Looking at doing a USA trip in March/April of 2020 for 4/5 weeks. My boys will be 14, 12 and 8 then. Planning on it being a sports and theme park oriented trip going to SAN Francisco, LA, Vegas and SAN Diego. Has anyone done something similar or can offer any advice? Any help greatly appreciated.
Yes, advice is donât get shot by some gun toting red neck slack jawed Trump loving white trailer trash
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Would love to do something similar but reckon it would have to be in October as I want to see all 4 major US sports.
Apparently in LA week it was the first time ever all 5 of the codes played on the same day in the same city.
- Dodgers
- Lakers
- Rams
- Kings
- Galaxy
My best bit of advice with kids would be to book a flight with a stopover if going in economy
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Qantas have a Premium Companion sale on now. Best value is $4k return in business from MEL/SYD to Santiago or Perth to Johannesburg. A few other decent offerings aswell in PE
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Saw that. None suited for the near future.
Anyone flown to China at short notice (6 days) on an Aussie passport?
It looks like they have 3 and 6 day âno visa requiredâ but you need to be going to a third country.
How quick can a visa be supplied, or am i dreaming I can get it done?
Ask a travel agent, they have express service. Six days might be pushing it.
Definitely need to be going to a third country for those visas ie a return flight to Australia doesnât cut it. How long do you plan to stay in China and have you booked flights yet?
My father lives only about an hour from Canberra so when we want to go I overnight mail the documents to him and he goes in person to the Chinese embassy and itâs always done in about 3-4 days.
Donât go on one of those special visas unless you plan to stay in the 1 city
Speaking of China. Hainan Airlines have some ripping fares ATM. Melbourne to Paris economy for $900 or business for $3200. Flights go via Xiâan so with a tourist visa you can visit the Terracotta warriors. Their aircraft are very comfortable and whilst English isnât their strong point the staff will bend over backwards for you and the food has been superb on flights we have taken with them. They are in the Virgin alliance so earn points and status credits for the leg between Australia and China. For just over $3k to Europe itâs a great deal
Itâs probably just 1- 2 nights for a 2 day meeting
I donât have a ticket booked yet.
If Iâm correct I could do
Mel-shanghai-Singapore-Melbourne and travel without a visa. And just get the 72 or 144 hour visa at the airport?
Seems too hard, maybe Iâll leave it for now.
Correct. You can get a 72 or 144 hour visa but canât leave the Shanghai area. Very easy in that case, just inform the flight attendant when boarding and they will give you the necessary card to fill out.
In Byron Bay for a week. Look forward to relaxing a bit
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Thanks for the postcard. 
p.s. Donât forget. Stone & Wood on tap at the Great Northern Hotel. 
Enjoy.
not a great travel story - I love travelling but having to deal with fellow travellers makes it challenging.
Delta Passenger Forced to Sit in Seat Covered With Feces or Miss the Flight
By Jason Murdock On 11/6/18 at 9:30 AM
A Delta Air Lines passenger flying from Atlanta to Miami on November 1 was allegedly told that he could either sit in a seat that was covered with feces or be left behind.
Matthew Meehan, of Michigan, said that after boarding the Delta flight he quickly discovered not only a bad smellâbut feces on the seat, floor and wall of the plane. After sitting in the mess, he said the crew gave him two paper towels and a bottle of gin to wipe it off him in the lavatory.
The passenger told Yahoo Lifestyle that when he emerged from the bathroomâexpecting the seat to be disinfectedâthe flight was still boarding as normal. He said he was told: âThatâs not our responsibility, someone from the gate needs to take care of that. We are in the middle of an active boarding. Weâre busy. If you want, you can get off the plane and talk to somebody.â
Meehan said he spoke to a manager. âShe said, âIf the cleaning crew didnât do their job, thatâs not my problem,â Meehan told Yahoo Lifestyle. âSo I said, âCan we get that cleaned up so I can sit down?â [and] she says, âSir, itâs almost time for that plane to leave. You can sit in your seat or you can be left behind.ââ Meehan told ABC Action News he was forced to remain seated and place a blanket over the mess.
Matthew Meehan, of Michigan, said after boarding the Delta flight that he quickly discovered not only a bad smellâbut feces on the seat, floor and wall of the plane. The airline apologized for the incident. Matthew Meehan/Facebook
After landing, the passenger published photos of his feces-covered shoes on Facebook and hit out at the airline. The post has since racked up hundreds of comments and shares.
âIs this even legal?â he wrote. âThis is a health code violation! Delta was made aware of the feces from the prior flight before my flight boarded and no one checked to see if it was clean, I was allowed to board unknowingly and sat in it covering myself in sickness and disease. No apology, no care, and was told to deal with it by Atlanta Red Coat. Iâm shaking. Iâm disgusted.â
In a statement, a Delta Air Lines spokesperson apologized. The statement read:
âOn Nov 1, an aircraft operating flight 1949 from Atlanta to Miami was boarded before cleaning was completed following an incident from a previous flight with an ill service animal."
It continued: âDelta apologizes to customers impacted by the incident and has reached out to make it right, offering a refund and additional compensation. The safety and health of our customers and employees is our top priority, and we are conducting a full investigation while following up with the right teams to prevent this from happening again. Upon landing in Miami, the aircraft was taken out of service to be deep cleaned and disinfected.â
Meehan said he was offered 50,000 miles in compensation, but may take legal action instead.
âIâm a diamond medallion and a million miler,â he told Yahoo Lifestyle. âIf this is how they treat their top tier, I canât imagine how they treat people who arenât part of the SkyMiles program.â
Actually just walked past there. Will have to pop in and have a drink
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Depends how long you will be staying in China. They used to have 72h visa-free entry. On this trip, I noticed a sign in PEK saying 144 hour visa free. So if you are staying less than that, save your $$$ of getting a rapid visa.
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BTW does anyone know why you need 6 months validity on your passport? Whatâs the point of an expiry date then?
In case something happens that prevents you from coming home as intended. An injury or illness for example prevents you from flying out for a month or so, without the 6 month leeway people could inadvertently have their passport expire and they would then not be able to board any aircraft.
I do think 6 months is excessive though
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Yes, Shanghai does have the 144 hour TWOV option. To obtain it though you must be travelling to a 3rd country.
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â â â â Delta, â â â â them