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Getting to Australia

Flights and vacation packages to Australia

The simplest way Down Under is to fly the Australian national airline, Qantas (www.qantas.com). This is not only because it has the most flights to Australia and is a member of the OneWorld alliance (so you can book the same flights via American Airlines and shovel the scads upon scads of miles you'll rack up right into your AA frequent flier account), but also because Qantas offers a stupendous value in the form of the Aussie Air Pass.

This pass is described in full in the Getting Around section, but in brief: you get transpacific airfare from the U.S. plus up to three internal flights within Australia starting at just $999 (which, frankly, is barely more than the cheapest transpacific ticket by itself).

Just about the cheapest airfare you're going to find is around $850 from Los Angeles, up to $350 more from other U.S. gateways. And Qantas isn't the only game in town, either, so shop around. There are also direct flights to Australia on United, US Airways, American Airlines, and Air New Zealand, which is why it's best to do a quick price comparison on a search engine such as Orbitz.

Tours and Vacation Packages to Australia

All the sample prices below cover at least transpacific airfare and lodging, are per person for two people traveling together (singles pay a bit more), and are priced out of Los Angeles--though most outfits can connect you from any other U.S. gateway for just a few hundred dollars more.

Go-Today.com (www.go-today.com) offers an Ultimate Road Trip from $1,489 including roundtrip airfare from LA or San Francisco, four nights each in Sydney and Melbourne, and a rental car and vouchers for four nights lodging so you can drive yourself around the Outback. There's also a Sydney & Cairns Special for $1,859 that covers four nights in each city and all airfares (visiting the Great Barrier Reef is on your own).

Swain Tours (800-22-SWAIN; www.swaintours.com) has been specializing in Australia for nearly 20 years, and offers airfare/hotel packages starting at $1,399 (4 nights in Sydney and 3 in Melbourne, or 3 nights each in Sydney and Brisbane. If the Great Barrier Reef is your thing, you can get 3 nights each in Sydney and Cairns (gateway to the reef) for $1,599--or even better, add on 3 nights in Melbourne for just $100 more. Swain also does a sort of Aussie Greatest Hits package: 4 night each in Sydney, Cairns, and the Outback (2 each in Alice Springs and Ayers Rock/Uluru) for from $2,199.

Pleasant Holidays (800-742-9244, www.pleasantholidays.com)

And, though it's not strictly Australia, who could resist the 22-day package at SmarTours (800-337-7773, www.smartours.com/australia.htm) that includes Oz (Sydney, Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Melbourne), New Zealand (Christchurch, Auckland, Queenstown, Mt.Cook, Fairlie, Milford Sound), and finishing it off with a few nights in Tahiti (Papeete, Moorea)? It costs $3,299—which sounds like a lot until you realize it covers all transportation and a bunch of extras, from tours of each city to a day spent out on the Great Barrier Reef.



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This article was last updated in July 2006 All information was accurate at the time.



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