J's Travel Notes in Perth, Western Australia | Travel and transport

J's Travel Notes

Locality: Perth, Western Australia

Address: Rokeby Rd, Subiaco Perth, WA, Australia

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• Travel and transport
• Serviced apartments

25.01.2022 A quick thought for the day - if you are able, travel in the off season. You can save a fortune on airfares and accommodation.

23.01.2022 After many years of travelling with my family I now have extensive experience of booking travel all over the world. We started travelling when my children were 7 & 5 which meant I was always looking for family accommodation as cheaply as possible. This is not a sponsored page but a practical guide to booking your own holidays, reviews of accommodation and handy hints for when you get there. I will also review reliable websites and also ones to avoid. Please feel free to send me any questions you may have or any destinations you would like me review.

19.01.2022 Just a quick note to anyone booking a hotel or an apartment in Germany. When they talk about the number of beds they actually mean the number of people staying. If you are booking for 4 people and the hotel says 3 beds it does not mean a double and 2 singles. It is referring to the number of people who can stay in that room. If you are booking an apartment be careful when they list the number of rooms as they literally count the rooms including the living room and bathroom.

16.01.2022 If you are able to plan months in advance STA allow you to Layby your flights for just $10 a ticket and a deposit of $100 per ticket. This allows you to take advantage of very cheap fares. Payment must be made 10 weeks before you travel.

12.01.2022 I recently booked some flights to Melbourne through Wotif. I booked a Qantas flight to Melbourne and a Virgin ticket for the return flight. Due to a change in plans I needed to move these flights. I rang Wotif and they told me I could cancel the flights at no cost as it was within 12 hours of the booking. I couldn’t believe it! I cancelled the flights and rebooked them for the next day at no cost. ... If I had booked these flights through the airlines the changes would have cost me close to $400. This is standard Wotif policy and they answered my call within a couple of minutes. The service was fantastic and I would definitely use them again.

10.01.2022 Just to let you know that Virgin Australia quite often publish promo codes on the web. I got 10% off my flights to Melbourne recently. Definitely worth a look.....

10.01.2022 I've decided my first review will be one of private apartment websites. When you're looking for accommodation for a family the best option is either a private apartment or an apartment hotel (also search apart hotels). Private apartments are usually cheaper but apart hotels are easier to book and are usually cleaned every day. With the hotels it is usually a case of just choosing the area in which you want to stay and then checking Trip Adviser for reviews. If 5 out of 6 r...eviews are good then generally the hotel will be good. Do not read the hotel reviews as they are not objective. Private apartments can be fantastic and a much cheaper option than 2 standard hotel rooms, however it does take time to search the web for the many different options that are available. i I generally find that AirBNB is a very expensive option and there are much cheaper options available. Prices can vary enormously for the same apartment depending upon the site. I have previously used VRBO (Vacation rental by owner - US based) which puts you in touch with the owner. This website charges the owner for the advert and you pay the owner directly. It also allows you to email, or in some cases, talk to the owner about the apartment. This is always good as you need to ensure that the apartment and the owner exist. The only place I've had a problem with this was in New York which will require another post just to explain how short stay private apartments work there. The UK seems to have moved towards concierge apartment rentals. This means that an agent manages the rental for you and you can rely on the validity of the photos and that someone will be there to meet you. This system works incredibly well and the price quoted on the website is the total cost. Try the Plum Guide and Home from Home. Ultimately, it comes down to doing your homework, checking reviews and ensuring that the apartment is legal and is actually there. If this all seems too hard, take the apart/hotel option.

09.01.2022 If you want to travel to Europe next year now is the time to book. Today I found Qatar flights to Dublin for Perth in April for less that $1100! Make sure you check the web for Qatar promo codes. You can almost always find a code for a 10% discount if you book directly through Qatar.

08.01.2022 I was reading the other day and a website suggested that the best time to book the cheapest flights is 18 weeks prior to your travel date. I’ve looked around and it seems to work. Don’t forget to check Wotif and Expedia for comparison fares. Although I prefer to book directly through an airline I recently saved $300 a ticket booking the same flights through Expedia. Also, sometimes booking a flight and hotel through these sites can also save you some money.

07.01.2022 We’re just about to leave for our Christmas holiday and all I seem to be hearing about is Japan. I think this is going to be our next holiday destination!

06.01.2022 Just a quick note to remind everyone not to use dodgy travel sites offering cheap airfares. Sites such as Wotif, Expedia and Booking.com are fine but make sure you look at reviews of other websites before you book. Just another note, Wotif and Expedia are the same company and usually cheaper than Booking.com. Wotif also offer travel packages of flights and hotels in there same booking and quite often will save you money. However, as always, it’s always a good idea to check the airlines and hotels directly before booking.

06.01.2022 Almost all airlines have a sale on at the moment, so if you're planning to travel this year now is a good time to book.

05.01.2022 I’ve been having some problems with Qatar Frequent Flyers. They seem to need you to add your number to each leg of your trip. This seems very strange as you add your number to the ticket number which is the same for each leg. I received points for my flight to London but not the return flights. ... Also, another complaint, their support is very poor and they’ve just changed my London flight and added another 2.5 hour layover in Doha to my flight! Seriously thinking of booking Emirates next time........

04.01.2022 Around the world airfares. As you can’t book these tickets online you have to go through an agent. I prefer not to book this way but there are some good people out there. Roundabout Travel in Adelaide seem to offer good deals but if you use someone like Flight Centre the fares can vary depending upon the person you speak to. ... Lufthansa usually have some very good around the world deals. If you want to delay payment, STA offer a layby offer for $39 a ticket with $100 deposit. This needs to be paid 10 weeks before departure. I would advise you speak to a few agents to get the best option for you.

04.01.2022 Coronavirus Not much to say really except not to book or travel at the moment and definitely avoid cruise ships. However, there will probably be some very cheap airfares for the rest of the year.

01.01.2022 Cathay Pacific flights are really cheap at the moment. You can book a Europe return ticket for under $1300 at Christmas time! Make sure you search multiple dates in their website to get the cheapest ticket.

01.01.2022 Qatar,and Singapore Airlines both have huge sales on at the moment for travelling in 2019. If you can plan that far ahead it’s a great time to book flights.

01.01.2022 FLIGHTS! I usually book directly with the airline as this allows you to talk to the airline directly if you need to change your booking. If you book through an agent the airline will usually send you back to them for any changes you may require. The exception to this is STA who offer a layby service for $10 a ticket. This allows you to book a flight early and pay for it 2 months prior to departure. This means you can pick up really cheap airfares when they are on sale but ...you're not ready to pay for them at that time. I use portals such as Kayak and Sky Scanner to check flights and then book directly through the airline. These sites also offer alerts if you are looking for a particular flight. Some airlines also offer promotional code discounts if you search on the web. The last time i looked I could get a 10% discount on all Qatar flights. See more