Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Random questions about Fiji/Australia--customs, cars, trip insurance

My husband and I cashed in our AA miles to take a trip to Fiji and Australia this July. I'm doing all of the planning on my own and not using travel agents and so have a few random questions that I'm hoping others may have answers to.

1) Any idea how long customs is at the Nadi airport? We arrive at 5:10 AM on Air Pacific. We purchased separate tickets through Air Pacific to fly from Nadi to Malololailai Island (only a 10 min flight) at 7:00 AM, so I'm going to ask them to link the reservations, but I assume Nadi is a fairly small airport (like Kauai or the Big Island) and we shouldn't have any worries?

2) We first stop over in Fiji and then continue on to Australia. AA booked us on the NAN-SYD-CNS flights as follows:
Air Pacific NAN-SYD 9:00 AM to 11:40 AM
Qantas SYD-CNS 1:25 PM to 4:35 PM

Should I be concerned about the less than two hour window from when we arrive in Sydney to when we have to connect to our Cairns flight? How long does customs take in Sydney? If for some reason we miss our flight (lack of time), AA is responsible for rebooking us on a later flight, right? (Not that I want this, I just want to ensure we are covered).

3) We plan on utilizing public transportation throughout our trips in Cairns, Melbourne, and Sydney--except we want to go to Philip Island to see the fairy penguins. Should we rent a car for the day to do that? Any rental companies you recommend? We want to avoid one of those tour bus trips to Philip Island because we want to do things at our own pace and not be herded from one place to another, but didn't know if there was a train or regular bus option?

4) Maybe this is better question to ask in another forum, but anyone have advice on buying trip insurance? We'll be gone for 26 days, so this is the longest we've ever traveled for. We've never purchased the insurance before but wonder if it's now necessary for a trip of this length/cost.

Thanks,

Joy

Can't help with Q1... but...

Q2. You've got to make your way to the Dom terminal (short bus or train ride... you should be able to get a pass so that you don't pay for that trip). If you miss the connection, QF should help you out if you are travelling on the same e-ticket. Having a quick look, the next flight after QF926 at 1330 is QF932 at 1925 (6 hours later). Customs length depends on when you arrive and when other flights arrive. Last time I was there, I arrived at about 1200 and spent about 15 mins all up between getting off the plane, doing immigration, collecting bags and clearing customs. You should be able to recheck your bags at the Int-> Dom transit area just past customs (go left, rather than right with the masses).

QF might be able to help out with an earlier flight as long as you don't mind transiting in BNE.

Q3. Public transport is very good in SYD and MEL. Cairns is good enough for a small town, but don't expect services every 5 mins. http://www.sunbus.com.au/tt_cairns.php for Cairns bus timetables. At CNS airport (assuming you are staying in the city), just take a taxi. Shouldn't cost more than about $10-$15 (if that!).

Rental car is best for a trip to Phillip Island.


Q4. Definitely take out travel insurance. You never know what might crop up.


Evan :->

Are you planning on staying in Cairns itself? You'll find some threads around here that debate the merits of Cairns versus one of the resort locations a little bit further up the coast - either Palm Cove or Port Douglas. We've never stayed in Cairns but I assume (as already suggested) that a cab is the easiest way to get to your hotel if you're staying in Cairns. If you stay in Palm Cove or Port Douglas, your hotel can (almost certainly) arrange to have you picked up/dropped off at Cairns airport. Depending on what you're planning on doing (snorkelling on the reef, visiting Kuranda?), those 'tours' generally also include pick up/drop off at your hotel.

As for a car in Melbourne, you'll also need it if you want to go down the Great Ocean Road. Unfortunately the GOR and Phillip Island are in opposite directions but you could presumably do them on consecutive days - a car is otherwise a liability in Melbourne and Sydney, as you'll spend your time paying a fortune to park it and your intended use of public transport is a much easier way to go. Downtown Melbourne has all the major car rental companies, so take your pick.

Speaking of car rentals ~~ another thread mentioned a good site to compare car rental rates in AUS. I can't find it :( Which sites do you recommend for booking car rentals? WE will be booking in Melbourne & Tassie :)

Speaking of car rentals ~~ another thread mentioned a good site to compare car rental rates in AUS. I can't find it :( Which sites do you recommend for booking car rentals? WE will be booking in Melbourne & Tassie :)Is this the thread? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/australia-new-zealand-south-pacific/858942-useful-info-have-you-used-any-online-comparison-sites-listed-article.html)

We invariably rent from Hertz (probably from habit, more than anything). It usually seems to run about A$45-A$50 a day for something like a Toyota Camry. Everybody will now, no doubt, tell me that's a horrible rate and we can do much better somewhere else ....

As we fly AA (or oneworld), I've got into the habit of checking rates on AA.com. A few times in the last year, I've found Hertz rates on there that were way better than what Hertz was quoting direct (last October, a 2 week rental with Hertz in the UK was half the price via AA compared with what Hertz wanted on their site for the same car).

Speaking of car rentals ~~ another thread mentioned a good site to compare car rental rates in AUS. I can't find it :( Which sites do you recommend for booking car rentals? WE will be booking in Melbourne & Tassie :)Try https://vroomvroomvroom.com.au/ (as in the thread linked above)
http://www.standbycars.com.au/ for an alternative

1) Any idea how long customs is at the Nadi airport? We arrive at 5:10 AM on Air Pacific. We purchased separate tickets through Air Pacific to fly from Nadi to Malololailai Island (only a 10 min flight) at 7:00 AM, so I'm going to ask them to link the reservations, but I assume Nadi is a fairly small airport (like Kauai or the Big Island) and we shouldn't have any worries?

2) We first stop over in Fiji and then continue on to Australia. AA booked us on the NAN-SYD-CNS flights as follows:
Air Pacific NAN-SYD 9:00 AM to 11:40 AM
Qantas SYD-CNS 1:25 PM to 4:35 PM

Should I be concerned about the less than two hour window from when we arrive in Sydney to when we have to connect to our Cairns flight? How long does customs take in Sydney? If for some reason we miss our flight (lack of time), AA is responsible for rebooking us on a later flight, right? (Not that I want this, I just want to ensure we are covered).

3) We plan on utilizing public transportation throughout our trips in Cairns, Melbourne, and Sydney--except we want to go to Philip Island to see the fairy penguins. Should we rent a car for the day to do that? Any rental companies you recommend? We want to avoid one of those tour bus trips to Philip Island because we want to do things at our own pace and not be herded from one place to another, but didn't know if there was a train or regular bus option?

4) Maybe this is better question to ask in another forum, but anyone have advice on buying trip insurance? We'll be gone for 26 days, so this is the longest we've ever traveled for. We've never purchased the insurance before but wonder if it's now necessary for a trip of this length/cost.

Thanks,

Joy

1. Fiji customs, like everything, run on Fiji time.....Fiji time exists outside normal space/time.

However, if you land at 05:10 you should be well clear of Customs before 06:00, leaving plenty of time for your other flight. I've connected the other way (DOM-INT) at Nadi many times, and it's pretty seamless. You'll be VERY lucky if your second flight departs at 07:00!

2. I wouldn't worry at all about that time for a connection.

3. Public transport is awesome in Melbourne, barely acceptable in Sydney, pretty much non-existent in Cairns. Get a car in Cairns.

Is this the thread? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/australia-new-zealand-south-pacific/858942-useful-info-have-you-used-any-online-comparison-sites-listed-article.html)Yes! Thanks ^