It was a 12-hour flight from Manila to Auckland, New Zealand, including an hour of layover midway at Cairns, Australia. I’ve taken my window seat, as I always request during check-in, which gave me an ample view of the scenery down there — Australia is vast and New Zealand is so green. Philippine Airlines has just launched its Auckland destination, the 39th in its international route network, in December 2015.
PAL flies to Cairns, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand four times a week.
With a one-hour stopover at Cairns, Queensland, at the northern part of Australia, the Manila-Auckland trip is scheduled four times in a week. The launch of its inaugural flight was a welcome news for Filipinos in Cairns and Auckland, as well as for those from these destinations who want to visit the Philippines.
For those who want to stay for a few days in Cairns before proceeding to Auckland, here are a few things they can look forward to:
- The Great Barrier Reef
- Palm Cove
- Cape Tribulation
- Daintree Rainforest
- Port Douglas
- Atherton Tablelands
- Paronella Park
- Green Island
- Kuranda Railway
Cairns, Australia from above.
And for travelers who are making their way to Auckland, here are places you can check out in New Zealand, depending on your length of stay:
- Roam around Auckland, from the city center, the wharf area, Devonport, Mission Bay and other interesting spots (I’ll have a separate post on this)
- Visit the Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata
- Marvel at the Glowworm Caves in Waitomo
- Be awed by the geysers and the many lakes in Rotorua
- Take a trip to the capital in Wellington
- If you have plenty of time, go to the South Island, especially to Queenstown
The PAL flight makes your entire trip comfy and something to look forward to. As they say, it is all about the journey and not just the destination. The serve two meals for the entire flight, plus snacks after taking off and before landing (which are done twice because of the layover). They also give out flight kits which include a pair of socks, toothbrush and toothpaste, and an eye mask. You also get to watch a movie in-flight or doze off as they provide you with a small pillow and a blanket.
Your travel kit.
Hungry? Go Western…
…or go Filipino. You have two choices for every meal.
Interested in flying to Cairns and Auckland? Check PAL’s flight schedules at https://www.philippineairlines.com/. You can also travel and stay connected with Globe’s international roaming services.
This trip is a prize won by this blogger through Globe Telecom’s #Wonderful Blog Competition, co-sponsored by Philippine Airlines and Agoda Philippines.
14 Responses
That is a long trip, but PAL really give you a satisfying stay while on board. The foods they serve are all great and nutritious.
The in-flight food really great and the views are amazingly beautiful. Different sight makes me wonder why?…and I said, really satisfying places on earth. Nice tips and it’s good to travel going to new Zealand.
I have always wondered who won in that contest since I also joined. Congratulations! I also have a friend who went to NZ via a PAL promo. She had fun and the photos she shared were wonderful.
Congrats on winning the blog competition. Auckland is a dream location for me and it’s good PAL offers flight there.
It’s good to have a reliable airline especially when you’re going to travel for hours. I’m glad you found the right one and that they have a lot of destinations as well. That’s really awesome!
I flew pal from Sydney to Manila back in February this year and I was very pleased! I got the premium economy seats which were comfortable for an 8 hour flight. Food was great too! I couldn’t believe we also got snacks aside from the dinner/lunch we were served.
I have not ridden on Philippine Airlines for a very very long time. I think the last time was when we went to Hawaii and that was more than five years ago already. I am ok with long flights as long as there are good selections in the in-flight movies.
The colours of the photos are so vibrant! Do you actually edit them? I haven’t tried Philippines airlines before…so this is definitely a great insight…
Never travelled to NZ or Philippines or Australia though I’d love to! Lookin forward for your NZ travelogue!
I want to visit New Zealand so bad! It is so beautiful. Congrats on winning!
a friend of mine will be going home to the philippines from japan next month.. i beter let him read this article. hehe he’s actually looking for a good airline he could take.
Congrats to winning! Looks like Auckland is amazing, I hope to get there soon and glad to know PAL flies there now!
New Zealand is on my bucket list for quite some time. Beautiful place! Good that from the Philippines can fly to Auckland straight.
Looks like you had fun during the trip 🙂 Also, the food on the plane looked good 😀