Circle Pacific Fare Question

[yvrcnx]

I did a search but really couldn't find anything helpful with regards to a Circle Pacific Fare.
I am planning to do a trip to Asia, Australia and New Zealand in December and thought that a CP fare would be the best way to go as we would be flying in Y and still get miles.
I checked online to find out what the fares would look like but couldn't get much information, except for the routing and cities.
If anyone has any information on fares, I would really appreciate it and any advice on how to best book a CP fare - Airline or Travel Agent, and if Airline directly is the best way to do it, which Airline would you recommend to book this through.
We would prefer to fly out of YVR but other US Westcoast city would also be o.k. if there is a big difference in pricing.

The itinerary is really flexible. I would like to stop either way in Singapore or other Asian City, spend 7 - 10 days in Australia, still deciding which part to go to, if any of you Australians can give an unbiased opinion which part to visit with an 8 year old, really appreciate it. We might rent an RV and travel around.
The other stop would be New Zealand, same thing there if anyone has any opinion which would be better for 7 days; North or Southisland.
And please remember, this is with my son, so no fancy bars etc.

I would preferably take my son on SQ and NZ and use AC or UA only if necessary.
The other option would be to use - am I allowed to say "One World" here?!

[yvrcnx]

I did call NZ in the meanwhile and for those of you who are interested here are some prices I got.
Routing I asked for was: YVR-AKL-SYD-SIN-YVR in Y
Adult: CAN$ 3,709.00 +++++
Child: CAN$ 2,782.00 +++++

From my viewpoint not really worth it.
I will most likely buy a YVR-AKL return with stopover in SIN on the way back and buy seperate tickets for the other sectors.

I am still open to suggestions for places that are a must see in Australia and New Zealand, but maybe that should be in a different thread.

[9V-JKL]

We would prefer to fly out of YVR but other US Westcoast city would also be o.k. if there is a big difference in pricing.

AFAIK, this fare for North America is only applicable to YVR, SEA, HNL, SFO and LAX. I'm not sure if a C$ fare could be different from a US$ fare.

[Kyo]

May I suggest the Gold Coast in Queensland (nearest airport served by Star Alliance being BNE: Brisbane by Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand).

So, after AKL, consider BNE.

I'm sure your son will love the various theme parks like Dreamworld, Movieworld, Seaworld and the beach.

I'm biased since I'm from Brissie, but for a great family/father-son bonding session, I've always thought theme parks are great. Great all-round destination, the Gold Coast. Plus if you're travelling after end-March, you'll get to try SQ's new A330 on the BNE-SIN route.

Intra-Australia flights on Virgin Blue (DJ) and Qantas can also be had for not all that much, if booked in advance (DJ). So you can always come back to BNE, and maybe put in a surface sector in between (in which case you could always go to MEL or SYD first).

[Kiwi]

Air NZ also flies to OOL from AKL, WLG and CHC Indeed they will have a lounge there.

Edited to add (for example see trip report first day NZ flies Coolangatta Gold Coast).

[yvrcnx]

May I suggest the Gold Coast in Queensland (nearest airport served by Star Alliance being BNE: Brisbane by Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand).

So, after AKL, consider BNE.

I'm sure your son will love the various theme parks like Dreamworld, Movieworld, Seaworld and the beach.

I'm biased since I'm from Brissie, but for a great family/father-son bonding session, I've always thought theme parks are great. Great all-round destination, the Gold Coast. Plus if you're travelling after end-March, you'll get to try SQ's new A330 on the BNE-SIN route.

Intra-Australia flights on Virgin Blue (DJ) and Qantas can also be had for not all that much, if booked in advance (DJ). So you can always come back to BNE, and maybe put in a surface sector in between (in which case you could always go to MEL or SYD first).

Thank you Kyo. I am embarassed to say that I didn't even know there were themeparks in Australia, which is actually really great.
My son loves flying and is very excited about anything to do with aviation - really have no idea where he got that from :-). We both really would like to fly the new A380 and thought of flying on SQ to SYD and go from there or even on QF from LAX but that seems more irregular at this time.
One concern I had that if we are in Australia or New Zealand, I know I would really enjoy it but wasn't sure if my son would but now with this new information of themeparks, I can easily combine some nature experiences with a day or two in a themepark.

Is there a place you would or would not recommend to spend the Christmas and New Years days?
Preferably something not to crowded?

[Kyo]

Thanks Kiwi for pointing out that Coolangatta is also served - it is nearer than BNE. I find some of the cheapest car rentals however to be in Brisbane city centre (try Abel rent-a-car, something like $29 a day for 7 days, which is pretty decent, methinks). That way, yvrcnx can do the short 45-min drive between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, whilst getting to see sights in both cities simultaneously.

@ yvrcnx: One option is to land in BNE / OOL first, then make your way down to Sydney to try the A380. I'm sure your son will love that.

The Gold Coast may be famous for its surf, sun and fun-filled themeparks, but often overlooked for its hinterland - great hills, little mountainside villages, treetop walks (Google for O'Reilly's guesthouse). I've camped there before and quite enjoyed it! So lots of nature to take in also. Other nearby places worth visiting include Point Danger and even Coolum. There's also Byron Bay (most eastern point of Australia), which is great and less commercialised than the Gold Coast. Another option is the Sunshine Coast, which is definitely alot less crowded than the Gold Coast. In Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, you'll find Underwater World, where they have a great marine display and even a 'touching pool' for kids to feed/touch the skin of various harmless sea animals, e.g. starfish etc. Very popular for the young/old alike! Also, one of my favourite fish and chips in Queensland just down the road...

As you're planning to go in summer, be prepared for a very hot month. We mostly spend Christmas and New Year's there roasting meats (and some bonza sausages) on the barbie. Many public park benches / bbq areas, so you will be just fine if you go a little bit early. Or just get a disposable set from the nearby grocery stores (a popular item), shouldn't cost more than $15-20AUD.

You've got a lot of time left to plan, so if you need any pointers on the Brissie part of things, let us know (and also for Sydney, incidentally)..

[yvrcnx]

Thank you both KYO and KIWI.
There is some really great information and I feel even more inspired to do this trip to Australia now.
Since we might only have 3 weeks, I might focus on Australia during this trip and do New Zealand on another one.
You have both given me so many pointers and ideas that this might just give us enough time for Australia and maybe a few days stopover in Singapore.

I promised my son that I would take him to SIN this year.

Kyo, we are actually planning to rent a motorhome from KEA for a couple of weeks.
There seem to be so many Holiday Parks in Australia which I found great for kids.
We did a 3 week RV trip through Europe last year and it was great as every campground we stayed in had, pools, waterslides and lots to do for us grown ups but also for kids. It seems Australia is geared that way too.

I'll keep you all posted.

My appologies for going off topic a little (ok. a lot )
Thanks again.

[Guy Betsy]

I did call NZ in the meanwhile and for those of you who are interested here are some prices I got.
Routing I asked for was: YVR-AKL-SYD-SIN-YVR in Y
Adult: CAN$ 3,709.00 +++++
Child: CAN$ 2,782.00 +++++

From my viewpoint not really worth it.
I will most likely buy a YVR-AKL return with stopover in SIN on the way back and buy seperate tickets for the other sectors.

I am still open to suggestions for places that are a must see in Australia and New Zealand, but maybe that should be in a different thread.

TAs in YVR can get you a fare on SQ to Australia/NZ for less than C$2K. Call the asian TAs in Richmond or Chinatown.