[Janetw]

I am planning a 5 week trip to Aus in October. I want to see as much as possible except Sydney as I have already spent a week there.

Does anyone know which arilines offer cheap internal flights. I heard about something for non aus peeps called Boomerang pass. Has anyone used this. I calles Quantas here in HK and they know nothing about it......
Am hoping to do Melbourne, Alice Springs, Darwin, Cairns, G B Reef, Brisbane car hire down Gt O Road.
Does anyone have any tips ?? we don't want to book too much in advance but if it is better to pre book flights then we can. Is there an Aus trael office here that will have any info ???
Am very excited as i sit here with my guide books trying to make a plan.

[MovingIn07]

The boomerang pass is only available in conjunction with an inbound Qantas flight - so if you are flying qantas you might be able to get it. To be honest, it's not always the best option. There are a number of cheaper options in Aus - Virgin and Qantas are the two main carriers; they have offshoots just as Jetstar, which is cheaper than qantas but nastier and there is a new one just started - Tiger??? - but does not fly many places.

Best best is to look on Virgin, Qantas and Jetstar's websites and book their "red e deal" (Qantas) or equivalent.

Where to go really depends on what you are interested in.

OUtback - red centre - abo culture - try Alice or Ayers Rock (uluru) or Darwin;
Cafes, fashion, museums, art galleries - Melbourne or Adelaide;
Beaches, lovely weather, scuba diving - Brisbane up the coast to Cairns (a LONG LONG way);
Hiking, mountains, greenery, lakes - Canberra and drive up into the Snowy Mountains.

But everywhere is great. You'll love it.

[jonnye]

Originally Posted by MovingIn07

The boomerang pass is only available in conjunction with an inbound Qantas flight - so if you are flying qantas you might be able to get it. To be honest, it's not always the best option. There are a number of cheaper options in Aus - Virgin and Qantas are the two main carriers; they have offshoots just as Jetstar, which is cheaper than qantas but nastier and there is a new one just started - Tiger??? - but does not fly many places.

Best best is to look on Virgin, Qantas and Jetstar's websites and book their "red e deal" (Qantas) or equivalent.

Where to go really depends on what you are interested in.

OUtback - red centre - abo culture - try Alice or Ayers Rock (uluru) or Darwin;
Cafes, fashion, museums, art galleries - Melbourne or Adelaide;
Beaches, lovely weather, scuba diving - Brisbane up the coast to Cairns (a LONG LONG way);
Hiking, mountains, greenery, lakes - Canberra and drive up into the Snowy Mountains.

But everywhere is great. You'll love it.

Would agree with the above. I think the Virgin budget airline within Aus is called VirginBlue. In addition to the options listed above I'd also suggest taking a trip round the Whitsunday Islands. Depends how happy you are on a boat of course. I also found Port Douglas a bit nicer than Cairns (although it is quieter too). You can also do a tour of the Daintree river and rainforest from Cairns/Port Douglas.

[chocolatekisses]

we normally spent lots of time around the coast, queensland, NSW and VIC

If u have a chance GB reef is great you can spend couple days there and also check out whitsunny beach i'm not sure if the whale watching is in season in Oct but if is do go we have absolutly GREAT when we went whale watching.
after we left australia we did a road trip from Brisband down to sydney to Canberra to Mt perisher blue (in june there were snow there ) down to melbourne take a good 2 weeks.

also Check out all the Zoo if you're animal lover! Australian Zoo, Sydney Zoo. Melbourne Aquarium and melbourne ZOo.

Cant wait to get back there in Nov!

[MovingIn07]

Port Douglas is WAY nicer than Cairns - agree entirely. And inland from Pt Douglas is some lovely rainforest with swimming holes and walks. Sublime.

[KnowItAll]

Some nice vineyards around ... spend a day or two doing tastings and exploring.

[Janetw]

Thanks for the tips so far am trzing to book flights and am thinking about Brisbane and then doing NSW travelling around and thn if we have time to spare can kick our heels up on GBReef. ad if we run out of time then we can always go Queensland as a seperate trip ...... We are both happz to drive so might do some long road trips. can anzone recommend a car hire company who do pick up in one city and drop of in another ??

Will i need to do anything with mz UK licence - apart from bring it with me`?

[chocolatekisses]

That time we rent a camry , from i can't remember if it Avis or hurtz , but the big company pick up in brisbane and drop off in melbourne. In sydney we sleep over at the ZOO in the tent! its there snooz and roar package. so save the one night of accomodation in Sydney!

[Lammarite]

We went for 5 weeks a few years back and got no further north than Brisbane and no further south than Melbourne as we quickly discovered that there is soo much to do there that rushing it was a waste of time and money.
My opinion would be to choose a smaller area and concentrate on it and save other areas for other trips.
Your Honkie dollar doesn't get you far either!

[Bayrunner75]

Have you considered WA? Has great wineries in Margaret River (as well as beaches and bush). Perth is a cool laid back city with some great beaches and restaurants (try Cottesloe and Fremantle), Swan Valley - good wineries. Then further north you have Broome - Cable Beach with pearl diving and also a base for exploring the Outback. Also up north is Ningaloo Reef - apparently on par with Great Barrier but not as well known.


Only problem, Perth is a 5 hour flight from the east coast, obviously closer if coming from Alice Springs/Darwin.

A good wine district not far from Sydney is the Hunter Valley - about an hour and a half. Good place to stop if driving from the north coast down to Sydney. Also can't forget Byron Bay - very beautiful and very relaxed!

Enjoy your trip. Weather should be lovely!

And no - I'm not from WA so there is no bias here whatsoever. Just think it is a great place to visit