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TRAVELLERS TIPS

TRAVELLERS TIPS
             
Sightseeing / Highlights Australia - New Zealand
Tour Locations
Australia Gold Coast, Cairns, Lorne, Melbourne, Port Stephens, Sydney
Hotels
Gold Coast Hotel Courtyard Marriott or similar
Cairns Hotel Mercure Harbourside Cairns or similar
Lorne Hotel Mantra Erskine Beach Resort or similar
Melbourne Hotel Batman Hill - Club Room or similar
Port Stephens Hotel Salamander Shores or similar
Sydney Hotel Mercure Sydney or similar
Shopping
Gold Coast Oasis Shopping Mall, Pacific Fair, Harbour Town
Cairns The Pier, Night Markets
Melbourne Swanston Street, Collins Street
Sydney Center Point, Pitt Street Mall, Queen Victoria Building, and Paddy's Market
Tips for Travellers
Australia and New Zealand are top on the list of exciting, exhilarating and exotic holidays, for any discerning traveller! With FAIRSKY TRAVEL HOUSE, the journey takes on a whole new dimension. Come, discover the treasures and unravel the mysteries of exotic destinations on our Duniya Dekho Tours. To help you pack in comfort and convenience, detailing and quality, please find below a few suggestions and general advice, to make this holiday simply perfect.
Shop Till You Drop !
Australia is replete with exciting shopping treasures like opals, clothes, perfumes and aboriginal artefacts. In New Zealand, you will love the woollens, Kiwi fruit, jade, Maori artefacts, and much more! You will find great gifts for your friends and family at very special prices. And souvenirs of a fantastic holiday for yourself! Negotiation on the price of an item is often expected and is appropriate. Make sure you are familiar with return and exchange policies.
Picture Postcard Sightseeing !
To fit in as much as we can of Australia and New Zealand within the time available, we have carefully structured our sightseeing tours as panoramic or orientation tours or visits. All sightseeing included in your tour brochure fits within these categories. Sightseeing and cruises are well planned to cover as many places of significance as possible.
Note:
Panoramic city tour
This tour gives you a view of the sights and monuments from your coach as you drive past. You will also have a few photo stops.
Orientation city tour
Here, you get off the coach and see the sights at close quarters, without going in.
Visit
A visit to a place means that you will enter the site or monument and spend some time in the place.
Tour Manager
We request you to kindly co-operate with your Tour Manager and abide by his/ her instructions, for a successful and a memorable tour.
Professional Guides
There's no substitute for a little local flavour, so we employ local guides who give the necessary perspective to specific cities and places of historic interest. They complement your Tour Manager.
Coaches
Since most of your travel will be by road, we have carefully chosen an air conditioned coach for your comfort. We request you to assist us in keeping the coach neat and clean, so that all of you can be comfortable during your holiday. Please do not eat foodstuffs in the coach, as there is a possibility of some leftovers spilling and soiling the coach. We regret that, in the interest of fellow customers, smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages is not permitted on the coach.
Hotels
Early check in and late check out will not be permitted by the hotel.

All hotel rooms are air conditioned and may have facilities like mini-bar, pay television channels, telephones, etc. Please note that these facilities are not complimentary and have to be paid for, based on actual usage.

Some hotels offer the facility of complimentary safe deposit lockers, which can be availed of.
Please ensure that there is no damage to your hotel room during your stay as the same would be charged to you directly by the hotel.

While checking into the hotel, wait in the lobby or coach as advised by the Tour Manager. Crowding the reception will only delay the check-in process.
Rooms
We will try our best to provide you with adjacent rooms that have been requested for at the time of booking. The same will be subject to availability at the time of checkin. There is no guarantee for adjacent rooms and interconnecting rooms. However, wherever possible the tour manager and the hotel will endeavour to provide adjacent rooms.
Optionals
Every FAIRSKY TRAVEL HOUSE tour comes with a few optional exclusives, just for you. The price of the optional tours includes the cost of transportation to and from the sightseeing place; the services of a local representative; administrative and communication charges for bookings; and our professional charges in addition to entrance fees. Reservations and payments for optional tours can be made in India prior to departure. You can also pay on arrival on Day One of your tour to the FAIRSKY TRAVEL HOUSE Tour Manager. No credit card or TC payments will be accepted.
Stopover Packages
Check out our exciting pre and post tour packages with terrific value at attractive prices. We also feature several exciting add-ons you can choose from, according to your budget and taste.
Complimentary Gifts
A travel bag, pouch and kiddies' bag (if applicable) per family are part of the travel kit from FAIRSKY TRAVEL HOUSE.
Your Personal Tour Expenses
You need to carry money / an international credit card / Travellers Cheques for your shopping and personal expenses like tips, mineral water, tea / coffee, soft drinks, telephone calls, laundry, mini bar, pay TV channels, public toilets, etc.
Punctuality
Your itinerary and sightseeing are carefully scheduled, keeping in mind the driving time, visit hours etc. Hence, punctuality is essential and could impact the entire group, leading to the group having to miss out on certain parts of the itinerary, if not adhered to. Please do understand that punctuality is solely in your interest to ensure that you have the full benefit of all services included in the package.

It is possible that if the group is delayed for some reason, the free time given at certain sightseeing places could be curtailed.

Due to the latest driving regulations policy in Australia and New Zealand it is essential that the given day's itinerary is completed within the stipulated driving hours of the driver.

When free time is given during the tour, please return to the specified place at the allotted time and keep in mind your fellow traveller!
Airline Information
All passengers are requested to be at the airport at the check-in counter at least 3 and 1/2 hours prior to the departure of your flight.
Passengers Meeting Point
Passengers arriving from India will be met by the FAIRSKY TRAVEL HOUSE Tour Manager / Local representative at the Arrival Hall outside Customs. Passengers joining the tour directly, (independent of the group) should report at the Arrival Hall outside Customs as per the group's scheduled flight, or meet in the lobby of the hotel booked for the group. However, please note that the Tour Manager / Local representative may not be available at the time you check-in as he/she may be at the airport to receive the rest of the group.
Class of Travel
Passengers can choose to upgrade themselves to Business Class / First Class by paying the difference in airfare at the time of booking a tour.

Passengers who are deviating from the group on the return journey - those who have booked onward tickets or those who intend to stay back will have to make their own way to the airport.
Ticketing
Once on tour, as per airline regulations, no change in date, sector or extension of air tickets is permissible. Any changes must be processed at the time of booking the tour in India.
Airport Taxes
Rotorua Airport tax (approx NZD 5) and New Zealand departure tax (approx NZD 25) cannot be collected in India and has to be paid for by passengers, while departing from Rotorua/New Zealand.
Tipping
Tipping in Australia and New Zealand unlike in many parts of the world is something that is expected of anyone providing you a service, for example: Coach Driver, Porters, etc. Since your coach driver spends a large part of the day driving you safely, unloads and loads your baggage onto the coach, it is customary to tip him a nominal amount of AUD 02 per person per day for the duration of the tour. Please do note that the coach driver, especially in Australia and New Zealand, plays a very important role in making your tour a memorable one.
Quarantine
It is mandatory to declare fresh and packaged food, cooked and raw food ingredients, packaged meals including airline food, herbs and spices, traditional medicines, herbal tea, biscuits, cakes, snacks, food, fruit, eggs, meat, vegetables, seeds & nuts, animals, plants and items made from plants or wood, footwear, clothing and any item used in rural areas or carrying contamination from soil, faeces, or plant material on arrival into Australia. Amnesty bins are available for unwanted items as you leave the aircraft. If you have declared any food, plant or animal items on your incoming passenger card, make sure you have them inspected. Quarantine officers use detector dog teams, X-Ray machines and random baggage checks to detect undeclared quarantine items. If you should conceal items of quarantine you may receive an on the - spot fine or you could be prosecuted.
Things To Carry On Tour Clothing
A Formal Jacket / Bandgala, Jeans, T-shirts, Cotton shirts, Trousers, Shorts / Bermudas, Punjabi dress, swimsuit and formal wear for special dinners.
Lightweight clothing (natural fibres) is suitable all year round. Please also carry heavy woollen jacket, woolen caps and gloves.

You will be visiting the Great Barrier Reef, where you will have an opportunity to snorkel, swim or dive. So please carry your swimwear.

It is advisable to carry a formal outfit for the Dinner Cruises. Ladies can wear Western or Indian formal outfits.
Essential / Personal Items
Toiletries, a pair of sun glasses, hat, sunscreen lotion / sun block (UV protection is essential in Australia and New Zealand) , alarm clock, comfortable walking shoes, pocket torch, umbrella, universal electric plug pin, video or normal camera, camera rolls or video cassettes, camera batteries and chargers, and an international roaming cellular phone, if necessary. Please also carry a multi-plug adaptor as sockets are different in different countries. Medicines if required, with prescriptions, with a drug generic name listed, as the brand name would differ from country to country.
Baggage Limit / Carry On / Overnight Hand Baggage
Carry one piece of luggage per person only. For air travel, the allowance is 20 kg per person for check-in baggage, and 5 kg for hand baggage. Use a strolley for easy handling, as one has to carry one's own luggage.

Bearing in mind the possibility of proceeding on sightseeing directly on arrival, ensure your hand baggage includes one set of clothes, necessary documents like your passport, insurance policy, service vouchers, emergency contact numbers / toiletries, a pair of comfortable walking shoes, camera or video cam (batteries to be removed and kept in the outside pocket of your check-in baggage for easy access), film rolls and medicines, if required, during the day. Also please do not keep any money or valuables in your check � in luggage. Money and valuables should be kept with you in person or in your hand baggage. In keeping with airline security norms, batteries, scissors, pointed metal objects, liquids, gels, cigarette lighters and matchboxes should be packed in your check-in baggage.
Note:
Airline rules on baggage are subject to change. Be alert while loading and unloading your baggage at airports, railways stations, and while walking in a crowd, as there always is a possibility of being pick pocketed or robbed.
Travel Documents
You should carry your FAIRSKY TRAVEL HOUSE tour brochure, service vouchers, air tickets, passport, passport-sized photographs, overseas travel insurance policy, emergency numbers, etc, with you. Please carry a photocopy of all the documents listed above including valid visa pages, which are to be kept separately from the original. Example: photocopy in your suitcase and the original passport in the pouch provided to you.
Travel Insurance
Insurance for the duration of the tour is to be done through FAIRSKY TRAVEL HOUSE and is included in your tour price. Senior citizens above the age of 59 are required to submit an ECG and Fasting Blood Sugar Report along with a form filled by an MD, not more than a month old. There will be an additional supplement on the policy depending on the medical report and tour duration.

The policy can be extended for passengers staying back on their own or on our addons, as long as they give intimation of their intention to do so and pay the necessary difference in the insurance premium at the time of booking the tour.
Currency In Australia and New Zealand
Country Currency In INR*
Australia Australian Dollars AUD 35.75
New Zealand New Zealand Dollars NZD 31.28
* As on February 22, 2008 Figures are subject to change. Avoid changing money at the hotels since they offer a very poor rate of exchange.Every time you change and re-change your currency, you pay an exchange service charge and currency fluctuation, which is sometimes as high as 7-10%.

Use all loose coins and smaller denomination notes in the same country, as these cannot be exchanged for another country's currency.

If you are carrying Travelers Cheques, please keep the purchase receipt in a safe place, away from the original Travelers Cheques.

You will require your passport as identification to encash your traveler's cheques. Most credit cards and US Dollar traveller's cheques are accepted widely.
Time Difference
Country Hours ahead of India
Australia +4.30
New Zealand +6.30
Due to the time difference, the ideal time to call you in Australia from India would be 1800 hours Indian Time and to call you in New Zealand from India would be 1600 hours Indian Time. Make sure that your family clearly spells out your name and informs the receptionist that you are with the Indian Group of FAIRSKY TRAVEL HOUSE. This will help your relatives to get through to you easily and minimize their ISD call cost.

The Weather - Check Out The Temperature !
Barometer Average maximum temperature in Celsius
City Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Australia
Gold Coast 26 23 21 20 22 24 27
Cairns 29 28 26 26 27 28 29
Sydney 22 19 16 16 17 19 22
Melbourne 20 17 14 13 15 17 19
New Zealand
Christchurch 17 13 11 10 11 14 17
Queenstown 14 11 8 9 10 11 14
Rotorua 17 15 12 11 12 9 12
Auckland 19 17 14 13 14 16 17
*Average maximum temperature in Celsius.

All FAIRSKY TRAVEL HOUSE Australia and New Zealand tours are conducted all year around. For further details, please look up our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) section at:

The information contained herein is accurate at the time of going to print, but is subject to change. FAIRSKY TRAVEL HOUSE accepts no responsibility or liability for changes / omissions and any loss or inconvenience caused.