Category Archives: Australia holidays

Sleeper services may return on Sydney-Melbourne route after new trains arrive, as night patronage booms

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Exclusive: NSW government says it is open to all options even though new rolling stock, now due in 2026, will have reclining seats only

The permanent withdrawal of sleeper carriages on Sydney-Melbourne trains may be averted after new rolling stock enters service, thanks to the increasing popularity of intercity rail.

New Spanish-built trains ordered by the previous Coalition government were initially meant to enter service in January 2023, but are now not expected to be running before April 2026. As yet, there is no firm arrival date.

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Australia’s tourism body wants to lift working holiday visa age limit to 50

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Lifting age eligibility rules would help attract a wider range of skilled workers and professionals, Tourism and Transport Forum boss says

Australia’s peak tourism body wants the working holiday visa age cut-off to be lifted to provide a wider range of skilled workers and professionals.

The federal government is conducting a migration review to find ways of addressing worker shortages across Australia.

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Australian holidaymakers pay through the roof for accommodation as staff shortages bite

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Average hotel charges skyrocket amid rising demand for travel and dearth of hospitality workers

Holidaymakers in Australia are being warned they will pay more for accomodation as prices soar amid high demand, while crippling staff shortages are forcing some hoteliers to cap visitor numbers.

Data from travel booking website Trivago’s hotel price index, which analyses prices from over 400 booking sites, shows average hotel charges in Australia have skyrocketed since pandemic restrictions eased.

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‘We feel we’re not going to get really sick’: why the pandemic hasn’t dissuaded ocean cruisers

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Travel agents report Australians’ interest in cruising increasing 40% each month since June, with one analyst describing it as ‘the Teflon market for travel’

On 16 September, Miami-based Oceania Cruises, a luxury culinary-focused cruise company that is a division of Norwegian Cruise Lines, set an all-time, single-day booking record. It was driven by the introduction of its newest ship, Vista, due to take its first passengers in April 2023. Nearly half the available inventory of Vista’s inaugural season was sold in one day. These were new cash bookings, 30% of which came from people booking with the company for the first time.

It’s hard to know what this means for Australia. According to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), 1.34 million Australians took a cruise in 2018, one of the highest rates in the world by population, yet international travel is currently off limits.

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Outback camel trek: one woman’s 5,000km journey across Australia

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After working with camels for five years, 32-year-old Sophie Matterson decided to embark on an epic trek across Australia, with nothing but the animals she had come to love for company. She trained five of them to carry her provisions before beginning a 5,000km coast-to-coast walk from Australia’s western-most point in Shark Bay, Western Australia, to the eastern-most point in Byron Bay, New South Wales

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Nappy nomads: the couples who do #vanlife with babies on board

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As the vanlife community grows up, a new generation is being born into the bohemian travelling lifestyle. Doosie Morris meets the couples who take their lives, and babies, on the road

In October 2020, 34-year-old Karstan Smith had just returned from a 15,000km drive. Four months earlier the Newcastle native had set off in a 1968 Kombi panel van with his childhood sweetheart, Maxine, and their baby daughter, Zuri, and headed north. Within a week of being home, he’d thrown out 90% of his clothes, purchased a map of Australia and a box of thumbtacks and started planning the next family adventure.

For most parents the first year of family life is a wild enough ride in its own right, the very steepest of learning curves, never mind enduring the whole discombobulating scenario while living in the back of a van.

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Going anywhere: Australian mystery holidays are back from the 1990s

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Novelty trips to unknown destinations have become a surprise hit for airlines and travel agents, as all travel remains uncertain

There’s a lot to consider when booking a holiday these days. Will state borders stay open? What restrictions are in place? Is it safe? Is it worth the risk?

The uncertainty has many Australians staying close to home; it’s been a huge summer for regional road trips. But others are seizing new opportunities, strapping themselves into planes and hurtling into the great unknown.

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