OZ questions
 

Self and Mrs UFO are planning a holiday in Oz. We can only afford three weeks off work, so it will be a little compressed, and we will only be able to do the things that really interest us. We have friends near Melbourne and will be a few days with them, and naturally we will want to be spending a fair bit of time in and around Sydney. Apart from these we are really keen to see Ayers Rock, and the Great Barrier Reef.

So we are looking for advice on :-

a) Pros and Cons of flying to Melbourne or Sydney from the UK. Is one or the other a better flight/cheaper/available from more UK airports? Are some days better for travelling this route than others (eg less pax so more space?).

b) Assuming we travel betweeen Melbourne and Sydney by surface transport (to see a bit of the country independently) we will need a triangular flight from either Melbourne or Sydney to Ayers Rock, Cairns and back to start. Either way round, of course, with a couple of days stopover at Ayers Rock and a few at Cairns. What airlines fly these routes, which is the best starting point, what are the airports like (for example do we need to book pax lounge)?

In addition to the air travel info any other advice re this trip would be appreciated from what is the best beer to drink to sights not to be missed.

Thanks in advance
UFO

To kick off:-

1. [*]

If you book directly on the airlines' own websites, you'll be paying the 10% Goods and Services Tax that's applicable to transport as well as everything else. However, I believe that if you buy QF domestic flights via www.aa.com you can (legally) avoid paying that, although it's hardly worth the effort if you get a cheap fare. I don't think that AA sell either DJ or JQ.

Caution: JQ is a pretty strict low-fare airline, right down to tight seat pitch, notwithstanding that it's a QF subsidiary. Watch out for QF-coded flights that are actually operated by JQ.

If you fly DJ domestically, you can pay-on-entry to get into their lounges. However, I think you then pay for everything else you use, too. I don't think that there are many (if any) other pay lounges at Australian airports any more. If you want to splurge, you could join the Qantas Club, which would get you entry to AA, BA, QF and US Airways lounges when flying the respective airlines. However, there's a steep joining fee which means that this is only really worthwhile if you intend to maintain the membership over a long period of time.A handful of good things to do in Sydney which may not be on every standard list:-

• The Bridgeclimb - not difficult but pretty fun
• Take a backstage tour of the Opera House, more interesting than the standard grockle tour
• Go to Watsons Bay and have fish and chips at Doyles
• Sail on the harbour on a genuine 12-metre Americas Cup yacht - go to the Kookaburra Challenge website to get details
• Sydney Airside Tarmac Tours
• Taronga Zoo, if it's not still under heavy refurbishment

As Globaliser says, there are only a few flights direct to Ayers Rock - we couldn't get in so flew to Alice Springs and took the bus. It's about 7 hours each way by road and an awful lot of very red desert to look at, but we found it quite enjoyable.

Rather than Cairns, I'd look at Port Douglas, which is a bit further North. It's nearer the Daintree rain forest, you can hire a car and drive up to Cape Trib(ulation - voted one of the top 3 beaches in the world) and there's the Quicksilver cruises to the Barrier Reef (as used by Bill Clinton, if you consider that a recommendation!).

If you're flying Qantas, you may be able to get a better deal on the internal flights if booked together, worth investigating.

Find somebody to take you up in a light aircraft over the Harbour and up the beaches.

Thanks for the input, guys, especially Globaliser for a very full answer. PV, yes we intend to stay in Port Douglas if possible, my SIL went last year and highly recommended it, but I was assuming that we would still have to fly to Cairns.

I have had a quick look at flights, and, as we live near BHX, it looks like it is favourite to fly from there as it doesn't seem any dearer than the London airports. The top choices seem to be Emirates, via Dubai, and KLM, via Amsterdam, change to Malaysia at KL. I've flown KLM often enough before but never Emirates or Malaysia. Any advice on these, anyone?

The only advice I can offer about this is that you need to watch out for EK 777s. They are configured 10-abreast rather than the usual 9-abreast, although the pitch is rather deeper than usual as partial compensation. It's OK if you're slim, but otherwise the seats feel pretty tight.

Yes, Cairns is the nearest airport for Port Douglas (hotels provide airport transfers). And you could always fly back from Cairns (we did), rather than returning to Sydney/Melbourne.

Came back from Oz with Malaysian at the weekend and was well satisfied. Malaysian have far more leg room than Emirates and in my experience much better service..

On the beer front, Crown Lager is a fairly safe bet and available in most locations, but I would steer clear of Hahn, after which I have had a nasty headache.

Then there is the wine. One thing to do down under is to visit a winery. These are most accessible in South or West Australia, but you should be able to find a few in NSW.

You don't mention when you are going. There are quite a lot of festivals and events around the year, which you should take into consideration when planning, such as the Tennis and F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne, or the gay "festival" in Sydney, all of which affect availability of accommodation and flights. Check out local tourist websites for timings of these and other festivals.

Have a great time!

UFO Slim Slag is right - when in Sydney get someone to fly you up the Bankstown Lane of Entry and around the Northern Beaches - and over the harbour - it's spectacular.
Can't help you myself as I'm now based in Perth, but I suggest putting a request on the Dunnunda and Godzone GA and Questions forum with your travel dates - I bet someone will be happy to "cost share" with you. Failing that, go to Bankstown and approach any of the flying schools. I trained at Schofields Flying Club - you could give them a call.
Definitely do the Bridge Climb - did it last month and despite my fear of heights it was just fantastic!
Have a good trip
RV6