Australia is a great vacation destination for people living in the US, visas are very easy to attain and if you book strategically, finding affordable flights can also be easy. 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 with during their trips. We thought it would be helpful to list some tips for finding the cheapest flights to Australia from the US
Cheapest routes to Australia from the US
The cheapest route you can fly to get to Australia from the US is Honolulu to Sydney, this is due to the close proximity between these two cities. 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 US airport you fly out of.
Cheapest departure cities from the US
We already mentioned Honolulu as being the cheapest departure city for flying to Australia due to proximity. Similarly, because of the overall distance, flying out of major west coast cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Las Vegas will provide you with the best price regardless of what destination city in Australia you land in. If you’re flying out of the east coast travelling from NYC, Chicago, Boston or Newark would provide you with the lowest prices.
Below are the prices for round trips departing from major US cities to Sydney from March 3rd to March 17th.
- Flights from Honolulu to Sydney lowest price $458 USD
- Flights from Los Angeles to Sydney lowest price $765 USD
- Flights from San Francisco to Sydney lowest price $803 USD
- Flights from Las Vegas to Sydney lowest price $854 USD
- Flights from New York City to Sydney lowest price $857 USD
- Flights from Newark Intl to Sydney lowest price $965 USD
- Flights from Boston to Sydney lowest price $965 USD
- Flights from Chicago-O'Hare Intl to Sydney lowest price $975 USD
- Flights from San Diego to Sydney lowest price $984 USD
- Flights from Portland to Sydney lowest price $1006 USD
- Flights from Houston to Sydney lowest price $1022 USD
- Flights from Sacramento to Sydney lowest price $1027 USD
- Flights from Phoenix to Sydney lowest price $1028 USD
- Flights from Oakland to Sydney lowest price $1032 USD
- Flights from Salt Lake City to Sydney lowest price $1050 USD
- Flights from Austin to Sydney lowest price $1083 USD
- Flights from Jacksonville to Sydney lowest price $1104 USD
- Flights from Orlando Intl to Sydney lowest price $1132 USD
- Flights from Minneapolis to Sydney lowest price $1136 USD
- Flights from Fort Lauderdale to Sydney lowest price $1141 USD
- Flights from Indianapolis to Sydney lowest price $1143 USD
- Flights from Atlanta to Sydney lowest price $1144 USD
- Flights from Washington D.C. to Sydney lowest price $1148 USD
- Flights from Miami to Sydney lowest price $1155 USD
- Flights from Dallas/Fort Worth Intl to Sydney lowest price $1156 USD
- Flights from Philadelphia to Sydney lowest price $1159 USD
- Flights from Denver to Sydney lowest price $1176 USD
- Flights from Pittsburgh to Sydney lowest price $1213 USD
- Flights from Cleveland to Sydney lowest price $1213 USD
- Flights from Nashville to Sydney lowest price $1297 USD
- Flights from Charlotte to Sydney lowest price $1341 USD
Cheapest Arrival cities
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 and Melbourne are the cheapest arrival cities for people looking to fly to Australia from the US. Flying into Perth or Brisbane will be about $100- $150 USD more, and if you’re going to Cairns, Gold Coast, Adelaide, or Darwin you’ll be paying $200-300 USD more for the cheapest flights.
Below are the prices for flights departing from Los Angeles and arriving in the cities mentioned above. Consistent to the first example, all of these flights are round trips from LA departing on March 3rd and returning on March 17th.
- Flights from Los Angeles to Melbourne lowest price $754 USD
- Flights from Los Angeles to Sydney lowest price $765 USD
- Flights from Los Angeles to Perth lowest price $864 USD
- Flights from Los Angeles to Brisbane lowest price $873 USD
- Flights from Los Angeles to Cairns lowest price $949 USD
- Flights from Los Angeles to Gold Coast lowest price $953 USD
- Flights from Los Angeles to Adelaide lowest price $967 USD
- Flights from Los Angeles to Darwin lowest price $1077 USD
When you should book your flight to Australia from the US
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 the US are between the second week of February up until the beginning of June and the end of October till the end of November. Prices are generally the cheapest during these periods, and are the most expensive from December to January and from June to September.
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 American 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.