I talked to someone who has been to Australia and she told me not to book anything like accomidation, in-country flights, or tours until I get into Australia. She says that not only will I get a better price, but I will make better decisions on what to miss and what not to miss. But I am concerned about getting there and everything is booked. BTW, I am going late February 2007. What is everyone's opinion on this?

Flights and tours might work but I would not personally wait till I arrived here to try for accommodation. I would suggest you decide how long you want to stay in your place of arrival and at least book that unless price is no object in which case I guess you could risk it and get in anywhere which has vacancies..

In the last few weeks before you depart you can check the last-minute accommodation site www.wotif.com and book, consistent with how firm your itinerary is. There are other such sites but I never remember their names. Wotif provides a reasonable amount of info on each property and you can always post here if you have any questions about localities etc.

The deals on internal flights are just a matter of timing and the best idea is to check the websites of the three carriers - Qantas, Virgin Blue and Jetstar - and sign up for their email alerts. They run regular seat sales offering very good fares and you need to pounce quickly before they sell out. In other words, simply waiting until you arrive in Australia won't guarantee any special fares. It's not like China, say, in that regard, where you can haggle with travel agents. I'd be inclined to construct an itinerary -arrivals and departure dates - now and book flights on that basis. Fine details like tours can wait till you're here.

Hi Helly,

I agree totally with the idea that you will make better decisions on what to miss and what not to miss - but that advice is only valid if you are here for a good long wander - ignore it (bad advice) if you are only coming for two weeks.

So if we are talking 2 weeks, then you should book your domestic flights as early as possible.

Tours - the bog standard sort of stuff - Blue Mts - reef - can be booked a day or two in advance. If you want to join something that is exclusive - there are some operators Pat recommends for the Daintree that sound amazing, but also sound exclusive - you might not be able to phone up the day before and get on that sort of thing.

Ditto - you won't be able to book some of the trips you can take that only go three or four times a year.

Where are you thinking of going?

As for accommodation - if you have a yen to stay somewhere in particular and it's five star then I guess you should book well in advance. If somewhere to stay is just that - a bed - go with wotif - or, if you want cheaper (hostels, motels, etc) then just pitch up.

I can't imagine a situation in which "everything is booked up" unless you pitch up in a small town where there's a big wedding on,
Look it all depends on how you like to travel, and whether you are phased by having to take accommodation that wouldn't normally entice you were you booking in advance!

Happy travels.

Some friends we were visiting in Oz advised us not to pre-book accommos (we had pre-booked the flight) in Tasmania for a week's self-drive visit. It turned out to be bad advice. We had a terrible time finding any accommos and had to miss an overnight stay at Freycinet because there just wasn't anywhere to stay. Once school holidays are over it gets busy with the 'post-kids' crew, much like September in North America and Europe. So I'd say think about where you'll be going, what kind of things you want to see and judge accordingly. But from our experience the 'don't prebook' advice can backfire. Nothing worse than driving from hotel to motel to holiday park looking for a bed.

Thanks for everyone's input. I am kinda risk adverse, so I think I will be rebooking most of my stuff. But of course I am going to look up reviews of the tours and hostels before I book. I am thinking of flying to Sidney for 1 day, Fraser Island, Whitsundays, travel down coast to Adeline, then spend at least 4 days in Kangaroo Island.

hellyes74 - how much time do you have at your disposal? You're planning to travel a very long way. Four days on Kangaroo Island sounds like two days too many to me.

Best make sure you get your names right for researching purposes. I assume that by "Adeline" you mean Adelaide - and it's Sydney, not "Sidney".

In my opinion, I doubt that you would find anywhere booked out at that time of the year - late Feb., schools have gone back for the new year late Jan/early Feb, Uni's are getting in gear for their start in March. Work places which close for annual leave will all be back (they would close late Dec to return mid January, next lot of school holidays are around Easter. So the influx of holiday makers is over.
One disadvantage of pre-booking is the weather at that time of the year could be extremely hot and you may not feel like moving on or pushing onto the next town, another day by 'this' pool/beach in this air-conditioned motel may be far more appealing, especially if you know a cool-change is due that night.
Flights - as previously advised subscribe to newsletters of the 3 main airlines and wait for their sales, good bargins or Virgin Blue have a 'happy hour', between 12-1 eastern standard time. May be worth checking, though I do think it is for specific flights, so may only be worthwhile as a last minute type booking - worth having a look at though.