quote:

Originally posted by Pauline:
Missie, the last time I looked Uluru (Ayres Rock) was in the Northern Territory.
I know it's just up the road a bit from Adelaide but it's not in South Australia/

Trust you Pauline to notice a little thing like that. It is so close to the border it may as well be in SA.

OOOh the cost of Australia and New Zealand.

I put a refundable deposit on a 20 day tour of both for Christmas 2007. I am still debating. However, I don't think either place is going to get less expensive..with airfare the way it is. Thus, if I want to see Australia and NZ, I am going to just have to suck up the cost and go. This would definitely be in lieu of a Summer 08 trip.

Unfortunately, I know lots of people who want to see either, and nobody who has personally seen either, so every night I weigh the pros and cons of going there and spending the money.

I am doing a TT tour this May -Highlights of Eastern Europe, but the Christmas tour is not TT, so I can't talk about it. Oooh I would love opinions. :-)

I too have been putting off a trip to Australia and New Zealand, largely because of the cost. I recently found one that looks pretty good but unfortuneately it is not a TT and I have already booked a tour for this spring. I hope that they offer it again next spring.

quote:

Originally posted by CoastalJen:
OOOh the cost of Australia and New Zealand.

I put a refundable deposit on a 20 day tour of both for Christmas 2007. I am still debating. However, I don't think either place is going to get less expensive..with airfare the way it is. Thus, if I want to see Australia and NZ, I am going to just have to suck up the cost and go. This would definitely be in lieu of a Summer 08 trip.

Unfortunately, I know lots of people who want to see either, and nobody who has personally seen either, so every night I weigh the pros and cons of going there and spending the money.

I am doing a TT tour this May -Highlights of Eastern Europe, but the Christmas tour is not TT, so I can't talk about it. Oooh I would love opinions. :-)

This will only scratch the surface of both, there is so much to see & do. When you look at Australia is it as big as the US so it's a big place to get around, so an tour would be your best bet. Christmas is a hot place in Oz! Hopefully some of us can arrange a get together to help you feel at home.

Cheers
Spooky

Perhaps the high cost is due to the amount of air travel involved if you want to see a small sample of the countries in a limited time. We went to NZ a year or two ago, did a coach and rail tour, and found the cost comparable to a TT, but it wasn't a Trafalgar tour as I wasn't aware of a Trafalgar tour in the land of the long white cloud. all breakfasts and evening meals were included, but it was a three week tour which would not suit most from the US. My advice Coastaljen would be to do either one country or the other, and not attempt to do both. A 3 week tour of Australia and Newzealand would be similar to doing Europe in 10 days!!!

Coastaljen, at that time of year, New Zealand would probably be more pleasant, Australia can be very hot. If I can offer you any advice (I see that you are eligible for private messaging, but it is not enabled yet), please feel free to contact me on the email address in the 'who is going where and when' thread

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Steve H,

OOoh I love heat. I set my air conditioning to come on at 87, but it drives visitors nuts, so I set it to come on at 82, and I am cold.

I opted out of a land tour. This is a cruise.. that spends almost every day in a port. Sometimes there are two days in a city.. like Sydney. Also, I would go in one day early into Brisbane. If I don't do this tour, I will do just a Europe tour maybe that summer again.

I just did a l4 night Panama Canal cruise. I could live on a boat..seriously. There is nothing like feeling the waves rock the boat.

I will never book another not guaranteed tour. While guaranteed tours can fall through, I think it is MUCH less apt to happen. I like to have set plans for holidays ..especially with the price of the airline ticket.

I think I prefer this tour to the TT land tours, but I did check and there are no guaranteed tours during the three weeks I can travel at that time of year. I will monitor and see if any of interest become guaranteed prior to the ticket being bought..or the nonrefundable amount being due. I think the itinerary looks pretty good.

I live by the coast, and our airport is the 9th most expensive in the U.S. for flights. I did notice that often the flight to Brisbane and back from Auckland is $l,700 cheaper if I drive four hours to a major airport. That may be my plan of action unless airlines prices come down here.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: CoastalJen,

quote:

Originally posted by steveH:
A 3 week tour of Australia and Newzealand would be similar to doing Europe in 10 days!!!

OK Steve. You've convinced me to do Australia and New Zealand separately. More frequent flyer points anyway!

Why aren't there any guaranteed tours of New Zealand or Australia. I did check before I booked my trip with someone else just to see. I also don't see any guaranteed trips for Asia. Am I looking at something wrong? There are lots of guaranteed dates for European trips.

I'm guessing because the European tours are more popular perhaps?

There are such guaranteed tours, but unfortunately you will need to look elsewhere!

quote:

Originally posted by Jeannie118:
I'm guessing because the European tours are more popular perhaps?

Europe is the old continent- it has the history, the arts, variety of cultures, strikingly diverse geography and climate - and a large population. So just about every non- European tourist heads for Europe at least once in their lifetime. Add to the number of o/s tourists also the numerous European tourists and it is not difficult to see that such volume of tourist traffic has its advantages. The sheer bulk of it allows a large number of tour companies to operate and the competition keeps the prices down. In comparison there are only a few tour companies operating in Australia and this allows them to keep the prices higher than in Europe, despite the fact that the cost of living in Australia is not astronomical, in fact lower than in some European countries.
Another reason is that there is a village or town every few kms in many places in Europe, so the tourists do not have to cover large distances to get from one town to another, unlike in Australia.

When I first started this in August 2006 the cost of “The Great Australian and New Zealand Adventure” was $7725 Canadian (land only), now the cost for exactly the same dates is $6550 Canadian. Has something happened to the Australian and New Zealand currencies?

In Europe, if the signpost says 140km to the next place, there will be 5 major towns and 20 villages before you get there. In Australia, if it says 140km to the next place, there is nothing whatsoever in between!

quote:

Originally posted by joe d:
When I first started this in August 2006 the cost of “The Great Australian and New Zealand Adventure” was $7725 Canadian (land only), now the cost for exactly the same dates is $6550 Canadian. Has something happened to the Australian and New Zealand currencies?

Our dollar is very high at the moment...this past week it has been over $0.80C for $1.00 US.... maybe this has got something to do with it?

quote:

Originally posted by Penny1:

quote:

Originally posted by joe d:
When I first started this in August 2006 the cost of “The Great Australian and New Zealand Adventure” was $7725 Canadian (land only), now the cost for exactly the same dates is $6550 Canadian. Has something happened to the Australian and New Zealand currencies?

Our dollar is very high at the moment...this past week it has been over $0.80C for $1.00 US.... maybe this has got something to do with it?

I would imagine it would cost more if our dollars is stronger eg it cost the other country more to purchase it.

Is the tour your looking at,at the same time of the year?? it could be at low season???

cheers
Spooky