Cheap Travel Insurance for Australian Travellers

Some think that a very large part of Australia is desert and dangerous. But really the Australian Outback is not all desert or as dangerous as some think. My own nephew drove through the desert alone from Melbourne to Canberra, a driving distance of 660km and driving time of approximately 7 hours. He got my sister all worried, but she couldn't do anything. Well he survived the trip.

Some may be scared of poisonous snakes and spiders, but some seasoned outback travellers says it is not all that dangerous. Anyway, if you are worried, there is always air travel. There are regional airlines like Skywest Airlines (serving Western Australia), Regional Express (serving South Australia and a few neighbouring towns), Air Link (New South Wales), Brindabella Airlines (between Canberra and Newcastle plus Albury and Australia-wide charter service), MacAir Airlines (Queensland), Maroomba Airlines (Western Australia), Sharp Airlines (Victoria), Skippers (Western Australia), Skytrans Airlines (Queensland airline, including air charter), AirNorth (Northern Territories), Eastern Australia Airlines (New South Wales), Sunstate (Queensland), Regional Link (Northern Territory), Tasair (Tasmania) and Virgin Blues (throughout Australia plus New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, Tonga and Cook Islands).

And don't forget the international airlines including its own Quantas Airways. Then there are chartered flight operators like Airnorth (charter services throughout the Northern Territory, the Kimberley region of Western Australia and throughout South East Asia), Alliance Airlines, Corporate Air, and Sunshine Express Airlines (Queensland and New South Wales).

And of course Australians are not that provincial as to neglect international travel for vacations as well as for business. Whatever it is, if you travel, it is always wise to get travel insurance for your protection. If you are on a budget, you can look for cheap travel insurance where you can compare, buy online and save. They say they are recommended by Lonely Planet and they cover travellers from over 150 countries including Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and the UK. And they say you can claim online even when you are still away. If you are a frequent traveller, you should look for Multi-trip Travel Insurance which cover multiple trips within a year. Backers mostly travel for a long time, often for months and to it is not unusual for them to travel to remote places. They thus have different needs and should look for Backpacker Travel Insurance. For skiing (snow skiing) enthusiasts, there are special Skiing & Snow Travel Insurance. The site also cover for the needs of senior citizens, long term travellers, students and those travelling for adventures.

Adelaide Festivals

South Australia`s capital city is Adelaide which is the fifth largest city of Australia. It is located beside the Southern Ocean and its location was first chosen because of its closeness to the Torrens River. It is a pleasant city with wide boulevards, large public squares and is surrounded by parkland. Since it is the administrative and commercial center of South Australia, the government and financial offices are here and they are mainly located in the city center in the North Terrace boulevard, King William Street and in the metropolitan area. It host many festivals and is famous for its arts and sports and wine. It can be considered a cultural city.

Festivals

The Adelaide Festival of Arts

The Adelaide Festival of Arts is a biannual event held in March (Autumn) every "even" year (meaning years like 2006, 2008, 2010...). It is an internationally renowned event and one of the world's greatest celebrations of the arts. The last one in 2006 had over 100 performances with about 30% of them sold out. Over 900 artists with nearly 30% international artists participated. Plan your visit to Adelaide for the next festival which will be from 29 February to 16 March 2008.

The Adelaide Festival of Ideas

The Adelaide Festival of Ideas is also a biannual event held over 4 nights and 3 days, attracting well known thinkers of different disciplines from around the world to exchange ideas. There will be forums, lectures and dialogues focusing on sharing of ideas, innovative thinking and intellectual debate which are mainly free to the public. The festival is held in many venues along the North Terrace boulevard.

This years Adelaide Festival of Ideas was from 5-8 July 2007 which mean you just missed it and you want to attend the next one you will have to wait another 2 years.

South Australian Living Artists Festival

The South Australian Living Artists Festival this year will be held between 3 to 19 August 2007 at the Adelaide Central Business District. More than 1400 artists from South Australia will present a range of exhibitions, displays and installations of their art to the public. It will be spread across 300 venues and visitors will get the opportunity to meet artists and see them at work.

The Adelaide Writers' Week

The Adelaide Writers' Week is Adelaide`s week long literal festival and bring together well known local and international writers and is a great opportunity for readers to meet their favourite writers. The Writers` Week in 2006 attracted an estimated 100,000 plus attendees. There will also be a book tent selling books. The next Adelaide Writers' Week will be held from 2-7 March 2008.

There are many other places of interest worth visiting in Adelaide and many events worth attending. I will blog about them next time or you can use the search box above (tick "Web" to search for them). But if you do plan on visiting Adelaide for its renowned festivals or for other reasons, do book your accommodation ahead of your arrival. If you are on a budget, try Cheap Hotels in Adelaide. Most festivals are held in or near the town center, so getting a Adelaide City hotel may be a good idea. You may even want to try their Last Minutes Deals. In all cases they offer a Lowest Rate Guarantee which promises that if you find a rate lower than the best available Cheaperthanhotels.com Internet rate on another web site for the same hotel/accommodation, on the same dates and inform them within 24 hours of booking your room(s) with us, they will honour that rate for the night(s) for which the lower rate was found and refund you the difference.