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Found a deal on Hawaiian Airlines for LAX-SYD via Honolulu in July. If I go, I may also go to Melbourne or Brisbane. I have a couple questions.
1. When is the best time to book flights to Australia for July?
2. For someone from California, will the winter weather be tolerable enough for outdoor activities? (zoos, beaches, parks, Blue Mountains specifically)
I was in Sydney from late July 2013 through late October 2013. While some nights and days were "chilly," I was never really ever cold. I went to Coogee Beach several times when I was there; it wasn't hot enough for me to get into the ocean, but plenty of others were doing it. The evenings were definitely cooler (you'll need a light blanket for sleeping if your place isn't well insulated) than the late morning/afternoon time, though, if that helps. If you're a little chilly doing certain outdoor activities (think zoos, parks, Blue Mountains, etc.), then put on a light jacket and you'll be fine.
Found a deal on Hawaiian Airlines for LAX-SYD via Honolulu in July. If I go, I may also go to Melbourne or Brisbane. I have a couple questions.
1. When is the best time to book flights to Australia for July?
2. For someone from California, will the winter weather be tolerable enough for outdoor activities? (zoos, beaches, parks, Blue Mountains specifically)
1. The sooner the better. Also check out Air Tahiti out of LAX, they let you layover Tahiti for a few days, no extra charge
2. Google average temperatures July for the cities you are interested in and decide for yourself what is tolerable, everyone has different tolerances. My sister in San Diego thinks 50F is freezing.. not I.
I was in Sydney back in June and July and found the weather to be decent. I'm from Miami where it stays warm, so I was a bit concerned how cold it would get to do things like zoos, parks, etc....same as you and found the weather to be just fine.
Cool to cold at night with day times being mostly pleasant. Not exactly sun bathing and beach weather, but def walks along the beach with a sweater or just a light long-sleeved shirt on...def good to chill in the parks and go to the zoos in winter there. you'll be fine. I'd bet sydney weather is prob very similar to California weather.
I found it interesting when I landed and finally got out and about in Sydney and saw lots of palm trees everywhere i was like "Oh, I guess it couldn't get all that cold then".....and it didn't really. Cool, but not cold.
Sydney in July is only a couple of degrees cooler than San Francisco in July. So if you can handle one, you can most likely handle the other.
As far as airfares, I seem to remember reading somewhere that the "sweet spot" for international airfares is 90 days out. But if the fare on offer is ~$1200 or less, you probably won't get a significantly better deal if you wait.
Note that flying Hawaiian requires a layover at HNL, which (IMHO) is one of the most confusing, unpleasant airports at which to do an international transfer -- especially inbound. I did that recently on a trip to NZ, and vow never to do it again.
... and another thing: When I was shopping for airfares, the very cheapest ones were on Fiji Airways. I don't know whether Nadi is any better than HNL as a transit point, but it's certainly more exotic.
Sydney in July is only a couple of degrees cooler than San Francisco in July. So if you can handle one, you can most likely handle the other.
As far as airfares, I seem to remember reading somewhere that the "sweet spot" for international airfares is 90 days out. But if the fare on offer is ~$1200 or less, you probably won't get a significantly better deal if you wait.
Note that flying Hawaiian requires a layover at HNL, which (IMHO) is one of the most confusing, unpleasant airports at which to do an international transfer -- especially inbound. I did that recently on a trip to NZ, and vow never to do it again.
Is an hour-long layover in HNL cutting it too close in that case?
Is an hour-long layover in HNL cutting it too close in that case?
Outbound, you should be OK -- as long as you don't need to buy anything for your international flight, and as long as you can figure out (despite the lack of info screens) which gate your flight leaves from.
Inbound, you'll need at least 2, since you have to claim your luggage, go through customs and immigration, and then re-check it. That should be built into your itinerary though.
Air NZ currently has a sale on for flights from North America to the Pacific, including Australia, for between $900-1000, travelling May through September. That's pretty good, you are very unlikely to find anything much cheaper, but you'll need to book by Jan 7.
June/July is off season and if bookings are light and they need to fill seats, you can sometimes get some ripping deals closer to the time, eg April/May, but it's a calculated risk to wait.
I've flown on Hawaiian to NZ and they were ok, but they've generally been more expensive than the main direct carriers in the last 6 months or so. And the food was diabolical.
One hour layover is nowhere near long enough. If your flight gets delayed even slightly from the initial point of departure, you are screwed and I'm not sure that Hawaiian has departures every day to Australia (I know it's only 3 days a week to NZ), so if you miss your connection, it may be that you are waiting another two days to get out. I would allow 3 hours layover myself. I don't think travel agents are permitted to book passengers with a connection that's shorter than two hours, so perhaps use that as your guide. I flew from Newark to LAX last night on a flight that was delayed two hours at departure and we had to wait 30 mins on the ground in Los Angeles for a gate to open up. Five passengers missed the Qantas flight to Sydney.
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