ROUTE SUGGESTIONS

Hi,

At the end of Oct. we plan to fly from Vancouver,Ca to Australia. However, the long flight we would like to avoid by including a stop over or two. At this moment we have not done much research.

We have spent time in Fiji and would entertain other islands that feature different cultural activities. Seems most flights hit the big tourist spots and maybe we can fly from Fiji to such a spot.

Secondly, to avoid long flights we are willing to fly to Asia and work our way down to Australia.

Somewhere in the trip we would like to get to Bali and make our way to Flores to see the Komoda dragons!

As you can read our plans are wide open and any ideas will help us to narrow our plans.

If Bali is your fixed target, you should indeed fly via Asia, rather than the Pacific Islands. You could look into flying to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore (maybe as stopovers on a flight to AU with Malaysian or Singapore Airlines), from where Bali is a cheap, short hop away served by several budget airlines like Air Asia or Jetstar.

If you are not too concerned about the cost and want to combine both the Pacific islands and Bali in what is something of a logical-looking routing, you could also look into flying via Hawaii and Micronesia to the Philippines, then on to Bali (possibly via Jakarta).

Or just fly to AU via Fiji, from where a lot of other South Pacific island nations are accessible, and then do Bali as a side-trip from AU. Bali's a hugely popular destination for Aussies so there are lots of flights, but they are not cheap-cheap.

Perhaps a Circle Pacific Fare could be worthwhile for you to combine the South Pacific, AU and SE Asia - though again, these are quite pricey.

Don't know if this is still offered, but I took Air New Zealand from Vancouver to Auckland, with 3 free stops in between, so I chose Australia, Fiji and Hawaii. The other destination available for the stopover was Tahiti, which I should have chosen over Hawaii, but I blew it. Mind you this was several years ago so things might have changed.

Edited by: Watsoff

If you want to visit Bali, I think it makes more sense if you fly from Vancouver to Australia through Asia (either Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Bangkok). From the Asian hubs I quoted you can easily fly to Denpasar (Bali) with low cost airlines like Air Asia or Jetstar.

You can also fly from Bali to Australia with Air Asia.

Another option could be to fly from Vancouver to Seoul. Once in Seoul, you can fly to Bali with Air Aisa and from Bali to Australia with Air Asia too.

If you are not too concerned about the cost and want to combine both the Pacific islands and Bali in what is something of a logical-looking routing, you could also look into flying via Hawaii and Micronesia to the Philippines, then on to Bali (possibly via Jakarta).

If you consider that option, be aware that Philippine Airlines has flights from Manila to Denpasar so you wouldn't need to backtrack till Jakarta.

If you are still considering a Pacific island, have a look at Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Air NZ flies a non-stop flight from LAX to Rarotonga (arrives dawn on Monday morning local time), with the Rarotonga to Sydney non-stop flight departures on Friday afternoons.

Rarotonga is an excellent short stay destination due to its small size, great infrastructure and beautiful beaches. Good transport options make this destination easy to get around. Rarotonga has a central Pacific location, the currency is NZD, plenty of accommodation options from low-key beachfront studios to plush mansions. Dining options include cheap eats to candle-light gourmet. Something for everyone in other words, and somewhere else to think about for a tropical stopover. October on Rarotonga is especially lovely with the scent of spring flowers in the air. Good for hiking too before the heat of summer takes over. Good snorkelling, swimming and kayaking off the beachfront.

One route you might like to look at for your return trip would take you from Sydney, Australia to Noumea, New Caledonia (Air Calin). From there you could visit Port Vila, Vanuatu (Air Calin or Air Vanuatu) and then on to Fiji and back to Canada.

Hi,

Thanks. I like the detailed replies. The suggestions will give us a few places to start our planning! More then I was hoping for. Again I like the concrete facts given.