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The call of country Australia: why the regions are king this season

The call of country Australia: why the regions are king this season

The Advertiser13-06-2025
The Gold Coast, Cairns and the Sunshine Coast (pictured) are the three most popular domestic destinations among Australians for the upcoming July school holidays season, according to Wotif. The travel booking platform has crunched the numbers, with regional destinations taking all top 10 spots. Other locations popular this winter are: Yarra Valley in Victoria, Newcastle in NSW, Fremantle in WA, Port Douglas in Queensland, Wollongong and Kingscliff in NSW, and Dandenong in Victoria. Wotif has also released a list of best-value domestic destinations, where you can enjoy hotel stays for less than $250 a night, with Alice Springs in NT; Port Stephens, Katoomba and Port Macquarie in NSW; and Townsville in Queensland taking the top five spots.
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Overseas travellers are paying an extra $80 when they don't have to
Overseas travellers are paying an extra $80 when they don't have to

The Advertiser

time5 hours ago

  • The Advertiser

Overseas travellers are paying an extra $80 when they don't have to

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Set your expectations low and arrive early at this airport
Set your expectations low and arrive early at this airport

Sydney Morning Herald

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  • Sydney Morning Herald

Set your expectations low and arrive early at this airport

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Set your expectations low and arrive early at this airport
Set your expectations low and arrive early at this airport

The Age

time10 hours ago

  • The Age

Set your expectations low and arrive early at this airport

The airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL), the main gateway to the Philippines. The flight QF98 from Manila to Brisbane (BNE). The arrival My Qantas flight takes off at 2.45am. That might seem like a gate slot sent straight from Hades, but in Manila, it's a godsend. The Philippines capital has a well-deserved reputation for having some of the worst traffic congestion in the world. I've been staying at Shangri-La The Fort in the Bonifacio Global City, an eight-kilometre car ride to Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Leaving the hotel around midnight means Manila's traffic, though still busy, doesn't turn a short journey into an epic crawl. The look For a country with cultural connection to colour, flowers and lush leafiness, the grey upon grey of the airport is unforgivable – except perhaps on the grounds that a new mega-airport is being built for Manila, set to open before 2030. Still, 50 million people passed through these terminals in 2024. And more Australians are using it – my Qantas flight is a new service and Cebu Pacific is ramping up its Sydney-Manila runs. Both airlines use Terminal 3, which became fully operational in 2008, four years behind schedule. It's by all accounts much more efficient and better designed than the older terminals, and new private ownership by the giant conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (yes, they also make beer) is seeing ongoing improvements.

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