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TRAVEL & LODGING

You must have a visa to enter Australia. 

It is important that you apply for your visa well in advance of anticipated travel, as it may take 8-10 weeks to process.

The Glass Art Society has appointed Abel Tasman Tours as the official travel agent for all conference travel packages (flight and hotel) for attendees traveling from the U.S. and Canada.  GAS chose this company because they sell only the South Pacific, and are acknowledged experts in the field. 

They can personalize any travel arrangements for you if the suggested packages don’t meet your needs.  If you are interested in staying additional days or adding locations, Abel Tasman Tours can address your requests.

To reserve your travel package, contact Abel Tasman Tours:
U.S.:  Tel: 800 727 1626, ext. 270,  e-mail: gas@attours.com
Canada:  Tel: 425 881 2111, ext. 270,  e-mail: gas@attours.com

Attendees from countries other than the U.S. and Canada: Travel offices handling the GAS conference travel package will differ from country to country outside the U.S. and Canada. For the travel office contact for your country, go here.

Cancellation Policy and Trip Insurance: 
For information on Abel Tasman Tours' cancellation policy and available trip insurance, please go here.

Space is limited and bookings will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis.  We encourage you to reserve your travel package as soon as possible.  Once space is full at the specified hotels, Abel Tasman Tours will make every attempt to confirm flights and accommodations as close as possible to what you originally requested.

Adelaide Travel Packages

For helpful hints on traveling to Australia and New Zealand,
download this document.

Departure Date: May 4, 2005
Return Date:   May 11, 2005

Includes:  
•  Roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles to Adelaide
(Go to Abel Tasman Tours website for add-on pricing within the U.S. to Los Angeles)
•  5 nights hotel accommodation, based on double occupancy (single accommodations available for an additional fee)
  
3-Star Accommodation: Mercure Grosvenor (or comparable)
Good value, no-frills, entry-level property; well located; close to the conference venues.

$1,585 USD per person/double occupancy
$   230 USD single occupancy additional fee

4-Star Accommodation: Oaks Horizon Hotel (formerly Ramada Inn)  (or comparable)
Brand new property located close to the conference venues.  24-hour room service, restaurant and bar onsite; pool; exercise room; whirlpool; sauna; full kitchen in all rooms.

$1,650 USD per person/double occupancy in 1-bedroom unit
$   315 USD single occupancy additional fee

$1,704 USD per person/triple occupancy in 2-bedroom unit
$1,614 USD per person/quad occupancy in 2-bedroom unit

4-Star Accommodation: Embassy Hotel 
Stylish boutique apartment-style property, located close to the
conference venues.  24-hour room service; restaurant and bar;
pool; gym; kitchen and laundry facilities in rooms.

$1,720 USD per person/double occupancy in 1-bedroom unit
$   385 USD single occupancy additional fee

$1,710 USD per person/triple occupancy in 2-bedroom unit
$1,620 USD per person/quad occupancy in 2-bedroom unit

5-Star Accommodation: Hyatt Regency
All the amenities of a 5-star hotel, and absolutely the closest
property to the conference venues.  Three restaurants,
business center, fully equipped health and fitness center, pool.
 
$1,790 USD per person/double occupancy
$   445 USD single occupancy additional fee

Business Class Upgrade
$4,600 USD per person, two or more passengers (trans-Pacific
flights only) on a booking and reserved 30 days in advance.

$5,300 USD per person, based on one passenger on a booking and/
or two or more passengers reserved less than 30 days in advance.

Abel Tasman Pre- & Post-Conference Tour Packages

While down under, take the opportunity to explore some of the other wonders of Australia on Abel Tasman tour packages before or after the conference:

Schedule your tour directly with Abel Tasman.

The following prices are land only.  Airfare is additional and will be confirmed at the time of booking, based on your complete itinerary and using special GAS conference fares.

Sensational Sydney

Sydney has been repeatedly voted the world’s best destination.  Enjoy four nights at a 5-star hotel within walking distance of the famed Rocks area, in the middle of the central business district.  Your tour includes airport transfers, a city sights tour, Sydney Harbour Highlights Cruise, and a full-day tour into the World Heritage Blue Mountains area, including breakfast with the kangaroos and a visit to an Australian wildlife park.

$590 USD per person/double occupancy – 5-Star
$385 USD single occupancy additional fee – 5-Star

$400 USD per person/double occupancy – 3-Star
$295 USD single occupancy additional fee – 3-Star

Tropical Great Barrier Reef - Palm Cove


Spoil yourself for four nights at a magnificent 4-star resort in quaint Palm Cove, located in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef, just 20 minutes north of Cairns.  Your holiday includes round-trip airport transfers from Cairns; a day cruise to the Outer Great Barrier Reef with snorkeling, as well as other activities centered on the spectacular sights of this natural wonder; and a day tour into the rainforest village of Kuranda. 

$625 USD per person/double occupancy – 4-Star
$355 USD single occupancy additional fee – 4-Star

$535 USD per person, based on double occupancy – 3-Star
$245 USD single occupancy additional fee – 3-Star

Red Centre Outback Encounter


The Ghan, Outback
Copyright South Australian Tourism Commission

The Australian Outback evokes a multitude of images:  intense, ever-changing colors, repainting the landscape from amethyst to blue to orange to ochre over the course of each day.  Your package includes round-trip airport transfers, two nights in Alice Springs at a 4-star hotel, with visits to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the School of the Air, two nights at Ayer’s Rock (also in 4-star accommodations), spectacular Sounds of Silence Dinner, breakfast and a base tour of Ayers Rock, and an unforgettable sunrise camel ride.

$855 USD per person, based on double occupancy - 4-Star
$450 USD single occupancy additional fee - 4-Star

$750 USD per person, based on double occupancy - 3-Star
$340 USD single occupancy additional fee - 3-Star

Cosmopolitan Melbourne
Australia’s second largest city welcomes you with a 3-night stay in one of Melbourne’s centrally located 5-star hotels.  You will have round-trip airport transfers included, a city sights tour, dinner aboard the world famous Colonial Tramcar Restaurant, and a full-day wine tour into the beautiful Yarra Valley region.

$490 USD per person, based on double occupancy - 5-Star
$265 USD single occupancy additional fee - 5-Star

$370 USD per person, based on double occupancy - 3-Star
$145 USD single occupancy additional fee - 3-Star

Tasmanian Self-Drive


Wineglass Bay, Tamania
Photo: Joe Shemesh, copyright Tourism Tasmania

A self-drive trip is the best way to explore Tassie; the roads are not crowded and the local drivers are forgiving!  Wineries, lavender farms, and roadside cafés beckon you to stop.  Your package includes an intermediate size (automatic transmission) car rental and four nights of open hotel vouchers at 4-star properties.  Explore...explore...explore.

$360 USD per person/double occupancy - 4-Star
$360 USD single occupancy additional fee - 4-Star


New Zealand Highlights


Cathedral Cove, New Zealand

You’ve traveled all this way so why not take nine more days and see the highlights of New Zealand?  Your package includes an intermediate size (automatic transmission) car rental and eight nights at 4-star hotels (one night in Christchurch, three nights in Queenstown, two nights in Rotorua and two nights in Auckland).  In the South Island, a full-day tour to Milford Sound and an afternoon cruise aboard the TSS Earnslaw on Lake Wakitipu to Walter Peak Station are included.  In the North Island, a traditional Maori Hangi Dinner Feast and a Rotorua sight-seeing pass make for a good overview of New Zealand.

$1,610 USD per person/double occupancy - 4-Star
$   520 USD single occupancy additional fee - 4-Star

$1,495 USD per person/double occupancy - 3-Star
$   405 USD single occupancy additional fee - 3-Star

Abel Tasman Day Tours

Barossa Valley


Tollana Woodbury, Eden Valley, Barossa Valley
Copyright South Australian Tourism Commision

While Barossa wines are world famous, this region also offers a peaceful rural setting where each season accentuates the beauty of the vineyards.  An hour’s drive from Adelaide and you are there.  A stop along the way at the Whispering Wall is recommended.  A true engineering feat when it was built, this acoustic phenomenon allows messages whispered at one end to be heard at the other 140 meters away.  Your day tour into this lovely area includes hotel pickup, morning tea, lunch, and three premium cellar door wine tastings.

$82 USD per person, transportation to/from Barossa Valley included

Kangaroo Island


Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island
Copyright South Australian Tourism Commission

Kangaroo Island, a 20-minute flight from Adelaide, is Australia’s third largest island, 155 kilometers long and 55 kilometers wide.  It is arguably the best place in Australia to see the widest range of Australian native animals in their natural habitats; see close up the echidnas, koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, and penguins.  See the dramatic coastal scenery, with cliffs that drop steeply to roaring surf, secluded pristine beaches, vivid blue ocean, vast tracks of eucalypti woodlands, protected coves and hidden caves.  The most famous attraction is Seal Bay Conservation Park, permanent home to a colony of around 500 rare Australian sea lions that represent about 10% of the entire world population of this species. Flinders Chase National Park covers most of the western end of the island with undisturbed forest and grassland.  More than 400 species of native plants and 20 species of reptiles and frogs have been recorded in the park.  Remarkable Rocks, massive granite rocks perched high on a headland, are one of the island’s most photographed natural features.  Admiral’s Arch at Cape de Couedic is a rocky arch, chiseled out by the elements, that soars above a natural coastal auditorium and provides a sheltered playground for groups of New Zealand fur seals that fish the local waters and rest on the nearby rocks.  Your full-day tour of Kangaroo Island includes hotel pickup and drop off and an authentic Aussie barbecue lunch.

$332 USD, flight to/from Kangaroo Island included

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