About Megan Expertise I can answer general questions on Australia (places to go, how to get around) I have lived in Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane so have extensive knowledge on those and surrounding areas. I have also been to Adelaide and Sydney a lot because family live there. I have been to all states EXCEPT Northern Territory and Western Australia. I have driven from Brisbane to Melbourne several times and know good stops etc. I have also travelled further north to Cairns and other coastal regions. I have been to all the Gold Coast theme parks so can advise there too.
Experience I feel I have a excellent knowledge of Australia I have lived here for my whole life (except 4 years) and have travelled extensively.
Education/Credentials I completed year 12 in 2005 and am currently studying a bachelor of international business.
Question hi megan...
we are planing to spen our honey moon in australia..
we will start in sydney, then travel to cairns, then take a cruise on airlie beach, then to gold coast and back to sydney..
we have a couple of questions...
is there airport in airlie beach or just in hamilton island?
is there airport in gold coast or just in brisbane?
what is the distance between airlie beach and gold coast in kilometers? is there any train or bus? what is faster (we just found planes that go to sydney and then back to gold coast)
besides qantas, what other airline is trustfull with schedules, procing and safety?
is there any website were we can buy plane tikets with discount?
best regards
alejandro
Chile expert
Answer Hi Alejandro,
Firstly congrads on the engagement/wedding! Australia is a beautiful place and I hope you enjoy your honeymoon here.
I'll start firstly with flights as that is the easiest to answer. There are 3 carriers in Australia they are:
Qantas:
www.qantas.com.au
Jetstar (which is the Qantas run budget airline):
www.jetstar.com.au
Virgin Blue (which is affiliated with Virgin Atlantic & Pacific Blue)
www.virginblue.com.au
Generally the cheapest flights are with Jet Star or Virgin as they do not offer inclusive meals or entertainment. These can be purchased for extra cost once on the flight. Jet Star do a Friday Frenzy from 4pm Australian Time which has specials on certain legs. Virgin Blue do a similar thing called a happy hour from Midday to 1pm each day. You have to be lucky that the flight you want is on special and for the time. Although the differant airliners run specials at differant times but there are no websites that offer discounted rates that are of any particular mention. The best way I think is to book directly through the airline company. Australian flights are quite cheap unless you go over to Perth.
There is also a Asian airline called Tiger Airways which I have not previously travelled with as it leaves only from the Gold Coast and not Brisbane and living in Brisbane I prefer to fly from Brisbane Airport. They also only fly certain routes. They are very cheap although have a bit of a reputation for delays and cancellation of flights but they are very cheap and if you want to save some money you might want to consider them:
Now Gold Coast v Brisbane airport. Yes there is a airport at the Gold Coast at Coolangatta which is about 15-20 minutes from the main strip of the Gold Coast. So it depends which one you would prefer to see or if you would like to rent a car and drive some of the way. The drive from Gold Coast to Brisbane is about an hour and from Coolangatta add that 15 min on so about 1 hour 15 min.
The closest airport if you are going to Airlie Beach is the Proserpine/Whitsunday Airport it is referred to as both and that is about 30km to Airlie Beach.
The distance to drive to Airlie Beach from Brisbane is 1150km approx 13.5 hours, from Gold Coast is 1230km approx 14.5 hours, from Sydney 1850km approx 22.5 hours. There are trains that run throughout Australia but they are much more expensive than air travel. Buses are also available but work out being the same price so unless you want to stop at places on the way up I would fly.
I hope this helps. If you would like any further information please let me know. :)
