Originally Posted by Governator
My son is returning in a few weeks from his one year Army tour over in Ramadi, Iraq. We are all glad to have him back of course, but he has expressed an intent to use some of his 30 days leave after his return to take a trip to Australia for a week or two. Sounds like a good idea to me - I'd love to do it if I had the time and money. What suggestions can anyone offer in terms of getting there, and what he might want to do there? I see that Air New Zealand has a deal right now for $798 rt from LAX - that seems reasonable compared to some other fares I looked at. It's not possible to book anything until after he gets back, even then not until his leave is determined. So any tips for buying a ticket with only a week or two notice? He has targeted Sydney as his main destination - but I think he would be open to other suggestions.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Well, Australia requires a sort of e-visa/ETA and some airlines will charge for that and others will not at the time of booking/payment for the trip. It can sometimes be cheaper to do it yourself, but make sure the name on the ticket and the passport are exactly the same or some reservation agents will have issues finding the ETA. Tourist ones are generally good for one-year from issuance. ETAs come back quite quickly, generally less than 24-hours (if not much faster).
Sydney is a great place. What kind of stuff/trips has he liked doing? That may help.