For Canadians, Australia is a very popular vacation destination, visas are very easy to attain and if you know how to look, finding affordable flights is very possible. At GAFFL we know a lot of people travelling to Australia are budget conscious. We know this because travelers in Australia are constantly using GAFFL to find travel companions to share costs during their trips. We thought it would be helpful to list some tips for finding the cheapest flights to Australia from Canada.
Cheapest routes to Australia from Canada
The cheapest route you can fly to get to Australia from Canada is Vancouver to Sydney, this is due to the closer proximity between these two cities than any other major Canadian city. Generally, if all things are the same, meaning there are no flash sales or discounts, flying to Sydney would be the cheapest destination regardless of which Canadian airport you fly out of.
Cheapest departure cities in Canada
We already mentioned Vancouver as being the cheapest departure city for flying to Australia due to proximity. Flying out of other west coast cities like Calgary or Edmonton will cost you about $130 CAD ($100 USD) more than Vancouver. If you’re flying out of the east coast travelling from Montreal would provide you with the lowest prices. Flying out of Toronto or Winnipeg would be about $130-$200 CAD more ($100-$150 USD).
Below are the prices for round trips departing from major Canadian cities to Sydney from February 11th to 25th 2020.
- Flights from Vancouver to Sydney lowest price $1281 CAD ($972 USD)
- Flights from Montreal to Sydney lowest price $1393 CAD ($1056 USD)
- Flights from Calgary to Sydney lowest price $1414 CAD ($1072 USD)
- Flights from Edmonton to Sydney lowest price $1414 CAD ($1072 USD)
- Flights from Toronto to Sydney lowest price $1492 CAD ($1131 USD)
- Flights from Winnipeg to Sydney lowest price $1539 CAD ($1167 USD)
- Flights from Ottawa Intl to Sydney lowest price $1637 CAD ($1241 USD)
- Flights from Halifax to Sydney lowest price $1746 CAD ($1324 USD)
Cheapest Arrival cities in Australia
While some of you may not be able to control which city you fly out of, you do have control over what city you choose to fly to. Similar to the departure cities, arrival cities are a factor in determining your ticket prices as well. Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane are the cheapest arrival cities for people looking to fly to Australia from Canada. Flying into Darwin, Perth, or Adelaide will be about $130-$200 CAD more ($100-$150 USD), and if you’re going to Cairns, or Gold Coast you’ll be paying $260-$400 CAD more ($200-300 USD) for the cheapest flights.
Below are the prices for flights departing from Vancouver and arriving in the cities mentioned above. All of these flights are round trips from Vancouver departing on March 3rd and returning on March 17th.
- Flights from Vancouver to Melbourne lowest price $1145 CAD ($868 USD)
- Flights from Vancouver to Sydney lowest price $1157 CAD ($877 USD)
- Flights from Vancouver to Brisbane lowest price $1179 CAD ($894 USD)
- Flights from Vancouver to Darwin lowest price $1234 CAD ($936 USD)
- Flights from Vancouver to Perth lowest price $1281 CAD ($971 USD)
- Flights from Vancouver to Adelaide lowest price $1315 CAD ($997 USD)
- Flights from Vancouver to Gold Coast lowest price $1509 CAD ($1144 USD)
- Flights from Vancouver to Cairns lowest price $1567 CAD ($1188 USD)
When you should book your flight from Canada to Australia
While it’s possible to find deals if you wait, if you have certain dates and flights in mind, you should book as soon as possible. Prices generally go up closer to the departure dates, so waiting for the right deal can often backfire. However, there are price watching tools out there for those of you who don’t have set dates in mind. We recommend the Hopper App to monitor flights. The flight prices above were all found using Hopper. We do not have any affiliations with this company, we’re simply fans and love how simple their product is to use.
The best months for you to book your flight out of Canada are between April and August. Prices are generally the cheapest during this period, and are the most expensive from November through January. The cheaper flights coincide with Australian winter, but this shouldn’t be any trouble for Canadians as winter in Australia is a lot milder than it is in Canada.
You’ll find the best deals flying out in the middle of the week as opposed to weekends. Flying on a Tuesday or Wednesday will generally provide you with the best deals.
We hope that this post helps all our Canadian friends who are traveling on a budget to Australia. If this article was helpful don’t forget to share it with your friends!
Additionally, once you're in Australia, if you want to meet up with other travelers or locals in Australia, GAFFL can help you with that. Simply browse through the trips and local listings below, connect & chat with someone who's profile you like, meet up, and adventure together! It's that simple.