Australia has been on my list for many years…but not a fan of the long flight time from YVR and need about 3-4 weeks of vacation time to see “some” of Australia. Has anyone broken it up a bit like stop over in Hawaii, Tahiti, Cook Islands, New Zealand, ect? Not interested in a direct flight for 12 or 15 hours. So something like: go to Hawaii, stay a couple days, then continue on, ect. We just recently went to Tahiti and did a stop over in Hawaii for a couple days before continuing to Tahiti and vice versa coming back.

Yes, it's fun. Will do the AC Max to HNL, and then Jetstar to Hawaii. Alternatively, decent fares in business there. Stopping over in NZ would be rather pointless, as it's very similar flight time.
Remember that Hawaii to Sydney is generally 11 hours anyways, so you're not "saving" much time over the 15 hour non stop
If you want to create your own "direct flight" your only option would be Hawaii. YVR - HNL - SYD. Alternatively, pop down to seattle and do the new route to Tahiti, but then you'd likely route via AKL to Australia

Logan I heard about the new route from Seattle to Tahiti (as we usually route through Hawaii to go to Tahiti). Great option!

Fiji is an option too. That's the route we've been looking at... Vancouver to fiji on fiji airways, return flight direct on air canada

Much better to stop somewhere in Asia and get that cool experience in on the way. I’ve done YVR to Hong Kong then Hong Kong to Sydney.

Avril YVR to Hong Kong is 12 to 13 hours

Kerry hm true, I think Tokyo is around 9

Cruised there!!

Vancouver to Hawaii - Hawaii to Fiji - Fiji to Australia

Yes, we did Australia( Melbourne, Sydney, Cairnes etc, ) a few years ago with a stopover in Hawaii. Hawaii to Melbourne was a direct flight. Best way is to break it up. Give yourself enough time in Australia to really enjoy all the sights. Great Barrier Reef was our highlight. Enjoy and safe travels

I would suggest doing one of the South Pacific islands on way there and a different one on way home if you’d like to break it up. I did Tahiti, Cook Islands, NZ on the way and Fiji and Hawaii on way home. I’d suggest Cook Islands on the way and Fiji on the way home or vice versa. You can go to Hawaii anytime from YVR.

Robin sounds amazing! Cook Islands is on my list already but has been on “hold” due to being “closed” for tourists at the moment. Perhaps it will open back up soon

Becky or Tahiti but going to Moorea on the way and Fiji on the way home.

We have done the HNL route. Bought round trip tickets with westjet to HNL, and then round trip tickets to SYD with Hawaiian. Have you ever done a 12hr flight, it really isn't that bad. Considering the flight from HNL to SYD is 8hrs, another 4hrs really don't make a difference

The flight is actually not as bad as you might think. I was pleasantly surprised. We’ve been three times. Brisbane is shorter than Sydney.

Tracey I agree. I’ve done it 5 times straight through from yvr. 14.5 hours seems like a long time when you think about it, but between reading, watching, eating and sleeping it goes pretty fast. I absolutely dreaded it the first time we went….now I look forward to it as a means to the end. Our daughter lives in NSW so may as well get used to it! We hope to go again in October. Last trip we got home March 19, 2020. Too long ago! (Ativan helps too
)

We spent three days in Beijing en route. You’ll need a VISA but loved it.

Absolutely, Hawaii is fantastic.
Having done
Tonga Samoa Cook Islands NZ FIji
Hawaii was my fav.
Book a return from YVR-Honolulu
And a separate ticket Honolulu- Australia
Flying Jetstar. Fantastic airline, very affordable, affiliated with Qantas.

Diana thank you! Sounds incredible! Cook Islands and Tonga are on my list.

Becky Jetstar is fantastic!

I did 14 hrs YVR to Brisbane not bad at all, better than flying to SA in Africa, 20 hrs plus layovers kills you

Cindy Anderson George
I fly vancouver to melbourne frequently...from van a night flight...15 hours approximately...not bad..as direct with no layover...just flew melbourne sydney vancouver 3 weeks ago...easier with the direct flight

Broke up the flight home in Hawaii for four days. Made a huge difference.

Direct flights to Auckland and then to Melbourne. Highly recommend NZ it’s amazingly beautiful and people are really amazing. There are also direct flights to Sydney from YVR. If you want the short haul you are going to be looking at Hawaii. Hong Kong is still not a “short” flight. For the Cooks, you usually fly to NZ anyway but they are also fantastic

Sailed into Sydney on a cruise ship. Beautiful bay. Flew home direct Sydney to Vancouver 14 hours with air canada. Excellent flight and service!

It’s not that bad actually on a direct flight. I flew YVR to Sidney, Australia and it was 13 hours. Was in Aus 2 weeks. Then spent a week in Bali. Then 24 hours in Japan. Then back to YVR. Was fun to break it up on the way back.

Heather sounds amazing!

Try through Narita

Hard so much to see in Australia-I went before direct flights and stopped in New Zealand on way there and Cook Islands on way back but took a long time to get home from Cook Islands. An air pass in Australia invaluable

The 15 hours isn’t as bad as it sounds because you leave at no get and arrive in the morning. We took a cruise up the Australian coast which was amazing and we didn’t have to drive!

Take a cruise to your destination...or back

I have been to NZ 7 times, Australia twice, Cook Islands once. I would not break up the trip to Australia. Do the long flight to Sydney and just try to sleep as much as possible on the plane. Then plan on the first few days being a bit of jet lag catch up…not too active. To split up the trip, to me, wastes time. Unless you have more than 4 weeks, spend the whole time in Oz.

I would highly rec both cook islands and fijii , absolutely stop somewhere as amazing chance to see abother culture

Stop off in Hawaii

I was thinking next time I go I would cruise there and back

We did YVR to Sydney AC direct, it wasn't that bad. Coming home from New Zealand we stopped over Honolulu. Very nice! Another time I would reverse that, stopover going and direct return

Our last trip in January of 2020, flew united to Auckland via SFO and cruised to Sydney. Flew Quantas to Melbourne for the Australian Open and then to Auckland for our return flight home. 3 fantastic weeks.

When I was I Fiji, I noticed the airport was full of Australians, apparently, it's their version of Hawaii, not a long flight from there... and from here, it's Fiji-LA-Fiji, which isn't too bad either, and Fiji was really nice too, like Hawaii, but with waaaay less development and people (which was really nice!).

My first time I went via Hong Kong with Cathy Pacific and they gave me a no extra cost side trip to Thailand. Hong Kong and Thailand were both excellent bonuses. Like others have said I find a six-eight hour flight much more difficult than an overnight 14 hour flight. On the shorter "long" flight it's tough to get more than an hour or two of sleep as I find just as I fall asleep they wake me because we are landing. On the longer flight I find I can get a few more hours sleep. I also want to get to my destination as quickly as I can, especially since you lose a day when you fly to Australia.

I stopped in Fiji first

Hawaii on the way back is a great break. I didn’t like Cook Islands, Fiji would be better.

Bali?

Have you looked at flight costs yet? A few weeks ago I checked out the direct YVR to Sydney flight and it was over three times the cost that it used to be pre-COVID. However if you go via NZ on Air NZ it looked a lot cheaper, and that way you could also spend some time in NZ which is an awesome place .

Lisa
We flew (return) in January of 2020 Vancouver via SFO to Sydney for $1200cdn. For January of 2023 it’s $2500 to $3500.

William woah!

William oh wow! Big jump in price!

William I know! Crazy isn’t it.

When I was living full time in Vancouver, I took JAL to Sydney - with a layover in Tokyo. On the way to Australia I just stayed about 6 hours in one of those cube hotels to rest up. On the way home, I had arranged a 12 day stopover in Japan so I went to Kyoto and Hiroshima. This was fantastic. It helped to break up the flights to ten hours each. It was definitely more manageable than 22 hours straight !!!

I got a special "backpackers" deal on flights which included one stop, and I bought another stop for $100. My stops were Fiji opn the way there, Cook Islands on the way back. It was fabulous, but I had more time than you did. My whole trip was over 4 months. Australia is huge!

Yes, we just had to change planes in Hawaii, but then stopped in Cook Islands for 5 days...it was absolutely awesome there.....well worth the stop even for 2 or 3 days. We then spent 2 weeks on the North Island of New Zealand & 2 weeks on the South Island...later we wished we had taken a month on each. We then flew to Melbourne & spent exactly 3 months there, Christmas on King Island, New Years in Hobart, then back to Melbourne & started our trip, around the whole Perimeter of Australia.....my favourite place was Perth....we took 3 tours from Perth....Darwin was fun, Townsville - loved it, Sydney ok, the whole country was awesome, did lots of tours in each area, stayed in Youth hostels, bought a bus pass to travel. We stopped in Fiji for 5 days on way home.

Pat sounds amazing!!

Becky it truly was.
Another amazing country to visit is Norway. Air travel within the country is reasonable, we flew from Oslo to Tromso....way way way up North. Beautiful, nice weather when we were there one year end of May & into June. Travelled from Oslo to Bergen by train - electric....Food is so good, especially cheeses...

Pat sounds like heaven!

Love all these suggestions and ideas! Thank you so much!!!

We just arrived from Oz direct wasn’t that bad . You could consider going via Hawaii and then Fiji .

Direct flights isn’t that bad. I flew into Auckland once then returned from Sydney. I paid a flight from Auckland to Melbourne separately. I also flew direct into Sydney then returned from Auckland. My interests mostly Australia & New Zealand so never consider other stops
Honestly if you wish to stops like you mentioned I don’t see why not. Just need to plan. I visited different places in Australia so I hop on the plane every 3-4 days

I would just get it over with, at least one way. I'd rather be in the air for one really long flight than break it up into two long flights.

F. Due to health we need to have indirect flights as well. So I hope to see a great solution for us too!

the flight is no problem, you go overnight, take a blue pill and sleep the whole way

Yes, we have stopped in NZ, Cook Islands, Norfolk Island (highly recommended) on the way to and from Australia. All are amazing as well as Tasmania. We have done 6 months trips and several month long trips and still want to go back. You get used to the flights. We always fly Air NZ now.

Cook Islands, NZ, Cairns, Brisbane, down to Sydney, Tassie, Melbourne, Adelaide, Ayer’s Rock, Perth…that was over about 10 months 20 odd years ago…would do it again in a heartbeat! With a month, maybe focus on the East Coast (Brisbane to Sydney) stopping in either Cook Islands or NZ in way. NZ is a month itself (I spent 2)…

As we fly to New Zealand regularly we find the direct flight from YVR very comfortable.. Check in and have a drink and then dinner on the flight and by the time they come around with last drinks it’s probably midnight our time so you’re ready to sleep and you get a good five hours at least maybe six. Early morning arrival and we always try and stay up that day

Marnie I loved this flight.

Marnie Agree. I usually fly to NZ every year to visit family on the direct flight. To me it is just a bad night's sleep.

Fiji is a great stopover

Hawaii is a great stop over. And we took an 18 day cruise to Sydney. Would get off in New Zealand instead at day 14.

We flew YVR to LAX and then direct LAX to SYD with QF. It was a fantastic flight and did’t seem that long at all. I was dreading it beforehand, but ended up loving it.

We went to Hong Kong for a few days then on to Sydney from there. HK is a great place to explore.

Mike I was just about to comment this
definitely recommend HK!

I have done the 15 hour non stop route three times now and each time it's been great. You leave Vancouver at midnight and you basically go to sleep if you can and wake up and they serve breakfast. By the time you arrive in Australia, it's mid morning and you treat it like your first day there. I've also done a trip where you fly to LA, change over and then the prepackaged vacation takes you to Sydney, Cairns, and then Melbourne. That was awesome as we got a chance to see three very different cities. If you're going to Melbourne, make sure to pack something you can layer. The four seasons in one day really is true there! Enjoy!

Suzie as an Australian that does this flight fairly regularly the midnight is by far the best isn’t it
I have to psych myself up every time but so worth it

I have flown to AUS a number of times and find a 14 hour flight is actually easier than a couple of 7's. You don't have to deal with as much jet lag. The flight home is harder on you though since it's typically a day time flight. If i was going to break it up i would break up the flight home. Also in terms of breaking it up. Hawaii is about 10 hrs from SYD and the next 5 hrs arentr eally that big of a deal at that point. Its just long.

Anita Jezowski I couldn't agree more! 10+ flight are way better then the 6-9 hour flights.

We did YVR to HNL in 2018. Then JetStar to Sydney. Spent three days in Honolulu because we could. This broke the flight to Australia into two flights, one of 5.5 hours and one of 10.5 hours. Both daytime flights as well. JetStar was $199 US per person one way! So total price in Cdn was just over $500 per person one way. It took us 32 days to get home from Sydney to Vancouver on the Emerald Princess.

I’ve been to Australia about 15 times now and the best way for me is with a short stopover in Hawaii, even if it’s just for a day. If you can actually sleep on a plane, the route through New Zealand isn’t bad, but I can’t sleep on the plane so it’s a killer.

I’ve been to Australia many times and taking different routes. Through Hawaii was good, through Taipei was all right, and through less Angeles was all right. It’s nice to get a break on a long flight

Cook Islands, stopped many times over the years

I lived in AUS for several years and have done hawaii and Auckland as stops but agree with many here it's not as bad going over direct, because you sleep, watch a couple of movies and get on their time zone quickly. It's mentally a leap of faith but not as dreadful as it may sound!
If you want to stop I'd probably do it coming back home.
Have fun!

The direct is really good going west..sleep, eat and repeat.

We loved Fiji and the Cook Islands.

Have been to the Cook Islands four times. We went three years in a row a long time ago and then went again three or four years ago. Loved each and every visit and would return in a flash. If you do go to Rarotonga, try and also get the chance to see Aitutaki.

Need to prep for all kinds of weather if going from their fall to winter-layers are key-and climate subtropical to temperate

As an Aussie living in Canada, the flight isn't as bad as you'd think! And although it won't let you see all of the country, 2 weeks will be plenty sufficient to see a few cities.

I travelled several times from Halifax to Brisbane. Deadly (unless in business). If I lived in YVR, my preference would be the 15-hour flight, load up on lots of things to do, and plan an arrival routine. Australia is so far away with so much to see and do. A disadvantage of a stopover is that it eats into limited down-under time.

I've taken the overnight flight to Australia on several occasions. Hop on at midnight, sleep (mostly) for the first 8 hrs. The rest goes by quickly. You will need every minute you can get in Australia, such a big country. It's like trying to see all of canada in a month! Gut it out

I just saw an incredible price on a cruise leaving Vancouver this September with Princess cruises. Stops in Hawaii, a variety of South pacific islands, then new Zealand, Australia. Would at least save you a flight one way! Lol. It's approximately 25 days though so depends how much time you have.

Alyson that sounds amazing!

Alyson If you want to spend most of your time on a floating Petri dish.
Never for me.

I flew to LA then to Fiji. Spent 2 days there. Fabulous place! No jetlag when I arrived in Australia.

I find it easier to just do the pain and get it done.

We usually fly cathay pacific and spend a few nights in Hong Kong

Did you go to Australia? What stop-overs did you make and would you recommend them?

YVR - SYD direct -Did you fly Economy?
Is it worth the upgrade cost to premium Economy? Thinking about going next year