Lucy loves Australia

It’s worth thinking about when school holidays are and aren’t when you plan and book your holiday to Australia

Because the seasons are back to front in most of Australia then it’s not actually back to school time Down Under. In the the southern half of Australia the seasons are reversed, while the top half of Australia is ‘tropical’ so has ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ instead of more recognisable Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Anyway as I was saying, because the seasons are ‘back to front’ then our summer holidays coming to an end does not mean its back to School for Australian small people. In fact they have all been at school throughout August!

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Fancy Christmas on 4-mile beach, Port Douglas?

As ever you all seem totally obsessed with flying to Australia for Christmas. I could write about this every week I am sure and you won’t tire of it (don’t worry – I would tire of it!)

BUT as I know I am going to get asked again and again, I’ve done some research (OK, hands up -  I cheated and got the lovely people at Freedom Australia to do all the research!) and I’ve found you some options for flying to Australia for Christmas. AND (be impressed!) some of the flights are less than £1k.

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Our Cathay Pacific 747 about to depart London

OK, it’s joint first place with Singapore Airlines, but I couldn’t call it! Cathay Pacific were really great to fly with to Australia and the stopover options are really good…

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We received brilliant service and attention on Cathay Pacific, as did small people

So I think I’ve (finally!) worked out how to manage jet lag when flying to Australia. And be impressed – this is also when travelling with a baby and a toddler!

If I can whip jet lag into shape in these circumstances then any grown-ups on their own should have no problems (my challenge to you!)…

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Just a quick “G’day” from Down Under! Yes I am in Australia. I am ‘loving it’.

Have heaps to tell you soon, but first I need a little bit more sleep (oh, and a cold beer!)…

Quick summary of what’s to come…

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If you are traveling with infants, toddlers or children to Australia, chances are your criteria for choosing a flight are going to be a little bit different to, say, a backpacker. But if you are after the cheapest fare you can get, you might want to have a quick think about what that might mean… a longer stopover en route, a less comfortable airline, a lower standard of facilities on board, less choice of flight times…, etc.

Flying as a family to Australia is no mean feat and it’s a very good idea to book your flight wisely!

Here are my tips…

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Now you have 2 choices here (well, sort of 3)…

• you can decide where you want to stopover and pick the corresponding national airline
• you can fly with an airline that has a few different routes to Australia
• or you can ask an expert…

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OK… so if you’ve been following the ‘planning’ tips then so far you know WHEN you want to go to Australia on holiday and also what you need to do BEFORE you book your flights (get a visa!). Now… how to get there!

Technically you can overland most of the way to Australia (see Ozbus) and you can sail there (read to the end)… but most people tend to take a plane. Here’s how I go about booking my (cheap if I can help it!) flights to Australia.

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Only one month to go…

So we’re booked! One month today we’ll be winging our way to the lovely land of Down Under for our next ‘research trip’.

Now for an old hand like me, planning a holiday to Australia is not all that daunting — BUT do not think that means it’s any less complicated

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Catch a cab to the Pinnacles?

Now this is a Taxi ride I want.

Brilliant competition from TravelBag that has 11 chances to win a different leg of a journey across Western Australia.

11 couples will each travel a different section of the taxi tour across this vast Aussie state with what sounds like the chance for quite a few adventures along the way…

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Great deal on offer for flights to Australia with Royal Brunei from £499 return.

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It’s a rare day that I don’t get a question about flying to Australia at Christmas. It seems you are all obsessed with being Down Under for the festive season!

I’ve written about this LOTS so I will try not to repeat myself too much! BUT here’s my advice, and what’s out there to book NOW!!!

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Spotted this deal from a couple of travel co’s today… sale is only on for 6 days so thought better write about quickly!

Cathay Pacific are offering flights to some of their Australian city destinations for under £600 in May and June 2010.

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The Australian school holidays can mean busy beaches and expensive accommodation…

It’s that time of year again — holiday planning time! With the (freezing where I am!) cold weather upon us, and a year of resolutions to uphold (mine always include travel), January is well known as peak holiday planning time.

Something to consider when planning a trip Down Under is the school holidays in Australia, as like anywhere this will add to road, rail and air traffic, and of course to the price of places to stay.

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I have to say I am amazed at how many enquiries I’ve had recently (questions almost daily on Ask Lucy!) about flights to Australia in December 2010. I can never think that far ahead (I still haven’t even thought about what I am doing for Christmas 2009!), but it seems there are plenty of you who do plan your Christmases 14 months in advance, so I will share my booking tips…

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Qantas announce two commemorative flights from London to Sydney

Severe £££ warning — look away now if you don’t have a spare £20k+ (!) for a ticket.

Qantas have announced two commemorative flights that follow original flight paths that the London to Sydney routes took 75 years ago. The flights have the same stopovers and will also use the same historic planes.

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Tourism Australia have launched a virtual gap year app on Facebook

Thought this looked a little bit interesting if you’re planning (or at least dreaming about!) a gap year, working holiday, or any holiday to Australia.

Tourism Australia has launched a Facebook page featuring an app that allows you to create a “virtual gap year”.

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There’s still lots of you out there who want to travel to Australia for Christmas — so here’s an update…

You will be very unlikely to get a return in early January for a cheap price, but that said you can still grab a sub £1000 flight in the peak dates before Christmas 2009 if you book soon…

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All the advice you’ll need for emigrating to Australia

The lovely people at Australia & New Zealand Magazine (whaddya mean you don’t get it? Here’s more info!) have organised a live event near Birmingham this weekend with all the contacts you’ll need for a New Life Down Under.

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