Originally Posted by
chimphappyhour
Thank you both
The car situation sounds a little like what I ran into in Ireland. Cards' insurances weren't valid. I take it that they cover the insurance deductible in the same way by placing a holding amount on the credit card to cover? Not quite sure how to explain it but if the deductible was $2k, they would reserve $2k worth of space on your card until the car was returned. The rules do sound a bit complex as to what company lets you do what though. Looks like I should avoid renting at the airport though. I'll probably want to get it out in the suburbs anyway. In cities that actually have good public transport, I prefer that anyway. I'm already looking at getting one of the one week commuter cards.
Avis & Budget only reserve the estimated amount of the rental. Hertz reserve the estimated amount plus either AUD80 or 200 for standard cars (was 200 but seems to have recently reduced to 80), 500 or 1,000 for prestige cars. Europcar used to charge the amount plus reserve up to AUD350, but it's not clear what they currently do (I haven't hired from them recently). Thrifty either charge or reserve the estimated rental amount. It's definitely a good idea to avoid renting from airports if possible.
Originally Posted by
chimphappyhour
I'm going to try to avoid domestic flights as much as I can so we'll see how far that gets me.
I've noticed that Australian carriers have a very low carry-on weight and I've heard they enforce it. I think even the lightest iteration of my camera bag outdoes the limit.
You'll either be doing a lot of driving/training, or staying in a small area! Carry-on is either 7kg or 10kg depending on the airline. Qantas tends not to be too concerned about the weight and they also include checked luggage at no extra cost.
Originally Posted by
chimphappyhour
One other question about accommodations, how prevalent is wi-fi?
Not very prevalent, especially in smaller places. If it is available, it tends to be quite expensive, unlike the US where it's almost always available and free!
Forgot mention motels are quite prevalent too, but pubs are more interesting (many are in grand century old buildings) and often cheaper. The other budget option is hostels, most of which of a reasonably high standard.
Originally Posted by
chimphappyhour
As for drunk driving, I usually only have one beer a day and that's usually at night and that's usually a Guinness. (Relatively weak as far as alcohol goes.) That said, I'm not against sampling local specialties which raises the question. Fosters is obviously well known but are there any specialty brews I should keep an eye open for while I'm in Australia? I like dark and I like Belgian. I'm not so big on lighter yellow beers and wheat beers. If I stay at the pub, then drinking and driving shouldn't even happen.
In addition to what others have already mentioned, there are a number of 'craft' style beers with wide availability, including Fat Yak, a pale ale that's available almost everywhere. For real craft beers, there are small breweries everywhere, including in the inner suburbs of Melbourne and many country towns. A couple of examples in Victoria include Red Hill brewery, breweries in Beechworth and Jamieson. Plenty of others too.