Travelling to australia?
Livvy asked:
Hello everyone, I am going with my family to Australia next christmas to visit my uncle who lives out there. I am really excited about it and cannot wait but the only thing i am worrying about is the long journey? I think you have a couple of stops on the way but does anyone here know what the journey is like ( timewise ) and how many stops you have? Thanks.
Hello everyone, I am going with my family to Australia next christmas to visit my uncle who lives out there. I am really excited about it and cannot wait but the only thing i am worrying about is the long journey? I think you have a couple of stops on the way but does anyone here know what the journey is like ( timewise ) and how many stops you have? Thanks.
watch movies on the plane, listen to music from ipod and enjoy yourself.
Depends on where you’re starting from; From L.A. to Sydney, is about 17 hrs.; Get some sleep. I’ve been to Australia 3 times; It is summer-time there in Dec. ! Like June weather here in TX. !
I flew from Heathrow 1 stop for 2 hoiurs in Singapore and that was it!!! WARNING My flight was horrendous HEAVY Turbulence for hours-headphone socket in seat was bust!!BORED–Small child next to me needed the toilet every hour or so!!Takeoff in Singapore was hairy-HEAVY thunderstorm In Sydney when we got there!!! Gotta say even after living there for a year i was still dreading the flight home!!!
timewise its about 20/22 hours…
PLEASE NOTE: My journey may have been out of the norm, just telling you as it was, start recording all your favourite films/tv shows now and take a portable DVD Player with you… (Mind you with the new security plans you may not be allowed? just thought of that)
It depends which airline you go with. Some are more direct and only stop for an hour or two at one or two points along the way. Other allows you to stop longer or have a stay over along the way.
One of the times I went I slept the whole way there except when we stopped to refuel or change and I had a couple hours in the airport to chill. – I’m absolutely not kidding about the sleeping the whole way there either. I think it was the time I went via Dubai and Singapore. Slept all the way from Gatwick to Dubai, then Dubai to Singapore and then from Singapore to Melbourne. I think the journey was something like 8 to 10 hours for each leg of the way. Overall when you count the stopping time as well with the minimum of stopping time i.e. just an hour or two, you’re talking about 24 hours or so if I remember rightly. The first time I went it was slightly better because I had overnight it Athens when I went with Olympic Airways then I had a few hours in Bangkok before going on to Sydney.
It’s best to check the travel times for the flights by checking a site like Expedia, ebookers or last minute dot com etc and you can get an idea of the trip times for each leg and in total doing this. You just have to changed your dates slightly to get different airlines and prices and do it from the whole of the UK to get more options.
The times I have been I had two stops along the way. I believe BA may be able to do it with just one stop with the 747′s I’m not 100% sure on that though. All I know is I’d prefer more stops and a better airline. Best to see which airline offers the most legroom and gives you time to stop somewhere along the way and stretch your legs and get out of the pressurised cabin.
The airlines I’d recommend highly are Emirates, Olympic Airways, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Malaysian. New Zealand may go the opposite direction though via teh US so will be a very long journey and may cost a fair wack more money.
Bonzo – I also had a really bad one coming out of Bangkok heading to Sydney. Over the Gulf of Thailand heading South in the South China Sea, we were still climbing up and they had just started coming down the isles with trolleys to serve breakfast (was still pitch black outside) must have been 2 or 3am or something, we must have been 25,000ft up and the seatbelt lights came back on. 30 seconds later plane starts shaking violently and it just drops big time. Got massive sinking feeling like being on roller coaster. It dropped 10,000ft and was shaking side to side powering up and down. The Italian girl I was sat next to was doing the sign of the cross and everything and looked at me like a frightened bunny. I don’t know why but I wasn’t too bothered by it. It you’re going to go, you’re going to go there’s nothing you can do about it. Think it may have been a typhoon that we were caught in.
would help if we knew where your coming from
Are you going from UK?
I am going in a couple of weeks with Thai Airways and we are stopping over in Bangkok for 3 hours. We prefer to go direct this time. We wouldn’t go BA if you paid us … the most rude cabin staff we have ever encountered! Qantas is good but sometimes they are coached by BA so you take pot luck. Emirates, Virgin, Etihad and Malaysia are all good too. Singapore is good but very expensive.
The last couple of times we have been we have stopped at Bangkok for 3 days and another time we stopped in Singapore for 4 nights. A stopover is a good way to break the flight.
You will have entertainment of some sort on the flight but depends who you are flying with. You can take your iPod with you and listen to that. Take some puzzle books and some reading material. Alternatively, you can sleep.
When we go we leave Heathrow at 12.00 noon and get to Sydney at 8.30 the next evening (inc the 3 hour stop in Bangkok).