MCIFlyer

Couple questions.....

I am in the process of planning my honeymoon for this upcoming June and thinking of using miles (I have 225K US miles I can use w/ Qantas) for a trip to Australia and New Zealand. The Qantas rep says there is award availibility to AUK and MEL. Things are a little more limited to SYD. Is AUK and MEL ideal for honeymooning that time of year? How about Brisbane? Would it be worth the 105K miles for Business Class (or 80K for coach) dring that time of year (winter)? We've never been "down under" and want like to take advantage if it's worth it! Should we pursue some of these ideas?

michaelblain

Depending on what you want - Coastal holidays would obviously be a bit cold but romantic cabins, vineyards, countryside, bush walking etc would be great.

South Island of NZ is spectaucular as well.

However - don't ignore paying cash for your domestic airfares. Try QF site - .au - version under the red-edeals you will find Sydney to Melbourne 1way about $AUD80 pp inc tax so thats around $US50. Bne- SYD or MEL are good value as well. The .nz site has fairly cheap btw AUCkland wellington & Christchurch however airnz site would also have a larger range of express fares.

Good luck.

[This message has been edited by michaelblain (edited 01-27-2003).]

NM

MEL in June is cold (by Ausie standards) and damp, with short days. The Queen's birthday long weekend is generally the official start to the skiing season, but snow coverage is unreliable until July.

AKL in June is similar to MEL, being cold, damp and mostly overcast.

BNE will be warmer with mostly clear skies and cool nights. Still not beach/swimming weather for us locals, but many southerners migrate north to BNE and Gold Coast at this time of the year as it is still swimming/beach weather for them.

Consider buying a domestic fare to the Whitsunday Islands. HMI (Hamilton Island) is available non-stop from SYD or BNE and is far enough north to still enjoy swimming, diving, snorkling etc on the Great Barrier Reef in June.

tinkybelle

You can also fly direct to bne and also Cairns I think from Auckland.
i wouldnt be attempting mel and syd unless you want to do the romantic cabin thing.

GoldFlyer

Oh Tinkybelle, no SYD? Well then they may as well stay in Kansas Dorothy! What's a trip down under without a trip to the best place on earth? (oh, sorry I live there so forget that).

In all seriousness though, SYD in July is a delight. Temperature rarely drops below 10 overnight and the days are sunny and clear - just a great time of year IMO.

Why not fly into SYD and base yourself there. Do MEL if you really want to punish yourself but from SYD as was previously mentioned, you can get some great discount fares to other great destinations like Cairns (Great Barrier Reef), warm and sunny all year but superb in July. Skiing in the Snowy Mountains is also an option if that's what you're into.

Life is short mate and to come all that way and not "experience" the place wouold be a shame so look at your options and plan to have a memorable honeymoon, it may be the only thing worth remembering of your marriage. OOOOPS! Sorry, joke.


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shillard

Definitely worth the extra points to do it in J.

Suggest LAX-AKL (J Award).

Buy web Y fares to go AKL-CHC and explore the South Island, definitely the pick of NZ.

AKL-MEL (J award)

Melbourne has it over Sydney for culture, ambience, and value. Definitely a place you want to visit.

MEL-SYD-Hamilton Island (Y web fare).

We spent our honeymoon on Hamilton Island - the "Beach Club Resort" is the gear. Outstanding service and THE place to be. It will be warm enough to swim comfortably there, and day-trips to the reef are fantastic. You could easily spend a week on the island.

Chalkie

De-lurking mode activated.

Hi. I have been lurking about and decided to respond to this post, as a MEL resident of 8 or so years, and a SYD resident before that of 25+ years.

MEL in winter is fine - the days are often sunny and crisp and there is much to see and do. (NM, whether it is the drought or something more fundamental, I think that Mel winter weather has changed over the last 6 or so years. There have been very few of those long grey drizzly days in the last few years)

The dining in MEL is every bit as good as SYD (and less costly than SYD). There are great day drives from Mel to the Yarra Valley wineries and cute little country towns. These are all available out of Syd, but require a little bit more driving.

That being said, you cannot come to Australia and miss SYD!! It is a great city and on par with many other "world" cities. It is easy to book a cheap ticket from Mel to Syd on the QF internet site, and the flying time is only a little over an hour, so if you land in Mel, by all means book some paid domestic flights to travel elsewhere in Oz.

Cheers
Chalkie

NM

Welcome Chalkie, and please remain de-lurked. We value input from all around here.

Quote:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">(NM, whether it is the drought or something more fundamental, I think that Mel winter weather has changed over the last 6 or so years. There have been very few of those long grey drizzly days in the last few years)

I do hope you are correct, but perhaps my memory is selective .

Quote:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">The dining in MEL is every bit as good as SYD (and less costly than SYD). There are great day drives from Mel to the Yarra Valley wineries and cute little country towns. These are all available out of Syd, but require a little bit more driving.

I do agree with you here. If looking for a place to live, then I reckon you can't get much better than Brisbane (for my lifestyle anyway). But if visiting Australia for a short period, then you really need to see SYD. Next choice depends on preference, either Whitsundays/Great Barrier Reef, or MEL and its surrounds (eg Great Ocean Road). My preference is for the north during winter and south in the hotter months.

In my opinion, the best time for Melbourne area is Feb through May. Best time for Whitsundays/GBR is August to November. Best place on 21st Feb .... BNE Qantas Club lounge, of course.

ffhound

Hi

Being a Melbourne resident I can strongly recommend coming to Melbourne.

Think it of it this way. Melbourne is the Paris of the southern hemisphere - cultured, refined, graceful, educated and architecturally interesting. Sydney by contrast is the Los Angeles of the Southern Hemisphere although it has one or two things worth seeing (Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Sydney Harbour).

Come on down to MELBOURNE!!!

cheers Peter

ffhound

I should have mentioned also

Melbourne is cool and sometimes damp in June but as always there is a mixture of mild and cooler days

cheers Peter