I'm currently trying to plan a 3-4 week trip to Australia in August, and will be flying into Sydney. We would like to go to the Gold Coast and Great Barrier Reef as well. I know the distances between places is pretty great, and since we have limited time, I am wondering what is the best way to get to Brisbane, Cairns, Port Arthur, etc. from Sydney. I've checked out Virgin Blue and some other discount airlines, but it still seems like its going to be $300-400 per flight, so I was just wondering if there was any sort of more feasible alternative. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Obviously if you've already got your international flight booked it'll be too late to book a Qantas Australia Pass which has to be booked at same time as making the Qantas international booking and you do not really need an Australian Specialist [whatever that is] to help you have a look at the Qantas site to find that out.

I'd think you must be looking at the high end flight prices and www.webjet.com.au will show all flights between any two selected airports and Sydney to Gold Coast, Brisbane to Cairns ought to be available at somewhere between $100 -200 if not less I'd suspect even without looking and looking Sydney to Gold Coast for as low as $59 with luggage checked for a random date of August 15.

GC is only a couple of hours bus/train ride away from Brisbane and Port Douglas [you may be meaning rather than Port Arthur which is in Tasmania - that little island to the south of the mainland sometimes left of maps but still one of our states] is a bus trip of about an hour from Cairns.

With three to four weeks there is a lot in between and elsewhere in Australia you'll be missing out on and whilst August is a great time to head north, you could consider flying Brisbane to Proserpine or Hamilton Island for some time in the Whitsundays, take a greyhound to Townsville for a couple of days on Magnetic Island and then greyhound or train up to Cairns.

The other alternative after flying from Sydney to the Gold Coast or Ballina for Byron Bay first would be to buy a Greyhound Pass that allows breaking your journey and then you could stop at different points of interest along the route and resume using the one pass.

You could also do something similar with a train pass, details possibly on www.railaustralia.com.au and though as far as I am concerned a better form of travel than buses, the downside would be making connections for coastal destinations where the railway station is inland a bit.
RA site slow opening for a check but pretty sure you'll find details there and if not www.seat61.com will have a link to QR.

Aussie Specialists!!!, have to buy myself a cereal pack certificate too.

I think you might have to take up the certified aussie specialist thing with your Tourism board Bushranger, they are the ones who run and promote the program. When I use a travel agent, the person I use also went through it and became certified. I kind of admire her for making the effort.

Brian, when I was arranging internal flights, I just sort of kept at it, trying all kinds of alternatives. Sometimes if you get Qantas at the right time you can get a good deal, and of course Jetstar (but be aware of the baggage and other fees). I used a combo of Qantas and Jetstar, never could happen on a good Virgin Blue price.

Personally, I think that when I travel that far, and have a limited amount of time, flying those distances is the way to go. At that point, time = money. I saved money in different areas, like lodging, so I could maximize my time--minimizing time in transit from one place to another. But that's just me

Brian, the three major domestic carriers have frequent sales in which very cheap fares can be obtained, and you may be able to secure one or more specials that you can integrate into your itinerary.

The best way to stay across the sales is to register for email alerts at their websites: www.qantas.com, www.jetstar.com.au and www.virginblue.com.au.

Brian, your quoted range of $300-400 seems terribly high to me. Are you perhaps quoting a return fare? Or the single fare for two travellers? Or the premium service fare of the budget carriers?

You should be able to get to the Gold Coast from Sydney for under $100. Then don't look for fares GC to Cairns - they do seem to be expensive - look to fly from Brisbane instead and use the train or coach shuttle to get from the GC to Brisbane or Brisbane Airport. In other words ... be a little devious!

For Cairns back to Sydney (if that's what you want to do) aim to fly midweek - always cheaper for obvious reasons, eg on Wed 19/08 you can fly direct (and at midday) for $159 one way.

How long were you planning to stay in each destination? I ask because if you have four weeks even with a lengthy stay in Sydney, etc, you would have time to visit one of the iconic inland Australian destinations - either the Red Centre (Uluru/Alice Springs) or the Top End (Darwin for Kakadu and Litchfield National parks). A great time of year to visit either and, of course, there's more to Australia than beach and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Cheers.

Hi Brian,
If it's the Gold Coast's beaches which are the attraction, I'd be tempted to leave it out of your itinerary in favour of adding in Kakaku or Uluru.

In going to Port Douglas & Cairns, you'll have lovely Qld beaches, and Sydney has some great beaches, too. Assume the "port Arthur" was a slip of the pen, so to speak, and you're not planning a side trip to Tasmania. If you DO go to the Gold Coast, the train takes you directly to Brisbane airport and is an extremely efficient service & only takes 60-90 minutes. As "Afterall" says, the fares from Brisbane - Cairns will be much cheaper than from Coolangatta (Gold Coast).

If you're set on the Gold Coast, it would be a good idea to rent a car and explore the various towns comprising the "Gold Coast" and the hinterland, too. Mount Tambourine is charming, with a 'mountain village' atmosphere and rainforest walks. There's a koala & bird sanctuary and some nice river & beach areas away from the highrises of the central part of the Gold Coast. The spread of the GC makes it difficult to use public transport effectively, unless you're content to more or less stay in the one place.

Bushranger: You are out of line, and you know it. Your baseless accusations and vitriol towards a well respected long term member of this Forum do you no credit at all.

Bokha you could be on the wrong line for the train through to Brisbane airports takes 90 minutes alone but when you tack on getting a bus to the railway station, you need to add on at least another 30 minutes - hence the "GC is only a couple of hours bus/train ride away from Brisbane " I gave in post #2, thus

" I'd think you must be looking at the high end flight prices and www.webjet.com.au will show all flights between any two selected airports and Sydney to Gold Coast, Brisbane to Cairns ought to be available at somewhere between $100 -200 if not less I'd suspect even without looking and looking Sydney to Gold Coast for as low as $59 with luggage checked for a random date of August 15.

GC is only a couple of hours bus/train ride away from Brisbane and Port Douglas [you may be meaning rather than Port Arthur which is in Tasmania - that little island to the south of the mainland sometimes left of maps but still one of our states] is a bus trip of about an hour from Cairns."

And what baseless accusation do you think there may be?, rather stupid to level one yourself!

Hi Brian,

You should be able to pick up some reasonable air fares for less than you have stated. I've just had a quick look at virginblue.com.au and found Sydney to Brisbane for $85 Brisbane to Cairns for $159 and Cairns to Hobart for $235 or Sydney to Hobart for $114.

Another option but one I'm not sure if you'd like - is to drive one leg - this link is to a campervan relocation site where you will see they will actually pay you the petrol money to relocate their vans. Check it out if you're interested - I'm not sure - but it is just another option for you.

http://au.top20.travelzoo.com/c/?0x0...c74fd57-601561

There are Campervan relocations that you can do when available.
The system still works on hire arrangements, reduced rates applicable varying as does ammount if any of fuel allowance provided.
There's still insurance as an option and limitations on the number of days given to get between two cities.

It's not something that you can definitely plan too far ahead, though you will find some relocations listed a few weeks before relocation date required.

You'll get better information @ http://www.standbyrelocs.com/