sorry

to save a bit more money ive seen something else.

go to http://booking.qatarairways.com

just a suggestion, you can get rtn ticket from lhr - melbourne with qatar airways with a stop in Doha on your dates at opodo for £590 rtn incl. of taxes etc..... the flight times each way is about 26hrs going out and back 23hrs with a stop in doha of 4hrs going and coming back 1hr 10mins.

and then get a rtn ticket from melbourne (tullamarine) to sydney on the 9th with jetstar au$138 (£74 jetsaver fare with 20k hold baggage) there are 2 return flights from sydney on the 12th to choose (17:40 and 19:30 arrival mel) from so you can get the flight to the uk that departs at 23;50 on the 12th.

total price £590 + £74 = £664

the only downside is that you would spend a bit of extra time travelling back to the uk. the flight is only 1hr 30mins. the benefit is saving a bit more money. i would suggest getting the flight back to melbourne that arrives at 17:40 (departs sydney 16:10) as it allows time for you to collect your bag from the domestic terminal? any possible delays and then go to the international terminal for your check in for the qatar flight back to the uk.

one other thing be careful not to choose avalon melbourne at jetstars site (i made that mistake checking the site) its a regional airport that serves australia and is70km south of melbourne. tullamarine is 27km from melbournes CBD and is also the same melbourne international airport http://www.melbourneairport.com.au/ and http://www.melbourneairport.com.au/To-From-the-Airport/Maps-Directions/Overview.html

jim

hello james

found a couple of options for you.

1. go to british airways site www.ba.com they have a flight from lhr - mel on the 28th feb and rtn syd - lhr on the 12/3, the price incl. of all taxes etc... is £940 and then go to https://book.jetstar.com and book an internal single flight from mel (tullamarine melbourne) - sydney on the 9/3 for AUS$49 (£26)

2. go to http://book.qantas.com.au and you can get a multi leg flight on the same dates as above lhr - mel then (avv melbourne) - syd and then syd - lhr all for £929 incl. of all taxes. with going to qantas's site the jetstar flight is included in the quote. with qantas with flights to and from ozz have 1 stop and with flight times of 22hrs 30mins and 23hrs 20mins. instead of booking separatly with the ba price above and visiting 2 sites, qantas is a 1 stop shop for your flights.

3. http://www.singaporeair.com singapore airlines have a similar option to the british airlines site all on the same dates rtn inc. of taxes etc.. is £870 rtn + the £26 from jetstar and similar flight length times to qantas with 1 stop in singapore.

but the best price is.

4. with http://fly.emirates.com all the same dates again but on the outward flight to melbourne it is lhr - dubai then dubai - singapore and then sing - melbourne. the flight time is the same but there is a 12 hour wait for the connecting flight to singapore, 2 stops instead of 1. on the rtn flight from syd - lhr there is the 1 stop in singapore with flight times and only a 90 minute stopover before getting the connecting flight to lhr (similar flight time with qantas). all for £807 incl. + the £26 for the booking with jetstar

the most expensive option is with BA, total price £966 and the cheapest is with emirates at £833, (£764) with etihad below.

hope i have given you some food for thought. if it was me i would book sooner rather than later as prices in my experience tend to increase nearer the departure date.

cheers

jim

just found a flight with etihad airways via opodo http://www.opodo.co.uk (multi-stop flight search) same dates again lhr - mel via abu-dhabi (1 stop)and the same stop on rtn from sydney - lhr. the flight time are 22hrs 55mins and rtn 25hrs 55mins (very good) and the price incl. of all taxes etc.. is £748 + £26 (jetstar) = £774

go to http://www.etihadairways.com and get the flight for £738 + £26 = £764

Hi jim3h01,

Thank you for your reply. I will probably give Canberra a miss, after thinking about it a bit more, and just visit Melbourne and Sydney. I will probably by flying internally from Melbourne to Sydney around 9th March 2010 (+/- day).

Long haul, I will probably be flying from London to Melbourne around 28th February 2010 (+/-); and returning from Sydney around 12th March (+/-).

Thanks again for your time and advise,
Best regards,
James

hello

as you will be based in melbourne, there are 2 airports in melbourne to choose from for internal travel in australia. its either tullamarine (mel) or avalon (a v v ).

the best choice for internal flights by far is tullamarine. there are plenty of flights to choose from at http://www.whichbudget.com/en/cheapflights.php?from=MEL

to fly to canberra you can do it with either virgin blue or tiger airways from mel. unfortunatly i don't know about the possibility of a train journey.

if you have any rough dates (+/- 2 days) i could search for air/rail travel from melbourne. i could get back to you in 24 hrs with an idea of cost etc....

regards

jim

ps i have done a few searches via this forum for members before and i can say i am not for 1 or other site. iam totally impartial when it comes to where i get a quote from. i can hopefully give you a price but it's down to you if you want to try somewhere else. also i can try to get a price for flying into melbourne and returning from sydney. it might be an idea to book a multi leg flight that includes all of your stopovers.

Hi All,

I am planning to visit Melbourne next March (2010) for a wedding. After the wedding I'm thinking of doing a bit of sightseeing -- probably Canberra and Sydney -- before flying back to UK from Sydney.

Is it possible to travel from Melbourne to Canberra by train or is it best to fly? Do you know roughly how much it costs and how long the journey is, or which website is best to get this information? If it's best to fly, then should I pre-book this internal flight before leaving UK, or can I just "turn up" at an Australian airport for an internal flight?

Again for Canberra to Sydney. Is it possible to go by train or is it best to fly? Do you know roughly how much it costs and how long the journey is, or which website is best to get this information?

Thank you for your time and advise,
Best regards,
James