@piggysplace wrote:
Hi guys, I am starting the process of a trip to Oz, and wondering what a good travel agency might be. OR, is there a better way to come on over and dive your reef, and do some motorcycle travel?
OR, should I just jump in a rickity boat and float on in and cry amnesty? I don't want to stay too long, maybe a couple months at best.
You guys have an interesting visa, I forget what it is called, but rather cheap and multiple use.
What airline would you recommend?
Thanks
Dave
Your best bet is to have a look at a few sites and figure out where you'd like to go, what you want to see. Then narrow it down. It would be too tiring to try to see it all.
This is a big country, most of the people live in the main cities and there is a lot of space in between. I'm not saying that nothing in that space is worth seeing but there's an awful lot of it which can make for too much travel, not enough time doing things unless you are careful.
I hate flying too, although quite possibly I could handle first class beautifully. Sure I could. But cattle class*shudder*. I recently found 10 hour flights enough.
So far, I am getting that you probably will see Sydney & far north Qld.
Choose your time of year carefully. Draw a horizontal line through the middle of Aust. The top half is not so great during our 'summer' or what is their wet season. Too humid.
The bottom half tends to have 4 seasons and be a bit milder.
If you want to do far north Queensland, Then you might be better to come any time except eg Nov-Feb.
I'm speaking from my own experience as a Victorian, I find too much heat and humidity defeats me. I suppose it is what you're used to & where in USA you come from.
When I was up there a few years back (in Sept-Oct) we met an American couple on a tour. They were sitting under a tree and said they could hardly wait to get to melbourne (in the South) as the heat & humidity was too much for them. That was the start of Oct. It was already like a sauna by lunchtime.
There are some good little cruises that go to Far North Queensland from Sydney. We went on one a few years back and were able to book a reef trip on one of the days. You only get a few hours on the reef though. If you are after a longer experience you may want to stay eg in Cairns for a few days.
If you look on sites such as groupon, they often have good deals for stays like that.
We booked a coach holiday once through globaljourneys (well, it was the relaxing journeys part of their company) and they were good, always quick to get back to us. They had a good website to read reviews, summaries of trips, usual age group on them etc
Airlines-depends on what you are after. If you go with one of the budget airlines for domestic travel here though, don't dare be a minute late with check in or they won't let you on board the plane. And weigh the luggage to the last gram. otherwise they are okay-no meals included but get you to the destination.
