check-in bag, meal, seat selection, in-flight movie).

How important is it to ski on this trip? As I mentioned in your other post, when flying from Australia to NZ or vice versa, you'll have to check in earlier for your flight than for flights between Australian cities. The Queenstown Airport recommends arriving "at the airport 2-3 hours before your scheduled departure to give yourself time to check in and relax."

Then a direct flight from Sydney to Queenstown would be 3 hours, maybe a little more. Then you'll have to pass through customs and immigration on your arrival. (If coming from Qatar it seems you won't need to apply for a visa in advance of visiting NZ:
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...untries/slider)

Then you'll have to get to your hotel and get settled.

At the end of July, the sun sets around 5:30 p.m. So a whole day will be spent traveling between Australia and NZ.

Diamantina

You asked about what else you could do in Queenstown. So if you go, here's a useful link:
https://www.queenstownnz.co.nz/

I'd recommend the Skyline Gondola:
http://www.skyline.co.nz/
A walk through the Botanic Garden:
https://www.myguidequeenstown.com/th...nstown-gardens
You can take a cruise on the lake:
https://www.realjourneys.co.nz/en/ex...mship-cruises/
Which you can combine with a visit to a farm:
https://www.realjourneys.co.nz/en/ex...ak-farm-tours/

There's a wildlife park near the base of the Skyline Gondola, where you can see rare kiwis (a NZ bird). I've not been there, but you can read reviews here:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attrac...th_Island.html
http://kiwibird.co.nz/kiwi/

Tariqalsada

Thank you very much for the great advice, this is really valuable to me, can't thank you enough!

nelsonian

Why don't you just stick to Australia this time, and then come back and explore a bit more of New Zealand including Queenstown on a separate trip.