To not want to fly to Australia?

[Reluctantflyer]

Our DC is working in Australia for a couple of years, and DH is understandably very keen to visit.
I'd absolutely love to spend time with our wonderful DC and miss them like crazy, but am feeling quite stressed by the prospect of:

A long long flight when I really don't like flying (had bad experience with plane being struck by lightning a few years ago). I've never flown for longer than 5 hours.

Being cramped on an airplane - I can't sleep at the best of times and can get quite anxious in crowded places. A bed would be amazing but business class is £5000+ per seat!

Snakes, jellyfish, crocodiles and dengue fever etc.
Heat and sun- I can't go out in the sun due to previous skin cancer.

The cost- DH thinks there is no point going for less than 3 weeks. We usually go on holiday for a week in Europe so this would be eye-watering by comparison.

Can anyone talk me down from not really wanting to go?
I'm assuming that flying is the only way to go - we can both take 3 weeks off work if needed.

I know I sound like a right curmudgeon, but it was never on my list of places I would otherwise go or spend our limited savings on. I like Scandinavia....

Any tips for making the journey and the trip less awful?

‘Snakes, jellyfish, crocodiles and dengue fever etc.
Heat and sun- I can't go out in the sun due to previous skin cancer’

This is a ridiculous comment (minus the skin cancer). If you had said spiders, racism and misogyny you might be on to something.

Never in my life have I heard of someone getting dengue fever (I’m Australian, left 20 years ago).

Because of your medical history (skin cancer) and also bad experiences flying, in your shoes, I wouldn't go.

I'd rather pay for a return flight for your DC to come home and see all their family/friends back in the UK.

Sorry to other posters - I'm an outlier and a home-bird (and a Scandi break appeals more to me too).

Qatar airlines. When me and DH moved home from Australia we booked economy and then the next day they sent a link to book business at a much cheaper price… I think it was an extra 1500AUD. They have seats that turn into “double” beds and the food was good.

i could never fly to Australia economy, it’s just too long. But you could do the first leg (with Qatar that’s to Doha and 7 hours) economy and the second business to make it more affordable.

I always look at the cost of a flight upgrade and consider if I spent that money at my destination how much more I could get for it. It would really enhance the holiday if you put the money towards the destination. I would also just do it in one go. You may find the second flight you will overcome your inability to sleep on a plane.

Heard the scary animals thing before. Was told the reverse of this is Aussies and Kiwis scared to visit London due to terrorist risk. Maybe more a thing in the years after the 7/7 bombings. Still statistically the chances of getting blown up in London are probably comparable than the shark or snake bite down under.

This made me chuckle so much - I always laugh at the comments on Oz threads and think have these people even visited with their comments HAHA to many documentaries!

To echo comments above re Aussie wildlife. I saw ONE spider the whole time I lived there, a baby hunstman on a wall when I was walking down the street. Wasn’t particularly scary. I saw kangaroos in a wildlife park and only saw one koala, dead, on the motorway.

oh I saw a lizard in the mountains once too.

I was in Victoria, which is apparently why.

It’s two days travelling in the rest of your life to see your child. and you might enjoy it!

I did it with only a slight stop off each way, not enough to even explore Singapore airport (which I regret, because it’s worth exploring!).

go in winter times, and see something of the country, which isn’t Scandinavia but has A Lot to see and do.

These were my thoughts about Australia before I went there.
I visited NSW during the Australian autumn. It was hotter than I expected, and I really don’t enjoy hot weather, but there was only 1 day when I had to stay indoors with aircon.
The most surprising thing about the trip was that I saw NO spiders, snakes, scary insects or sharks, despite spending a week in the countryside and a few days at the coast, as well as more urban settings.

How on earth is this helpful for @Reluctantflyer?

Yet again, a post that's all about you.

I'd love to see Hong Kong and Singapore. There must be other places too. No idea if they are "on the way" in terms of travelling in two flights not one each way. I think I'd look at it that way. Maybe do some of the legs business class rather than all. Or the harder way business class?

I’ve flown to and from Europe to Australia nine times.
Pop a benzo on the longer flight and you won’t care about anything. Be there before you know it.

OP, in my view the wildlife difficulties are somewhat exaggerated. Crocodiles are not in the streets. Most areas of Australia do not have the mosquitos that can spread dengue virus, with the exception of central and north Queensland. If you are concerned about the weather, you can go for the Australian winter. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but the Aussie winter is when we have our summer.

You can break the journey up by stopping over, maybe in Singapore, which is very clean and very safe, although expect rain most afternoons around 3:00 pm - it's an organised country.

Take care and enjoy your trip.

Do they wabt to visit England to catch up with friends? Could you help pay for it?

Can you ALL go on holiday together somewhere neutral?

You say "they" so I presume you have multiple children out there - more reason to visit.

You can often find lowish business class fares by flying out of a different city to the airline's hub. So for BA, fly out of AMS, MUC, whatever... just play around with a booking tool and plug in different points of departure using a bunch of different airlines. Pre-pandemic, I once found a bus class flight to NYC on Turkish Airlines out of Helsinki for just a little over €1000. Unlikely to be quite as good now, but you get the idea. You can then book a rock-bottom rate flight to the point of departure and maybe even make a pre-flight weekend out of it.

To be honest, if you start out thinking that the trip will be awful, it probably will be!

Australia is an amazing place (and I've only seen a tiny, tiny bit of it), and totally worth the journey - especially if it's to see your DC.

I understand your fear of flying, and also your concern about skin cancer, but both of these can be dealt with.

If you have the time, many airlines run courses for nervous fliers, so it would be really helpful to consider one of those.

Re skin cancer, Australians are incredibly well aware and educated about the risks of skin cancer, so you'll find that most places you go (beaches excepted), there will be shade provided. Hats, long sleeves and sun screen are all essentials (which would be no different if you went to a hot European country, either!)

Also, don't go when it's summer in Australia. Although even their winters are warmer than ours, you won't have the scorching heat/sun that they can get during the summer.

Snakes, jellyfish, crocodiles and dengue fever etc.

The risk from animals/insects and disease is incredibly low, as PP have said - and you're catastrophising about those, I think.

Dealing with the flight:

Being cramped on an airplane - I can't sleep at the best of times and can get quite anxious in crowded places. A bed would be amazing but business class is £5000+ per seat!

If you can't afford anything more than economy seats, then make sure you have an aisle seat, so you can stretch your legs. If you get a flight leaving the UK in the morning, you don't need to worry about sleeping for the first leg of your journey - you just pass the time by watching the films, tv box sets, playing online games, reading, etc. Enjoy not being pestered by anyone from work! Food is usually pretty good on the Oz flight too, in my experience.

For the second leg of your journey, you'll be feeling naturally tired, so you may want to sleep - but if you can't, don't stress about it. Stay awake for as long as you can. You'll arrive in Australia in the early evening, so by the time you get to your destination, you can go to bed at a 'normal' time, and hopefully will sleep through. (Jet lag is worse coming back from Australia, so you should find that you don't suffer from it on the way there).

PP have suggested breaking the flight by having a day or so in Singapore or Bangkok or Dubai (all places that the airlines fly through, depending on the airline). Personally we've never done this, as we just want to get there - and a stopover like this just prolongs things. But it can help and, as has been said, there are some great airport hotels with pools etc.

The cost - DH thinks there is no point going for less than 3 weeks. We usually go on holiday for a week in Europe so this would be eye-watering by comparison.

Your DH is right. There really is no point going all that way for just a week! And who wouldn't want more time with their DC? The cost shouldn't be eye-watering if you have time to plan, and don't have to be there on specific dates. If you can't stay with your DC, then there are some really good AirBnB deals - the last time we went to Sydney (admittedly a few years ago now because of Covid), our flat was £50 per night, so really good value. You don't have to stay in fancy, expensive hotels! (Obviously don't know what the availability of places would be where you're going).

I hope this helps - and that you can find a way to enjoy what should be a brilliant trip!

Oh gosh OP you lucky girl! I've done the flight many times and you will find on the big planes, especially the A380, you have loads of room, you can get up and stretch your legs also. There is plenty of entertainment right in front of you and the food is generally lovely. Yes its long and drawn out but it is so so worth it - Im not a sleeper either! Also, I lived there for a few years and don't even think about the creepy crawlies, its unlikely you'll see any but you will have the best time. Agree with posters saying try for a stopover somewhere, if you can get a cheap deal it does make a huge difference, a night in Singapore or Dubai will be just the job. Please go! Book a window seat!

Snakes, jellyfish, crocodiles and dengue fever etc.

Hi OP, have relatives in Oz, the onlty snakes and crocs I've seen were in a croc farm. Not so sure about the dengue fever being a problem 🙄

Heat and sun- I can't go out in the sun due to previous skin cancer

Go July, August, September. Plenty of sunblock, hat, long sleeved top.

Realistically flying is your only option if you have 3 weeks.

Where in Australia are they? If its west coast there is a direct flight now - but we don't have dengue fever there so guessing its east coast.
We fly business class to Oz and have not ever paid £5k even at Christmas!
Also consider premium economy - you could do a night stop over somewhere else to break up two journey legs - just choose day flights and sleep in a hotel during the stop over.
I literally laugh out loud when I read people are scared of the 'dangerous' things in Oz - I've seen more spiders in the house in the Uk as they want to come in from the cold.
If you want to avoid spiders be careful when gardening - wear gloves.
If you want to avoid crocs don't go swimming in muddy rivers with signs saying 'crocs' on the east coast. They don't walk around on the streets you know and they don't even exist on the west coast.
I'd be more worried about sharks than jelly fish.

Skin cancer I forgot to address. You don't think people who live in Oz get skin cancer? Of course they do and they don't then have to immigrate - just wear a white (to reflect sun) long sleeve top, hat and a strong skin factor.

DS has been in Sydney for over four years, and after two years of not being able to see him (Covid), I'd have done anything to get out there.

Flights are really expensive at the moment, but book well in advance and they are more reasonable. Is three weeks your maximum? It's such a massive country, and the longer you are able to stay, the more you'll get a taste of it.

My fear of snakes stops me from doing many things - I am pathetic. But I coped on our two visits to Australia - partly by not travelling in the summer - and by accepting that there are certain things that I cannot do. I am constantly aware, but not to the extent that it ruins my holiday. DH has a fear of spiders - he has never seen one in Australia.

We are off again in October for six weeks, and plan on spending 3/4 weeks in New Zealand - no snakes there!

Push yourself OP - get help from your GP if necessary - and you will have a fabulous holiday and get to meet your DC's friends and see something of his life over in Aus.

Re the flying I also hate flying would recommend flying emirates economy which is very good with a nice stopover in Dubai. Rather than fork out for the first class to do it all in one go

My MIL always has us “come back to her” in the UK and has declined to come see us in Canada because of the flights and the weather. She’s offered to contribute towards our flights (which we don’t need). Honestly, it’s very hurtful to my DH. Sure, MOSTLY the point of a visit is to see his mum. But he’s also love to share his life with her a bit - show her our house, our kids’ school, our local parks and restaurants, introduce her to some of our friends… when his mum tells him just to come visit in the UK, it makes him feel like she has no interest in his life and can’t be bothered.

Thread is from last year!

Ignore! Meant to post on another thread 🙈🙈