Travel to Australia at Christmas

[Twinkie84]

Hi;

We have plans to travel to Australia at Christmas for 3 weeks to visit family and friends who live over there. It's been planned for about a year.

How realistic do you think this is that we still will be able to go ahead in the current environment?

I'm in the UK and we are traveling via San Francisco USA.

I understand it's a long way off still but I'm now have doubts that we will be able to travel

Thank you

No chance OP. I live in Australia and we still have closed state borders here. There are family in Canberra I want to visit but I might not be able to see them until next year.

One thing with them having dealt with it all so well, is it's actually isolated them quite a lot. Which I think is going to make it really tough for them in the next few years.

I don't feel isolated at all. We are a big country. I feel safe not isolated.

I live in WA and booked flights to the UK for December 2020 back at the start of January. With just over 4 months until I am due to fly I realise there is little to no chance of me seeing my family for Christmas this year. I dont know when to rebook either as the situation changes daily. If WA loses the court case to keep our hard border and we are hit with covid it could be years.

@mystomachisrumbling

One thing with them having dealt with it all so well, is it's actually isolated them quite a lot. Which I think is going to make it really tough for them in the next few years.

I don't feel isolated at all. We are a big country. I feel safe not isolated.

Snap. I am a bit sad I won’t see my family in the UK for a while but I have faith in our premiers and feel much safer this way

@897654321abcvrufhfgg

Does anyone know what happens to those caught up in Australia? Friends of ourS went to Australia at the beginning of lockdown. Wife is Australian but husband and son aren’t. They have a flight booked still for end of August. Is this going to happen??

Tricky. People I know who have tried to leave have had flights and connections changed multiple times. The non Australians will be able to get out but will need to be flexible. The wife- I would be talking to the border force now about how she will get out...

Agree. Keep the borders closed for now. We grow everything we need and cargo is still coming and going.

It is shit for families and tourism but the lesser of multiple evils at the moment.

Can't see it happening this year OP. I don't anticipate being able to come and go from Oz freely until a vaccine/excellent treatment is sorted out. So possibly 2022.

It's impossible to give a timescale as it will depend largely on how the rest of the world manages to control coronavirus- which is engine the control of Australia.

July 2021 has to be a guesstimate as you can be sure that if the UK has not got a firm handle on the virus by then, Australia will not be letting us in and I don't blame them!

Wow. I didn't know it was so strict in Australia.

I know a family of 6 who are returning to Australia next week after 4 years in the UK. They are an affluent family but I can't imagine they have $18000 dollars lying around for a hotel quarantine. I assume they know what they're doing though!

I'm also in WA, and feel safe rather than isolated. We were also planning a visit back to Ireland and the UK, but are resigned to it not happening any time soon, although tentatively hoping for next summer. However I am not going anywhere until Covid is under control, so I suspect we will be holidaying in WA for a while yet, which isn't exactly a huge hardship. Its worth being so far away from the rest of the world to be practically Covid free though, and I really hope Mark McGowan defeats that useless balloon Palmer and keeps our border firmly shut!

manicinsomniac The hotel quarantine was previously free but started being charged on the 18 th of July. But if you purchased your flights before July 12 you don't have to pay - I'm assuming your friends already had flights booked for a while so they won't have to pay.

This is the official government website with advice: www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/coronavirus-covid-19-restrictions/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-international-travellers

No date has been officially announced for reopening borders.

Once borders reopen, it's also worth checking the status in the state/territory you plan on visiting - for example, at the moment Victoria is in lockdown, whereas South Australia is almost business as usual.

100% not going to happen this year....

Closed till atleast mid next year

Also the cost is $3000 for one adult, $1000 per additional adult and $500 per child, under 3s are free.

@RaisinGhost

Also the cost is $3000 for one adult, $1000 per additional adult and $500 per child, under 3s are free.

Is this the case even for Australian citizens entering Australia or can they quarantine at home?

Different states have different rules and quarantine charges. In WA everyone has to go into hotel quarantine, even residents. Quarantine hotel charges here are $2520 for one person, and $3360 for two people sharing. I think there is a reduction for children under six.

In South Australia everyone coming in from overseas has to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks, including retiring residents and pay for it.

And if you have flown into a different state and then cross the border into SA you still have to do two weeks quarantine (except if you come from WA or the NT) although this time can be be at home instead of in a hotel.

*another two weeks that should be.

Not going to happen. Dont think they will even be open to NZ by then.

@EmmaGrundy**@EmmaGrundyForPM*@EmmaGrundy*forPM the quarantine applies to everyone entering Australia. No one is allowed to quarantine at home.

Whoops not sure what happened there!
There are also closed borders between certain states at the moment so even travel with Australia is difficult and expensive.
Queensland will be shutting its borders to Greater Sydney from Saturday as well.
My company has indicated no interstate travel until this time next year (offices in each state).
We are originally from NZ and would give anything for a travel bubble to be established but recognise this is for the best so have written off 2020 and have fingers crossed for a 2021 reprieve so our family can finally meet our DS who arrived at the beginning of our lockdown.

@spottygymbag thanks.

I'm so sorry your family can't meet your son. That must be really hard. I didn't meet my niece until she was two, so difficult. At least there are options like Skype and Zoom although it's not the same.

My mum was planning to go to Australia next year to see my sister. She usually goes every two years. It will be hard if she can't go because the following year she turns 80 and the insurance will cost a fortune after that age so I think she was planning for next year's trip to be her last one.

I think the risk in booking is huge. Added to that you won't be insured for anything Covid related so if there was a local lockdown and you needed repatriating...no insurance!

Forget it. That's what we are doing as we had all sorts of plans for next year long haul like you. We won't book anything probably for at least two years now unless there is a significant change, ie a vaccine

Ah ok, thanks, RaisinGhost . Yes, they will have booked their flights before then.

July 2021 has to be a guesstimate as you can be sure that if the UK has not got a firm handle on the virus by then, Australia will not be letting us in and I don't blame them!
Yes that just the current thinking , it could change either way.

If you do happen to be allowed to come here. You will have to self isolate for 2 weeks in a hotel, at your own expense.