Travelling to Australia

[sorichphie]

Hi, we are hoping to head to Australia next July and plan to visit Cairns and Darwin.
However, the cheapest flights (for a family of 4 of us) seem to be to Brisbane.
We were then thinking of flying to Cairns then to Darwin before heading home via Brisbane.
But what are internal flights like, price wise?
Any recommendations. And what do you think of Etihad? We plan to be there for 3 weeks.
Lastly, we want to visit the Barrier Reef but don't want to be caught up with the hordes of tourists who head on to the Reef in those big glass boats.

 

[gipimann]

Before booking with etihad, search 'etihad double charging'. Friend of mine booked 2 flights to Australia a few weeks ago, the cost of the flights were charged twice to her account (one was a shadow posting) and she ended up in the red. Took almost a week for the 2nd charge to disappear from her account.

 

[so-crates]

I have been to Australia a few times now, having visited Brisbane several times I can definitely recommend it. I have taken internal flights there with different carriers and found them reasonably priced. However that means the sort of cost it would take to get to places on the continent. Don't forget that Australia is large. There isn't really a Ryanair style offering but shop around using something like skyscanner.ie and you will be able to get an idea of cost, airlines and timings. I had a negative experience on Etihad coming from Perth. It was a combination of under-pressure staff, extremely slow service and a disfunctional entertainment system so my experience is probably not the best one to go on! Try and get close to the front of the cabin, order meals in advance (if you have ordered in advance you get served your meal first, it is really supposed to facilitate those with specific dietary requirements but anyone can do it) and pray the entertainment system is working Another thing I would recommend is building in a night's stopover in the Middle East to allow you to rest properly on your way back. I did so on my return from Australia and I found it beneficial, the only downside to you doing that is that in July temperatures in the Gulf will be high so it might not suit you.
I've never visited the Great Barrier Reef, given the length of it, it should be possible to identify a more out of the way spot along the coast to visit it from. I suspect it is an all year round attraction though and I wouldn't depend on splendid isolation coming cheap.

 

[Barney Magoo]

How about going into one airport and out of another? Saves backtracking across the continent. Etihad and Emirates both fly to both Perth and Brisbane.
Maybe going into Perth and on to Darwin from there. Then fly over to Cairns from Darwin and when finished with that part, fly out of Brisbane.
Skyscanner is indeed a very useful site for checking prices but be aware that some of the ticket issuers suggested and linked on that site are not the Airline sites and any changes to the issued ticket must be with the issuer rather than the airline.
We did a trip to the Barrier Reef from Port Douglas (north of Cairns) and although you need to book in advance (a few days should be OK) the trip was on a smaller high speed boat and so we had more time actually at the reef.

 

[so-crates]

Good idea. Have taken a similar approach (multitrip ticket) and it can work very well and is generally similar in price. I went into the Brisbane and out of Perth (though that involved the 'orrible flight ) You can still book the internal flights separately.

 

[dereko1969]

The suggestions above are good, into Brisbane home from Perth. Use this site for multi-city journeys, it can work out much better value than buying the internal flights separately. Make sure to add in a couple of days around each flight (drop-down allows +1 or +2 days).
http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

 

[BillK]

We flew into Brisbane a good few years ago so things may have changed.
We stopped off in Bangkok on the way down and Singapore on the way back which broke up the journey nicely.
Remember not to carry any fruit etc into Australia as it will cause you problems with customs.

 

[Meme80]

Ethihad are a good airline as are Emirates. Neither is cheap but anytime I have flown with them to Aus Ive been very happy with them. Cathay pacific and KLM also good airlines and can often offer cheaper flights than Emirates/Ethihad depening on when you book etc. Internal flights on the east coast can be reasonable but not as hceap as we get this side of th eworld. Austrlia is a massive country and flight prices reflect this. My advice would be to plan your whole trip with Virgin. They fly Dublin to Aus (various cities) and also do internal flights. It could definitely work out cheaper as a whole as well as less hassle as only dealing with one airline.