We’re heading 12,000 miles south for two weeks of Australian adventure! Follow along as our family explores Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and Sydney, experiencing early summer down under, celebrating Thanksgiving with family, and discovering everything from beaches and rainforests to iconic city landmarks. This post kicks it all off!

The Before and The Now

We are leaving for The Land Downunder in just over a week. Let’s look at the research that went into booking the trip and what we are doing leading up to takeoff.

Booking

The research as to selecting Australia was done for us when my brother moved there with his wife (who is originally from Australia). The country has always been high on our list, so we are excited to have it now as a “visit family destination”!

When we first sat down and looked at what dates would work best, we agreed that over Christmas would be great. We would make it a two-week trip and include Sydney at New Year’s. Well, after many different avenues of searching, mostly via Google Flights, it was clear that Christmas was going to be very expensive. We switched it up and decided to bring American Thanksgiving to Australia and make it a late November trip. Flights were half the price. Dates set.

As you may know, as of writing this I still hold Delta’s highest earned status of Diamond. The only real reason that matters here is that I have four Global Upgrade Certificates, allowing me to book economy and be upgraded one level. In this case it’s Delta Premium Select, which is one cabin below lay-flat business class. It is similar to a domestic flight’s first class with a few extras such as a built-in footrest that will give you the “feeling” of laying down.

Of course, I wanted that upgrade and I was willing to pay extra to fly Delta for it, in addition to the fact I’ll earn miles, and I do feel they are a superior airline (this is not sponsored). That said, I did my due diligence and made sure I was getting a good deal. Delta was the best price overall anyway. Win! The route would take us from Boston to LA, then LA to Sydney. Nothing to Brisbane was showing nine months out. I would then book a separate flight to Brisbane. This flight to Sydney was coming in around $1,300 a person with all taxes. Booked!

Change of Plans!

Things always come up in life and having a plan B, C, D is important when booking a big trip. This change was a bit unique. We moved from New England to coastal North Carolina this summer. Our itinerary was out of Boston. This isn’t a major concern because if moving it would cost too much or I would lose my upgrades, we would just fly to Boston a day before and continue as normal. My new home airport is ILM (Wilmington, NC). The cost from there was much higher. After some digging I found that our best bet was driving the 6 hours the day before to Atlanta and leaving from there (Delta’s largest hub). That turned out great! The flight dropped to $1,100 and Brisbane now showed available! Our flight is now ATL>>LAX>>BNE and a return of SYD>>LAX>>ATL. We are going to explore Sydney on the final few days, but more to come on that later.

Just for my own information, I re-priced leaving from Boston and it was $1,050 into Brisbane! This reaffirms the fact that you should book early but keep checking back!

I booked a hotel in Atlanta for the night of 11/20 and we are booked!

November is somewhat the off season for Brisbane has it is starting to get very warm!

VISA

Visiting Australia is not as easy as popping up to Canada or even down to the Caribbean. You need a VISA to enter. It was an easy application directly from their app and approved in minutes. Here is where we started:

https://usa.embassy.gov.au/visas-and-migration

Hotels Planned

We are staying with family, but here are the few hotels we booked for the few nights alone:

W Brisbane

Pier One Sydney Harbour, Autograph Collection

We’ve got everything locked in and are ready for takeoff! From finding the best flight deals to navigating VISA requirements and booking our hotels, the planning phase is complete. Now it’s just a matter of counting down the days until we’re wheels up.

Next Up: Chapter 2 – Welcome to Australia! →