Travel for the Over 30s

Well you have probably all read multiple times - to get the best deal you have to book and pay weeks, if not months in advance. I’ve done it myself - booked as early as August to get flight home for Christmas.

Today I had an interesting experience - I needed to get my partner a ticket from Perth to New Zealand ASAP due to a family emergency. I went online thinking the worst i.e. up to A$1200 each way. After all last year standard peak fares were in the A$800 one way range for Perth/New Zealand. At 10am I wanted a flight that would get him home by tomorrow - I was prepared to pay.

But I didn’t have to -  I got a flight on the midnight special connecting via Melbourne for a 9am flight to New Zealand - total cost (including the credit card fee) from Qantas? A$595! I could have chosen any of the flights tomorrow that connect to NZ - three or four options.

And over the next week every day had at least one flight combo which was less than A$650- extraordinary. Not good for the airline industry but excellent for anyone who needs a flight in a hurry.

Not sure whether to take the all inclusive bus tour which promises 13 countries in 15 days or the tour that is based in one region from where you take a more in depth look of one part of Europe? Want to catch the highlights of Europe without the hassles of driving on one of the world’s most crowded continents?

Then you need to think again - and maybe think specifically about river cruises. Long before the invention of the internal combustion engine and freeways, rivers were the world’s first super highways. Europe’s great cities all share one thing in common - they are  are built on major waterways - think of Paris and the Seine, London and the Thames, Vienna and the Danube. That’s why river cruising is the ideal way to see Europe.

Compared with planning a European bus tour, river cruising has huge advantages. Rivers are the heart of European cities - you can be guaranteed that your floating hotel will be located central to the action - not hours away in the suburbs. There is no requirement to be packed up and ready for the bus at 6am. Rather than having to choose between a leisurely lunch and sightseeing, you combine both on a river cruise where boats usually feature dining rooms with panoramic views. You aren’t going to spend hours of precious vacation time stuck in traffic - well OK you will probably pass the odd lock - but that’s a lot more interesting than being stuck in a Parisian traffic jam (trust me on this).

Compared to ocean cruising, river cruising comes up trumps for anyone who suffers from seasickness- no waves, no getting your “sea legs” required on river boats.  Its also great for singles or those just looking at connecting with others in the group - boats have to fit through the canals and locks of Europe so normally carry only between 100-300 passengers. Tours tend to be all-inclusive including “shore excursions” - which are often walking tours right from the dock. One thing that you won’t want to leave behind are good walking shoes - forget the on-board gym - try walking a few miles on cobblestones - excellent for your legs and cardio-vascular health!

With the collapse of communism European river cruising has expanded east. River cruising is a supremely practical way to visit Russia and Ukraine without having to deal with the notoriously poor quality of local restaurants and hotels. Both St Petersburg and Moscow are river cities - conveniently located about a week’s cruising apart. The truly adventurous can extend their tour all the way to the Crimea and the Black Sea.

A river cruise boat are not the huge floating palaces of their ocean-going counterparts. They do not have the space to offer climbing walls, full-size auditoriums, 21 different restaurant and multiple swimming pools. Instead the focus is on the countries that you are cruising through. Most ships offer a single dining room with free seating and an informal dress code. There is invariably an open deck for the best view and also normally a library and several other lounges. There will also be guest speakers talking about the local countries and cultures that you are traveling through. Ships will often sail at night to ensure that you have the best opportunity to explore ports during the day either with a tour or just by yourself.

The best part of river cruising has to be that you have unpack once scenario. I’ve never met anyone who enjoys the constant packing and unpacking of a typical tour - so on a river cruise you get to do it exactly once. Suites are comfortable and most newer boats offer balconies and opening windows. There is no such thing as an inside cabin on a river boat - they are just too narrow!

I do have one major problem with choosing an European river cruise though - which one to try first - I have the impression they could become extremely addictive!

This comes under the strange but true banner. I live in Australia - its the middle of winter, there is a bumper ski season happening in eastern Australia and New Zealand, and there are some nice airfare deals to the local ski slopes - well not that local to Perth - but within 8 hour’s flying time.

This post is not about Australian and New Zealand ski resorts. Instead I opened this weekend’s local newspaper to be bombarded with a “feature” - as they love to call advertorials in mainstream media - on skiing in the French Alps - weird enough when you consider that it is high summer in France at the moment.

But it got weirder - this was about life coaching on the ski fields. No not in a quaint village located near the fields, actually while skiing - you go skiing with your life coach - and solve all your personal problems.  I don’t know about you but my day-to-day problems of issues with procrastination and inability to care enough about my fashion sense - aren’t the same as the one’s I have on the ski slope - which is all about my inability to ski around trees, not into them and unsurpassed rage at the ability of the average European 5-year old to out-ski me. However if you think the two go together check out Pollen Brook’s website - though I can’t find the specific package mentioned re life coaching and skiing - maybe they are just trying it out on the Australian market first?

It gets cold in Australia - a point lost on many overseas visitors. In Perth its warm enough to swim in the ocean from November to April but today it will be the coldest night of the year 2C - after a maximum of 14C OK its not Canadian cold but its not weather to wander around in shorts and sandles - unless you are a British tourist of course!

In fact the ski season is great this year in Australia with Thredbo, NSW and the Victorian snow coverage -  not a feature of every ski season in Australia despite the best efforts of the ski industry’s spin department.

Mind you if you have the right gear i.e. warm clothes - this is a fantastic time to visit the outback - few snakes and the best star  gazing conditions because of the clear cold air.

4WDing is a lot easier too when the ground is cool its a lot firmer than in the summer. Just remember your hats and gloves! And if you do hit rain remember you will be stuck for a few days!