30 year anniversary - Where to Travel?

[albatross710]

November 2019 will mark 30 years since I formally joined Mrs Albatross in our permanent seat allocation of marriage.

That's a lot of frequent flyer creativity to mark all those anniversaries.

So, now I'm looking for ideas for the 30th. What I know will make it memorable are the following:

We are open to going anywhere..
Traditionally November has been good for international travels. It's before the school holidays.
Usually there is one country that is trying to increase their market penetration. For me, "the deal" is an important part.

We can be away for 10 days inclusive.

Departure and Home port : BNE

Expecting to re-qualify as Qantas Gold, so a Oneworld or Emirates is preferred. Have about QFF200K points.

Can be a mixture of points and paid flights.

Any suggestions for more interesting, less mainstream destinations with a deal.

Alby

PS: It's also 30 years this year since i joined Australian Airlines Flight Deck which morphed into the Qantas Club.

 

[kookaburra75]

Maybe not travel overseas, but book a swanky restaurant within Australia and have a very special night away for you both. I took MrsK on the 10th anniversary of us first meeting to Vue de Monde and it was a very special night

 

[RooFlyer]

Well, without knowing anything about your or Mrs A's travel likes, I can unhesitatingly recommend Sri Lanka, as it caters for just about every taste

* Access by QF and UL via Singapore, all OW flights
* 10 days is a good time to get there and have a good look around; ie compact
* Not very expensive
* Totally different culture, but remnants of British colonialism (eg cricket!) to make it a little familiar
* It has: beaches, mountains, jungles; whale watching; big game wildlife parks; culture & history
* Fancy places to stay and great 'homestay' type places as well
* Great food (does NOT have to be spicy hot!
* Safe as any like country

and, a big plus - there is a private driver & car, well known to several of us on AFF who can thoroughly recommend him!

 

[LadyC]

With 10 days, I think that I would probably stick to Asia-Pacific to maximise holiday time. My first suggestion would be Japan. You can fly direct from BNE. You could visit both Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka. Bullet train between the two or fly out of KIX via SYD to get back to BNE. Fantastic food and culture. Very safe. Easy to get around.

 

[amaroo]

I took my wife to Machu Picchu, Cusco, etc for a very special birthday ..... no idea if Nov is a good time, but 10 days is just about perfect.

 

[GoldCanyon340]

Myself and Mrs 340 just reached 20 years of seat allocation. We had a wonderful week at the Hyatt Regency at Yogyakarta where Club rooms are approx AUD110/night. Really good hotel, lovely city too and close to Borobudur.

An alternative is to have a few days in NZ then get two F seats on EK on its AKL-DPS service at ~90k points per pax.

 

[albatross710]

You guys are definitely on the right track:

Maybe this will help, a selected history of anniversaries:

Year 1: Overnight stay at Townsville's top restaurant and hotel

Year 20: Overnight J to AKL, then to SYD Hyatt

Year 24: Las Vegas & Washington
Year 25: Singapore & Phnom Penh
Year 26; Sri Lanka with Lucky (trip report here)
Year 27 : Siragao , Philippines
Year 28 : Golden triangle of India
Year 29: Bali resort


Peru has been on our watch. Is it really practical to depart Brisbane on a Friday (or Thursday night) and be back 10 days later? We were thinking that trip would need to be > two weeks.

Japan is now on the watch.

Alby

 

[love_the_life]

You guys are definitely on the right track:

Maybe this will help, a selected history of anniversaries:

Year 1: Overnight stay at Townsville's top restaurant and hotel

Year 20: Overnight J to AKL, then to SYD Hyatt

Year 24: Las Vegas & Washington
Year 25: Singapore & Phnom Penh
Year 26; Sri Lanka with Lucky (trip report here)
Year 27 : Siragao , Philippines
Year 28 : Golden triangle of India
Year 29: Bali resort


Peru has been on our watch. Is it really practical to depart Brisbane on a Friday (or Thursday night) and be back 10 days later? We were thinking that trip would need to be > two weeks.

Japan is now on the watch.

Alby

Love love love Japan. So much to see.

 

[Himeno]

Peru has been on our watch. Is it really practical to depart Brisbane on a Friday (or Thursday night) and be back 10 days later? We were thinking that trip would need to be > two weeks.

Japan is now on the watch.

Alby

If you look at Japan, go on JAL via MEL or QF from SYD. These are the overnight flights to Tokyo (JL to NRT, QF to HND). The other AU>JP flights are during the day and you'd lose a day of travel time as a result (flight is ~9 hours).

 

[RooFlyer]

Ah! Already done the Lucky thing.. I should have checked.

I'd say Peru is not enough time for you this time. There is so much in the neighbourhood that it deserves more time.

What about Myanmar? Again, readily accessible Via SIN, eVisa, very different and a good compact option.

 

[albatross710]

If you look at Japan, go on JAL via MEL or QF from SYD. These are the overnight flights to Tokyo (JL to NRT, QF to HND). The other AU>JP flights are during the day and you'd lose a day of travel time as a result (flight is ~9 hours).

That's a valid point, although I do prefer an outbound daytime flight so the holiday starts happy.

Ah! Already done the Lucky thing.. I should have checked.

I'd say Peru is not enough time for you this time. There is so much in the neighbourhood that it deserves more time.

What about Myanmar? Again, readily accessible Via SIN, eVisa, very different and a good compact option.

Thanks for the idea. Myanmar is a good option. Previously I had looked at Laos but recall the flights were via BKK and didn't go so well for timing.

So in summary, I'll be on the lookout for a points deal to Japan. Myanmar I would probably use he QFF points to get Singapore then buy LCC from there.

Happy days ahead.

 

[Himeno]

That's a valid point, although I do prefer an outbound daytime flight so the holiday starts happy.

The day flights (JL from SYD, QF from BNE and MEL - all to NRT) mean arriving between 5 and 7pm, which can mean getting into Tokyo during evening travel peak. Not as bad as the morning peak, but not something I'd like to do with bags (though there are ways around it).
If you like the day flights, I'd look at the QF SYD-KIX flight and spend 3-4 days in Osaka then head up to Tokyo (~3 hour shinkansen or ~1 hour flight from Osaka) for the rest of the time and fly back from HND or NRT (only day flight back is the JL to MEL, arriving MEL around midnight).

 

[albatross710]

fly back from HND or NRT (only day flight back is the JL to MEL, arriving MEL around midnight).

Thanks for the tips. Overnight on the way back is OK....easier t mop around home tired.

 

[Himeno]

Thanks for the tips. Overnight on the way back is OK....easier t mop around home tired.

If you're keen for Japan, the non stop flights between AU and JP are:

QF
SYD-HND (overnight each way)
SYD-KIX (day north, night south)
BNE-NRT (day north, night south)
MEL-NRT (day north, night south)

JL
SYD-NRT (day north, night south)
MEL-NRT (night north, day south)

NH
SYD-HND (overnight each way)
PER-NRT (starting Sep)

JQ
CNS-KIX (day north, night south)
CNS-NRT (day north, night south)
OOL-NRT (day north, night south)

QF and JL also codeshare into both HND and NRT via SIN.

 

[offshore171]

Bermuda.

You could most likely do it all on points. QF to JFK, then an AA flight to BDA. Spend a night or two in NYC on the way or back. Perfect 10 day trip.

Trip report.
All the way to BDA

 

[love_the_life]

The day flights (JL from SYD, QF from BNE and MEL - all to NRT) mean arriving between 5 and 7pm, which can mean getting into Tokyo during evening travel peak. Not as bad as the morning peak, but not something I'd like to do with bags (though there are ways around it).
If you like the day flights, I'd look at the QF SYD-KIX flight and spend 3-4 days in Osaka then head up to Tokyo (~3 hour shinkansen or ~1 hour flight from Osaka) for the rest of the time and fly back from HND or NRT (only day flight back is the JL to MEL, arriving MEL around midnight).

Have done the BNE - NRT flight often and had no problems getting into the city on the NEX, though we do usually stay at the Tokyo Station Hotel which is right there. Last time I was with a friend though and we were at Kyobashi hotel which was a walk through Tokyo station and out the other side but again very easy with luggage.

 

[amaroo]

Peru has been on our watch. Is it really practical to depart Brisbane on a Friday (or Thursday night) and be back 10 days later? We were thinking that trip would need to be > two weeks.

Yes! We did, and I posted a TR - Peruvian Celebrations!

We added 3 nights for Lake Tititaka .. but did a lasy 2 nights in SCL that you could scratch. 10 nights = easy

 

[Himeno]

Have done the BNE - NRT flight often and had no problems getting into the city on the NEX, though we do usually stay at the Tokyo Station Hotel which is right there. Last time I was with a friend though and we were at Kyobashi hotel which was a walk through Tokyo station and out the other side but again very easy with luggage.

There are a number of ways into Tokyo from NRT. Very much dependent on where in the city you are going, how much time you have and how much you want to spend.
2 train companies, each with an express and regular train, at least 3 bus companies with stops all over Tokyo and the taxi.
Most people don't get a taxi because they cost upwards of $200.
When I use NRT, I normally use the Keisei Sky Liner. 36 minutes from NRT to Nippori Station (while the JR NEX takes an hour to Tokyo Station).
Most times I'm in Tokyo, I stay in Ikebukuro. With the Sky Liner + Yamanote Line, I can get there in ~45 minutes compared to the 90 minutes of the NEX or 2-2.5 hours of the normal trains.

There are 2 discount bus companies that go to Tokyo and Ginza stations from NRT for 1000Yen.

 

[albatross710]

Well all the best laid anniversary plans went out the window due to extended family health taking a turn for the worse. We ended up needing to stay within striking distance of home.



We had 3 nights in Cairns at Riley Crystalbrook. It's a refurbishment of the old Tradewinds. Stayed in one of the high floors of this nifty building right on the Esplanade. Views up and down the Cairns inlet. Cairns was quite a good tourist experience. Good choice of foods, restaurants and activities.

Used QFF points to go J on the 717.

Japan, Peru will have to wait until the health problems clear and unfortunately there is only one way out.