Booking Tourist Trains and Tipping Questions
 

Is it necessary/advisable to book trains in Australia/New Zealand? I'm thinking of things like a train to Katoomba from Sydney,or Korunda from Cairns, or on the TranzAlpine from Christchurch to Greymouth. I understand that waiter/waitress don't expect a tip added to the dinner bill. Is this correct? Do we tip a bellman at the airport or one who takes our bags to our hotel room? If so, what woould be appropriate? Taxi driver? Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

hi, glk11b,
I always book trains ahead particularly the popular touristy-type trains like the TranzAlpine, and especially if you only have a limited time frame. I did this for the trains to and from Kuranda 5 weeks ago so that I could organise the rest of our time in Cairns knowing which days were free. I would certainly book long-distance trains ahead, again just to make sure you are able to travel on the days you wish to.
As for tipping, it is not expected in either country, but if you feel someone goes above and beyond the call of duty it is a nice gesture to offer a tip. My husband is in the passenger industry and often receives little tips when people proffer their fare and say 'keep the change'.

Re tipping - its customary to tip the poster, who takes your bags to your hotel room. As for bellman at the airport...I'm not sure what you mean by this. We don't have porters or bellmen who carry ones baggage at the airport, thats for you to do, with a trolley.
Waiters/waitresses - if you feel the service was good then you can tip - usual 10% or just round the bill off to the nearest dollar.
As for taxi drivers - there is no need to tip them at all, however, if you feel a strong desire to do so, then just round off the taxi fare to the nearest dollar, thats all.

Bear in mind that hospitality and transport staff in Australasia are paid a living wage, which is why tipping is optional at best.

My two cents' worth - I wouldn't like to see it get too big a foothold here, on the grounds that over time it would be likely to encourage employers to wriggle out of their current obligation to pay a living wage. IMO the constant scramble for tips degrades the employee's dignity and leads to an emphasis on speed of service at the expense of leisurely dining. And I hate it when people fawn on me anyway.

In the US I tipped, because I knew that staff depend on tips to live (although I soon learned the folly of being lazy in regard to carrying one's own bags). In Aust/NZ I recommend that visitors also adopt the "when in Rome" principle. In particular I strongly advise against tipping cabdrivers.

I like the Chinese approach to tipping - it's seen as equivalent to giving away free money, the act of a certifiable lunatic.

glk11b, it's not necessary to book the train to/from Katoomba - in fact I'm not sure that you could, as it's a just a regular commuter train. The trip is about 2 hours. Just buy a return ticket at Central Station.

Thanks for such helpful comments about tipping and train reservations. I was surprised to see that there is only one train from Christchurch to Greymouth (departs 8:15AM). I checked booking at www.traintickets.co.nz/index.html. Is this the correct site? Can we qualify for Senior rate coming from the US? I thought I was checking one way but the return kept showing. Does $99NZD each sound right? I checked Google re train to Korunda and only found info about Stockholm. Any idea for that site? Thanks again.

Its Kuranda not Korunda or Corumba.
Out of school holidays you don't need to book it anyway.Just show up at the Cairns railway station with time to spare.

For your day at Katoomba buy a blue mountains explorer ticket at any sydney railway station.Get the katoomba train from central station.I think it runs just after the hour.

It doesn't surprise me that they would be wanting $99 for the trans alpine.imho you would be better off renting your car from chch and doing the loop. chch-arthurs pass-greymouth-glaciers-wanaka-queenstown-sounds-queenstown-chch.

The tipping advice is pretty right.If you go to the snooty nosed ,sydney restaurtants oft mentioned here then you would be expected to tip.

The stafford is an apartment style place..they MAY not have a porter.

Glk11b,

With all the info that has been thrown at you, it may be worth repeating Alan's advice that the train that leaves Sydney for Katoomba at 9.02 a.m. qualifies for the off-peak fare that represents a 40% saving off the regular fare.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34533573

JohnJ, that is an interesting suggestion - to rent the car in Christchurch and drive to Fox Glacier (where we are booked) rather than taking the TranzAlpine. Cost for the minivan rental is $90 vs 4x$99 for the train. How long is the drive? Would we miss the scenery? Advice please.

Jerry
One of the eternal debating points of the south island loop that everyone does is.."are the glaciers worth it"

another option is to go to Mt Cook and take a flight over the icefield and over the glaciers.Saves a lot of driving.

but arthurs pass,glaciers,haast pass and wanaka are all apealling and lets assume you want to do the full loop.

It' s a long day drive chch -glaciers on roads that are NOT interstates.If you have two drivers and get away from chch early you can do it. Make sure you pick up the van first thing.

if you stop at the various viewpoints on the road you can check out the scenery...knowing new zealand it will probably be raining anyway.I can tell you one thing coming over arthurs pass every set of eyes will be on the road..it is pretty tortuous!

Jerry - if you're staying in Cairns city it would be more convenient to take Kuranda train from Cairns station. From the beaches which includes Palm Cove, Freshwater Connection station is handier. If you want the steam train it leaves only from Freshwater Connection and does not go every day, as the original train does. Most travellers like to combine the train trip with Skyrail. Skyrail picks up every 15 minutes, original train twice a day except Saturdays, when its once. This is because Saturday is a quiet day in Kuranda, no markets. Just ask the tour desk at wherever you are staying to book for you. Unless its school holidays, the day before you want to go will work.