Can anyone comment on the quality of a Quantas escorted vacation such as the "13 Day Highlights of Australia"?

My husband and I are usually fairly independent travelers but we have absolutely no time to plan our vacation and are willing to compromise our independence for convenience.

We'd like to know if the hotels are located centrally, the transportation and escort are reasonable and the itineraries generally o.k.

Thanks for your advice.

Hi Juris,

Qantas, like many other tour operators, does a good job with the "general, overall, cookie-cutter" type of tour, hitting the highlights of what most tourist want to see.

What you have to decide is it what YOU want to see? I recommend looking at the itinerary and crossing out anything that doesn't appeal to you. That done, see what's left and if it that's worth the cost of the trip. If not, this is what I'd suggest:

Go to australia.com. Scroll over to "Plan Your Trip". Under that you'll find "Find a Travel Agent". Then type in your state or zip code. You'll find a Premier Aussie Specialist in your state. Contact them and have a discussion of what you'd like to see and do, what your interests are and what your budget is. The Specialist will take it from there. You'll have your independent trip planned without consuming your time, except for making your own comments and observations. As there are a number of specials ongoing, your agent might be able to save you some money as well.

Hope this is helpful!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

Hi
Just a point on the spelling - there is no "U" in Qantas as it is actually an acronym for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services which started in Longreach Queensland.

I'm sure the transportation and escort will be reasonable. To check the hotels use trip advisor or wotif.com.au. It won't take long to find out their rating and locality. You could then post their names here and get feedback.

However, I'm sure you will do better on a self booked holiday and that could be done in a night.
Why not use the Qantas vacation itinerary as a guide. You will love Australia and it is a very easy place to get around. It is relatively painless to use Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin Blue to book fares and Wotif to book hotels. Car rental can done on line.
Good Luck

Just remember that Australia is one of the easiest countries to get around. Most largish cities are close to the airports and most hotels are close to everything.
Many of the cities have home or hotel to airport convenient travel and most have a tourist bus which takes people around the city. Most tours pick up at hotels and everything is easy to get to on public transport, especially in Sydney.
Having said that there is nothing wrong with an escorted trip if it goes to the places that you want to go to. Sometimes these things do not work out well.
You have available to you on this site many people from many areas in Australia who will tell you how to get from A to B the easiest way and at the cheapest rate usually so there certainly is help at hand should you need it.
If you would care to tell us where the trip is going and the hotels at the various places perhaps we can tell you what we think of the tour and the accommodation.

Qantas does not actually operate tours, they sell tours provided by specialist land tour operators. Generally they are all good value and well organized. They might sometimes seem a little expensive but remember that tipping is not automatic in Australia. You should tip only for exceptionally good service.

Hi Juris,
We used Qantas last year to book a trip that I actually researched and designed myself paying them one fee instead of paying individual hotels and airfares.

It all went smoothly and I was able to buy trip insurance through them BUT I also paid quite a bit more for our hotels and airfare than if I had booked it all online myself. Since I had never been to AU before I didn't have the confidence to do it myself at that time. Now I would book it all myself and save some $$$. AU is such a great country and very easy to tour around independently.
Good luck,
Jayne