V-Flyer

I am planning a special trip to mark siginificant birthdays for myself and my wife.

We would like to travel London --> Auckland --> Melbourne --> Sydney --> London.

I am after the following advice:

(i) Can anyone suggest a good company to book the flights with? We are looking to travel business class (or similar);
(ii) Any suggestions on good hotels in Auckland; Sydney and Melbourne would be appreciated.

Many thanks,
Dean

Originally posted by moid
I am planning a special trip to mark siginificant birthdays for myself and my wife.

We would like to travel London --> Auckland --> Melbourne --> Sydney --> London.

I am after the following advice:

(i) Can anyone suggest a good company to book the flights with? We are looking to travel business class (or similar);
(ii) Any suggestions on good hotels in Auckland; Sydney and Melbourne would be appreciated.

Many thanks,

Dean

To take in all segments, you _may_ find an RTW to be better value. Oneworld is the only alliance to offer sensible routings to all locations.

If you do the MEL-SYD segment under your own steam, many other options open up, including the Great Escapade RTW, as well as a multitude of other non-RTW options.

Emirates often offer a good deal in J and everything bar the MEL-SYD transfer, but their J class seats are not up there with the best: most a/c are 2-3-2, with only the A345 being 2-2-2.

Without doubt my favourite hotel suggestions are:

AKL - Hilton - the bow suites are especially nice with 180 degree north facing vista over the harbour;

SYD - Park Hyatt - Low rise, choose an Opera House view.

I don't have enough experience of MEL to give a good hotel suggestion I'm afraid.

Edit: Sorry, you asked for a good company to book the travel through. Of all of them, Trailfinders works for me, but I usually turn up in person. They may be a few quid more, but the staff there are as well trained as they get. They often get hotel deals too, cf. Park Hyatt at Sydney and I think the Hilton is also on their list. You are definitely in safe hands. Recently they stopped offering free visas to Biz/F pax: for Australia, you might as well do it yourself on line. I also discovered that even if you cancel a refundable ticket through them (I had bought an AKL-SYD one-way J back in March), they keep a ~£20 booking fee. In a minor protest, I booked its replacement on line rather than through them and risk another £20 'fee'. Another reason to use someone like Trailfinders is that they understand these kinds of slightly complex journeys that often can't be booked on line. Typically though, I spend hours myself investigating on line with loads of notes before going to Trialfinders. That saves frustration, and you feel more confident about what you're talking about.

H

I'd second Howard's Trailfinders advice, they have organised many of our more complicated family trips and the children's gap year tickets. On the occasions we have needed to change, cancel or add segments and they have come up trumps which is comforting when you the trip is important and/or expensive. You get a named staff member and they manage the account throughout which is another plus.

Thanks for the advice r.e. Trailfinders. There is a local branch only about 15 miles away so I will pop in one weekend.

Originally posted by moid
Thanks for the advice r.e. Trailfinders. There is a local branch only about 15 miles away so I will pop in one weekend.

Many branches have specialist Biz/F departments, so you are fast tracked at the branch to this area rather than lining up with the hoi polloi. I guess the experience starts here [y]

The combined hotel and flight deals are also often to be recommended. For example, BA tend to have three month advanced purchase on standalone fares to US destinations. This advance purchase is often waivered if you take a hotel as part of a deal for a couple of days, even if you don't use the hotel. It's one of the few remaining benefits of using travel agents for the seasoned traveller.

Oh, and one other thing: you mentioned that it was a special trip for you and the wife: for R&R near AKL seriously consider the Boatshed on Waiheke island, especially the Lighthouse Suite.

H