Melbourne anyone??

yve

New Member
sep03,
When is the natas show? i went to ANANDA to asked about trips for next Nov, and they give me one kind of funny look.. but they say there is a travel show in aug next year..
 


eva

New Member
Sep03,

Oh, so NATAS fair in Mar.
Maybe i can afford to wait till then. Ya, Emirates got daily flight but the $632 promo not available for my date. Anyway, i still have 3 mths to go, so will wait till the fair.

Anyone been to Meibourne and have an itinerary? I havent receive from Cody leh
sad.gif
 

eva

New Member
Sep03,

When u click you want to book the tics at $632, they say my date is not available. You have to key in the date first and do the check.
 

eva

New Member
Sep03,

U can select the dates and click on the button, maybe becos the rates r for current dep dates, so for Apr and May, it is still along way, so the cheap tickets not valid.
 

tigerlily

New Member
Sep03,

Emirates fly only on certain days of the week and at odd hours. which is also why it's cheaper.

Cody or anyone else,

Do you have cheaper accommodation to recommend in melbourne city (other than YHA). Or do you know anyone who is willing to rent out their apt in Melbourne for 2 days?
 

cody

New Member
Tigerlily, i dun have any particular names on hand but i DO know that the accomodation at St Kilda's beach is cheaper than in the city itself.

Their B&Bs, Motor Inns and motels are clean and cheap.
 

sep03

New Member
hi gals,

me called up misatravel, where they advertised emirates flight as $632 for syd and mel (open jaw)...but guess what?..the person said that the flights are fully booked and waiting list is closed....i was enquiring for a trip in May...find it so unbelievable....

???
 

gracious

Member
Hi Tigerlily,
you might wanna check out, www.hotelclaremont.com
it's a pretty cheap B&B and it's near to South Yarra and Chapel Streets, where the shopping is.

Breakfast in inclusive as well. They quoted me $87 for a double/twin per room per night.
isn't that cheap or what? However, there is no toilets in your room, you gotto go out and use the common bathrooms shared by the rest as well. To me, it doesn't matter.
 

sacher

New Member
cody, can i have ur infor on Melbourne too? Planning a trip too though not so soon. Planning to go in sep or oct. thnx in advance
 

eva

New Member
Sep03,

Think Misa cant confirm the rates for your departure, so they say no more.
think more advisable to wait abit closer to teh date then buy, in case u have any changes.
 

tigerlily

New Member
Hi Sep03,

It's highly possible that May is full on emirates. firstly, it's cheaper than Qantas or SQ so people with time to wait go on Emirates. then, May is the time when australia school term ends and which is also the time many in Singapore go down to meet their friends/relatives for short holiday and come back together.

Maybe you should wait for the NATAS fair for good deals.

OR... look out this weekend for Qantas' Australia Day specials - hopefully they have. Last year, they offered $499 to Melbourne & Sydney, $399 to Perth (must book within 3 days, can book via internet) - after tax and stuff it was $666 to Melbourne & Sydney direct. Fly by 30 June. My family bought 4 tickets immediately since we were planning to go in June for a friend's wedding anyway.
 

eva

New Member
Tigerlily,

ya, i remember that ad last yr.
So is it true its coming up this weekend?

is it gd to fly by Qantas/BA?
 

pooh

New Member
Hi Cody,

can u email me the itinerary also?

my email: [email protected]

I am planning to go Sdy, Melbourne and Gold Coast in mid June for my honeymoon.

Is there any problem going ard as we thinking of going F&E but we dun drive.

Thanks
 

sep03

New Member
hi tigerlily,

infact, i checked wif a few other travel agents, emirates flights is fully booked and waiting list closed....

the big problem, is that i'm flying to syd and coming back from mel...very difficult to get a good deal...need open jaw tics...

but, if it's around $666...then i will jus buy another domestic flight back to syd from mel...

but i wld prefer to fly wif flights operated by BA...
 
E

excited bride

Guest
Dear ladies,

I've finally decided on Melbourne and Tasmania for my honeymoon after realising that Japan is too expensive and we have so little no. of days there- Just a couple of questions on my mind, can anyone help?

1) Do you all have any idea how I can get from Melbourne to Tasmania? Which airlines is better? BA or QF(Qantas)? Shd i take a flight from SIN-MEL-TAS thro' a connecting flight or do I take some other form of transportation?
2) Shd I try to wait till Natas fair is here before booking a flight & accomodation cos I'm thinking of F&E there? Will it be too late cos I intend to go on the last week of mar (28 mar onwards) or 1st wk of April.

Cody: I understand that you have an itinerary for Melbourne...do you have any for Tasmania as well? Care to email me at [email protected] ? Thanks! =)

Cody: Can I take a look at yr itinerary?
 

cody

New Member
Excited bride: regarding your questions, let me try to answer them:

1) Do you all have any idea how I can get from Melbourne to Tasmania? Which airlines is better? BA or QF(Qantas)? Shd i take a flight from SIN-MEL-TAS thro' a connecting flight or do I take some other form of transportation?

>>> Getting from Melb to Tas --> there are 2 ways, air and sea. By air, take domestic flight operated either by QF or Virgin. The air tickets are cheap, about $90 one-way. Flight time is about 1hr 15mins. Sometimes there are offers at $1 per ticket, but you got to be quick. Sign up for their email newsletters for advance notice.

>>> By sea is an overnight cruise, but the water is very very choppy, and most people end up feeling nauseous. Not a very good start to a holiday eh? Cruise is expensive ... offer is $200+

>>>During the summer months, there's also an express cruise service by catamerang (called the Black Cat or something). Expensive and the ride is very choppy (coz the Bass Straits dividing Melbourne and Tas is subjected to ocean currents & waves).

>>>During the Singapore school holidays, SQ also has chartered flights from SIN-TAS. The air ticket is expensive and the flight is FULL of packaged tour travellers. For this reason, you may also find it hard to get just an air ticket without the package holiday coz the travel agents would have pre-booked the seats for their package tours.

>>>BA does not operate any domestic flights within Aust. Only Qantas and Virgin. (Kendall has folded)

>>>International flight wise, Emirates, Malaysian Airlines and BA all provide good service. The SIN-MEL Qantas aeroplanes are all quite old (no personal TV screen). SQ is nice, but expensive

2) Shd I try to wait till Natas fair is here before booking a flight & accomodation cos I'm thinking of F&E there? Will it be too late cos I intend to go on the last week of mar (28 mar onwards) or 1st wk of April.


>>>The NATAS fair doesn't really have very much on Tas, at most some package tours. Nothing is too late, but March is only a short break (1 week holiday), so the bookings for Tas will prob be for June school hols only.


Pooh & Vee Kee: sent you email already. Pls check.
 

jojok

New Member
Hi Cody,

Kindly email to me too. I m planning to go to Mel & Tas (Aust) & also Christchurch (NZ). Any recommendation?
 

cody

New Member
one day ?!?!?!??
no no, if its only for 1 day, then pls dun waste your money !!!

If you are REALLY intending to spend 1 day there, go to Hobart on a Saturday.
Go to Mt Wellington for an overview of Hobart city, and spend the morning at Salamanca market.

The beauty of Tasmania is NOT in the cities but in their surrounds eg Cradle Mountina, Freycinet (Wine Glass Bay) etc etc
 

pooh

New Member
Hi Cody,
receive ur mail liao. Thanks..

During my planning of the trip if i have any question will ask u again. Hope u dun mind..

happy.gif
 

eva

New Member
Cody,

like to check with u whether it is advisable to go Great Ocean Rd on weekends? I'm planning whether to stay in Melbourne city during weekends or go outskirts.

Appreciate if u can advise me. Thks.
 

sacher

New Member
Hi Cody

Thnx. rec'd your itinery leow. You spent 3D/2N on Great Occean Road. I might not have that much time to spare. A 1D trip could be sufficient right? Of cuz, it's not gonna be as thorough...

Did you do bushwalking? I'm not too sure what that means anyway. Like trekking? Seems that its a very aussie thing to do over there?
 

cody

New Member
Pooh: Sure, no probs!

Eva: Better to go great ocean road on a weekday. Reserve the weekends for the weekends markets eg Queen Victoria Market and the arts market at St Kildas.

The traffic along Great ocean road on a weekday is also SLIGHTLY better becoz you dun have to fight with the locals (esp the students) who also want to take a day tripper on the weekends.

Sacher: 1 day for Great Ocean road is very brief. Prob enough for you to go from melb - 12 apostles - melb. Along the way prob can stop by some of the major rock formations lah. Be sure to start your journey early tho. If you go in summer when the sun sets later, then you have more time. Just make sure the driver gets plenty of rest & stays alert on the way home.

Yes bushwalking is almost = trekking. THe aussies love the nature, so they enjoy walking thru the greenery alot.
 

garfield

New Member
cody: thanks! i rec ur tas & ur reply liao..thanks alot!!
now deciding whether to spend 10days in tas or 14days mel & tas
 

tigerlily

New Member
Hi sacher,

There are 1 day trips available but i really don't think 1 day is enough.

It takes about 5 hours to drive from Melbourne via the great ocean road to the 12 apostles (Port Campbell), and 3 hrs back (by highway). the last time we drove up to the 12 Apostles, stayed 1 night at port campbell and drove back. and i thought it was such a waste that we didn't have time to explore the nature parks and the lovely waterfalls and the ocean...

so this time, we're doing a 3 day 2 night thing. drive up to explore surfing museum at Torquey, the Angelhook-Lorne nature park, the lighthouse and stay at Apollo Bay. then the next day head to the Otway ranges and out to Port Campbell, going down to the Loch Arch, the 12 Apostles... etc. it would be much better.

For more information on Great Ocean Road, go to:
http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au
 

orchid

New Member
Hi garfield,

if you have time, go for the 14 day mel/tas thing. you will HAVE to pass through melbourne to get to/from tasmania anyway - might as well spend some time there. '

Hi excited bride,

how many days do you have? if you have less then 6 days, i think you should just do a Melbourne thing and don't go Tasmania. Tasmania itself will need at least 1 wk to appreciate the place.

if you have abt 1 wk in Melbourne, you can do...

1. the great ocean road drive or

2. drive to Philip Island to see the fairy penguins (really really cute!) at the penguin conservatory & do some horseback riding.. or

3. and spend some time in the city,
catch a musical (get real cheap tickets at Half Tix booth at Bourke St),
eat at Lygon street (my fav Papa Gino's pizza, Lamb's Slovaki),
go shopping at Richmond Factory Outlet street, South Yarra, Chapel St,
see arty stuff at the Melbourne Art Museum, Southbank,
see alternative arty stuff at St. Kilda's

By the way, April this year is also the Melbourne International Comedy Festival!!!
 

sacher

New Member
Yah..in fact I saw a one day trip to Great Occean Road somewhere. My problem is hubby dun wanna spend too much $ and too many days leave for the trip. But i wish to do Mel and Syd in say 10 or 12 days.

Last time i suggested the trip, i say it will be a one week thing. Now i want to extend to so many days, i think he will kill me.

Of cuz, i can just do Mel but fly all the way there, just spend ard A$200 on an nternal flight to syd..then why not. Yah, i greedy loh..

So muz cut back here and there loh..you see.
 

pooh

New Member
Hi gals,

if hubby and i dun drive how do we go to the 12 apostles?

We thinking of F&E but we dun drive will there be problem for us to take public transport in Melb?
 

cody

New Member
getting around melb city is NOT a problem. There's plenty of transportation modes around, and the town is well served.

BUT getting to the outskirts eg Great Ocean Road etc ... dun drive means got to take day tours already.

Ala carte day tours can be quite expensive (per person approx $100+; overnight is even more expensive).

One more thing, day tours all tend to start VERY early eg start 5am, come back 8pm


In this case, i recommend that you take a package tour, and extend. Go free & easy only during the extension.
 

cody

New Member
While we are on the topic of driving, pls take extra precaution with the hook turn.

It's basically a right turn, but you turn alittle to the left first, let the traffic behind you clear before you proceed to turn right.
 

sacher

New Member
Cody, driving the along the great ocean road diificult or not? The roads are winding? No signs? Not well lit? I heard in aust not easy to drive ard..that's why got many accidents happen when pp drive during holi. True or not?

I visited the website for GOR (great ocean Rd that is) and am soooo...captivated by the sights. So now thinking of completing the whole rd..that is to portland right?

But same as pooh..driving is a prob. Though hubby and another male fren can drive but heard a lot of horror stories on driving there...

So far..can't find any tours covering the whole of GOR. Only day trips.
 

cody

New Member
Sacher:

The irony is that the Aussie roads are very good. It's fatigue that caused accidents. Of course, there's a fair share of speeding, road kills etc

The roads are all in very condition. There are road signs ALL over the place, indicating the look out points, the speed limit, the degree of upslope / downslope etc.
As long as you follow to their speed limits closely, you'll be fine.

True, the great ocean road does not have street lamps. in fact, all roads in the outskirts do not have street lamps (only Singapore has that luxury!).

My advise is NOT to drive at night. Anybody would be tired after a whole day's of sight seeing etc. It's only normal. Hence its good to stay overnight at whichever town you're in once the sun starts to set.


In my earlier research, you're right that there are no tours that go all the way up to Portland. I guess not everyone is interested in the scenery; in fact some people may find it boring (my dad's one!). It's really a personal interest.

if you want to drive up to Portland, you'll need 3d / 3n. I did 3d/2n from warrnambool to torquay.

Oh yah, if it REALLY has to be a 1-day affair, my advise is to start your great ocean road journey from Torquay and travel along the ocean coast. When you want to come back, take the inland route which is less winding and easier to drive.
 

sacher

New Member
Cody. Morntington and Philip Island actually not the same iizzit? But both places famous for Penguins?

Read that photography not allowed during the Penguin Parade? wat a pity...
 
E

excited bride

Guest
Hi Cody,
Thanks for all yr advice and yes, I received the email! Which are some of the must go places for Tasmania and Melbourne cos i only got 8-10 days max for the tour? Is it advisable for me to get the air tix from the net/travel agent first for MEL-TAS or buy when i am there? Which option is better?

Hi Orchid,
I have 8 days to tour both Melbourne and Tasmania. My hubby says that the max no. he can spare is 10 days so you think it's still a good idea to go for both locations?

Dear all, thanks for all the advice given on the forum! Appreciate all the help i can get.
 


pooh

New Member
Hi Cody,
but we are not taking package cos my hubby dun like to rush. And we also wat to go Sdy and Gold coast.

Now i also dunno how to plan liao.. Help..
 

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