Melbourne is not only one of the biggest cities of the Australian continent. During the reign of Queen Victoria it was the second biggest city of the empire. It's also the second position on the list of cities with the biggest number of buildings raised in the Victorian era, only London can beat that. One of the famous buildings is the Royal Exhibition Building. Together with wonderful gardens they make a part of the Museums Victoria, this is where Australia proclaimed its independece at the beginning of the twentieth century. The garden has more than 50 000 different plant species and is a must-see for all gardeners and nature lovers. Old architecture in not the only great side of Melbourne. The best tennis players in the World flock over to win the Australian Open championship every year. Apart from that annually there's the International Comedy Festival and International Arts Festival. Australia took up the 7th place on the list of the best countries in the World. Each year the country scores really high in this kind of rankings. Perhaps our cheap flights to Melbourne will in time change into a permanent move?
Things you should know before boarding the plane.
Apart from the essential information regarding flying, going through luggage and documents check-in, you should also learn duty law of the country you're going to. When it comes to Australia, there are certain restrictions regarding transportation of goods. On a plane going to Melbourne you're not allowed to have more than 2,25 litres of alcohol and food. Any kind of fruit, cookies, veggies and meat products have to be consumed before landing in Australia, or they should not be taken onboard at all. Otherwise duty control at the airport will look through your luggage and dump any victuals they find. Food import prohibition concerns protection of fauna and flora.
Tourist visa for flights to Melbourne
If you're a New Zealand citizen, you don't have to apply for a visa to enter the country. All you need is a valid passport. New Zealand passport holder are granted a Special Category Visa (subclass 444) (SCV) electronically upon arrival in Australia. This visa is granted upon meeting certain health and character requirements, in other words – it may be cancelled if you don't meet them. If you like it there so much that your holiday extends to over 12 months – you can then apply for Australian citizenship. However even without doing so, you can live and work there indefinitely.
Even though you don't need a visa before your cheap flights to Melbourne, there are certain restrictions that the applicants should meet. First of all you should be clear of criminal conviction for the past 12 months. Secondly you shouldn't be ill of tuberculosis. There are really only two aspects that are evaluated upon possible cancellation of a visa that had been automatically granted. Health condition and character. It's said that if you're not a person of good character, you cannot remain in Australia. Sounds enigmatic and strange? Who can really say if your character is good or bad? Well, the Australians have their way of telling, that's strictly described by MIGRATION ACT 1958 - SECT 501. Putting this long document short – if you haven't fought the law, you'll pass the character test.
Cheap flights to Melbourne - ticket booking
Currently we don't have a problem in finding a cheap flight to a selected city. Usually a trouble may concern something like a too long stopover or a high price. Depending on a time of year, a carrier and other factors, the price of a ticket may vary. A flight from New Zealand to Eastern Australia takes about 3,5 hours and the prices start around $250.
If you're looking for cheap flight tickets to Melbourne, make it easy for yourself and go to a cheap flight search engine – for example eSky.com All you have to do is mark your requirements in the fields of the search engine and wait for the system to analyse and find plane connections adjusted to your preferences. You can also buy additional luggage insurance or rent a car through the website. When making a reservation, make sure to check if you need a separate ticket for your stopover flight. If not, beware that in case of a flight delay or your own delay in reaching the next plane on time – you're on your own. However if you've got two separate tickets for both flights, you'll be looked after by the carrier.
Online check-in
Going to Melbourne, you can check-in online. The so called website check-in offers to their passengers many different airlines. It's carried out via a special Internet system facilitated to the passengers by the carriers. It allows you to check-in before going to the airport and saves you a lot of time and effort. The online check-in starts 48 hours prior your planned date of departure and it ends 90 minutes prior flight. The website check-in is not possible if the first part of your journey was carried out by a different carrier. An exception is a flight of Quantas airlines.
How to get to Melbourne?
Melbourne lies in the Southern part of the globe. This is the main reason why flights from Europe can take up even a whole day. Travelling from New Zealand however, is easy and short. The flight takes from around 3,5 hours (from Queenstown or Christchurch) up to 4,5 hours (from Auckland or Wellington). The flights are non-stop and usually run every day of the week.
A flight to Melbourne
Cheap flights to Melbourne from New Zealand is a pleasant journey taking between 3,5 to 4,5 hours. Bring your favourite book, a music player or a magazine to pass the time. You can also bring some victuals with you, just remember they have to be eaten before landing. The stewardesses will make sure to get you a drink or snack if you decide to buy some onboard. The rest is up to you – close your eyes and you'll get to your destination in no time.
Airport
There's only one airport in Melbourne which is located 20km away from the city. The quickest way to get there would be via highway. Melbourne airport has 5 car parks open 24/7. Apart from that, four main access routes are facilitated by 9 bus companies serving the passengers. With such an amount of choice, it's very easy to get to the city and to the airport.
The best time to fly to Melbourne
Seasons of Australia are opposite to the ones of Europe or North America however pretty parallel to those in New Zealand. Summer in Australia runs from December to February. During this time you can count on wonderful temperatures. This is why most tourists decide on booking their flight tickets to Melbourne during that time. The down side of that is the fact that it's high season. This is when most people decide to go Melbourne, therefore the prices of flights and accomodation will be higher than in other periods. If you'd like to save some money or just don't want to travel during summer, you can visit Melbourne between October and November or between March and April. These are the coldest months of this part of Australia, however the winter is considered mild. Regardless of the time you're going, it's crucial to protect your skin from the sun. Australia's sun exposure is much stronger than anywhere in the World and many people suffer from skin conditions if they leave their body unprotected. However a few easy steps like sunscreen with higher SPF and sunglasses will keep you safe and sound.
