Relax With Australian Discounts

YHA Travel Adventures, an Australian youth/budget travel service, has announced new Flexi Pass packages designed to allow travel at a relaxed pace.

The packages include a ticket for traveling a specific bus route with as many stops as desired. Also included are vouchers valid for dormitory accommodation at any of more than 100 Australian Youth Hostels. Some of the Flexi Passes even allow the traveler to take up to one year to complete the trip.

Having as much as a year for a journey is a real asset in Australia where distances are vast. For example, it’s about 1,700 miles between Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and its closest neighbor, Adelaide. That’s similar to traveling between Houston, Tex., and Montreal.

Transportation is by Bus Australia. The journey may begin at any point along the route but travelers are limited to backtracking only on certain predetermined segments. The 12-month ticket begins the date it is issued. Prices that follow are valid from April 1, 1991, to March 31, 1992.

Four versions of the Flexi Pass package are available.

1) The Aussie Discoverer version of 12-month Flexi Pass packages enables travel to many of the key tourist sites throughout the country. This ticket is valid for trips between Darwin, Katherine, Broome, Exmouth, Perth, Adelaide, Coober Pedy, Yulara (Ayers Rock), Alice Springs, Three Ways, Cairns, Townsville, Whitsunday Island, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne.

The bus pass, which includes 15 accommodation vouchers, is available for $890; with 40 vouchers, $1,076, and with 60 vouchers it’s $1,262.

2) The 12-month Eastern Discoverer package offers access to popular beach and Barrier Reef attractions of the East Coast, as well as the Australian outback. The route available using this ticket links Cairns, Townsville, Whitsunday Island, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Coober Pedy, Yulara (Ayers Rock), Alice Springs and Three Ways.

The bus ticket plus 15 accommodation vouchers costs about $590; with 20 vouchers it’s $630; with 40 vouchers it’s $819 and with 60 vouchers it’s $1,006. It’s possible to extend the transportation segment from Three Ways to Darwin and back to Three Ways--for an additional $84.

3) The Western Discoverer version of the package includes a 12-month bus ticket linking Darwin, Katherine, Broome, Exmouth, Perth, Adelaide, Coober Pedy, Yulara (Ayers Rock) and Alice Springs.

A package with 15 accommodation vouchers is about $640; with 20 vouchers $670; with 40 vouchers, $874, and with 60 vouchers it’s $1,061.

YHA Travel Adventures also offers bus/hostel packages for shorter periods which incorporate bus passes that allow travel in any direction throughout Australia, and special short “do-it-yourself” packages for travel in Tasmania.

4) The Tasmanian Wilderness package offers 12 days of transportation and 12 nights of accommodation for less than $17 a day.

Tasmania is the southeastern island state of Australia. It was once a penal colony, and known as Van Diemen’s Land. Today, most budget travelers reach it by taking an overnight ferry.

The Tasmanian Wilderness packages include a ticket for 12 days of travel on Red Line Coaches, plus vouchers for 12 nights in dormitory lodging at Tasmanian Youth Hostels. The bus route links Devonport, Sheffield, Zeehan, Strahan, Cradle Mountain, Lake St. Clair, Mt. Field, Lake Peddar/Scotts Peak, Lune River, Hobart, Deloraine, Ben Lomond and Lauceston. The price is about $200.

All of the packages mentioned are only for sale outside Australia. For further details, contact YHA Travel Adventures at 38 Sturt St., Adelaide, South Australia 5000; fax 011-61-08-231-4219.