Australia is a large country and if you are stuck with one of those 3-month visas and want to catch as much of this incredible place as you can then at some time it makes sense to catch a plane to get from one place to the next.
Don't use planes all the time to get around because if you do you will miss out on a lot of what Australia has to offer.
It is a good idea to include at least one of two flights to get you over the really long, boring and tedious places.
A good example of this might be crossing the Nullabor desert.
A great idea is to either fly or take a coach (which can be comfortable and gives you a chance to at least see some of the desert itself before you turn on your iPod, lay back and nap the rest of the way) or the train which crosses the Nullabor between Perth and Sydney (stops at Adelaide and Melbourne as well).
Virgin Airlines has a happy hour on its website everyday starting at 1pm (EST - Eastern Standard Time) and offer some really great prices on a range of flights.
The greatest problem is that the site gets overloaded at this time and getting one of these fares can be a real problem.
Better to check out fares well in advance and book - online is always cheaper.
There seems to be an unending price war between two airlines servicing most of Australia - certainly the major routes and they are Virgin Blue (www.
virginblue.
com.
au) and Qantas (www.
qantas.
com.
au) and the budget airline Jetstar (www.
jetstar.
com.
au).
Given the competition for high volume Australian routes you are in the best position to benefit from low prices.
Register with the airlines and they will e-mail you special deals.
Travelling during the week or catching those late night or early morning flights can be get you better deals but be prepared to arrive at your destination at some ungodly hour.
There is also a new airline, Tiger Airways (www.
tigerairways.
com) that services Perth, Darwin, Singapore and Asia.
This allows you to get home via Asia at an affordable price and gives you the opportunity to explore some of the delights of Asia.
Don't use planes all the time to get around because if you do you will miss out on a lot of what Australia has to offer.
It is a good idea to include at least one of two flights to get you over the really long, boring and tedious places.
A good example of this might be crossing the Nullabor desert.
A great idea is to either fly or take a coach (which can be comfortable and gives you a chance to at least see some of the desert itself before you turn on your iPod, lay back and nap the rest of the way) or the train which crosses the Nullabor between Perth and Sydney (stops at Adelaide and Melbourne as well).
Virgin Airlines has a happy hour on its website everyday starting at 1pm (EST - Eastern Standard Time) and offer some really great prices on a range of flights.
The greatest problem is that the site gets overloaded at this time and getting one of these fares can be a real problem.
Better to check out fares well in advance and book - online is always cheaper.
There seems to be an unending price war between two airlines servicing most of Australia - certainly the major routes and they are Virgin Blue (www.
virginblue.
com.
au) and Qantas (www.
qantas.
com.
au) and the budget airline Jetstar (www.
jetstar.
com.
au).
Given the competition for high volume Australian routes you are in the best position to benefit from low prices.
Register with the airlines and they will e-mail you special deals.
Travelling during the week or catching those late night or early morning flights can be get you better deals but be prepared to arrive at your destination at some ungodly hour.
There is also a new airline, Tiger Airways (www.
tigerairways.
com) that services Perth, Darwin, Singapore and Asia.
This allows you to get home via Asia at an affordable price and gives you the opportunity to explore some of the delights of Asia.