need some advice booking multi-city flights to AUS

yes sorry, brisbane australia, from MSY.
the longest flight i've ever taken was under 6 hours, so forgive my naivete'.

example flight i'm seeing:
MSY > BNE departs 7PM on 9/30, arrives 5:15PM on 10/2.
that seems like 20+ hours but i'm sure i'm missing something. may i assume that traveling economy for that flight is really bad idea?

If you go to google flights, there is a "multi-city" option at the top left....the default is round trip. Pick multi-city and input MSY to BNE as the first leg and Cairns (CNS) to MSY as the return leg. I see msy to LAX with a 3 hr layover and then LAX to BNE that is a 14 hr flight. Coming back you fly Cairns to Sydney to DFW to MSY. I would consider breaking the return trip up with a day or 2 in Sydney.

Thanks for clarifying. Wasn’t trying to be an arse just get more details on your trip so folks can help.

Like others have said, you won’t have a 20 hour flight but you will have some long arse, miserable flights. If you could afford upgrading ($ or some sort of credit card bonus points system) it would make it doable. I personally can’t go that long in coach- just too tall and struggle to sleep.

If you fly back through Dallas, I would not stop in Dallas. If you fly through SFO or LAX, you may consider it. I personally like to push through and would plan on sleeping on the last flight home.

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If you could afford upgrading ($ or some sort of credit card bonus points system) it would make it doable. I personally can’t go that long in coach- just too tall and struggle to sleep.

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A friend who is 6'-4" just went over there in coach and paid the extra for the bulkhead seat that has extra leg room plus bought the seat next to him which was way cheaper than biz class. Since its 2 of you buying the 3rd seat between you would be nice if you are in economy.

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LAX sucks for international transfers so prefer to leave out of Houston. That will take you direct to Sydney. Your wife (if she’s like most females) will love sydney over Brisbane. I’d then fly to Hamilton island. Spend about 3 days there. The down to Brisbane, recommend seeing the Steve Irwin zoo then down the coast to a few stops to Byron bay. Fly from Gold Coast to Sydney and back home.

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appreciate the ideas

so that would be:
MSY>SYD
SYD>HTI
HTI>BNE
BNE>MSY

in brisbane i could rent a car and then road trip around there for several days. Steve Irwin was a hero of mine so that would definitely be on the list, along with other parks/outdoor stuff around there. i've budgeted 5000 for flights so i should be OK from what i see

rental cars aren't too expensive out of Brisbane. Obviously you're driving on the "wrong side" of the road so be prepared for that. If you're not comfortable with that, there are a great deal number of train, subway and bus options to most of the big things even to steve irwin zoo which is well out of the city. I'd certainly recommend Uber for most travel in the cities outside of peak times. Sydney traffic can be crazy so certainly consider the subway or walking there for most things in the city.

Hamilton is very much upper class; not really a resort but very high end. Other option is Airlie Beach on the mainland. Small city but a few options to explore the mainland as well. Either case there are tours multiple times a day. Kids holidays are in September so shouldn’t be very crowded or in high demand. You can also rent a boat to drive around yourself. There’s a cove with hundreds of sea turtles nearby.

If you like rustic, also recommend oreilly’s rain forest south of Brisbane. It’s on top of a small mountain; a bit of a hectic road to the top but great for a nature walk that time of year with spectacular views.

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LAX sucks for international transfers so prefer to leave out of Houston. That will take you direct to Sydney. Your wife (if she’s like most females) will love sydney over Brisbane.

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This.

Also, have you thought about a stop in Fiji on the way home? If not, I would suggest it. Another option would be Rotorua, New Zealand.

Hi mate - I'm Australian and have done the trip to the US about 9-10 times these past ten years, including Nov/Dec last year and again in a few months' time...although I'll be confined to the west coast this March for a Vegas bucks.

Firstly, which airline are you flying? I would recommend Qantas in preference to United, but appreciate that might not be workable and note that United have upgraded their ageing fleet so it's far better than a few years ago. Last November we flew to Dallas on Qantas (which is a 15-hour flight from Sydney) before skipping over to MSY. In order to get to New Orleans, I have also flown Melbourne - LA - Houston on United and back in the other direction. There's no getting around it - it's a long way. Virgin is also a good alternative though I have never flown to the US with them.

Secondly, I wouldn't recommend too much driving in the short time you have allocated yourself. Flying domestic airlines in Australia is superior to flying domestically in the US. Better aeroplanes and shorter wait times at airports. A road-trip like that would be more suited to a longer stay. Also, be prepared to drive on the left hand side and be aware that speed limits are actually pretty strictly enforced here, including with fixed speed cameras and the like. The blood alcohol limit is only .05 too; you'll pretty much lose your licence on the spot if you exceed it and cops can pull you over for any reason, so bear that in mind if you want to have a couple of relaxing drinks at any stage (oh, and our beer is way heavier too, unlike American beer which the locals will probably describe as "having sex in a canoe ... forking close to water". (I actually like US beer, especially the local Port Orleans brewery stuff...but that's a tangent)).

Thirdly, all the places you have listed are enjoyable but I would recommend knocking a few off the list and staying in others longer. You will be exhausted and you won't have sufficient time to do things in any event.

I will say it is a long way to come for only 10-14 days especially if it is likely to be your first/only excursion down here. I agree that it's worth giving some consideration to New Zealand too but that almost warrants a separate trip. Conversely, I'd suggest coming to Melbourne and/or Sydney for a portion of it. There is not much to do in Brisbane - it's far from the international city that the other two places are. Maybe reserve that for a day or two at the end of the trip and use it as a base when you go out to Australia Zoo.

14 days split between Melbourne - 3/4 days, Sydney 3 days, Whitsundays 3 days (try to work in the Great Barrier Reef before it is completely destroyed by warming waters), Noosa or Byron Bay for 2 days and home via Brisbane would be a great cross-section of the country.

If you want any other suggestions please let me know. I don't spend much time up north, but I have been to most of the places on your list at one time or another. My parents more recently too, so happy to ask them.