Getting There From Australia and New Zealand
There are no direct flights to Ecuador from Australia or New Zealand, but Air New Zealand and Qantas team up with LanChile to fly to Guayaquil via Papeete, Easter Island and a stopover in Santiago, while American Airlines fly to Quito via Los Angeles and Miami. In general, fares depend on the duration of stay, rather than seasons, although prices soar during Christmas and and the New Year period: if you're flying via the Pacific, cut-off points are, 35 days, 45 days, 90 days, 6 months and 1 year; if you're coming via the US, they are 21 days, 45 days and 180 days. All the fares quoted for regular flights below are for 45 days. From Australia , most flights leave from Sydney, though there's also a couple a week out of Brisbane and Melbourne. There are no real bargains, and routes are reasonably complicated. The least so is with American Airlines via LA and Miami to Quito for around A$2650, while LanChile, teamed up with either Qantas or Air New Zealand, offer the lowest fares to the coastal city of Guayaquil via Auckland, Papeete, Easter Island and overnight stop in Santiago for around A$2250. From New Zealand , you can also go to Guayaquil via Papeete, Easter Island and Santiago with Air New Zealand or LanChile, both from NZ$2499, or with American Airlines to Quito via Los Angeles and Miami, from NZ$2595. If you plan to do a fair amount of travelling to other South American countries, Round the World tickets are worth considering, though the combination of limited choice and the fact that most fares are mileage based tends to make routes via South America more expensive than other RTW options. Possible itineraries include starting from either Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane, flying to Auckland, Papeete, Santiago, taking a side-trip to Guayaquil or Quito, Lima, Miami, London, Rome, Bangkok or Hong Kong then back home; fares start at A/NZ$2700 for 29,000 miles and rise to A/NZ$3700 for 39,000 miles. A better option if you want to go only to South America is Air New Zealand/Aerolineas' ninety-day Circle America fare for around A/NZ$2993, which allows four free stopovers (extras cost US$100 each) in Los Angeles, Miami, Caracas, Rio, Sao Paulo, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Lima, Santiago and Quito. Note that you cannot reverse the direction of your route, however. Whatever kind of ticket you're after, first call should be one of the discount flight agents we've listed , who can fill you in on all the latest fares and any special offers. If you're a student or under 26, you may be able to undercut some of the prices given here; STA is a good place to start.
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