Tag: Australia Travel

View All Tags

/ / / / / / /

Ellen Pulls an Oprah and Sends Her Audience to Australia

January 21, 2013 at 10:15 AM | by | Comments (0)

Seems that when anyone scores tickets to some talk show, the chance they walk away with swag are high. About a week ago, Ellen played the perfect philanthropic TV personality and gave her audience a huge trip to Australia as part of her own trip down under in March.

We've seen it all before, talk show host announces a free trip to Australia and the audience goes absolutely bananas with screams of joy and free-flowing tears. The scene wasn't too dissimilar to Oprah's announcement in 2010.

more ›

/ / / / /

72 Hours in Melbourne: Loving the Laneways

January 17, 2013 at 1:18 PM | by | Comments (0)

Yesterday, we gave you a birds-eye view over Melbourne and today our feet are firmly planted on the ground. With only a day remaining, let's explore the little nooks of the city: the iconic laneways!

First, a little background. The city is considered the culture capital of Australia and with that comes the love of fashion, food and a general joie de vivre. The weather can get quite chilly here (the mercury, abnormally, hovered around 75 degrees for our visit), so the style is that of more Northern Hemisphere flare.

more ›

/ / / / /

72 Hours in Melbourne: Hopping in a Hot Air Balloon

January 16, 2013 at 5:32 PM | by | Comment (1)

Yesterday we filled our belly all around Melbourne and, at the end, hinted about getting high. Today we continue to explore while avoiding any hint of the Australian Open, since there's so much more to this city than tennis.

Our alarm went off earlier than we would like to admit, all in prep for a morning filled with flying high over the city via a hot air balloon. Since the balloons are very dependent on weather patterns, the early morning is the best time to head out and enjoy fresh air from in the air.

more ›

/ / / / / /

72 Hours in Melbourne: From Meatballs to Mexican Food

January 15, 2013 at 12:14 PM | by | Comments (0)


This might be the world's largest group handle

Last week we headed down to Melbourne, Australia's second city, for a quick trip chock-full of revisiting old favorites and picking up new ones. Our trip can be considered a whirlwind tour as we were on the ground for just about 72 hours, keeping our explorations non stop.

Typically at this time of year, the city has one thing on its mind: tennis! You see, the Australian Open started this week and has quickly engulfed the city in a tennis fever that is hard to shake. Let's explore what the city has to offer besides tennis.

more ›

/ / / / /

The Little Things: Unique Orchids in Queensland Rail Cabins

Where: Australia
January 14, 2013 at 3:12 PM | by | Comment (1)

In the midst of the bustle of travel, it's all too easy to overlook the details. We're talking about special touches others have stressed over just so you can enjoy a unique experience, whether you know it or not. Every so often we'll highlight The Little Things like this, so now you will know.

The Little Thing: Queensland Rail's Cooktown Orchid spray in the overnight sleeper cabins.

Boarding a train with plans to share some stories with fellow travelers in the club car and then retire to your berth is super glamorous as it is, but when we walked into our cabin to find a delicate orchid spray in a bud vase, it put a smile on our face and added to air of retro travel glamor.

more ›

/ / / / / / /

The Partnership Between Qantas and Emirates Clears First Hurdle

December 20, 2012 at 12:11 PM | by | Comments (0)


Ignore the obviously photoshopped A380 above

Way back in September, we briefly talked about a huge airline partnership between Qantas and Emirates. Back then the deal was still in its infancy and only the proposed benefits were released and, of course, the entire project was waiting for the respective Governments to approve the coupling.

Just today the first major hurdle was cleared. The ACCC, the Aussie Government office that wants to make sure there is due competition in the market, has given their initial thumbs-up for the partnership. Now, the two airlines can move forward with some mutual love. Furthermore, Emirates' CEO clarified the reason for this whole joint partnership, saying, "We don't want to enter a global alliance".

more ›

/ / / / / /

Five Awesome Retro Travel Ads for Australia

Where: Australia
December 13, 2012 at 10:53 AM | by | Comments (0)

We often find ourselves rummaging through boxes in antique shops with an eye out for vintage travel ads or memorabilia. Heck, it's even fun to browse through some replicas of vintage posters just to peek back into time and see how tourism was actually portrayed and marketed. In all honesty, this may be a little obsession of our own.

Australians have always been an adventurous bunch, probably because they are so freaking far from everywhere else and it takes getting on a plane to see anything outside of the nation. As for the continent itself, Australia has been the destination for beach-goers and surfers for many years and it's not a surprise to see the beach culture embraced in travel ads.

more ›

/ / / / / / /

Domaine Chandon: A Champagne Surprise in Southern Australia

December 12, 2012 at 5:05 PM | by | Comments (0)

If you're not one to pass up a flute of bubbly then you probably know the name Moët & Chandon, the 250+ year old French house that churns out some of the best Champagne on the planet. Well, the sparkles are not limited to the French region with the expansion of the house into other grape-growing regions across the globe. Aside from the vineyards in Napa Valley, Argentina and Brazil, we bring you the grapes of Australia.

Back in the 1960s, M&C began to explore areas for taking their operations abroad. In 1986, they settled on a little plot of land just about 90 minutes north of Melbourne in the Yarra Valley. The site was a former dairy and housed some of the best soil for ideal viticulture. It's now home to Domaine Chandon. Along with an expansive variety of non-bubbly wines, the winery is a certified producer of the méthode traditionelle sparkling wines with a regional flare.

more ›

/ / / / / / /

Even Australian Police Hate Apple Maps

Where: Australia
December 11, 2012 at 10:50 AM | by | Comment (1)

We've already talked about the problems with Apple Maps and how we miss Google Maps as a standard feature on our iPhone. The former has renamed cities, created new land masses and even directed us down some thru roads that ended abruptly with a dead end sign. Even Apple sacked the guy who created the application last month.

Now, Australian police have gotten involved with their hatred for the navigation app. No, you wont get arrested for using the maps, but you might get lost and they don't want that to happen.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

Count Your Winnings: The Four Giant Casinos of Australia

Where: Australia
December 10, 2012 at 12:58 PM | by | Comments (0)

Travelers are flocking to Australia to do more than pet a kangaroo or snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. Apparently the majority of tourists are going Down Under to scream "Winner, winner, Chicken Dinner!" Yeah, we're talking about placing big bets.

Gambling and casinos are legal in Australia and the pastime has become part of the fabric of the culture. Think of it as a smaller-scaled Vegas, but an entire country. Just like their counterparts in the US desert, many casinos in Oz are mega-resorts that attract the entire family, but with areas dedicated to high-rollers wanting more than the thrill of winning (or losing).

more ›

/ / / / / / /

The Top Five 2013 Festivals to Hit in Australia

Where: Australia
December 6, 2012 at 1:02 PM | by | Comments (0)


10 Days on the Island - Ringing the Changes

In a nation that has perfect weather almost year round, there's always reason to celebrate. If you're planning on heading down under next year, we recommend keeping this guide to the best Australian festivals the nation has to offer.

· We've talked about the famous Sydney Mardi Gras before, so if you have a need for fabulous debauchery, check it out. The city offers much more than glitter with Vivid Sydney where the buildings and cityscape become the backdrop to colored light to bring the city alive. The festival features installation light-art pieces from late May to the middle of June.

more ›

/ / / / /

We Haz a Sad: Qantas Unplugs Their In-Flight WiFi

Where: Australia
December 4, 2012 at 12:49 PM | by | Comments (2)

Booo. Some not so great news today from our pals down under, Australian Business Traveller...

While many airlines are scrambling to outfit their planes with WiFi, it comes with great sadness that we announce an airline that has stopped providing their passengers with the luxury to surf the web while surfing the clouds. After about 9 months, Qantas has deemed their trial of WiFi a failure and will not be offering on their flights between Australia and the US.

The Red Roo sited low utilization issues for axing the web browsing on their A380s to and from Sydney and Melbourne. The most interesting point of the story is the fact that they pulled the plug on the trail with very little notification to the public (unlike the launch) and just this week released a statement.

more ›

Previous
Use of this Site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (effective 3/21/12) and Privacy Policy (effective 3/21/12). © Condé Nast. Your California Privacy Rights. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.
Ad Choices