Phil L

We are thinking of going to Australia for a 6 week holiday in about 18
months time, there will be 6 of us, four adults two teenagers...
We need to work out some basic prices to see if it's possible, we know we
can get flights to Sydney (from England) for around £600, this isn't a
problem, but most sites I've been on are quoting hotel prices at £100 per
person, per night!! - this is obviously out of the question and we were
thinking of renting a motorhome to get around, with maybe the odd few nights
staying in a motel or something similar..I've read about 'flag'? motels at
around £12 per night, which sound ideal but I can't find much info about
them, are they widespread?...our idea is to stay in Sydney for a week, then
make our way up to Cairns, how far is this and about how long would it take
in a motorhome?Are there many motels/places along the way?
How much is fuel?(diesel)...I can't seem to find any information (apart from
ridiculously priced packages)...we would also like to visit Alice Springs,
but looking at the map, it would require an internal flight and we don't
know if we could fly back to Britain from there or if we would have to get
back to Sydney?
Has anyone got any info?

TIA

Peter Webb

Cheap country motels are around $AUD40 - $50 per night. More by the coast,
particularly in Dec - Feb.

Lots of youth hostels also rent double rooms, cheaper and more fun than
motels?

Also, look out for holiday cabins (NPWS in NSW and QLD) but in school
holidays book way ahead (prefrably 1 year).

Not many people go the motothome route from what I see, but I'm a local and
probably wouldn't see. Don't fancy driving 2,960 kms in an Australian summer
to Cairns with 6 people in a motorhome. You might have to rent two cars -
would be cheaper if you are not sleeping in the motorhome.




"Phil L" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > We are thinking of going to Australia for a 6 week holiday in about 18
    > months time, there will be 6 of us, four adults two teenagers...
    > We need to work out some basic prices to see if it's possible, we know we
    > can get flights to Sydney (from England) for around £600, this isn't a
    > problem, but most sites I've been on are quoting hotel prices at £100 per
    > person, per night!! - this is obviously out of the question and we were
    > thinking of renting a motorhome to get around, with maybe the odd few
nights
    > staying in a motel or something similar..I've read about 'flag'? motels at
    > around £12 per night, which sound ideal but I can't find much info about
    > them, are they widespread?...our idea is to stay in Sydney for a week,
then
    > make our way up to Cairns, how far is this and about how long would it
take
    > in a motorhome?Are there many motels/places along the way?
    > How much is fuel?(diesel)...I can't seem to find any information (apart
from
    > ridiculously priced packages)...we would also like to visit Alice Springs,
    > but looking at the map, it would require an internal flight and we don't
    > know if we could fly back to Britain from there or if we would have to get
    > back to Sydney?
    > Has anyone got any info?
    > TIA

Www.Poms.Co.Uk

"Phil L" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > We are thinking of going to Australia for a 6 week holiday in about 18
    > months time, there will be 6 of us, four adults two teenagers...
    > We need to work out some basic prices to see if it's possible, we know we
    > can get flights to Sydney (from England) for around £600, this isn't a
    > problem, but most sites I've been on are quoting hotel prices at £100 per
    > person, per night!! - this is obviously out of the question and we were
    > thinking of renting a motorhome to get around, with maybe the odd few
    > nights
    > staying in a motel or something similar..I've read about 'flag'? motels at
    > around £12 per night, which sound ideal but I can't find much info about
    > them, are they widespread?...our idea is to stay in Sydney for a week,
    > then
    > make our way up to Cairns, how far is this and about how long would it
    > take
    > in a motorhome?Are there many motels/places along the way?
    > How much is fuel?(diesel)...I can't seem to find any information (apart
    > from
    > ridiculously priced packages)...we would also like to visit Alice Springs,
    > but looking at the map, it would require an internal flight and we don't
    > know if we could fly back to Britain from there or if we would have to get
    > back to Sydney?
    > Has anyone got any info?
    > TIA

Yup u would have to fly back to sydney. hostles for about $18 to $30 a night
just about every where


http://www.poms.co.uk/mainframe.htm

Bego Mario Garde

Phil L wrote:
    > We are thinking of going to Australia for a 6 week holiday ... ...,
    > but most sites I've been on are quoting hotel prices at £100 per
    > person, per night!!

Ups, sounds like you prefer a luxurious lifestyle. ;-)

I'm pretty sure, that your (English?) travel agent wouldn't earn much
offering hotel rooms for 80 - 100 A$/night. But you'll certainly find
many clean and nice motel rooms at this rate if you do a little research
and esepcially check websites from the hotels.

    > ... thinking of renting a motorhome to get around,

Even rental cars are quite expensive, but you certainly pay a lot more
if you rent a motorhome. Consider that you also need to fill up water,
dump waste, use electricity ..., i.e. you have to go to campgrounds
which results in extra costs. Now check costs again with hotel rates,
lower costs for gasoline, ... and remember that a night in a fluffy
motel bed may be more enjoyable then living in a motorhome for 6 weeks.

However, Motorhomes certainly are great to travel to remote regions,
especially if you can't find any motel or have to expect a crowded
season and everything is booked out.

    > I've read about 'flag'? motels at around £12 per night, ...

Wow, from 5-star-hotels to £12-hotels ... :-)

    > ... but I can't find much info about them, are they widespread?

Check <http://www.choicehotels.com.au/>. You can directly book on their
website. Flag hotels offer a pretty good and reliable standard. You
can also have a look at <http://www.bestwestern.com.au/>, but their
hotels are generally a little more expensive (and not necessesarily
better).

    > ...our idea is to stay in Sydney for a week, then make our way up to
    > Cairns, how far is this and about how long would it take in a
    > motorhome?

Just an idea:

Arrive in Sydney, stay there for 4 days.
First day to arrive, sleep and get rid of jetlag,
second and third day to do some sightseeing.
(Go to the harbour bridge, see Opera House and walk along The Rocks,
take the ferry to Darling Harbour and have a nice dinner at the scenic
place, ...) On the fourth day you take a flight to Brisbane in the
afternoon. If booked in time, flights can be pretty cheap. Check rates
at <http://www.virginblue.com.au>. No need to rent a car while in Sydney.

In Brisbane rent a car (just a regular fullsize-car, no motorhome).
For a couple of days (a week or two?) drive north, enjoy Whitsundays and
Great Barrier Reef, see turtles at Bundaberg, have a 4WD-excursion to
Fraser Island (very nice motel in Hervey Bay: <http://tinyurl.com/6gsoa>
) ... After some days you arrive in Cairns, where you drop of your car
(one way rental! Check prices at <http://www.thrifty.com.au/>). And
don't miss Cairn's Aquarium.

From Cairns take another flight to Ayers Rock (don't fly to Alice
Springs, because you have to drive a looong way through some rather
boring landscape). Check prices at Qantas <http://www.qantas.com.au/>
There are a couple of hotels near Ayers Rock NP but it makes sense to
book ahead as they might get booked out soon. Have a look at
<http://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/>.

While at Ayers Rock, try to visit The Olgas and Kings Canyon. Both are
close to the Ayers Rock Hotels (just book 2 or 3 nights) and well worth
a visit.

Next take a flight to Adeleaide (my favourite Australian city :-) ).
A nice, clean and relaxing place to spend the rest of your holiday until
you take your flight back home. Adelaide has a very good wine museum
<http://www.wineaustralia.com.au> and if you have some time left, you
can visit the Barossa Valley where you can find outstanding wineries as
Penfolds, Rosemount, ... IIRC, some hotels offer bus tours but you also
can rent a car for two days. It's only two hours drive to get there.

If you prefer kangaroos instead of wine, go to Kangaroo Island. (Watch
for drop bears!) <http://www.tourkangarooisland.com.au/>

    > I can't seem to find any information (apart from ridiculously priced
    > packages)...

On our first tour we booked a package from Gebeco
<http://www.gebeco.de>, because they had a good deal cobining rental car
and motel vouchers. But travelling through Australia is so easy that you
can set up your personal (and even more flexbible) package yourself. You
just need to do a lot of research, i.e. start with the given websites.
I also could recommend the book "In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson.
Gives you some good ideas about travelling in Australia.

Just make 100% sure you have a hotel for your first and last night. It's
no fun to look for accomodation if you are totaly exhausted from the
long flight. (BTW, Sydney International Airport has a visitors
information desk with very friendly staff and they are very helpful with
accomodation. To book ahead, you could contact them by e-mail. Or have
a look at their website <http://www.visitnsw.com.au/>.

Well, as I said: Just an idea. :-)


Bego

--
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country
and our people, and neither do we."
- George W. Bush, 5.8.2004

Frank Slootweg

Bego Mario Garde <[email protected]> wrote:
[deleted]
    > While at Ayers Rock, try to visit The Olgas and Kings Canyon. Both are
    > close to the Ayers Rock Hotels (just book 2 or 3 nights) and well worth
    > a visit.

"close" by Australian standards! In reality 305 km (one way!) for
Kings Canyon! (The Olgas are 43 km (one way).)

Bego Mario Garde

Frank Slootweg wrote:
    >>While at Ayers Rock, try to visit The Olgas and Kings Canyon. Both are
    >>close to the Ayers Rock Hotels ...>
    >
    > "close" by Australian standards!

    :-)

    > In reality 305 km (one way!) for Kings Canyon!

Ups, I didn't remember, that it was _that_ far.
Just talked to my wife and she agreed, that it took us quite a while to
get to ayers Rock. Probably I was just too excited that day ... :-)

    > (The Olgas are 43 km (one way).)

Well, that's quite a distance -- at least for Holland.
You could miss Beatrix's castle and end up in Rotterdam ... ;-)

OK, Frank, "close" by Australian standards.

Bego
--
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country
and our people, and neither do we."
- George W. Bush, 5.8.2004

Frank Slootweg

Bego Mario Garde <[email protected]> wrote:
    > Frank Slootweg wrote:
    > >>While at Ayers Rock, try to visit The Olgas and Kings Canyon. Both are
    > >>close to the Ayers Rock Hotels ...>
    > >
    > > "close" by Australian standards!
    >
    > :-)
    >
    > > In reality 305 km (one way!) for Kings Canyon!
    >
    > Ups, I didn't remember, that it was _that_ far.
    > Just talked to my wife and she agreed, that it took us quite a while to
    > get to ayers Rock. Probably I was just too excited that day ... :-)

    :-)

    > > (The Olgas are 43 km (one way).)
    >
    > Well, that's quite a distance -- at least for Holland.
    > You could miss Beatrix's castle and end up in Rotterdam ... ;-)
    >
    > OK, Frank, "close" by Australian standards.

Well, the main reason I responded is that you advised them to fly to
Ayers Rock, but didn't mention car-rental, etc.. It would be a bummer if
they would have to walk 305/48 km! :-)

As to Oz versus Dutch distances: We have driven 'around the world'
(i.e. (over) 40,000 km) in Australia, so we are somewhat aware of the
distances! :-)

Ross

Phil, there are a number of resources on the Internet that you could try.

Each of the States has its own motoring organization e.g.

http://www.racq.com.au is the URL for the Royal Automobile Club of
Queensland
http://www.nrma.com.au is the URL for the National Roads and Motoroists
Association (New South Wales)
http://www.raa.com.au is the URL for South Australia
http://www.racv.com.au is the URL for Victoria

May I suggest you use these sites as a starting point. The motoring clubs
sell booklets on accommodation for each type you may be interested in e.g.
"hotels/motels" or "Caravan parks and camping sites".

There are a few web sites that claim to be "accommodation guides" but we
haven't had a great deal of success with them.

e.g. We decided to drive from Brisbane (capital of Queensland) to Cooktown
(on the East Coast north of Cairns) but to take as many out-of-the-way
tracks as we could find.

Scoured the Internet to book each night but finished up getting URLs from
all sorts of places like newspapers, travel books, Internet, Motoring Clubs
etc. etc.

Every night bar one (15 in total) was pre booked via e-mail.

5900 kms in total, running a Land Rover Discovery Td5. Fuel used (diesel)
622.2 litres, totol fuel cost $603.60 (you can take a guess what that is in
Pounds) Average fuel consumption 10.57 l/100kms. Cost of Accommodation for
15 nights for two people $1004.50 with some meals included in that figure.
Most meals most places were "extra" but some were included as "breakfast".

If you would like to see some photos
http://www4.tpg.com.au/users/rwanddem/index.html


Ross

"Phil L" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > We are thinking of going to Australia for a 6 week holiday in about 18
    > months time, there will be 6 of us, four adults two teenagers...
    > We need to work out some basic prices to see if it's possible, we know we
    > can get flights to Sydney (from England) for around £600, this isn't a
    > problem, but most sites I've been on are quoting hotel prices at £100 per
    > person, per night!! - this is obviously out of the question and we were
    > thinking of renting a motorhome to get around, with maybe the odd few
    > nights
    > staying in a motel or something similar..I've read about 'flag'? motels at
    > around £12 per night, which sound ideal but I can't find much info about
    > them, are they widespread?...our idea is to stay in Sydney for a week,
    > then
    > make our way up to Cairns, how far is this and about how long would it
    > take
    > in a motorhome?Are there many motels/places along the way?
    > How much is fuel?(diesel)...I can't seem to find any information (apart
    > from
    > ridiculously priced packages)...we would also like to visit Alice Springs,
    > but looking at the map, it would require an internal flight and we don't
    > know if we could fly back to Britain from there or if we would have to get
    > back to Sydney?
    > Has anyone got any info?
    > TIA
    >

Ross

Something else I forgot to mention:

If you are going to search the web then try going to a search engine in Oz.

http://www.google.com.au/

And before you do a search, click the radio button that says "pages from
Australia".

A lot of our searches start at this site.

Drop us a line if you need help.


Ross

"Ross" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Phil, there are a number of resources on the Internet that you could try.
    > Each of the States has its own motoring organization e.g.
    > http://www.racq.com.au is the URL for the Royal Automobile Club of
    > Queensland
    > http://www.nrma.com.au is the URL for the National Roads and Motoroists
    > Association (New South Wales)
    > http://www.raa.com.au is the URL for South Australia
    > http://www.racv.com.au is the URL for Victoria
    > May I suggest you use these sites as a starting point. The motoring clubs
    > sell booklets on accommodation for each type you may be interested in
    > e.g. "hotels/motels" or "Caravan parks and camping sites".
    > There are a few web sites that claim to be "accommodation guides" but we
    > haven't had a great deal of success with them.
    > e.g. We decided to drive from Brisbane (capital of Queensland) to Cooktown
    > (on the East Coast north of Cairns) but to take as many out-of-the-way
    > tracks as we could find.
    > Scoured the Internet to book each night but finished up getting URLs from
    > all sorts of places like newspapers, travel books, Internet, Motoring
    > Clubs etc. etc.
    > Every night bar one (15 in total) was pre booked via e-mail.
    > 5900 kms in total, running a Land Rover Discovery Td5. Fuel used (diesel)
    > 622.2 litres, totol fuel cost $603.60 (you can take a guess what that is
    > in Pounds) Average fuel consumption 10.57 l/100kms. Cost of Accommodation
    > for 15 nights for two people $1004.50 with some meals included in that
    > figure. Most meals most places were "extra" but some were included as
    > "breakfast".
    > If you would like to see some photos
    > http://www4.tpg.com.au/users/rwanddem/index.html
    > Ross
    > "Phil L" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    >> We are thinking of going to Australia for a 6 week holiday in about 18
    >> months time, there will be 6 of us, four adults two teenagers...
    >> We need to work out some basic prices to see if it's possible, we know we
    >> can get flights to Sydney (from England) for around £600, this isn't a
    >> problem, but most sites I've been on are quoting hotel prices at £100 per
    >> person, per night!! - this is obviously out of the question and we were
    >> thinking of renting a motorhome to get around, with maybe the odd few
    >> nights
    >> staying in a motel or something similar..I've read about 'flag'? motels
    >> at
    >> around £12 per night, which sound ideal but I can't find much info about
    >> them, are they widespread?...our idea is to stay in Sydney for a week,
    >> then
    >> make our way up to Cairns, how far is this and about how long would it
    >> take
    >> in a motorhome?Are there many motels/places along the way?
    >> How much is fuel?(diesel)...I can't seem to find any information (apart
    >> from
    >> ridiculously priced packages)...we would also like to visit Alice
    >> Springs,
    >> but looking at the map, it would require an internal flight and we don't
    >> know if we could fly back to Britain from there or if we would have to
    >> get
    >> back to Sydney?
    >> Has anyone got any info?
    >> TIA
    >

Alan

On Sun, 12 Sep 2004 14:55:19 GMT, "Phil L" <[email protected]>
wrote:

    >We are thinking of going to Australia for a 6 week holiday in about 18
    >months time, there will be 6 of us, four adults two teenagers...
    >We need to work out some basic prices to see if it's possible, we know we
    >can get flights to Sydney (from England) for around £600, this isn't a
    >problem, but most sites I've been on are quoting hotel prices at £100 per
    >person, per night!!

To see the real prices, check out www.wotif.com.au or
www.needitnow.com.au. You'll find it's lot's less (remember you get
about AU$2.60 to the GBP). And away from the big cities you'll pay
AU55-$100 per room for two, not per person. Some motels also have family
units for two adults and a couple of kids. At Caravan Parks you can get
transportable homes (despite the name, they don't move) with a couple of
bedrooms and cooking facilities for that price; like mobilhomes in
France or Italy. If you are travelling between mid-December and late
January, prices will be a little higher and availability may be less on
the coast because it is summer holiday season.

    > - this is obviously out of the question and we were
    >thinking of renting a motorhome to get around, with maybe the odd few nights
    >staying in a motel or something similar..

A motorhome for four adults and two kids? Even in two motorhomes you'd
go nuts, and you certainly wouldn't save money. Divorce would be the
least of your problems. Homicide would be more likely. Speaking as
someone who has spent six weeks in a motorhome each of the past four
Christmasses with my wife - and no-one else. She's still my wife - just.

Fly between major centres, rent a motel or transportable in each node,
and rent a car when appropriate to look at the local area. You'll save
money and your sanity.


    >I've read about 'flag'? motels at
    >around £12 per night, which sound ideal but I can't find much info about
    >them, are they widespread?...

Just another motel chain; no cheaper or dearer than the others. We don't
have the French type cheapies here, even though Formule 1 is here it's
not the same.

    >our idea is to stay in Sydney for a week, then
    >make our way up to Cairns, how far is this and about how long would it take
    >in a motorhome?

2691 km as the crow flies (1673 miles) - too long for your time period..

    >Are there many motels/places along the way?

Everywhere along the coast. Many more than you'll ever see in Europe
(except maybe France). Similar to the US.

    >How much is fuel?(diesel)...I can't seem to find any information (apart from
    >ridiculously priced packages)...

Petrol is going up, but cheap by your standards - AU$0.93 to AU$1.10 at
the moment or a little over 40p per litre. Diesel is similar.

    >we would also like to visit Alice Springs,
    >but looking at the map, it would require an internal flight and we don't
    >know if we could fly back to Britain from there or if we would have to get
    >back to Sydney?

Depends who you are flying with. You can fly to Darwin and then continue
through Singapore, KL or Bangkok.

    >Has anyone got any info?
Finally, just a suggested itinerary:

Sydney for a week, staying at a self-catering apartment or at Lane Cove
caravan Park, take public transport and bus tours.

Take the train to Brisbane; as a non-Australian you can break the trip
several times en-route to see coastal towns like Newcastle, Coffs
Harbour etc, spend a few days in Brisbane or the Gold Coast (rent a
cheap car for a few days there).

Fly to Alice and take a one-way bus tour to Uluru.

Fly from there to Cairns and stay a week or two, renting a car for a
week, or take a cruise out to the reef or whatever interests you.

Fly from there to Darwin, tour to Kakadu, then back to Darwin and home
via Singapore.

If you check out www.qantas.com.au or www.virginblue.com.au or
www.jetstar.com.au you'll find out that those flights aren't as
expensive as it sounds, and are certainly competitive with motorhome and
fuel costs. The train details are at http://www.countrylink.info/.

Have fun planning:-)

PS Another alternative is to rent a couple of cars or a people-carrier
one way from Sydney to Cairns and stay at motels, flying
Cairns-Alice-Darwin. Still a bloody long drive.


Cheers, Alan
--

Peter Webb

"Alan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > On Sun, 12 Sep 2004 14:55:19 GMT, "Phil L" <[email protected]>
    > wrote:
    > >We are thinking of going to Australia for a 6 week holiday in about 18
    > >months time, there will be 6 of us, four adults two teenagers...
    > >We need to work out some basic prices to see if it's possible, we know we
    > >can get flights to Sydney (from England) for around £600, this isn't a
    > >problem, but most sites I've been on are quoting hotel prices at £100 per
    > >person, per night!!
    > To see the real prices, check out www.wotif.com.au or
    > www.needitnow.com.au. You'll find it's lot's less (remember you get
    > about AU$2.60 to the GBP). And away from the big cities you'll pay
    > AU55-$100 per room for two, not per person. Some motels also have family
    > units for two adults and a couple of kids. At Caravan Parks you can get
    > transportable homes (despite the name, they don't move) with a couple of
    > bedrooms and cooking facilities for that price; like mobilhomes in
    > France or Italy. If you are travelling between mid-December and late
    > January, prices will be a little higher and availability may be less on
    > the coast because it is summer holiday season.
    > > - this is obviously out of the question and we were
    > >thinking of renting a motorhome to get around, with maybe the odd few
nights
    > >staying in a motel or something similar..
    > A motorhome for four adults and two kids? Even in two motorhomes you'd
    > go nuts, and you certainly wouldn't save money. Divorce would be the
    > least of your problems. Homicide would be more likely. Speaking as
    > someone who has spent six weeks in a motorhome each of the past four
    > Christmasses with my wife - and no-one else. She's still my wife - just.
    > Fly between major centres, rent a motel or transportable in each node,
    > and rent a car when appropriate to look at the local area. You'll save
    > money and your sanity.
    > >I've read about 'flag'? motels at
    > >around £12 per night, which sound ideal but I can't find much info about
    > >them, are they widespread?...
    > Just another motel chain; no cheaper or dearer than the others. We don't
    > have the French type cheapies here, even though Formule 1 is here it's
    > not the same.
    > >our idea is to stay in Sydney for a week, then
    > >make our way up to Cairns, how far is this and about how long would it
take
    > >in a motorhome?
    > 2691 km as the crow flies (1673 miles) - too long for your time period..
    > >Are there many motels/places along the way?
    > Everywhere along the coast. Many more than you'll ever see in Europe
    > (except maybe France). Similar to the US.
    > >How much is fuel?(diesel)...I can't seem to find any information (apart
from
    > >ridiculously priced packages)...
    > Petrol is going up, but cheap by your standards - AU$0.93 to AU$1.10 at
    > the moment or a little over 40p per litre. Diesel is similar.
    > >we would also like to visit Alice Springs,
    > >but looking at the map, it would require an internal flight and we don't
    > >know if we could fly back to Britain from there or if we would have to
get
    > >back to Sydney?
    > Depends who you are flying with. You can fly to Darwin and then continue
    > through Singapore, KL or Bangkok.
    > >Has anyone got any info?
    > >
    > Finally, just a suggested itinerary:
    > Sydney for a week, staying at a self-catering apartment or at Lane Cove
    > caravan Park, take public transport and bus tours.
    > Take the train to Brisbane; as a non-Australian you can break the trip
    > several times en-route to see coastal towns like Newcastle, Coffs
    > Harbour etc, spend a few days in Brisbane or the Gold Coast (rent a
    > cheap car for a few days there).
    > Fly to Alice and take a one-way bus tour to Uluru.
    > Fly from there to Cairns and stay a week or two, renting a car for a
    > week, or take a cruise out to the reef or whatever interests you.
    > Fly from there to Darwin, tour to Kakadu, then back to Darwin and home
    > via Singapore.
    > If you check out www.qantas.com.au or www.virginblue.com.au or
    > www.jetstar.com.au you'll find out that those flights aren't as
    > expensive as it sounds, and are certainly competitive with motorhome and
    > fuel costs. The train details are at http://www.countrylink.info/.
    > Have fun planning:-)
    > PS Another alternative is to rent a couple of cars or a people-carrier
    > one way from Sydney to Cairns and stay at motels, flying
    > Cairns-Alice-Darwin. Still a bloody long drive.
    > Cheers, Alan
    > --

All good advice.

I would go the option in the PS of renting two cars and driving Syd-Cairns.
Road trip holidays have a dynamic all their own - everyday somewhere new if
you want, or the freedom to stay somewhere obscure for a couple of days
because you feel like it. And I think the long distances are part of the
unique makeup of Australia, and with 6 weeks you can experience some of
this.

Flying between centres is a lot more time (and probably cost) effective, but
the trouble is that you end up seeing half-a-dozen places that are great but
not really representative of Oz. Sure, you will see the Sydney Opera House,
Great Barrier Reef, and Ayers Rock, but if you drive you will also see the
Giant Prawn (outside Ballina), the Giant Banana (Coffs), the Giant Pineapple
(Nambour)) and the Giant Cow (Rockhampton). How can you say you have really
seen Australia when you have not bought cheesy souveniers in these
fibreglass megafauna and megaflora?

Peter Webb

    > If you would like to see some photos
    > http://www4.tpg.com.au/users/rwanddem/index.html

Loved the photos.

Robin

Flights: That's the easy bit but remember these days you may have to pay in
full at booking time to get the best prices. Probably your best bet will be
Japan as they offer good deals into Sydney and out of Cairns; or if you
return to Sydney then Korean, Malaysian or Singapore are good ones.
Hotels: Suggest you have a good look at a budget hotel website like
http://b2b.hotelclub.net/enter.asp?id=4566 Very good for major cities and
towns but not ideal for country towns.
Flag: A hotel/motel chain like Travelodge or Travel Inn in the UK. See
http://www.choicehotels.com.au Excellent for country hotels but the best
idea is to buy a batch of Vouchers from an Aussie Specialist Travel Agent in
the UK eg. www.honatravel.com Ask for a Flag Directory to start planning
Flag also has several Self-Drive Itineraries see
https://www.flagchoice.com/action/itineraries
Motorhome: Forget it, what about an 8-seater Tarago or even a mini-bus it
should be better value and easier to drive. Probably a combination of
Flights, Car Hire and Trains will give you the best overall.
Good luck planning its part of the fun.

Robin


"Phil L" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > We are thinking of going to Australia for a 6 week holiday in about 18
    > months time, there will be 6 of us, four adults two teenagers...
    > We need to work out some basic prices to see if it's possible, we know we
    > can get flights to Sydney (from England) for around £600, this isn't a
    > problem, but most sites I've been on are quoting hotel prices at £100 per
    > person, per night!! - this is obviously out of the question and we were
    > thinking of renting a motorhome to get around, with maybe the odd few
nights
    > staying in a motel or something similar..I've read about 'flag'? motels at
    > around £12 per night, which sound ideal but I can't find much info about
    > them, are they widespread?...our idea is to stay in Sydney for a week,
then
    > make our way up to Cairns, how far is this and about how long would it
take
    > in a motorhome?Are there many motels/places along the way?
    > How much is fuel?(diesel)...I can't seem to find any information (apart
from
    > ridiculously priced packages)...we would also like to visit Alice Springs,
    > but looking at the map, it would require an internal flight and we don't
    > know if we could fly back to Britain from there or if we would have to get
    > back to Sydney?
    > Has anyone got any info?
    > TIA

Big Jim

Hello Phil

Petrol is $1.10 per litre here in central NSW.

Flag Motels are in many towns and all the flag motels I have stayed at have
had a high standard of accommodation. There are many other motel chains as
well.

To give you an idea of prices for 6 people in a country motel, about a month
ago, I stayed in a motel in Goulburn which is a couple of hours west of
Sydney. They had two storey rooms. The top floor had two double beds and
cable TV, the bottom level had a lounge that makes into a double bed, dining
table, another cable TV, microwave, two fridges and bathroom with spa bath.
The Motel had an indoor heated pool and spa. The cost was $140 per night.

Try http://www.wotif.com or http://www.quickbeds.com/ for cheap hotel
deals.

You can fly to London from Darwin.


Regards: Jim Sibbick



"Phil L" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > We are thinking of going to Australia for a 6 week holiday in about 18
    > months time, there will be 6 of us, four adults two teenagers...
    > We need to work out some basic prices to see if it's possible, we know we
    > can get flights to Sydney (from England) for around £600, this isn't a
    > problem, but most sites I've been on are quoting hotel prices at £100 per
    > person, per night!! - this is obviously out of the question and we were
    > thinking of renting a motorhome to get around, with maybe the odd few
nights
    > staying in a motel or something similar..I've read about 'flag'? motels at
    > around £12 per night, which sound ideal but I can't find much info about
    > them, are they widespread?...our idea is to stay in Sydney for a week,
then
    > make our way up to Cairns, how far is this and about how long would it
take
    > in a motorhome?Are there many motels/places along the way?
    > How much is fuel?(diesel)...I can't seem to find any information (apart
from
    > ridiculously priced packages)...we would also like to visit Alice Springs,
    > but looking at the map, it would require an internal flight and we don't
    > know if we could fly back to Britain from there or if we would have to get
    > back to Sydney?
    > Has anyone got any info?
    > TIA

Phil L

Phil L wrote:
    :: We are thinking of going to Australia for a 6 week holiday in
    :: about 18 months time, there will be 6 of us, four adults two

Big snip>>

Thanks to all who have replied, I have saved all the posts and we are
working our way through them and visiting all the sites mentioned.
You have all certainly given us a lot to think about...we were thinking
about motorhomes, because over here, flight prices are astronomical compared
to yours, EG: a three hour flight from the UK to go on holiday to Europe
will set us back the equivalent of $800 Aus, about £280 and these are the
lowest priced ones.
So we'll definately be taking internal flights, but we haven't decided where
yet.
Thanks for all the accomodation links and ideas, our basic idea is to hire
cars to travel across land for a week or ten days to see some
wildlife/landscape/beaches, and a few internal flights to see some Cities
and surrounding areas...obviously we are working to a budget and these links
you have provided will allow our money to be put to much beter use.

PS, it's good to know that I can ask in here and get such helpful
replies!...I'll probably be back in the coming weeks/months.

Thanks all!!