Australia Thread 2

[rocky]

^more than a month ka din sis? kakainip no? at least pwedeng refund ticket mo

[rocky]

booked manila-sydney via cebu pac one-way 7,788 with 15kg baggage. wait na lang uli ng promo pabalik. laking tipid compare sa PAL

[chocochips1]

NSW: i have seen the Vaucluse Cliff from Sydney IG account. gusto ko sana puntahan to, sa Vaucluse House ba ang access area nito? or we can go over tapos lakad lakad lang, may entrance fee kasi sa Vaucluse House (But i want to visit that place too). when i searched in Google kasi, may binigay pa na The Gap (between Vaucluse Cliff and Watsons Bay). any suggestions/ or additional information po?

[rocky]

ask ko lang sa mga sis na nakapag-try mag-roadtrip from sydney to goldcoast, anong ok na sidetrip? overnight kami sa coffs harbour then pabalik sa port macquarie, para may pahinga naman si hubby sa pagda-drive

[mama squeak!]

^sis yung first day mo na half day kaya yan kasi ginawa ko yan nung sumama ako sa hubby ko. Not too sure about the second day since di ko pa narating except for Westfield Tower na nadaanan namin going to The Rocks/Circular Quay.

Our second day naman we spent the whole day in Manly Beach instead of Bondi. Why so short yung visit mo?

[chocochips1]

^ thank you sa reply mama squeak!

gusto ko din sana sa Manly beach kaso kulang sa oras. yung Watson's bay kasi nasa 30mins daw ang byahe from Edgecliff station. plan namin stay lang sandali para mapuntahan lahat

3 days lang pwede kasi wala na kami Leave ni husband, naubos na last December saka mag initial entry lang kami for PR visa.

[mama squeak!]

^Oh I thought tourist visa ka. So you'll be based there pala. That wouldn't be a problem then since easy for you to go back anytime. Enjoy your trip! 

[chocochips1]

Thank you!

Sulitin lang namin, ang mahal din kasi ng airfare

[ataypool]

Chocochips, mas malapit St James Station sa St Marys Cathedral. If you're taking the train from Circular Quay, there are direct trains to St James and more frequent. You can also take the free bus from Circular Quay but sa George Street na yata lahat dumadaan so mas malayo pa lalakarin.

Ditch Kings Cross, not worth it. It is a red light district and during the day hindi rin naman maganda.

Another option sa Bondi beach is Coogee or catch the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly. Bondi gets very crowded. Kung photos lang naman gusto niyo sa Bondi pwede pa siguro ang Westfield.

Westfield opening hours Saturday 930am to 630pm, Sunday 10am to 6pm. On your last day just wake up early and go to Bondi, Monday morning naman so it's not crowded anymore.

www.131500.com for your transport options, and directions as well.

If you have the time at night and hindi na pagod, Chinatown has started their Lunar New Year celebrations. After the photos sa Opera House, you can go there. St Marys Cathedral is quite close to Chinatown and Darling Harbour. Personally, I prefer Darling Harbour than the Circular Quay side. Mas madami gagawin. more info, www.sydneychinesenewyear.com

[ataypool]

And kung babalik ka rin pala dito, kalimutan mo na ang Bondi beach 

[chocochips1]

wow thank you ataypool.
check ko lahat yang info from you..

[_Jasmin_]

I'm planning to visit my sister and family in Sydney this year and I'm thinking to go either in August or December (Christmas vacation). I think winter kase by August and summer naman ng December. Alin ba mas okay, well, in terms of places to visit or activities to do?

Also, I would like to seek advice on applying visa. We'll be applying for Visitor visa (Subclass 600) with family sponsorship.  Have the ff questions:
1. Is it okay to lodge the application as early as now if I'm planning to travel by August or December?
2. In the online form (I already started filling out mine), I can only put 1 target travel date?
3. There was a question there if were planning to visit Australia again in the future or after first entry, and if you tick yes, you'll be asked for travel dates, then if you say none yet, you'll be asked for a reason. I'm thinking of saying yes since of course I would still want to visit my sister again but explain that there are no dates yet since it will depend on my future financial capability. Okay lang ba yon? or better to say No outright na lang muna? Siyempre gusto ko sana kung pwede sana ma grant ng multiple entry visa para makatipid. haha.

Currently, I put my online application on hold kase nag expire ng end of January yung Phil passports ng family ng sister ko and sa Feb 27 pa daw sila magpapa renew eh parang kailangan ng passport details since it will be a family sponsored travel.

TIA!

[ataypool]

Jasmine, for me ayaw ko ng malamig so I prefer December, at least you can go to the beach, longer public holidays so more time for you to spend with your family here.

Mahirap sagutin about your multiple entry tourist visa but the immigration department always look at the financial capability of you and your relatives here so parang hindi maganda iyong sasabihin mo na depende pa sa future finances. That's just me.

[mama squeak!]

^^If you were to ask me, I'd rather go when the weather is cool (not cold ha) para hindi nakakapagod mamasyal. I don't like it pag tumatagaktak pawis ko kasi.  I was there in November and the weather was just right, cool and sunny! Got to spend a day at the beach too (Manly).

Re visa application, answer ko lang yung na-experience ko:

1. No need to apply too far in advance. Give allowance ng one to two months siguro. I got my visa grant after two weeks of lodging my application.

2. You can put as many travel dates as you want. During my application, I stated 4 travel dates (pero tentative dates lang ito ha).

3. I stated all the reasons (i.e. celebrate our anniversary, birthday treat for my Mom, etc.) plus I also wrote that I get to ride shot gun with my hubby who flies to Sydney on a regular basis. I got one-year multiple entry.

Good luck! 

[_Jasmin_]

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate it.

My bro in law asked me to apply already since he's paying for me and my son's plane tickets. Para yata he can still score cheaper tickets. Yun nga lang din my concern kase isnt it a bit early. Maybe ok lang kase if ever may validity naman yung visa right? For ex in our case, if ever were granted as early as March, travel validity will start for example, August? Tama ba?

Regarding options to travel, the August date kase will coincide with my sister and son's birthdays. This trip is supposed to be a surprise gift for my sister since its been more than 3 yrs since they left Phils. Winter kase ng August so baka di kami makapag beach if ever but there are places yata we can experience snow? Well be staying max of 2 weeks. Kapag December naman summer and advantage is that my son will not miss school days. Kaya lang sobrang init daw accdg to my sister ng summer in Australia. If ever, Dec 18- Jan 2 kami. Mainit ba sobra around that time?

Re: travel date, parang may unang question kase na you can put several dates so nilagay ko nga 2 target dates kase i ta type mo lang sa blank space. Then meron parang follow up question na parang youre asked again tapos may i click na calendar and parang di pwede maglagay ng more than 1? Yun ang problem ko kase di pa nga kami sure if I go ahead with August or Dec.

Re: future visit- Maybe I can just input any probable target date instead of specifying a reason. Maybe thats better? Haha

May naalala pa pala ako: there is a question about how long are you staying and the options were: 3 months, 6 months, and another, maybe 12 months. Eh if ever we'll only stay about 2 weeks. Ano ilalagay ko? 3 months? Walang option for verbatim answer eh.

Thanks again!

[rocky]

^sis, yang december kahit summer na super init pero madalas ding umulan so hindi ka rin masyadong mag-eenjoy kung august pa target date mo masyado pang maaga para kumuha ng visa. usually 2 weeks to 1 month lang processing. may promo ngayon cebu pac one-way 2488 all-in, june to december travel date. pwede na kayong magbook ng ticket though hindi naman nirerequire ng embassy yong ticket.

6 months valid ang visa from the day na na-grant kung single entry pero kung multiple 1 year. first apply ko nilagay ko single lang kaya siguro single lang na-grant then ngayong second, tatlong date na nilagay ko & multiple din ang binigay. basta maging honest ka lang sa mga sagot mo & consistent approve yan

[_Jasmin_]

Sayang nga may ongoing promo kaso since my bro in law will pay for our tickets, he wants our visa to be approved first before he finalizes the tickets. So I guess we need to wait. How's Cebupac flights to Sydney? Okay ba?

If we apply lets say by March but our specified target date of travel is August, the visa validity will start March? Ganon ba yon?

[mama squeak!]

^Okay naman CebuPac basta don't expect a lot since low-cost carrier sila. As in no-frills talaga. If you're sanay with full-service carriers baka ma-disappoint ka. Their seat spacing are really tight, wala sila inflight entertainment (kaya bring your own), no pillows or blankets but they sell these on board (I brought my own pillow and blanket). Food you buy on board (or pre-order online) or make baon.

But if you're after low fares and don't mind an 8-hour flight without the frills, okay ang CebPac. Swerte ko lang hindi puno yung flight kaya occupied ko buong row sa likod. 

Re visa, kung kelan ni-release yung visa that's when the validity will start.

[cutiepie]

i applied tourist visa for my parents online last January 24. til now "in progress" pa din. ang tagaaaaal.

as for multiple entry, i applied din for a tourist visa for my july trip. i stated tentative dates (xmas holiday) sa other dates of travel kahit pa wala ako plan to spend holidays dun and i was granted multiple entry. My online visa application processing was super fast. wala pang 12 hours granted na visa ko. I think depende sa embassy ng australia na magrereview ng documents. Mine kasi was Indonesia kaya mabilis lang. Sa parents ko e Manila address.

Anyway, may nakatry na ba magpadala via post office from Australia to other countries like USA, etc? mahal ba and gaano kaya katagal magpadala? Thank in advance. 

[ataypool]

www.auspost.com.au for your postal needs. They have express and standard delivery. If you are sending parcels to the Philippines, try BM Express. I dont know the exact website address, just search for it. They also have a Manila office. They are reliable.