Penalized for being single!

[highnez]

I was doing some trip planning yesterday and discovered that even if I want to pay big bucks for a long train trip, I have to settle for "sub-standard" sleeping quarters

Comments

[adventurat]

Ah, the single supplement; yes indeedy. Outrageous, but still in use. Sometimes it's not "pay for two to have your privacy" - it's 1.5 times the cost of a single person sharing (if you see what I mean). Interestingly, I never came across it when I was in Aus, but then I was backpacking and had nothing of particular value but my air ticket and passport.

Which train journey were you contemplating? I've never really travelled by train, but there are some great train journeys I'd not mind trying. :)

[highnez]

Yes, I think you are right that it is 1.5 times and not 2 times the amount. But still it is annoying.

I'm contemplating The Ghan trip from Alice Springs to Adelaide. On the plus side, I'd get to see the countryside and I'd be able to relax while still doing touristy stuff. On the minus side, the train only leaves twice a week so I would need to plan my trip around the train times, which means sorting out how many days to spend in which cities before I catch the train. At the moment, it looks like sightseeing in Sydney will suffer the most.

[adventurat]

The Ghan is, I think, rated one of the World's Great Railway Journeys, according to a travel show on that subject that was on a year or more. I've not done it, but I'd recommend it as an alternative to the slower Greyhound (which is how I did it), which breaks its journey in Coober Pedy. Coober is bloody hot, but it's an interesting example of survival in a hostile environment. Most of the buildings, for instance, are built into the rock to keep the heat off. I was too tired to appreciate the place the one time I was there for 24 hours.