Guest Post: Traveling from Adelaide to Sydney in Australia

** This is a guest blog post. The views in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Operation Relax**

There are more than 30 flights from Adelaide to Sydney airport in New South Wales on a daily basis, with the vast majority of them being direct itineraries. Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Tigerair all offer a wide range of departure times from 6am to 7pm, and the total flight duration is 1 hour 55 minutes. Travel websites for flights from Adelaide to Sydney include Expedia, Flight Centre and Sydney Flights Accommodation.

In terms of deciding on what is the best flight from Adelaide to Sydney, it might be worth keeping in mind that the latter two of the above mentioned carriers, Jetstar and Tigerair, are low cost budget airlines so the comfort or service levels may vary depending on which one you choose.

As a general rule, the lowest airfare travelling from Adelaide to Sydney can usually be found midweek when the airports are less crowded and there is more availability, and in a similar sense, with there being less availability on the weekends, the prices are most often higher.

This lowest cost of economy airfare can range anywhere between $59 with Tigerair to $109 economy with Qantas although business class with either of Australia’s flagship carriers, Virgin Australia or Qantas, will usually be excess of $450 one way

Flights can be booked direct on any of airline websites but it is often a good idea to check one of the major booking engines or comparison websites to get an overview of what the best flight times and prices are available, are over a particular period.

How to get to Adelaide airport

The airport is a short 6km drive from any city centre accommodation and very easy to reach. If you do not have a rental car, the best way to Adelaide airport is either to take the Jetbus, or alternatively you can opt for the convenience of a taxi.

The cheapest option is the Jetbus which is part of Adelaide Metro and the cheapest option. The Jetbus departs daily until midnight from many key city attractions every 20 to 40 minutes, although the express service is Monday to Friday only. A ticket for the Jetbus is $5.20 and it takes approximately 30 minutes including stops, whereas a taxi from the CBD to Adelaide airport will cost $27 and take only 15 minutes.

Checking in at Adelaide airport

Checking in at Adelaide airport for domestic flights is a straight forward process. There is only one terminal for all domestic check-in, the facilities for which are all located on level 2 of terminal F.

The large information screens in terminal F will always display the relevant gate allocation for each flight making it very easy to know where to go after checking in.

It is recommended to arrive at Adelaide airport at least 90 minutes prior to departure for all domestic flights and each airline requires the passenger to be in the vicinity of the appropriate gate at least 40 minutes prior to departure.

Arrival in Sydney

The flight duration from Adelaide to Sydney is 1 hour 55 minutes and upon arrival, there are many ways to reach your Sydney accommodation.

The Airport Link train departs from Sydney airport for the city every 10 minutes at a cost of $17 and takes just 13 minutes to reach the city, whereas the Airport line bus will cost $13 and take slightly longer, 20 minutes.

Alternatively a taxi fare from Sydney airport to the CBD should cost no more than $55 and take 15 minutes depending on traffic.

We've added a travel shop!

Looking for luggage? Pursuing travel photography? If it's a travel themed item, we have it in our NEW travel shop, powered by Amazon! We're still figuring out how to fit it into the smaller frame size on our blog, but you can already find it on our website or can get to it right now by clicking here!

We hope that you will consider us not just for your travel plans but also your travel accessories. :)

Guest Post: Find Real Pleasure in Your Vietnam Travel

** This is a guest blog post. The views in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Operation Relax.**

If you are interested in cheap travel deals to Vietnam you are not alone. This is a destination that many people are interested in visiting. No matter if you live close by or far away, when you travel to this country you are in position to have the time of your life. There is so much to do in Vietnam that you know you will always be busy.

Are you worried about missing out on something big on your trip? If so, you should learn more about tours in Vietnam. This will allow you to see the area with the help of somebody who knows exactly what you are looking for. After all, if you have never been to Vietnam and have no idea of where you are going you will need a local to show you the way.

Before you begin your search for Cheap Travel Deals to Vietnam, make sure you take the time to learn more about what you should and should not be doing on your trip. After all, you only have so much time at your disposal. You need to be careful of how you setup your schedule. This will ensure that you have a good time, from the day that you arrive until the day that you leave.

As you begin your search for cheap deals, make sure you have a budget in mind. Remember, what you consider to be cheap may not be the same to the next person. This is why you need to know your budget from the start. When you book cheap travel arrangements, you know that you will have more money for spending when you finally arrive at your destination - and that is something that you will enjoy.

The best way to find cheap travel deals to Vietnam is online. This is by far the best place to search if you are interested in saving money. There are a lot of online deals, some of which are better than others. As long as you take your time, you know that you are going to find deals that you are happy with.

Before you ever leave for your Vietnam trip, you should think about setting up a tour. This way you have the time to plan your entire trip. This also makes it easier for you to budget your money. 

When searching for a tour guide, make sure you find somebody with knowledge of the area. And of course, you want to hire a company that is known for offering high quality and safe tours of the country.

There is a lot that goes into planning a trip to Vietnam. What are you waiting for? This can be more affordable than many people believe. In fact, a lot of travelers soon find that this country is more affordable than many others.

A good travel operator can play a major role in the success of your Vietnam holidays, especially if you are a foreigner. Besides planning your Vietnam Tour Package, there are many other things that a reputed travel operator can do for you. An experienced agent will help you obtain important documents to enter the country, obtain competitive prices for flight and accommodation bookings and ensure that all entry tickets to sightseeing destinations and holiday activities are booked much in advance so you don't waste time doing it yourself on arrival.

Now that you know more about cheap travel deals and tours, you can begin planning your trip to Vietnam. Are you ready to have the time of your life?

Notes from Travel Talk - Let's Talk About Scuba!

It was great to be back in decent enough health to put on another Travel Talk! November's travel talk was hosted by Diventures and was all about Scuba - what it takes to get certified, the various types of scuba, and recommendations on where to dive.

Ethan told us that there are 4 phases to scuba certification at Diventures. During these phases, you are able to get all of your equipment fitted exactly to you so that you are as comfortable as possible. Classes are offered all year round with various time options. You can also sign up for private sessions. Once you are certified, you can add additional special certifications, including but not limited to underwater photography, boat diving, and stress and rescue.

Diventures believes that the best places to dive are:
- Grand Cayan
- Australia
- Cozumel **This one is the most popular spot in the world!**
- Thailand
- Curacao
- Bonaire
There is a difference between the Atlantic and Pacific, Caribbean and Asia so they recommend checking out more than one spot!

If you're not sure you want to "dive right in" to a scuba certification, Diventures offers a "Try Scuba" class on Sundays. It is all ages and only $75. If you decide after that class that you do want to get scuba certified, they'll apply $50 of the class fee to your next Scuba class!

You do need to be able to swim and to get medical clearance from a doctor, but most people are able to get certified.

Diventures has an attached retail store with a variety of diving gear, and a pool that goes to 14ft deep for plenty of practice. They also offer some group trips to various diving destinations, and you can find flyers for those trips in the retail store.

If you prefer to scuba without the group, or would like to set up your own group, please don't hesitate to contact Operation Relax!

Gum Wall - Germy or Genius?

If you've ever visited Seattle and wandered downtown, you may have noticed an unusual bit of art on the wall of the Pike Place Market Theater.

Well, ok, "art" is a subjective term - some people think it's art, still others (myself included) find it to be a disgusting wall of germs and nasty.

Whether you see it as germy or genius, one thing is certain - the Gum Wall is coming down. What started as probably a bit of nasty vandalism by a theater patron who mistakenly felt that it was totally acceptable to leave their chewing gum stuck to a public wall back in 1993 found itself being added to by more and more people. Despite the poor theater workers trying to go after it and scrape it off, the gum kept accumulating and in 1999 the market officials deemed it a "tourist attraction" so the theater just gave up.

Apprarently, it has garnered a lot of attention, including being used as backdrop for wedding photos (really? ew!) and also appearing in the film "Love Happens." It was also rated the 2nd germiest tourist attraction in 2009 (not sure that's something to be proud of, Seattle!) - and was still on the list in 2013.

This week, the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority announced that they have hired a company to power wash all the gum off the wall once and for all. The move was because they were worried about how the gum (which we all know has sugar and all kinds of other weird additives) was eroding the bricks on the building.

The cleaning will begin on November 10th, so I suppose anyone who is worried that they can't have the happiest day of their lives memorialized in front of an estimated 1 million pieces of sticky and saliva better get over there fast. ;) The cleaning is expected to take a couple of days at a cost of around $4,000.

What will happen to the gum? The PPMPDA (because I didn't want to type their long name again lol) will have it weighed - because that's apparently a vital piece of information to have - and then they will just throw it into the garbage where it will sit for all eternity, because gum doesn't compost.

It is predicted that after the walls are scrubbed clean, people will restart the wall with new gum, which makes it feel a little futile.

What do you think - is the gum wall worth rebuilding, or should people keep their masticated rubber and spit to themselves?