Tagged Pages Archive | Australasia
2023
4
September
The Old Hawaii + Australia For Under ~$1000 CAD Roundtrip Trick
4
September
Breaking up a trip to Australia with an extended stop in Hawaii is a popular way to ease the long journey. It's just over a third of the way there.
Sometimes it's also significantly cheaper to buy 2 separate roundtrip tickets: One from Vancouver to Hawaii, and one from Hawaii to Australia.
It can cost a lot less than a single roundtrip ticket to Australia.
In this blog post I'll go through a working example using some very cheap Hawaii-Australia fares that are available at the moment.
Update
The example dates mentioned under 'How This Works' are outdated now, but here are some currently available cheaper flights between Hawaii and Australia.
You may want to read through 'How This Works' below and then come back to this update.
The goal is basically to book 2 separate roundtrip flights: A cheap flight between Vancouver and Honolulu (easy to find) and a cheap flight between Honolulu and Australia (not as easy to find, but I've posted some here).
Google Flights: Honolulu to Sydney, Australia
^^ Dec 7, 2023 to Jan 22, 2024 is $364 CAD roundtrip.
^^ dates in February 2024 for $418 CAD roundtrip.
Google Flights: Honolulu to Melbourne, Australia
^^ dates in October 2023 and February 2024 for $453 CAD roundtrip.
- In Google Flights, click on the departure date box to open up the calendar view.
- Adjust the trip length at the bottom.
- Look for the dates that are in the $300s or $400s CAD roundtrip.
How This Works
The example dates below are outdated, but this blog post may still be useful for learning how this works.
First we look for a roundtrip flight from Vancouver to Honolulu...
Flight 1: Vancouver to Honolulu, Hawaii
A Google Flights search shows flights in December and January from Vancouver to Honolulu, Hawaii on WestJet for $383 CAD roundtrip including taxes.
Flight 2: Honolulu to Sydney or Melbourne, Australia
This is the flight that's really the key. You'd probably want to book this flight before you booked the Vancouver-Honolulu flight.. It's a lot harder to find a cheap flight from Honolulu to Sydney and dates are usually limited.
Jetstar is always the #1 suspect when it comes to a cheap flight from Hawaii to Australia. Every now and then they offer up a gem.
Right now Jetstar has some cheap flights in January, February and March 2024 starting at $368 CAD roundtrip including taxes. (Note: When you go from Google Flights to the Jetstar website, the prices are in $USD.).
As a general rule you want your Hawaii-Australia flight to be around $600 CAD roundtrip or less to be worth doing this.
With Flight #1 we penciled in November 7 to November 26 as our potential dates for Vancouver to Honolulu and back.
So for Flight #2 from Honolulu to Sydney we could potentially book November 9 to November 23.
This gives us a few nights in Honolulu on the way there, and a few on the way back.
You can also occasionally find cheap flights from Honolulu to Melbourne, Australia in the $300 or $400s CAD roundtrip. (Apr 2 to Apr 16 is currently $410 CAD roundtrip)
Caveats & The Math
- Jetstar only includes 7 kg (15 lbs) of carry-on luggage with their base price and no meals. If you want a more realistic price with 30 lbs of carry-on and meals, add around $270 CAD roundtrip. So it would really be around $600 CAD roundtrip for the flight from Honolulu to Sydney.
- Adding up the cost of the 2 roundtrip flights, ($362 + a more realistic $600, we get $962 CAD roundtrip for both flights..
For comparison a regular roundtrip flight from Vancouver to Sydney, Australia on Air Canada in November currently costs $2700 CAD.
Of course, as you probably realize, spending time in Honolulu is not free. A typical couple could easily spend $200/person per night for accommodation alone.
Our $1700 savings (per person) on flights would be considerably less after 5-6 nights in Honolulu.
So you really have to consider the stop in Hawaii to be a bonus addition of the vacation experience, and a nice place to get some rest, to be worth it.
- Your 2 roundtrip tickets have absolutely no association with each other. If something happens with one of the flights, the airline involved with the other flight has no responsibility to help you. This is why it's a good idea to give yourself at least a few days in Hawaii on both ends of the trip. If you cut it too close with say, just 1 night in Hawaii, you could be asking for trouble if there are any delays or cancellations.
Sign up for YVR Deals Alerts from Vancouver
Go to the Alerts Page to sign up for flight deal alerts by e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter.
Travellers from Vancouver also often sign up for alerts from Calgary and Toronto.
Join us in the YVR Deals Facebook Group
For live discussion of this deal, or to get some amazing travel advice (about anywhere) from your 107,000 fellow passengers in Vancouver, join us in the
YVR Deals Facebook Group.
^^^ click the 'Join Group' button when you arrive.
Hit Like if you like this deal! Click Share to show your friends on Facebook.
2023
3
September
Vancouver to Auckland, New Zealand or Sydney, Australia - $1006 to $1100s roundtrip including taxes [Nonstop Flights]
3
September
2023
14
April
Vancouver to Auckland, New Zealand - $1072 CAD roundtrip including taxes [Nonstop]
14
April
2022
20
July
Vancouver to Sydney, Brisbane, or Melbourne, Australia - $874 CAD roundtrip including taxes | add Fiji for $100
20
July
2020
12
August
Vancouver to Papeete, Tahiti - $987 CAD roundtrip
12
August
2019
4
February
Vancouver to Melbourne, Sydney, or Brisbane, Australia - $774 to $785 CAD roundtrip
4
February
2018
3
December
Vancouver to Sydney, Brisbane, or Melbourne, Australia - $575 to $685 CAD roundtrip
3
December
2018
12
November
Vancouver to Melbourne, Sydney, or Brisbane, Australia - $813 to $882 CAD roundtrip
12
November
2018
9
November
Vancouver to Papeete, Tahiti - $958 CAD roundtrip including taxes | new record
9
November
2018
21
August
Vancouver to Adelaide, Australia - $872 CAD roundtrip including taxes
21
August
Sites