The Travel Thread

[mightyrooster]

Still only have Scotland and Italy booked so far accomodation wise but London/ Brighton and Greece will fall into place, meeting a friend who lives on one of the Greek Islands after i get back from this break and he will be in Sydney then so going to quiz his brain about accomodation on the islands then.

Sounds like a plan. I'm beginning to get worried about the amount of money being spent on our trip in airfares and accommodation alone, but I'm sure it will be worth it.

[horrie hastings]

Sounds like a plan. I'm beginning to get worried about the amount of money being spent on our trip in airfares and accommodation alone, but I'm sure it will be worth it.

Yes same here, already spent $7, 500 on the airfare which is quite good for business class, Qantas was well over $12, 000, the Italian leg is costing over $7, 000 also but it is all inclusive for most things barring a few meals so that is $15, 000 before anything else, Scotland at least is a bit cheaper and mostly inclusive also but also have London, Brighton and Greece to work out after that but it looks like Brighton may be covered by flat sitting a friend of a friend's place, fingers crossed. I was hoping to be retired before this trip came up but looks like now I will at least work right up to it or maybe just after as it is taking a nice chunk out of the bank account.

[Andrew Walker]

Sounds like a plan. I'm beginning to get worried about the amount of money being spent on our trip in airfares and accommodation alone, but I'm sure it will be worth it.

LOL OH MR wait until you buy a coffee in London

[horrie hastings]

Sounds amazing Horrie. I've never heard of Smoky Cape Lighthouse but I gather it's near South West Rocks? I have family who absolutely rave about that area.

Yes MR, it is at South West Rocks, the light house is amazing, been watching all morning storms rolling up from the south along the beach that stretches down to Hat Head, it's a beautiful stretch of beach. The town of South West Rocks is not much chop itself but some amazing areas around it to the south and north and along the Macleay River. Went to the Slim Dusty museum at Kempsey on the way to here from Port Macquarie yesterday which was great, what an amazing life he led, was thinking of JFCs while walking around there as he I know he loved Slim and Joy.

[mightyrooster]

LOL OH MR wait until you buy a coffee in London

Yeah I've heard about the price of food etc. Scary stuff.

[mightyrooster]

Yes same here, already spent $7, 500 on the airfare which is quite good for business class, Qantas was well over $12, 000, the Italian leg is costing over $7, 000 also but it is all inclusive for most things barring a few meals so that is $15, 000 before anything else, Scotland at least is a bit cheaper and mostly inclusive also but also have London, Brighton and Greece to work out after that but it looks like Brighton may be covered by flat sitting a friend of a friend's place, fingers crossed. I was hoping to be retired before this trip came up but looks like now I will at least work right up to it or maybe just after as it is taking a nice chunk out of the bank account.

You must have some sort of airline status or points as that's a really great price for business class. I forked out $10.5k for premium economy on Singapore Airlines! Then accommodation is also ridiculous. Still have to organise car rental and trains.

[mightyrooster]

Yes MR, it is at South West Rocks, the light house is amazing, been watching all morning storms rolling up from the south along the beach that stretches down to Hat Head, it's a beautiful stretch of beach. The town of South West Rocks is not much chop itself but some amazing areas around it to the south and north and along the Macleay River. Went to the Slim Dusty museum at Kempsey on the way to here from Port Macquarie yesterday which was great, what an amazing life he led, was thinking of JFCs while walking around there as he I know he loved Slim and Joy.

My sister loves the beaches up there. My Nana was a huge Slim Dusty fan too. She would have loved that.

[horrie hastings]

You must have some sort of airline status or points as that's a really great price for business class. I forked out $10.5k for premium economy on Singapore Airlines! Then accommodation is also ridiculous. Still have to organise car rental and trains.

This is with Japan airlines so we will earn Qantas points with the flight as they are a partner airline, the travel agent we are using found a Singapore Airlines fare earler for around $7,800 but that was before we decided on any itenary and the sale was ending. Ouch 10.5k for premium economy, the original trip we had booked in 2020 that got scuttled because of covid I think premium economy was about $ 5, 500 on Cathay Pacific or around about that mark..

[horrie hastings]

My sister loves the beaches up there. My Nana was a huge Slim Dusty fan too. She would have loved that.

The beaches up here ate stunning, went for a walk on the small beach just north from the lighthouse yesterday and we were the only two people on it and it was lovely for a dip.The beach that is just south that runs south to Hat Head just goes for miles and we are having fish for dinner tonight that was caught there the day before.

[mightyrooster]

This is with Japan airlines so we will earn Qantas points with the flight as they are a partner airline, the travel agent we are using found a Singapore Airlines fare earler for around $7,800 but that was before we decided on any itenary and the sale was ending. Ouch 10.5k for premium economy, the original trip we had booked in 2020 that got scuttled because of covid I think premium economy was about $ 5, 500 on Cathay Pacific or around about that mark..

Sounds like being my own travel agent was a really bad move. So when you say $7.5k is that the total fare or per person? When I say $10.5 for premium economy that was both of us, so combined fare. I feel like I’ve been ripped off lol. We went PE because business class was about $12-13k per person. You’ve done really well by the sounds of it. Or I’ve done really bad.

[horrie hastings]

Sounds like being my own travel agent was a really bad move. So when you say $7.5k is that the total fare or per person? When I say $10.5 for premium economy that was both of us, so combined fare. I feel like I’ve been ripped off lol. We went PE because business class was about $12-13k per person. You’ve done really well by the sounds of it. Or I’ve done really bad.

That is per person , so no you haven't been ripped off as that was about what we would have paid about for premium economy for Cathay, in 2020 it was around $11, 000 for both of us back then, so about $5, 500 each ( may have been just a bit cheaper but around that figure) so you did get a good price on a very good airline

[mightyrooster]

That is per person , so no you haven't been ripped off as that was about what we would have paid about for premium economy for Cathay, in 2020 it was around $11, 000 for both of us back then, so about $5, 500 each ( may have been just a bit cheaper but around that figure) so you did get a good price on a very good airline

Thanks Horrie. That makes me feel better about it. Sounds like you got a fantastic deal in business class. I would be tempted at that price but with no experience flying long haul I’m just trying to save money. But I’ll probably regret PE as I know people who have told me that at a certain age (like mine lol) they wouldn’t fly anything but business these days for long haul. From what I’ve read JAL are a great airline too.

[horrie hastings]

Weather was a bit iffy today so decided to take a drive up to Coffs Harbour from Grassy Head, an easy drive as the highway is so good now, now i have to say i havent had a look around Coffs for a very long time, mainly drive straight thrrough if going further North, what a hole it is over all, main part of town is a dive but I will admit down around the jetty area is vey nice and we had a lovely lunch of oysters, leather jackets and chips at the co op at a very reasonable price, the fish was cooked perfectly, the oysters excellent and even the chips were good. There are a few lovely little creeks up there which would great for fishing but apart from that I can see no reason why i would want to spend time there .

[horrie hastings]

Travel plans have stalled at the moment, still deciding on what time to spend between London and Brighton,.Scotland and Italy are all locked in but really re thinking Greece now, do we have shorter time there and then head back to Brighton or Sitges in Spain is still an option. We were talking about the trip yesterday while lounging around the stadium pool and the better half suggested about nixxing Greece all together and i said i have no problem with that, although i love the Greek Islands i would have no problem skipping it, then we talked about shortening the holiday a bit as i thought 7 and a half weeks was always going to be a bit long but the airfare is already locked in so there would be penalties for changing it more than likely and also if changed getting flights back earlier if any are available. In my mind 5 weeks was always going to be ideal but the trip just kept on growing once we decided on Italy, will do some more research into the penalties of the airfare if we cut this trip shorter and go from there.

[mightyrooster]

Travel plans have stalled at the moment, still deciding on what time to spend between London and Brighton,.Scotland and Italy are all locked in but really re thinking Greece now, do we have shorter time there and then head back to Brighton or Sitges in Spain is still an option. We were talking about the trip yesterday while lounging around the stadium pool and the better half suggested about nixxing Greece all together and i said i have no problem with that, although i love the Greek Islands i would have no problem skipping it, then we talked about shortening the holiday a bit as i thought 7 and a half weeks was always going to be a bit long but the airfare is already locked in so there would be penalties for changing it more than likely and also if changed getting flights back earlier if any are available. In my mind 5 weeks was always going to be ideal but the trip just kept on growing once we decided on Italy, will do some more research into the penalties of the airfare if we cut this trip shorter and go from there.

Hope you can work it all out soon Horrie. There comes a point when all the planning gets frustrating and you just want to lock it in so you can look forward to the trip and start counting down the days.

I’ve been through similar procrastinating with our itinerary but not the length as that’s locked in. We arrive early in Heathrow and then have a domestic flight booked for Scotland the next morning and so will be staying overnight at the airport. So what to do for that day while jet lagged. Taxi to Windsor or into London for the day? Then there’s whether to reduce our time in York to 3 nights from 4 because I’m worried now about trains having reduced services on Sundays when we’re due to leave York. Still trying to prioritise London activities too as there’s so many possibilities. My biggest concern of all though is I’ve been seeing a podiatrist for the past 2 months for an injured foot which may take months to a year to heel!