A friend planted a seed in my head about going over to Australia in March as we share a birthday and it’s been about ten years since since we hung out.
He says it’s a good time of year to go, what with the height of summer having passed but still being warm, and flights are cheaper.

I quite fancy the idea, although there’s no point in going for anything less than three weeks given the distance involved. This would mean some disruption to my annual leave and my time spent with my child.
However, life’s been pretty flat for a while, and the adventure could re-awaken my appreciation of life and what is out there to enjoy. (Not that I don’t enjoy spending time with my wee girl, and if I could I’d love to take her with me, but it’s her mum…..that’s what I need an adventure to get over)

It’s been many years since I did any kind of distance, but some of you on here seem to be seasoned travellers. So, with this in mind, if I decided nearer the time to say “Och, eff it. Let’s go!”, a week or so before travelling, can good flight prices be had?
Ideally, as it’s Oz and I have friends in Perth, Melbourne, Noosa and Sydney, it might make sense to pop in on all whilst in the neighbourhood, but that’s what trains and buses are for (in the east, at least).

Any reccos for online travel resources with reputations for good deals?

Much appreciated, folks.

So, with this in mind, if I decided nearer the time to say “Och, eff it. Let’s go!”, a week or so before travelling, can good flight prices be had?

Those days seem to be gone as a rule.

Resources- STA had some good deals a week or so back, Kayak.co.uk will give you some ballpark figures by trawling most of the big travel sites such as Expedia.
Air Asia is worth a look, especially if you can travel light and are flexible- budgetish airline based in Malaya, they can have really good flight prices, but watch the add-ons- like Ryanair and Easyjet, they’ll try and take you for every penny they can get.

a week or so before travelling, can good flight prices be had

I think airlines have got better at seat management so last minute travellers are generally ‘essential’ and pay heavily for the privilege. Also, a huge chunk of a long haul flight is now tax which means that the amount of variation is less than you expect: the “flights to Oz from £xxx” is the lowest your going to get.

Look into round the world tickets as well as Australia return – you used to be able to get a couple of internal flights in Australia included which might be cheaper in the long run and your plane will be stopping to refuel if nothing else so you could break the journey.

STA/Travelbag/Trailfinders etc for those sort of deals. Kayak is good but a few airlines (Air Malaysia and Air Asia included) don’t show up so worth checking them direct.