2021 Travel Plans

[RooFlyer]

To be honest I have no idea of what you are talking about, within our family my job is to organise flights and transfers/ driver cars the rest is up to MrsM. I have no plans for a road trip, a drive to MEL and then get on ferry to TAS.

There is some person at QF called Oliver who has ensured that all the P1 types have membership to something called the "Avis President's Club" no idea what this is but sounds like another DYKWIA club. I am now thinking that either that Oliver and/or MrsM have just made this trip more complicated.

Rental car fleets in Tasmania have been sold off by about 50% due to COVID (no business, and second hand market strong). Currently, with tourists back, cars are in very short supply and very expensive. Many holiday makers have cancelled due to inability to get a rental car. Whenever you are thinking of coming, check rental car availability first. If you are Victoria based, and coming in a peak period, may be worth bringing your own car on the Spirit of Tasmania?

 

[drron]

The problem is that even though the Spirit is now on a normal summer schedule with 2 voyages each way per day they are booked out on many days as well.
Possibly a few NSW cancellations though.

 

[oznflfan]

Only thing booked is return flights and 5 nights in Melbourne mid March for Round 1 of AFL. Bonus my Dockers are playing at MCG. May do something in September, probable Sydney for Jenolan Caves, or Melbourne again for ALF Preliminary Finals, aspirationally Cambodia/Vietnam/Thailand/etc, but don't like my chances of that.

 

[Ric]

And at some stage a road trip to NSW to see our grandkids and to visit Portland to see the art in the old cement factory.Portland has a place in my heart as my favourite uncle and aunt lived there and I spent quite a few school holidays there.Was even able to travel by myself on the old steam trains and going over the zig zag tracks.

This one?

 

[drron]

Probably but the old cement factory looked totally different the last time I was there which was over 30 years ago.My uncle retired to Sydney.

 

[Deleted member 26544]

At this stage for +1 and I:

• Great Southern train from BNE to ADL in January
• LRE, BDB, MKY in May including 2 nights on a tall ship
• LDH in August
• DRW and the Ghan to ADL in October

The Great Southern has already had the route changed and been bumped once, hoping there’s no further changes.

I also anticipate spending more time next year on the phone to Qantas as a result of ongoing schedule changes. Already had to sort out one change that resulted in the inbound flight arriving after the connecting one departed.

 

[kookaburra75]

Given MrsK and I are only a few years from full retirement, our plans were to travel domestically for the next few years and then do a 'big' trip for 3-4 months somewhere internationally. I lived and worked in many places across Australia over my life, and it's been fun going back with MrsK and show her the sights.

For 2021 we have two big trips planned, and one potential from Canberra
- March, family wedding in Melbourne and then onto Tassie for a week in a campervan, including lunch at Fat Pig Farm
- June, Port Douglas at the Reef House (LE Package), and back to Brisbane for a couple of nights at the Stamford Plaza
- Oct (potential) Busselton WA using the new Jetstar flight from Melbourne

 

[harvyk]

I expect many of my travels in 2021 will include a caravan connected to the back of my car. Most of my flights tend to be international, so I may get something os (to Asia, likely as a SC run as much as anything else) towards the end of the year, but I wouldn't bet on it.

I don't see my normal schedule of OS travel happening until 2022 at the earliest. Need companies willing to do big international IT conferences again first.

 

[Ade]

IF & WHEN the borders open with India allowing free & unrestricted travel - I'd like to visit family in India ...

I think in my mind, I'm thinking I will ONLY travel, if I can come back home freely, without wanting to apply for a spot and hoping to get picked up and THEN pay a hefty $$ for the ticket, THEN $$$ for quarantine

Otherwise, want to do local (AU) destinations.

My sitch is, I have got a new travel partner & we planned to do 2 things during Dec 2020 - we never did anything together ... we kept talking & talking & talking about it ... and then CoVID happened

Anyways, we wanted to -

1. Do a road trip in TAS - that didn't happen and we had to cancel our plans.
2. 7 day hike in VIC - that didn't happen either and she had to go without me because I'm in NSW and she is in VIC

I look forward to doing some trips with my travel partner soon ... hopefully ...

 

[Ade]

Have you seen the issue of rental car availability, in other threads? (Unless you are making it a road trip ...)

@Matt_01 - TOTALLY !!! check out rental cars & book one even before you book your flights !!! I had to cancel my Dec 2020 TAS trip ONLY because I didn't find any rental cars AND there were no slots left to take cars on the Spirit of Tasmania ...

 

[I love to travel]

Nothing overseas. Family trips to Adelaide and beachy holiday to Broome or Port Douglas which will be booked 2 days before leaving

 

[Jacques Vert]

At this stage for +1 and I:

• Great Southern train from BNE to ADL in January
• LRE, BDB, MKY in May including 2 nights on a tall ship
• LDH in August
• DRW and the Ghan to ADL in October

The Great Southern has already had the route changed and been bumped once, hoping there’s no further changes.

I also anticipate spending more time next year on the phone to Qantas as a result of ongoing schedule changes. Already had to sort out one change that resulted in the inbound flight arriving after the connecting one departed.

What date(s) will you be on LDH? There will be at least 4 AFF members there during the last week of August. (Start a conversation if you prefer.)

 

[jb747]

I might take the caravan on the 5km trip to Albury.

Not sure that I'm game to be more than one state from home, so Queensland is becoming less likely.

 

[Deleted member 26544]

What date(s) will you be on LDH? There will be at least 4 AFF members there during the last week of August. (Start a conversation if you prefer.)

We’ll be there from 16-20 August. Looking forward to flying on a dinky Dash-8.

 

[Jacques Vert]

We'll miss you by 2 days, unless you get stuck due to weather.

 

[Matt_01]

@Matt_01 - TOTALLY !!! check out rental cars & book one even before you book your flights !!! I had to cancel my Dec 2020 TAS trip ONLY because I didn't find any rental cars AND there were no slots left to take cars on the Spirit of Tasmania ...

Thanks, P1s have just been given Avis President Club status and according to the rules if you book the car at least 48 hours in advance you get guaranteed car availability, groups A-E only.

 

[Townsend]

Off to Tasmania in March. Booked the hotels during the main lockdown. They all had guaranteed refunds due to cancellation and the prices were less than half what they re now. Taking the car on the Spirit.

Then a few days in April in Longreach and Winton. Really looking forward to it.

 

[Matt_01]

Booked today, the plan changed and Tasmania is no more as we decided to take a punt on being able to travel to NZ in the July school holidays. Will arrive in AKL embark on a road trip through the north and south islands. Flying J on the way over and F coming back however MrsM and MissM think it is J in both directions. I am hoping that the SYD F lounge will be open, the a330 will remain on the AKL route and EK will be flying CHC-SYD. If it does not eventuate, c'est la vie and bring on 2022.

 

[Eija]

@Matt_01 Je ne pense pas I've been trying to buy a house on wheels in Auckland for a leisurely lap of Aotearoa. The end game was to ship it back here after a year and do a Grey Nomad lap of Oz. Sadly, Germany has been promising me a Motorhome since March with no end in sight...as you say, bring on 2022.

 

[NoName]

We will be hoping to do the Nth America trip we had planned for the next 4 weeks in the same time slot. Will book to fly in and out of Canada though. Just in case Canada is ok but US is not. We will book in the next few weeks anyway. Will book for Singapore Xmas immediately prior to this as well. So hoping at least one of these countries (Singapore, Canada, US) is possible but suspect the latter two are 50-50.

An extreme long shot but would like to hike in California in July or August. Probably 100-1 or longer but I will enter the required hiking permit lotteries just in case.

Hopefully a few places around Australia at some stage. Yet to be determined what they might be though.