Trying to navigate school holidays and come up with affordable holidays in the wake of the monthly mortgage payments isn’t particularly easy. Last year was Hobart (piggybacking on Marita being there for a conference) and Sydney over the Cup Day weekend with the kids. The latter worked really well, so I’ve decided to do it again at that time of year.

So yesterday I snagged some flights to Adelaide. Why Adelaide? Because I’ve never been there, and of the options offered to the kids, that was there first choice.

Fares were $95 per person per sector on Virgin, which was cheaper and fitted the schedule better than Qantas. This year Isaac is an adult in airline terms, being over 11. (Memo to self: take food for flight, or be prepared to cough up cash.)

They also have a carbon offset option, an extra $4.08, which sounds suspiciously low. Nevertheless, it’s a nice touch: the next step should be for the airlines to not make it optional. (Hmm, the email invoice decided it should be addressed to Jeremy, not me.)

At some stage I’ll find a hotel, probably aiming for somewhere in central Adelaide somewhere near to where the Adelaide Jetbus drops off. And preferably serving breakfast.

Possible Adelaide things to do (noting the stuff we did in Sydney): Glenelg beach and the Rodney Fox Shark Experience by tram; St Kilda tram museum and adventure playground; maybe the zoo and the South Australian Museum. What else? I don’t think the kids would fancy the wineries.