WHICH AIRLINE SHOULD I CHOOSE?
Well...this will all depend on what is most important to you! For us (with a little man that gets bored quickly and prone to fanatical outbursts) we wanted to have the most direct flight, at a suitable time that is all inclusive! So we choose to always fly with Garuda!
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I like to feel like I'm on holidays the minute you take off...and with Garuda, within 10 minutes of taking off they're running the isles with the drinks cart offering me a glass of wine in a plastic cup, kids are sorted with a range of movies, games and activities on their own personal tv and by the time they start to waiver into boredom, snacks, meals and more drinks are offered to keep them quiet!
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I also like the hints of Indonesia, the flight attendants dressed in modern traditional attire and the choice to have either a Indonesian or English lunch on board is a nice gesture! By the time the Weiss bar ice-cream for afternoon tea (and the drinks cart maybe for just one. more. gin and tonic) arrives the pilot announces we are descending and before you know it you're awaiting your luggage in the airport!
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Garuda also leaves Sydney airport at 10am and arrives at Denpasar airport by around 3pm in the afternoon...so you haven't completely lost an entire day and can venture out for a quick dinner before going to bed!
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Your all inclusive ticket also includes 32kgs EACH (yes, kids too) of baggage...so if you're planning to go on a mad shopping spree while you're in Bali, you could honestly take 3 empty suitcases and fill it to your hearts content. Want to take your surfboard? Well you're in luck because that too is included in your ticket price! For our family of 4 it costs approx. $3000. But if you are lucky enough to score a flight during one of the sale periods (sign up to receive a heads up when a sale is on!) then for 4 it would be about $2500 to fly return from Sydney!
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Don't make the rookie mistake I did first time around...when you've decided on a date...BOOK YOUR AIRFARE!! They are not going to get any cheaper...in fact as the seats on the plane fill up, so does the price go up. From "waiting" to book...we were stung an extra $500 in literally days. By the time it came around to the week of our departure I thought I might quickly check how much the airfares would be for our little family of 4...$10,000 big ones. Don't same mistake...book. ASAP!
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The ONLY downfall (maybe?) is that the return to Oz is always on the red eye...leaving Bali at around 11:30pm and arriving back on Australian soil the next day at approximately 8:30am. The upside of this is that each time our children have been asleep on the plane even before we've taken off and then once the lights pop on to serve breakfast again they're announcing our decent. Easy trip for the kids...just not so easy for mum and dad with arms and legs in our faces for the duration of the flight, which in reality, is not too much different from our nightly situation at home anyway!
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The seats are quite comfortable and adequate leg room for my 6ft something husband...wonderful service with a smile! We highly recommend flying with Garuda!
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We obviously have not tried the other airlines...hence I can't make comment on the service. We have flown with Jetstar and Virgin domestically and have never had a problem. If you're budget conscious and want to save all your dollars for shopping and cocktails then I would choose to fly with either! But just beware....
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On our first trip to Bali, I too was swayed by the thought of grabbing a $150 flight...however these flights are of course outside of peak periods like the school holidays and preferable dates we had in mind (add on another couple of hundred of dollars each) next, the ticket is ONLY inclusive of carry on luggage...you have the option to choose how many kgs and the more kgs you choose the more $$ you will pay! Seat selection...of course you would like to sit next to your children and family and guarantee your seat (more money) can't be bothered packing a bag full of snacks for a 6 hour flight...add on a meal voucher to be used on board (more money again) drinks...yes they're available...for purchase during the flight with your credit card (yet more money) and the cherry on top for us was (maybe our fault because we had booked accommodation before flights so needed exact dates) was the crazy stopovers...leave Sydney, change at Brisbane (with waiting period in between) arrive at Denpasar at around midnight (Jetstar flights mainly leave in the afternoon) paying for a nights accommodation and missing a whole day....the way back...Denpasar to Kula Lumpar...then to Melbourne (again with a waiting period) and finally back to Sydney! That's how we ended up choosing Garuda....because it actually turned out (with all the extras) to be cheaper!
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In saying this, the budget wasn't our priority. Having kids that didn't terrorise the fellow unsuspecting passengers was and we have friends that fly consistently to Bali with Jetstar and Virgin with their bags packed full of snacks and treats, ipads and headphones and have never had a bad experience!
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The choice is up to you! Don't want the hassle: Garuda
Just want to save your $$ for cocktails: the other airlines
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Either way you get there, once you pull up on your sunlounger, pina colada in hand, palm tress overhead and the salty breeze in your hair....it won't bloody matter!!
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