Re: Oz/NZ basics

As others note, one month isn't long enough to do what he wants.

AFAIK, there are no round Australia airplane deals.

If he is travelling on his own, and he is (say) in his teens or 20s, I
wouldn't be aiming to fly around and drop in on big tourist attractions on a
fixed itinerary. The backpacker scene is huge here, and he is very likely to
find places and things that he wants to see when he is here.

I would drop Ayers Rock. Its a several thousand kms round trip from the east
coast, and there are lots more pleasant and fun places in summer than
travelling all that way to look at a large rock in the middle of a very hot
desert.

If he flies into Sydney, there are lots of backpacker bus services that go
up the coast and let you stopover where you want. He may meet people in
Sydney that he wants to travel with, or at least get ideas. A week in Sydney
then a few days in each of Byron Bay, Noosa, the Whitsundays (Airlie Beach),
and Cairns would be great.That's about 3 weeks. Fly back to Sydney, and then
on to NZ. Even that is ambitious.

The cheapest airline is Virgin Blue, if you have a look at their website
http://www.virginblue.com.au/ you can get an idea of the Cairns-Sydney link
cost and any other side trips you may consider. Qantas flies to more places,
but if Virgin Blue doesn't also fly there they tend to be more expensive!

HTH

Peter Webb


"a.spencer3" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> My lad is planning to spend a month or so moving around Australia/NZ in
> February.
> He's happy with cheapish accomodation - hostels etc.
> He expects to bus most of it but is willing to use internal airways where
> useful.
> He's essentially aiming at the south, east & north-east Oz coast, plus
> Ayer's Rock & Barrier Reef, then up (or down) both NZ islands.
> He'll fly into wherever and out of wherever back to UK.
> To me, he seems to be struggling to sort out a sensible itinerary.
> I would imagine that, for such a well-trodden path, there must be
well-worn
> answers to:
>
> 1/ Cheapest/best round-trip airline ticket
> 2/ Best proven route to cover these places.
>
> Any advice appreciated!
>
> Surreyman
>
>