Travel within Australia
 

hi, <BR>we are planning to travel between sydney and cairns and then into the northern territory and up to darwin between march and may. we want to stop off in as many places as possible along the way. any advice on the best/ cheapest form of transport for these journeys (we are on a pretty tight budget!) <BR>coach/ train/ travel passes or buy single fares when we get there? <BR>any advice much appreciated! <BR>pete & sarah.

Peter, <BR>you might find some helpful info on www.lonelyplanet.com look at the section called the Thorn Tree, and then Australia. There are HEAPS of people travelling around here on a tight budget so I'm sure this question has been addressed on that site. <BR>Kay

You can buy bus passes which would probably be cheaper than individual tickets. If you don't have much time, it may be better to invest in an airpass and then use major centres as a base to explore the country around that centre.

Cheers for the replies, v helpful <BR> <BR>Pete.

I will be going to Australia next month. If you're looking for low airfres while in Australia, Impulse Airlines has some great deals. This is especially good since the exchange rate is favorable for Americans. Have fun.

Hello, I booked roundtrip Sydney/Cairns for $220 U.S. by booking on the Qantas web site directly. The actual cost was $378 Australian, which was a sale price late last month. When we got our credit card back it was translated to $220US. <BR> <BR>Anyway, this is quite a bit less than the $155 US each way you always hear about as "the cheapest way: for Americans to travel between Sydney and Cairns. <BR> <BR>

An old dream:is it possible, by sea or air, to make a kind of Island hopping at the Pacific Ocean, for instance, including Vanuatu, Fidji, Tuvalu, Samoa and Tonga (are the Kiribati worth?)? as long as possible, it would be nice to reach Rapa Nui, the Eastern Island, maybe through the French Polinesia? I do not know how long time we should take for it, let's say 1 1/2 or 2 months. Feasible? Very expensive?