Vicki

Hi - <BR> <BR>I am planning a trip to Oz for either June or July. <BR> <BR>All the packages I find however, seem to come from tour operators, and I really don't want to have scheduled activities with guides etc. (especially since you are paying for that in the price). <BR> <BR>Does anyone know of any good package deals that just offer airfare and hotels in various cities? <BR> <BR>Also, what is the most inexpensive way to fly around Australia, from city to city? Any carriers you would recommend? <BR> <BR>Since we only have two weeks, we will need to fly from Sydney to Cairns to Adelaide to Perth (Ningaloo Reef - we are going to try going diving with Whale Sharks!!!) <BR> <BR>Thanks for any help and suggestions that you have!

Paul S

Hi Vicki, <BR> <BR>I would suggest that you organise your forward passage to go Cairns - Sydney - Adelaide - Perth to save back tracking. <BR> <BR>Here are some internal airlines websites: <BR> <BR>www.impulseairlines.com.au <BR>www.ansett.com.au <BR>www.qantas.com.au <BR> <BR>Impulse is only servicing the East Coast at the moment but they are adding new routes soon. You can only book online for Impulse but the savings are worth it. <BR> <BR>Cheers

Vicki

Thanks a million! I so appreciate the help!! <BR> <BR>Best Regards - Vicki

Mary

We were there July/ August. I booked directly with Air New Zealand as they had the best fare. I could not find a consolidator. I also did all our accommodation bookings using the internet. Regarding air tickets. You can buy a Boomerang or G'Day pass which you buy per segment- this must be purchased outside Australia. We used that pass for Sydney to Cairns return. I found it was a lot cheaper to buy our Sydney/Melbourne return ticket through a travel agent in Australia which I did ahead of time. There are some fares which are only available in Australia. It took some time organising everything but I made the time and enjoyed the planning and everything worked out very well. If you know when you want to be in which city it may be better to buy your international ticket arriving in one city and departing from another - it often works out cheaper that way.

Vicki

Thanks so much for the great advice as well Mary!!!