5 awesome trips you need to take in 2021
The world may no longer be our oyster in the COVID pandemic but there’s no question our vast backyard is now very much open for business.
The world may no longer be our oyster in the COVID pandemic but there’s no question our vast backyard is very much open for business and thanks to a raft of air routes more accessible than ever.
In the last year, Qantas and Jetstar have added no less than 34 new routes, and Virgin Australia six, putting a multitude of destinations within a single flight of our biggest cities.
Although some are seasonal routes, most are year-round, providing unprecedented opportunities for day trips, weekend getaways and longer stays everywhere from tourist meccas to less well known gems.
Ski fields
For the first time, a weekend at the ski fields is a possibility for not only Sydney but Brisbane residents as well, with Qantas starting direct flights from the capitals to Cooma from July 1.
The services on a QantasLink Dash 8 will operate three times a week from Sydney and twice a week from Brisbane, providing easy access to Thredbo, Perisher Valley and Charlotte Pass for about $179 one way. Despite being overlooked by many Australian ski enthusiasts in favour of New Zealand during the southern hemisphere winter, the Snowy Mountain resorts offer scores of ski runs up to 5.9km in length, dozens of lifts, and a satisfying mix of green, blue and black runs (or beginner, intermediate and difficult).
In a nutshell, Thredbo has the longest runs, Perisher has the largest number of runs, and Charlotte Pass has the highest altitude.
Brisbanites will also have the option of jumping on a plane to the Victorian Alps over winter, with three flights a week to Albury Airport, a two-hour drive from Mount Hotham and Falls Creek.
Both resorts boast world class skiing and snowboarding, ski-in, ski-out accommodation plus a wide range of cafes and restaurants to refuel for the day ahead.
Brisbane-Albury fares start from $239 one way.
Winter warmers
Thawing out in sunny Queensland should be much easier this winter, thanks to a raft of new non-stop flights. Pent-up demand, particularly out of Victoria following last year’s marathon 113-day lockdown, saw all airlines rushing to add services to Cairns, the Whitsundays, and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.
Jetstar has begun flying Hobart to the Gold Coast and Melbourne to Hamilton Island while Qantas is carrying frozen Canberrans to the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Cairns. Virgin Australia is doing seasonal flights between Melbourne-Hamilton Island and Sydney to Proserpine – the step off point to the Whitsundays. As the home of 74 mostly inhabited islands, and part of the Great Barrier Reef, the Whitsundays is a year-round attraction with its glorious mix of white sandy beaches, dense rainforest and laidback holiday vibe.
Other options for a sun-filled escape, include Jetstar’s Sydney-Hervey Bay jaunts, or Qantas’s new Melbourne-Sunshine Coast route, which deposits travellers within minutes of Marcoola, Mudjimba and Coolum beaches and just a short distance from evergreen Noosa Heads.
Airfares range from $189 for Sydney-Proserpine and $191 for Canberra-Gold Coast, to $437 for Canberra-Cairns and $376 for Melbourne to Hamilton Island.
Family holiday favourites
Forget the marathon family road trip, fraught with fights over music and toilet breaks. In a strategic move, airlines have flocked to jump on the “retro holiday” bandwagon, adding services and frequency to perennial holiday hotspots like Port Macquarie, Merimbula, Coffs Harbour and Ballina-Byron Bay.
Since April 1, Qantas has operated a two-hour direct flight from Melbourne to Coffs Harbour, offering an appealing alternative to 14-hours of driving, and does the distance from Brisbane to Coffs Harbour in 60-minutes, instead of 5-hours by road.
Perhaps best known as the home of the Big Banana and beautiful beaches, Coffs Harbour also boasts a number of wildlife attractions including the dolphin marine conservation park and muttonbird island.
Other new flight options for those hankering for a change of pace, including Brisbane-Port Macquarie, Sydney or Melbourne to Merimbula and Canberra to Ballina-Byron Bay.
Airfares from Brisbane to Port Macquarie start from around $170 one way, and from $169 one way for Brisbane-Coffs Harbour, and $189 for Melbourne to Coffs Harbour.
Services to the beachfront haven of Merimbula start from $190 out of Sydney and Melbourne, and Canberra to Ballina-Byron Bay from $195 but only until April 30 when Qantas will pull off that route.
Country jaunts
Being stuck at home for weeks or months on end, may have triggered one of biggest travel trends of the past year – rediscovering Australia’s rural heart. Seeing the sudden desire for open space and fresh air, Qantas added direct flights to the jewels of Australia’s food bowl, including Orange, Griffith and Mildura. The daily service to Griffith, three flights a week to Orange and four services to Mildura have substantially increased capacity into the towns, now enjoying a 21st century renaissance.
Along with country style hospitality, the towns offer farm and vineyard tours, food and wine festivals and craft markets equal to anything bigger cities can muster.
Other new direct options being offered by airlines to meet the demand to explore the countryside, include Brisbane-Tamworth, Sydney-Launceston, Adelaide-Mount Gambier and Melbourne-Wagga Wagga.
Airfares for Sydney-Mildura start from $230 one way, and from $180 and $190 to Orange and Griffith respectively.
Offshore experiences
The opening of the trans-Tasman bubble on April 19 will have many Australians dusting off their passports for the first time in more than a year. To help spread the love, a couple of new routes into New Zealand have been scheduled by Qantas, including Cairns-Auckland and Gold Coast-Auckland.
Although other opportunities for quarantine-free overseas travel may be a way off, Norfolk Island offers the next best thing, as a remote Australian territory now accessible by Qantas flights out of Sydney and Brisbane. Despite some food supply issues in recent months, Norfolk Island never fails to wow visitors, with its namesake pine trees and jagged cliffs. The three-times a week flights have been scheduled for three-months, with fares starting from $390 ex-Brisbane and $412 from Sydney.
Sydney - Mildura
Brisbane - Tamworth
Sydney - Byron
Sydney - Orange
Brisbane - Port Macquarie
Canberra - Gold Coast
Gold Coast - Hobart JQ
Sydney - Merimbula
Sydney - Launceston
Perth - Hobart
Canberra - Sunshine Coast
Canberra - Cairns
Canberra - Hobart
Melbourne - Sunshine Coast
Sydney - Griffith
Melbourne - Newcastle
Melbourne - Merimbula
Melbourne - Mt Gambier
Melbourne - Albury
Melbourne - Wagga Wagga
Adelaide - Mount Gambier
Melbourne - Coffs
Brisbane - Coffs
Canberra - Ballina
Brisbane - Cooma
Sydney - Cooma
Brisbane - Albury
Melbourne - Busselton JQ
Melbourne - Hamilton Island JQ
Brisbane - Norfolk Island
Sydney - Norfolk Island
Auckland - Cains
Auckland - Gold Coast
Sydney - Hervey Bay JQ
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