Transpacific: Vancouver to Sydney

[northernphoenix]

DH has always had a visit to Australia on his bucket list; and we are now determined to investigate the HAL offerings.  Interested in anyone’s comments!!  TIA!

[RuthC]

Plan to spend some time in Australia before boarding the ship. It is an interesting country to visit, and worth the time. Besides, it's a long trip. Consider breaking it up by flying from home to an airport of your choice, take a day or two, then continue your flight to Australia.
Either way will give you time to adjust to the time difference and the journey. 

I suggest business class for your flight(s), or at minimum premium economy. I have flown both to New Zealand and Australia, and the extra room was worth every penny; my flights were from the east coast to LA, stay overnight, then non-stop to Auckland or Sydney. 

[northernphoenix]

28 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Plan to spend some time in Australia before boarding the ship. It is an interesting country to visit, and worth the time. Besides, it's a long trip. Consider breaking it up by flying from home to an airport of your choice, take a day or two, then continue your flight to Australia.
Either way will give you time to adjust to the time difference and the journey. 

I suggest business class for your flight(s), or at minimum premium economy. I have flown both to New Zealand and Australia, and the extra room was worth every penny; my flights were from the east coast to LA, stay overnight, then non-stop to Auckland or Sydney. 

We would use Vancouver as our point of departure, or arrival, depending upon the itinerary.  We do plan to extend our visit to Australia by cruise or landtour.  What did you choose?

[RuthC]

4 minutes ago, northernphoenix said:

We would use Vancouver as our point of departure, or arrival, depending upon the itinerary.  We do plan to extend our visit to Australia by cruise or landtour.  What did you choose?

My first trip Down Under was from home to LA, overnight, then a few days in Auckland NZ. Plenty to see there!
Cruise was around NZ, then over to Australia, and on to Indonesia, ending in Singapore. 

Second trip was the same start, but to Sydney; spent a couple of days enjoying the city. From there it was the South Pacific, with a trans-Pacific ending in Vancouver. I disembarked in Seattle, the day before just to make the flights home easier. 

Mobility (or, lack thereof), especially when I am traveling alone, has made it tough to do too much pre/post cruise. 

[USN59-79]

When returning, look at flights from Sydney to Honolulu then Honolulu to Home.  Good way to break up a very long flight.

Ray

[Cruise Junky]

I’ve done three land trips to Australia.  It’s big, but it’s easy to move around. Lots of flight availability.   Also keep in mind, you could sail Honolulu to Sydney if you wanted some extra time in Hawaii.   Princess, RCL and Celebrity do that route. 

[sciencewonk]

In Oct 2022 Noordam went from Vancouver to San Diego to Sydney with stops in Hawaii, French Polynesia, and other South Pacific islands.  We boarded in San Diego.  It was the second best travel highlight of my life (after going on safari in Kenya and climbing Mr. Kilimanjaro) and a trip I highly recommend.

 

I second the thoughts of others to fly business class back to Canada. As a transplant from California to New South Wales, I've been on the California to Sydney flights well over 20 times and would recommend business class even if you have to downgrade your ship cabin to afford it.

 

Spend time in Australia if you can, but keep in mind that Australia is roughly the same size as the continental US and it's about 4000 km from the east coast to the west coast. 

 

While in Sydney, make sure you take in the Blue Mountains.  If you like wine, some of the worlds best wineries are in the Hunter Valley, a couple of hours north of Sydney.  Tasmania is another great travel location.  I've been to Melbourne and Brisbane.  Melbourne was great, but I thought Brisbane was lacking in things to do and see.  I haven't been to Uluru, but have heard great things about it.

 

Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions.

[Ottawa traveller]

In 2016 I took the B2B Vancouver to Sydney and then the circumnavigation of Australia. At the end I flew to the centre and visited Uluru, King's Canyon and Alice Springs and then flew north to Darwin and then visited Lichfield Park and the Tiwi Islands. I flew home via Shanghai where I stayed for 4 days, breaking up the trip, and was able to get a cheaper business class flight home to Canada.  It was one of the best trips I have taken  over the last 50 years and it was easy because I didn't have to deal with long flights and jetlag. I did a similar thing when I went to New Zealand doing the Vancouver to Auckland cruise which included the North Island and then stayed in New Zealand for a month.  If you have the time and money, it is a wonderful way to see these far away countries.

[Sunset Viewers]

Check Air Tahiti between USA and NZ. Business class fares are cheaper and can include overnight in Tahiti to break up the long flight.

[whogo]

I may not be searching properly, but I only find Holland America cruises to Australia that depart from Seattle or San Diego, not from Vancouver.

 

I will give the opposing viewpoint on flights. I think you should fly back in one absolutely miserable haul rather than two miserable hauls that include schlepping your luggage to and from a hotel for a night or two at some midpoint and arriving two hour early for your next flight(s). You'll recover from flights once instead of twice.

 

Sydney to Toronto: about 23 hours   

Sydney to Honolulu: nonstop about 10 hours       Honolulu to Toronto: nonstop about 12 hours

Sydney to Los Angeles: nonstop about 14 hours        Los Angeles to Toronto: nonstop about 5 hours

 

We survived Aukland to the Midwest via Los Angeles and Chicago. You know your capabilities better than I do.

 

We sailed on Noordam from Vancouver to Aukland in 2018. We both thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. I blogged here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2592005-live-the-grouch-on-the-noordam-for-38-days-to-new-zealand-sept-30-2018/#comment-55903251

 

 

[Kc52]

We have done this flight from Vancouver and LA many times and toured around Australia and New Zealand 9 times. The flight time differences between departing YVR and LA are only a few hours difference...we preferred not to fly out of or into LA as this still adds on wait time between flights and getting around LA airport is not very easy. We agree - one long flight was more pleasurable than stop overs along the way. We travelled economy and were fine but if you require room in and around your seats, economy may not be the best choice. Most time we sat in economy seats at the back of the plane - two seats together with room around them. Flights from Vancouver to Sydney arrive in the early morning, giving you time to get to a hotel, brief rest, than explore. With respect to Australia, I would recommend flying into Sydney and staying in a hotel for 2-3 days before departing on a relaxing cruise from Sydney. This provides you with time to adjust to the time difference which is huge, and not get too overtired. There are many cruise options - around Australia's coast, over to New Zealand, Sydney to Vancouver or San Diego or even north to Singapore - depends on what time of year you choose to travel. Remember that our seasons (North America vs, Australia are reversed - summer here is winter there). We have visited Australia in all seasons and found the climate to be warm in the center, along the east coast,  and in the north (Darwin) - moderate in Tasmania. If you travel to New Zealand - great weather there as well, and a very scenic and interesting country. There is a lot to see around Sydney (Circular Quay, Hop On Hop Off bus, trains to the Blue Mountains area, short cruises around Sydney Harbour, the Bridge, Opera House, Bondi Beach, Hyde Park etc. etc.) but I would also recommend other cities such as Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne and Tasmania. Lots of history to explore throughout the country. We have also done a bus tour from Adelaide in the south, through wine country to Coober Pedy (opals), Ayers Rock and north to Darwin - a great naturalist with a bit of history tour. Our favourite cruise is the  circumnavigation of Australia - lots of beauty, Great Barrier Reef, different cultural sites, and history galore (Darwin WW2, penal sites in Sydney, Perth and Tasmania etc.). Good luck and have fun making a selection for this fabulous vacation. 

[Hlitner]

The last time we did it was from Seattle to Sydney (and than on to New Zealand) on the Oosterdam.  It was among our favorite cruises because we really enjoyed the slow pace (12 sea days out of the first 14 days) and island hopping across the south Pacific.  Our crossing (to Sydney) was 28 days.  

 

Trans Pacific cruises are certainly good for those of us who love sea days.  If you do not enjoy lots of sea days, then it is best to look for other itineraries.

 

Hank

[RMLincoln]

In 2013 we cruised HAL on Amsterdam from San Diego )or LA?) to Sydney, 21 days. DH doesn’t fly over 5 hours!  For us it was basically “luxurious” transportation.  Nice itinerary for a repositioning. Hawaii, Tahiti and Society Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia. Had a long stay in Australia going north to visit folks, then to Cairns for Great  Barrier reef and Korunda, and south to Melbourne, Great Ocean Road, and 10 days touring in Tasmania. Then a week back in Sydney before we cruised Celebrity to NZ. Stayed there a few weeks with camper van!  Flew NZAir to Tahiti, stayed there a few days, cruised Princess to Hawaii. Flew home. Trip of a lifetime!  16 weeks. 
 

In 2017 I flew back to Australia by myself for a funeral. Had a 8-hr layover in LAX, not a good way to prelude a 15 hr flight but you take what you can get last minute. The flight to Sydney was ok in economy for me.  I had a window seat, good for sleeping, not good for getting up. I slept 7 hrs, ate 3 meals, watched 2 movies. I used a good inflatable neck rest pillow that was excellent!  I took No Jet Lag tablets and felt that it helped a lot. Returning home (eastbound) I had an aisle seat in the back area of the plane with no one next to be, much better!  Allow extra time for immigration if you need a connecting flight to your home airport.  I’d do it again in a heartbeat. (When I bought the economy R/T Sydney-Albuquerque United Airlines plane tickets for $1450, I could have upgraded to first class for $19,000. Not a typo. I don’t know what Business Class cost, or if it’s cheaper in advance! )
 

In Sydney, we found the metro train easy and very useful, we bought a 1week pass. We got a reasonable hotel near the metro train, 3 stops from Circular Quay. Also had a pass for the Circular Quay ferries, also excellent. We pre-purchased concert tickets for the Opera House and while there we added a tour of it. Pre-purchased a Great Barrier Reef full-day boat trip from Cairns, fabulous!  Got the Korunda tour while in Cairns, stayed in Cairns 3 nights. 
 

Flights within AUS were easy and not expensive.… to Cairns, then to Melbourne, then to Hobart Tasmania, then to Sydney. Just be very careful of carry-on sizes, weights and rules. Bring a pocket-size luggage scale!  We traveled with a 24” rolling checked bag each and a shoulder tote each. I don’t think I could have done it with just a carryon size bag. And a lot of the planes we were on wouldn’t have allowed US-size carryons unless as checked, so not much advantage. 
 

The Celebrity cruise from Sydney to and around NZ was 14 nights and excellent!  NZ is an amazing country from every aspect:  geology, flora, fauna, history, culture!  We used a camper van, from Auckland drove a week in North Island, ferried to South Island for 2 weeks and out from Christchurch but would get a car next time.  Our problem was we wanted to stay at Milford a few days and no accommodations were available.  Next time I’d figure out something else. Roads are sparse in South Island, rural and not a lot of hotels but it can be done.  People are fabulously friendly and helpful!  

Flight from NZ to Tahiti was 5 hrs. Tahiti was great for a few days pre-cruise to Hawaii except it was January and uncomfortably sticky, humid and warm… not a lot of places have Air Conditioning. We stayed at a small, family owned “pen-si-on” lodge on the water outside of Papeete. One day we rented a car and drove around the island, the other 3 days we kayaked the lagoon!  
 

Hope you can put together whatever will work for you. I’ve shared our path to show that there are a lot of options!  Happy planning!  
Maureen 

 

 

[dawnvip]

Air Canada flies from Sydney and Brisbane direct to Vancouver and also to Toronto. I think Melbourne is also starting up again soon. Air Tahiti is now flying direct to Vancouver as well, so you have alot of options for getting home if you decide to cruise down.  I've done the flight to Vancouver several times and didn't find the long haul flight that bad at all. 

 

Sydney and Brisbane are both awesome cities. There are loads of short term apartment rentals available if you plan to stay a week (or more!) exploring the city. Easy to get around with public transit, and there are some awesome day tours available too. We did the Blue Mountains trip one day and Hunter Valley one day- - loved both of them.

 

As mentioned above, regional flights within Australia are relatively cheap (compared to Canadian fligts!) and very frequent. Much quicker to fly, but not so senic! 

[highscar]

2016. Flight air Canada Toronto to Vancouver short stop, on to Sydney.  Total time including stop in Vancouver 20 1/2 hours.  

[highscar]

Don’t know where the Honolulu-Toronto 12 hour flight figures come from.  Toronto - San Diego 5hrs on to Honolulu is less distance.  Much less than the suggested extra 7 hrs.  

[whogo]

5 hours ago, highscar said:

Don’t know where the Honolulu-Toronto 12 hour flight figures come from.  Toronto - San Diego 5hrs on to Honolulu is less distance.  Much less than the suggested extra 7 hrs.  

I did not find a nonstop flight. You have to add in time to change planes.

[highscar]

Sorry.  I was just figuring total flight time.