Contents
• Travel documents
• Sea
• Entering the destination
• Air
Travel documents
Passport
There are no restrictions when it comes to citizens of foreign countries entering Australia. If you have a visa, you should be fine.
Tickets
Automated online ticket sales work well if you’re doing a simple one-way or return trip on specified dates, but are no substitute for a travel agent with the low-down on special deals, strategies for avoiding stopovers and other useful advice.
Paying by credit card offers some protection if you unwittingly end up dealing with a rogue fly-by-night agency, as most card issuers provide refunds if you can prove you didn’t get what you paid for. Alternatively, buy a ticket from a bonded agent, such as one covered by the Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL; www.atol.org.uk) scheme in the UK. If you have doubts about the service provider, at the very least call the airline and confirm that your booking has been made.
Circle Pacific tickets
A Circle Pacific ticket is similar to a rount-the-world (RTW) ticket but covers a more limited region, using a combination of airlines to connect Australia, New Zealand, North America and Asia, with stopover options in the Pacific islands. As with RTW tickets, there are restrictions on how many stopovers you can take.
Online ticket sites
For online ticket bookings, including RTW fares, start with the following websites:
Air Brokers (www.airbrokers.com) This US company specialises in cheap tickets. Fly Los Angeles or San Francisco–Hong Kong–Bangkok–Singapore–Bali–Perth or Darwin; or Auckland–Fiji–Hawaii–Los Angeles or San Francisco.
Cheap Flights (www.cheapflights.com) Informative site with specials, airline information and flight searches from the USA and other regions.
Cheapest Flights (www.cheapestflights.co.uk) Cheap worldwide flights from the UK; get in early for the bargains.
Expedia (www.expedia.msn.com) Microsoft’s travel site; mainly USA-related.
Flight Centre International (www.flightcentre.com) Respected operator handling direct flights, with sites for Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the USA, Canada and South Africa.
Flights.com (www.flights.com) International site for flights; offers cheap fares and an easy-to-search database.
Roundtheworldflights.com (www.roundtheworldflights.com) This excellent site allows you to build your own trips from the UK with up to six stops.
STA Travel (www.statravel.com) Prominent in international student travel but you don’t have to be a student; site linked to worldwide STA sites.
Travel Online (www.travelonline.co.nz) Good place to check worldwide flights from New Zealand.
Travel.com.au (www.travel.com.au) Good Australian site; look up fares and flights to/from the country.
Travelocity (www.travelocity.com) US site that allows you to search fares (in US dollars) to/from practically anywhere.
Sea
It’s possible (though by no means easy or safe) to make your way between Australia and countries such as Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, and between New Zealand and Australia and some smaller Pacific islands, by hitching rides or crewing on yachts – usually you have to at least contribute towards food. Ask around at harbours, marinas and sailing clubs.
Good places on the Australian east coast include Coffs Harbour, Great Keppel Island, Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays, and Cairns – basically anywhere boats call. Darwin could yield Indonesia-bound possibilities. A lot of boats move north to escape the winter, so April is a good time to look for a berth in the Sydney area.
There are no passenger liners operating to/from Australia and finding a berth on a cargo ship is difficult – that’s if you actually wanted to spend months at sea aboard an enormous metal can.
Entering the destination
Entering the country
Disembarkation in Australia is a straightforward affair, with only the usual customs declarations and the fight to be first to the luggage carousel to endure. However, global instability in the last few years has resulted in conspicuously increased security in Australian airports, and you may find that customs procedures are now more time-consuming.
Air
There are lots of competing airlines and a wide variety of air fares to choose from if you’re -flying in from Asia, Europe or North America, but you’ll still pay a lot for a flight. Because of Australia’s size and diverse climate, any time of year can prove busy for inbound tourists – if you plan to fly at a particularly popular time of year (Christmas is notoriously difficult for Sydney and Melbourne) or on a particularly popular route (such as Hong Kong, Bangkok or Singapore to Sydney or Melbourne), make your arrangements well in advance of your trip.
The high season for flights into Australia is roughly over the country’s summer (December to February), with slightly less of a premium on fares over the shoulder months (October/November and March/April). The low season generally tallies with the winter months (June to August), though this is actually the peak tourist season in central Australia and the Top End.
Airports & airlines
Australia has several international gateways, with Sydney and Melbourne being the busiest. The full list of international airports follows.
Adelaide (code ADL; 08-8308 9211; www.aal.com.au)
Brisbane (code BNE; 07-3406 3190; www.brisbaneairport.com.au)
Cairns (code CNS; 07-4052 9703; www.cairnsport.com.au/airport)
Darwin (code DRW; 08-8920 1811; www.ntapl.com.au)
Melbourne (Tullamarine; code MEL; 03-9297 1600; www.melbourne-airport.com.au)
Perth (code PER; 08-9478 8888; www.perthairport.net.au)
Sydney (Kingsford Smith; code SYD; 02-9667 9111; www.sydneyairport.com.au)
Australia’s overseas carrier is Qantas, which is regarded as one of the world’s safest airlines and flies chiefly to runways across Europe, North America, Asia and the Pacific. It’s one of a dozen international airlines that have recently starting using the new double-decker Airbus A380, the biggest aircraft ever built.
Airlines that visit Australia include the following (all phone numbers listed here are for dialling from within Australia).
Air Canada (airline code AC; 1300 655 767; www.aircanada.ca; hub Pearson International Airport, Toronto)
Air New Zealand (airline code NZ; 13 24 76; www.airnz.com.au; hub Auckland International Airport)
British Airways (airline code BA; 1300 767 177; www.britishairways.com; hub Heathrow Airport, London)
Cathay Pacific (airline code CX; 13 17 47; www.cathaypacific.com; hub Hong Kong International Airport)
Emirates (airline code EK; 1300 303 777; www.emirates.com; hub Dubai International Airport)
Freedom Air (airline code SJ; 1800 122 000; www.freedomair.com; hub Auckland International Airport)
Garuda Indonesia (airline code GA; 1300 365 330; www.garuda-indonesia.com; hub Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta)
Gulf Air (airline code GF; 1300 366 337; www.gulfairco.com; hub Abu Dhabi International Airport)
Hawaiian Airlines (airline code HA; 1300 669 106; www.hawaiianairlines.com.au; hub Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii)
Japan Airlines (airline code JL; 02-9272 1111; www.jal.com; hub Narita Airport, Tokyo)
KLM (airline code KL; 1300 392 192; www.klm.com; hub Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam)
Lufthansa (airline code LH; 1300 655 727; www.lufthansa.com; hub Frankfurt Airport)
Malaysia Airlines (airline code MH; 13 26 27; www.malaysiaairlines.com; hub Kuala Lumpur International Airport)
Pacific Blue (airline code DJ; 13 16 45; www.flypacificblue.com; hub Brisbane Airport)
Qantas (airline code QF; 13 13 13; www.qantas.com.au; hub Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney)
Royal Brunei Airlines (airline code BI; 1300 721 271; www.bruneiair.com; hub Bandar Seri Begawan Airport, Brunei)
Singapore Airlines (airline code SQ; 13 10 11; www.singaporeair.com.au; hub Changi International Airport, Singapore)
South African Airways (airline code SA; 1800 221 699; www.flysaa.com; hub Johannesburg International Airport)
Thai Airways International (airline code TG; 1300 651 960; www.thaiairways.com.au; hub Bangkok International Airport)
Tiger Airways (airline code TR; www.tigerairways.com; hub Changi International Airport, Singapore)
United Airlines (airline code UA; 13 17 77; www.unitedairlines.com.au; hub Los Angeles International Airport)
Asia
Most Asian countries offer competitive air-fare deals, but Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong are the best places to shop around for discount tickets.
Flights between Hong Kong and Australia are notoriously heavily booked. Flights to/from Bangkok and Singapore are often part of the longer Europe-to-Australia route so they are also in demand. Plan your preferred itinerary well in advance.
You can get cheap short-hop flights between Darwin and Indonesia, a route serviced by Garuda Indonesia and Qantas. Airnorth runs flights between Darwin and Dili, East Timor.
Royal Brunei Airlines flies between Darwin and Bandar Seri Begawan Airport, while Malaysia Airlines flies from Kuala Lumpur.
Tiger Airways, a budget carrier, recently started services from Singapore to Darwin and Perth; after domestic services commence in late 2007, look out for an expansion of flights from Asian destinations into Australia.
Excellent bargains are sometimes available in Hong Kong. Some Asian agents:
No 1 Travel (03-3205 6073; www.no1-travel.com) In Japan.
STA Travel Bangkok (02-236 0262; www.statravel.co.th); Singapore (6737 7188; www.statravel.com.sg); Tokyo (03-5391-2922; www.statravel.co.jp)
Canada
The air routes from Canada are similar to those from mainland USA, with most Toronto and Vancouver flights stopping in one US city such as Los Angeles or Honolulu before heading on to Australia.
The air fares sold by Canadian discount air-ticket sellers (consolidators) tend to be about 10% higher than those sold in the USA. Travel Cuts (866-246-9762; www.travelcuts.com) is Canada’s national student travel agency and has offices in all major cities.
Continental Europe
From major European destinations, most flights travel to Australia via one of the Asian capitals. Some flights are also routed through London before arriving in Australia via Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur.
In Germany, good travel agencies include Adventure Travel (www.adventure-holidays.com), which specialises in Australian travel, and the Berlin branch of STA Travel (069 743 032 92; www.statravel.de). In France try Usit Connect Voyages (0825 082 525; www.usitconnections.fr) or OTU Voyages (01 55 82 32 32; www.otu.fr) – both of these companies are student/youth specialists and have offices in many French cities. Other recommendations include Voyageurs du Monde (08 92 23 56 56; www.vdm.com/vdm) and Nouvelles Frontiéres (08 25 00 07 47; www.nouvelles-frontieres.fr); the details given are for offices in Paris, but again both companies have branches elsewhere.
More travel agencies:
BarronTravel (020-625 8600; www.barron.nl) Dutch agency specialising in Australian travel.
Holland International (0900-8858; www.hollandinternational.nl) Good Dutch agency.
Wereldcontact (0343 530 530; www.wereldcontact.nl) Dutch agency.
New Zealand
Air New Zealand and Qantas operate a network of flights linking key New Zealand cities with most major Australian gateway cities, while quite a few other international airlines include New Zealand and Australia on their Asia-Pacific routes.
Another trans-Tasman option is the no-frills budget airline Freedom Air, an Air New Zealand subsidiary that offers direct flights between destinations on Australia’s east coast and main New Zealand cities.
Pacific Blue, a subsidiary of budget airline Virgin Blue, flies between both Christchurch and Wellington and several Australian cities, including Perth, Hobart and Adelaide.
There’s usually not a significant difference in price between seasons, as this is a popular route year-round.
For reasonably priced fares, try one of the numerous branches of STA Travel (0800 474 400; www.statravel.co.nz). Another good option is House of Travel (0800 367 468; www.houseoftravel.co.nz).
UK & Ireland
There are two routes from the UK: the western route via the USA and the Pacific; and the eastern route via the Middle East and Asia. Flights are usually cheaper and more frequent on the latter. Some of the best deals around are with Emirates, Gulf Air, Malaysia Airlines, Japan Airlines and Thai Airways International. British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Qantas generally have higher fares but may offer a more direct route.
Discount air travel is big business in London. Advertisements for travel agencies appear in the travel pages of the weekend broadsheet newspapers, in Time Out, in the Evening Standard and in the free magazine TNT.
Popular agencies in the UK include the ubiquitous STA Travel (0871 230 0040; www.statravel.co.uk), Trailfinders (020-7938 3939; www.trailfinders.co.uk) and Flight Centre (0870 499 0040; www.flightcentre.co.uk).
At peak times such as mid-December, fares go up by as much as 30%.
USA
Most of the flights between the North American mainland and Australia travel to/from the USA’s west coast, with the bulk routed through Los Angeles but some coming through San Francisco. Numerous airlines offer flights via Asia or various Pacific islands.
San Francisco is the ticket consolidator capital of America, although good deals can be found in Los Angeles, New York and other big cities.
STA Travel (800-781 4040; www.statravel.com) has offices all over the USA.
Money & costs
Contents
• Costs
• Money
Costs
Australia is affordable by Western European and American standards, but certainly not a budget destination compared to say Southeast Asia. Your biggest costs will be accommodation and transport.
If you’re a midrange traveller hiring a car, seeing the sights, staying in hotels and motels, and enjoying the fabulous food and grog, budget for $110 to $160 per person per day. In cities you can push that figure up by $50 or so, but in less-touristed areas you can reduce it by around $30. Escalated petrol prices make multi-week road trips in a 4WD an expensive affair, but small, economical 2WDs are still wallet-friendly.
Travellers with a demanding brood in tow will find there are many ways to keep kids inexpensively satisfied, including beach and park visits, camping grounds and motels with pools and games rooms, kids’ menus and youth/family concessions for attractions.
At the low-cost end of travel, if you camp or stay in hostels, cook your own meals, restrain your urge for entertainment and move around by public transport, you could probably eke out an existence on $70 to $80 per day; for a budget that realistically enables you to have a good time, aim for $100 per day.
Money
Exchanging money
Changing foreign currency or travellers cheques is usually no problem at banks throughout Australia or at licensed moneychangers such as Travelex or Amex in cities and major towns.
Taxes & refunds
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a flat 10% tax on all goods and services – accommodation, eating out, transport, electrical and other goods, books, furniture, clothing etc. There are exceptions, however, such as basic foods (milk, bread, fruits and vegetables etc). By law the tax is included in the quoted or shelf prices, so all prices in this book are GST-inclusive. International air and sea travel to/from Australia is GST-free, as is domestic air travel when purchased outside Australia by nonresidents.
If you purchase new or secondhand goods with a total minimum value of $300 from any one supplier no more than 30 days before you leave Australia, you are entitled under the Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) to a refund of any GST or WET (wine equalisation tax) paid. The scheme doesn’t apply to all goods, and those that do qualify you must be able to wear or take as hand luggage onto the plane or ship. Also note that the refund is valid for goods bought from more than one supplier, but only if at least $300 is spent in each. For more details, contact the Australian Customs Service (1300 363 263, 02-6275 6666; www.customs.gov.au).
Travellers cheques
The ubiquity and convenience of internationally linked credit and debit card facilities in Australia means that travellers cheques are not heavily relied upon. Nevertheless, Amex, and other well-known international brands of travellers cheques are easily exchanged. You need to present your passport for identification when cashing travellers cheques.
There are no notable restrictions on importing or exporting travellers cheques.