June 12 - 28, 2005
Information on this page
Some Basic Info
The Tour
Flight Info
This page is intended as a general guide to our upcoming tour, but specifics such as side trips and the like are not yet firm. We will update this page as these facets of the tour are confirmed.
This page has general information about our tour, including hotels, venues, and side trips, and links to more information for you. Questions? Contact Beth and she'll find the answer for you!
About 3 weeks before our departure date, we'll provide you with a tour book that has all the details about what and how to pack, a complete and detailed itinerary, hints on customs, passport control, and anything else that we've learned in leading Stanford music ensembles on tour, so even first-time tourers will be well-prepared.
There are links throughout the page, but our research is far from being encyclopedic, so if you happen to find something you'd like to share with the rest of the orchestra while surfing, please send any informative, funny, or enlightening URLs to Scott!
SOME BASIC INFO:
Breakfast is provided at our hotels, generally between 6-10 AM; if you miss this window, you will be buying your own breakfast. Breakfast is usually a buffet, but anything you consume must be eaten in the dining room. The buffet is NOT a place to stock up for the day, so please don't plan to take food out of the dining area for later consumption, or the hotels may refuse to serve us for this meal.
Lunches are mostly provided, as are most dinners. We recommend allotting about $10-$15 (in the currency of the country you are in) per day for meals, snacks, and beverages - since the exchange rate in both New Zealand and Australia is favorable to the US dollar, you might want to budget about $10 US per day for general spending of this sort.
Excursions listed are all timed in the itinerary, and you should have time to explore on your own during non-scheduled times. Because we will be in the Southern Hemisphere, remember that we will be arriving in the equivalent of January here in the northern half of the globe - pack layering clothing!
If you have a mute for your instruments that allows you to practice without disturbing others, bring it! We will be sharing our hotels with regular business folk and tourists, so we want to afford that courtesy to our fellow guests.
THE TOUR:
We will have two large buses to transport everyone from Stanford to SFO; plan to be at the Dink Dock by 5:00 PM on Sunday, June 12 - we'll check everyone on to the bus and be on our way by 4:30. If you miss the bus, it will be your responsibility to get to SFO in time for our flight to New Zealand. Our flight is just over 12 hours and includes dinner and breakfast, but dress comfortably, bring water and whatever you need to stay entertained, and make sure you get up and move around regularly to stay comfortable! Don't forget your tour sweatshirt - you'll need it when we hit the ground at 6 AM! Note that we will cross the International Dateline coming and going, so we "gain" a day on the way over and then "lose" it on the return trip.
Here's the group flight information:
- Sunday, June 12 - Air New Zealand #7 - departs SFO at 9:45 PM, arrives Auckland at 5:30 AM Tuesday, June 14
- Sunday, June 18 - Air New Zealand #123 - departs Auckland at 8:30 AM, arrives Melbourne (Australia) at 10:20 AM
- Thursday, June 23 - Quantas #426 - departs Melbourne at 11:00 AM, arrives Sydney at 12:30 PM
- Tuesday, June 28 - Air New Zealand #118 - departs Sydney at 3:40 PM, arrives Auckland 8:40 PM
- Tuesday June 28 - Air New Zealand #2 - departs Auckland at 9:45 PM, arrives Los Angeles (LAX) at 2:40 PM Tuesday, June 28
- Tuesday, June 28 - United #988 (flight number not yet confirmed) - departs LAX approximately 5 PM, arrive SFO 6:15 PM
*Buses will meet us at SFO to return us to Stanford after we have cleared customs; expect to be back on campus between 8-9 PM on Tuesday, June 28.
