2-3 weeks each in Oz/NZ- what to do?

[carreauchompeur]

Folks,

Planning to fly from Japan to Santiago around the start of Sept. I've worked out it's only actually a few hundred more to include Oz and NZ and, since I have the time it seems worth it.

I'm not a great love of cities although wouldn't mind some beach time and would really like to get out in the country walking/biking etc. gut feeling is that I want to spend longer in NZ.

The flights I have priced up look very good...



Dates are fairly flexible.

Any ideas of itineraries? Can't deviate massively from the chosen destinations as costs go up enormously.

Churs

[carreauchompeur]

Lovely, sounds good. I think Oz isn't really going to be my cup of tea for a long stay as I'm really tied to Sydney flights in and out.... Will try to price up something open jaw but NZ sounds much more appealing. Flight costs make it actually much cheaper to go via Oz though.

[carreauchompeur]

Jetstar is a very good shout, makes the Japan-Oz-NZ flights very cost effective.

Unfortunately the schlep across the Pacific to Chile appears to be undoable for less than around £700, Auckland is an awkward route!

[carreauchompeur]

Mmm, that sounds good. Flew to Santiago last year and tacking on Easter Island was a few hundred quid and a bit too much time. Will try a few comparisons now. With LAN shouldn't end up much more pricey

[carreauchompeur]

Thanks all, I've been working out the dates for the early parts of the trip and the plan is to arrive in Oz probably around 1st Oct and spend a couple of weeks there before moving on. I have a feeling that spending much longer will just drain my funds!

Anyone done Melbourne-Sydney up the coast? I can find a decent flight combo which goes from Japan via Phillipines to Melbourne then direct Qantas/LAN flights to Auckland and Santiago.

As it stands it looks like tinkering too much with the Japan/Oz flights doesn't really help the overall price as the Santiago flight is the bulk of the cost.

Coming in around £1050 for all of the above, which is reasonable. I can't find any AKL-SCL flights for much less than £700.

Most of the other destinations in Oz end up going via Sydney anyway so bump up the cost.

[carreauchompeur]

Interesting, thanks. NZ sounds much more like my cup of tea so I might try to extend that a little bit. The focus of my trip was always South America and these bits have just evolved over time but I want to be able to see some decent sights on the way.

Is Oz still very expensive?

[carreauchompeur]

Interesting, thanks. I managed to drink almost to the point of gout in the Argentine vineyards last year and intend on a repeat performance when I get back to Chile later in the year but a bit of variety wouldn't go amiss.

Will look at the Great Ocean Road now.

[carreauchompeur]

Haha, I like it when old threads pop up.

I'm SO glad I didn't book the flights in advance... Because I wouldn't even nearly be in Japan on time. Or in Japan at all.

I leave the UK on the 4th August and am due to be in China by mid-Sept and then have a flight to the Phillipines on the 22nd Sept. think Japan has now gone by the wayside but Oz well in contention. Will bear the suggestions in mind