How to travel to Australia with points and miles for 2023

07.11.2023 - 06:19 / lonelyplanet.com

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What comes to mind when you think of Australia? For me, it’s watching the surfers at Bondi Beach , that first glimpse of the Twelve Apostles along the Great Ocean Road and visiting Steve Irwin’s beloved Australia Zoo .

For those with limited vacation time, a trip to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane is a terrific introduction to Australia. Each city is a fabulous base for day trips to national parks, nearby beaches and other popular attractions within the region by car via guided tour.

If you’ve got a flexible schedule — or the ability to spend a year doing the Working Holiday Visa (for 18 to 30-year-olds, or up to age 35 if you’re from certain countries ) like I did — catch a short flight to remote locales such as Darwin, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra, Alice Springs or Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park to experience everything Australia has to offer.

Worried this might be an expensive endeavor? There are plenty of ways to bring costs down, from sticking to your budget to using points and miles to pay for your flights, hotels, car rentals and tours. 

Here’s everything you need to know about traveling to Australia with points and miles.

How to get started with travel points and airline miles

If the idea of spending an entire day on an airplane makes you sweat – 15.5 hours from Los Angeles or San Francisco and roughly 17.5 hours from Dallas or Houston – I don’t blame you. But I promise you it’s worth it.

While jet lag likely won’t spare you, I find it helps to get as much sleep as I can on the way there so I’m ready to hit the ground running when I land. On the way back to the US, try and stay awake as long as