Grand Australia & New Zealand v. Cruising Down Under

ndvb

I am looking to take one of these trips. Reading the reviews for both, the CDU trip gets some very bad reviews, while the GA&NZ trip seems to get very strong reviews. Add to that the cruise element (which gets the bulk of the CDU criticism) vs. a land trip, I prefer the land stuff. The cruise element (ship and food) of the Antarctic trip was not the strongest part.

I am hoping there might be some people who have taken both and can chime in. I know Jan will give me some feedback on the itineraries and dazzle me with her life's experiences in the land down under. Others who often post in here will help also.

Thanks. Oh yea, I am looking to take it in February....good weather? It'll be my 7th continent thus fulfilling another life's goal.

jdurkin

Well ... just to be contrary ... but you know me ... I think the CDU itinerary provided a really good look at New Zealand.

In the best of all worlds, with time away of no concern, here's what I'd do. (But keep in mind I might not because I live here!)

I'd fly into Auckland well ahead of time. I'd do a side trip up to Northland and in particular spend a couple of days in the Bay of Islands area. Make sure to take a cruise and a ferry trip over to Russell.

Then I'd take the CDU trip. The beauty of this itinerary is that you visit parts of NZ best seen from the sea ... like the Fjordland National Park of the South Island. This trip ends with a land extension in Australia and finishes in Sydney. There are lots of extra things to see and do here. Choose a cabin that suits you, even one with butler service if that works for you. Use the Ponant service & style as well as the Tauck extras. Dine in the fine dining restaurant rather than the cafeteria. You won't have the issues of Antarctic clothing filling your luggage. You can actually pack normal clothes because neither country is a safari destination, either.

Then I'd link that with the Spotlight on Australia, starting in Melbourne. I'd use any gap time to visit Tasmania. This island state is our little hidden treasure. Any extra time can be happily used up getting to know Melbourne and environs. This trip finishes back in Sydney which makes a convenient port to catch a direct flight back to the States. There is a little overlap ... not enough to be any more than a delightful bonus!

Ask Tauck about any back to back bonuses that might possibly apply.

February, starting in NZ, is a good time to begin a wonderful treat like this. Or even separate journeys. Whatever you do, try to avoid late December and January in Australia. It is the worst time to visit the outback. (July and August are the prime months.) And if you arrived late February, you might miss the worst of the tropical rainy and cyclone season in northern Australia. All in all, I'd say the Grand Australia & NZ only gives you the most fleeting look at a vast and eternally varied part of the world. Whatever you choose, you need to come back to actually visit down under.

Cheers,

Jan

British

I don't think I can add much to what Jan says because she is clearly the expert, apart from the fact that you may know we did the Austalia tour a few years ago and then the NZ one this past January. On both tours we arrived a few days early and stayed one day longer in NZ and two days longer Sydney. Doing the tours separately means you can chose the optimum times of year for the best weather in both countries and of course extend your tours at both ends which might also include traveling to another city not covered on the tour. I don't think this will be a problem for you because I suspect you have the means do do the trips separately without worrying about cost or time, for us we thought the extra cost of flying to that part of the world there and back was worth it but Time is a factor for us because hubby still brings in the bacon. We would certainly like to go back to New Zealand and visit parts we did not see and return to others. We'd go back to Melbourne and Sydney and ask Jan where else to visit too. Oh, and spending all that time on the Cruising Down Under, on a boat and not being in the country with Austalians and New Zealanders, I just don't see the point from our personal point of view.

ndvb

Thanks to both of you. I have a variety of things to think about. I like the idea of back to back tours and some extra time all on one flight. It isn't the expense of an extra flight, it is just time in a plane. The trip is just a long one and I don't like having to spend double the time in a plane (even in Business or First class). The flights I have looked into have a huge layover in LAX (14-15 hours). That is nuts!!! I've got to find a better route.

I will sit down with the Tauck calendar for the trips suggested and see which one(s) fit into my schedule.

I leave for a two month stay in London on 31 May and I can play with this when I am being lazy there. Right now my time is focused on the London trip. I have guests coming to visit during the trip which will be very nice. My flat is right on the Thames only 1.5 miles from Buckingham Palace and 2.0 miles from Trafalgar Square, among some of the sites in the area. I can walk to most of the centrally located locales or take the Tube (.4 miles from the flat) and get anywhere I want to go. Sure wish my wife was still around to share this with, though. But, I will be fine and I have some friends who live in London and a couple of people I have met on Tauck tours who live there also.

Again, thank to you both for some ideas to mull around with. I am looking forward to visiting my final continent. Now, I just have to figure out how I am going to do it.

jdurkin

Just a very quick suggestion about airlines/flights. Have a look at Air New Zealand. I haven't checked recently, but I think they (not code share) fly out of NY as well as SFO and LAX. Qantas does fly out of Houston on certain days. And further to British's comments on actually spending time with the locals ... you wouldn't be doing much of that (in reality) in a Tauck bubble, except for the cruise ... which is a very popular route for locals as well as other nationalities. Of course, many experienced travellers do burst the Tauck bubble and bolt for the real world every now and then!

Cheers,

Jan

joycesw

Well, I have already weighed in about cruising vs land touring, and my opinion doesn't change for "down under." We did the Grand A/NZ tour and absolutely loved it! While the itinerary has changed a bit (no Christchurch after the earthquake, our very favorite NZ city, no Mt. Cook, a great helicopter ride and a fabulous hotel setting) it is still a wonderful tour! We went into Melbourne early (our very favorite place) and then extended in Fiji (Tauck used to do an extension there) and were gone about a month. We went from mid-February to mid-March. We would not have missed Uluru for anything! Perhaps, in spite of the bug nets, we were there on our 38th anniversary and the "sunset reception" at Uluru, at that time, was a "Tauck surprise!" I am glad to see they have returned to Silky Oaks (a beautiful place). I also mentioned in a previous post what happened when our group met up with the cruising group at Tjapukai...the contrast was eye-opening. As a number of people have mentioned before, each different type of trip attracts a different type of traveler. In my case, my fellow travelers play a role in my enjoyment of a trip, so I weigh that consideration into the trips I want to take. As a side note, no matter which trip you choose, you will be in Sydney, and if you are there during opera season, be sure to secure tickets early. I contacted the concierge months before and had him buy tickets for our free night. We were the only ones in our group to have opera tickets, and they were so scarce the concierge offered to buy them back at double the price! We didn't bite, and the opera, followed by a harbor fireworks show, was noting short of phenomenal!! Not to be missed!
The plane trip is a bear, and coming from the East Coast with such a long layover would be even worse! Would it be possible to book an East Coast/LAX flight separately from the LAX to Australia flight? You might get a shorter layover, but then you always take the chance of missed connections...you have a lot to think about during your London sojourn!

sidecar

When we did the Austrlia/NZ trip this past February, we flew Delta from Florida to Atlanta and then LAX, and only had a four hour layover in LAX. You might check Delta flights.

AlanS

When I was doing some "what if" flight planning (dreaming? ) I looked at flights to AUS and this routing seemed reasonable:

Delta: (east coast feeder) to Atlanta to LAX 2-1/2 hr layover then Air NZ: LAX - AUK - MEL

Here is the whole AUS-NZ trip routing:

Delta RDU 1330 - 1500 ATL 1625 - 1833 LAX
Air NZ LAX 2100 - 0700 AUK 0820 - 1025 MEL

Air NZ SYD 0920 - 1435 WEL (Economy)

Air NZ AUK 1930 - 1055 SFO
Delta SFO 1245 - 1832 MSP 1915 - 2250 RDU

British

Ndvb, my memory certainly jogs when I read other people's posts. Flights--- when we flew to Australia, we flew to LA took Qantas, stayed overnight in a nearby airport hotel because of the long layover, but of course still had to check out of the hotel the next day at noon, so did what a lot of people do and took a bus tour of LA. We have been to LA before and it is not my favorite place at all, but it killed time and we took in a lot of sites including Venice Beach where we were offered a script to partake of marihuana, we didn't, not my thing, stopped off at Rodeo Drive, Manns Chinese theatre and so on. Our flight was not until maybe 11pm, so we got to the airport in good time, ate and then it was time to board. New Zealand was much better-- flew to San Francisco, only a few hours layover but spent the time in a brand newly opened American Express Lounge where there was reasonable free food and we took showers. The flying to New Zealand just seemed a whole lot easier and less tiring, especially the return flights. Both trips we flew premium economy which was pretty good for our budget, especially air New Zealand. Food and wine is the same as Business class and the flight attendance address you by name, so you kinda feel a little bit more special than coach class.
The note about Uluru, yes certainly should not be missed and if you go in the Australia Winter, No Flies!!!!

PF606590

Definitely look at Air New Zealand out of SFO...flight from SFO to Auk leaves at 8:45 PM, I am sure you can get to SFO by 6 PM or so from anywhere in the USA

ndvb

One thing about this forum is you can always get great advice from people who have experienced any trip you are interested in. Thanks for the help.

I think I am going to put setting up this trip on the back burner for a while. I know I want to do one of them and might want to, as Jan suggests, piggyback them to another trip. After all, if I am going to make the long flight there I might as well stay for an extended period.

During my down time in London, I can look at this in more detail. There are so many options. I am trying to use miles for all, or part, of the flight. The account I deal with is very good about using getting great flights at reasonable use of miles and/or cash. They did a great job of all of the flights last summer to Barcelona, Istanbul, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Nairobi, Addis Abba, Newark, and home...same with this winter's flights to Montana, Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Buenos Aires, and back. I will continue to look at the flights you have suggested and see if they can set me up with the quickest and easiest path. Your input is fantastic.

Several of you have given great advice on places to visit before the tour, on the tour, and after the tour, including some piggyback adventures. I'll be looking into those as well. An extra couple of weeks, or a month or so, will make the flights worth it.

Thanks folks, I do appreciate it.

Bob7740

Am doing the Australia/New Zealand Tour this December and found excellent flights. Leave Miami to LA to Melbourne with only a 1 1/2 hour layover in LA all by American/Quantas. On the return, have a 3 hour layover in LA.

British

The only problem with such a short layover is that if you miss your flight you will be waiting a whole 24 hours for the next flight. Also, be sure to pack extra clothing in your carry on in case your suitcases don't make the plane even if you do. Qantas are strict about late arrival at the gate. I would suggest re-considering this short layover for such an important and long flight, these days 11/2 hours seems too little time. Does anyone else share my concern?