There is lots of enthusiasm for travelling – both domestically in Australia and internationally. There doesn’t seem to be any one destination people are heading off worldwide. We have some organised people who have already booked components of their 2025 trip, mainly cruise bookings; people book that far in advance to secure the best deal and also the cabin they prefer.

Everyone is asking about airfares at the moment – understandably because there has been so much press coverage regarding Qantas. Currently demand outstrips supply because we don’t have as many flights operating, so this means airfares are higher than pre-pandemic levels. No doubt you’ve all seen the promotions – fly to Sydney for $100 and when you go online and look all the fares you see are $150 and higher. Why this happens is that airlines sell a few seats at the cheapest fare and when they have gone the price goes up and then they increase again as the aircraft fills up – this is all monitored by revenue control. Unless there is a remarkable increase in flights, I don’t see this changing in the foreseeable future. So, the best option is to fly off peak or shoulder seasons and to book early. Airlines generally require full payment within a few days of booking.
Cruise lines generally offer the best deals to those who book early. Usually these require a deposit and final payment 90 to 120 days prior to departure. This applies to both river and ocean cruises.
Another consideration with booking travel at the moment is to lock in things that you can in Australian dollars. Our dollar is currently on the slide, today buying US63c, Euro 60c and British pounds 52 pence. The foreign exchange markets are predicting that the dollar will slip further. This is also making travel more expensive because when you buy an airline ticket, accommodation, sightseeing, coach tour or a cruise they are all based in foreign currency and then converted to Australian dollars.
When you book through us, we can lock in the Australian dollar rate, you pay us in advance and there is no more to worry about. There are several websites that advertise prices in Australian dollars but in fact you pay in local currency, this could change quite a lot between booking and paying, so make sure you are aware if you are paying in local currency or a fixed Australian dollar amount.
If you are planning a trip in 2024, I would suggest you make contact with us soon so that we can start the planning process. The planning process is fun and we would be delighted to help and to share our experience and ideas to book your dreamed of holiday.