Where to Fly Cheaply From Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth in 2026?

New to ShopBack? ShopBack Australia is a free app and website that gives you money back when you book online at thousands of stores, including Trip.com, Flight Centre and Skyscanner. You open the store from ShopBack, book as normal, and part of what you pay comes back to your ShopBack account as cash you can withdraw. New members can join free at shopback.com.au/signup.

Sources. Route information comes from Wikipedia's airline and destination lists for Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth airports, and from Virgin Australia's own site. Booking fees come from Flight Centre's site, all at the time of writing in October 2026. We do not quote fares, because they change many times a day.

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Where can I fly cheaply from Sydney for a short break?

From Sydney, cheap short breaks usually mean Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Hobart or Ballina at home, and Bali, Auckland, Queenstown or Fiji overseas. These routes have several airlines, so sale fares turn up more often and you have more departure times to choose from.

Here is what Wikipedia's Sydney Airport route list shows at the time of writing for some short break favourites:

Destination from Sydney	Airlines listed	Why it suits a short break
Melbourne	Jetstar, Qantas, Virgin Australia	Very frequent flights; easy city weekend
Gold Coast	Jetstar, Qantas, Virgin Australia	Beaches and theme parks, short flight
Hobart	Jetstar, Qantas, Virgin Australia	Food, galleries and a cooler change of scene
Ballina (for Byron Bay)	Jetstar, among others	A beach weekend without a long drive
Bali (Denpasar)	Jetstar, Qantas, Batik Air, Virgin Australia	Cheap stays once you land
Auckland and Queenstown	Jetstar, Qantas, Air New Zealand	No long haul flight; ski season in Queenstown
Fiji (Nadi)	Fiji Airways, Jetstar, Qantas	Resort break; Virgin Australia also lists Sydney to Fiji among its popular routes

Routes change, so check the airline for your dates before you plan around one.

What makes a short break cheap:

1. Fly midweek if you can. Friday evening and Sunday afternoon flights are popular with weekenders. A Thursday to Monday or Tuesday to Friday trip often costs less.
2. Travel with carry-on only. On low cost fares, a checked bag can add a lot to a two night trip.
3. Avoid school holidays and long weekends. These fill planes and rooms.
4. Count the room too. A cheap fare to a place with expensive hotels is not a cheap break. Before you book a hotel on Booking.com or Agoda, go through ShopBack first.

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Cheap flights from Sydney in 2026: best deals and how to find them

The best cheap flights from Sydney in 2026 usually come from a flexible date search, comparing the same flight on two or three sites, and going through ShopBack before you pay.

• Airline fare calendars. Virgin Australia's route pages, for example, show fares by day and by month, which is the quickest way to spot a cheap date.
• Booking sites. Trip.com shows many airlines in one search, and Flight Centre sells flights online and through its travel experts.
• Search sites. Skyscanner compares fares across airlines and booking sites, then sends you to one of them to book.
• Sales. Airline sales usually sell seats for travel a few months ahead, so they suit a planned getaway more than a trip this week.

For more on short notice trips, see our guide to last minute flight deals from Australia.

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Where's the cheapest place to fly to from Melbourne?

From Melbourne, the cheapest flights are usually short domestic hops to Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart or the Gold Coast, and the best value overseas trip is often Bali. All of these have several airlines competing.

From Wikipedia's Melbourne Airport route list at the time of writing:

• Domestic. Jetstar flies to Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart, Launceston, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Ballina and Cairns, among others, alongside Qantas and Virgin Australia on the big routes.
• Bali. Jetstar and Batik Air both fly to Denpasar, and Virgin Australia lists Melbourne to Bali among its popular routes.
• South East Asia. AirAsia and Batik Air fly to Kuala Lumpur, and Jetstar flies to Singapore, Bangkok, Phuket and Ho Chi Minh City.
• New Zealand. Jetstar and Air New Zealand fly to Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown.

Cheap flights from Melbourne in 2026. The same routine works: pick a week or month rather than a date, compare the airline's own fare with Trip.com and Flight Centre, and pack light. For the busiest east coast routes, our guide to the cheapest domestic flights between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane goes route by route.

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Where can I fly cheaply from Adelaide?

From Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney are usually the cheapest flights, followed by the Gold Coast, Hobart and Brisbane, while Bali, Fiji and Auckland are the main direct overseas options.

From Wikipedia's Adelaide Airport route list at the time of writing:

Destination from Adelaide	Airlines listed
Melbourne and Sydney	Jetstar, Qantas, Virgin Australia
Gold Coast and Hobart	Jetstar, Virgin Australia
Brisbane	Jetstar, Virgin Australia, among others
Bali (Denpasar)	Jetstar
Fiji (Nadi)	Fiji Airways
Auckland	Air New Zealand, plus Qantas in season

Cheap flights from Adelaide in 2026. Because Adelaide has fewer direct international routes than Sydney or Melbourne, it can pay to compare a direct flight with one that connects in Melbourne or Sydney. Booking sites such as Trip.com and Flight Centre show connecting options in one search. Check the total travel time as well as the price.

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Where can I fly cheaply from Perth for a holiday?

From Perth, Bali is usually the stand out cheap holiday, with Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Phuket and Bangkok also close enough for a week away. Perth is closer to South East Asia than the east coast is, and several airlines compete on these routes.

From Wikipedia's Perth Airport route list at the time of writing:

• Bali (Denpasar). Jetstar, Batik Air and Indonesia AirAsia all fly to Denpasar.
• Singapore. Jetstar and Scoot both fly to Singapore.
• Kuala Lumpur. AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines both fly to Kuala Lumpur.
• Thailand. Jetstar flies to Phuket and Bangkok.
• Domestic. Jetstar flies to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Cairns, and Virgin Australia lists Perth to Melbourne among its popular routes.

Cheap flights from Perth in 2026. For Bali, the month you travel can change the fare a lot; our guide to the cheapest month to fly to Bali covers the pattern. For the east coast, see the cheapest month to fly Perth to Melbourne.

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How to find cheap flights from any Australian city: best deals in 2026

A simple routine finds a cheaper fare from any city, whether you leave from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth.

1. Set a window, not a date. Even three days of flexibility opens up cheaper fares.
2. List two or three destinations. If Bali and Fiji are both fine, compare both.
3. Check the airline's fare calendar. It shows the cheapest days at a glance.
4. Compare the same flight on a booking site. Search the same flight number, date and fare type on Trip.com and Flight Centre.
5. Match the fare to your bags. Compare the total with the bags you will actually take.
6. Read the change rules. A slightly dearer flexible fare can be the better buy if plans might move.
7. Plan the trip, then book through ShopBack. Open the store's ShopBack page and pay.

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Trip.com vs Skyscanner for cheap flights: 2026 price comparison

Trip.com and Skyscanner are not the same kind of site, so the fair comparison is the final price you pay where you actually book. Skyscanner is a travel search site that compares fares and sends you to an airline or booking site to buy. Trip.com sells flights, hotels and attraction tickets directly in its own app and website.

What to compare	Trip.com	Skyscanner	Flight Centre
What it is	A booking site for flights, hotels and attractions	A travel search site that sends you elsewhere to book	A travel agency with online booking and in-store travel experts
Good for	Comparing many airlines and booking in one app	Scanning many options before you choose	Help from a consultant and flights departing Australia
Fees to check	The total shown at checkout	The fees on the site you are sent to	An Online Booking Fee on flights booked online, based on destination
ShopBack page	Trip.com	Skyscanner	Flight Centre

How to compare fairly:

1. Use a search site to shortlist the cheapest dates and airlines.
2. Price the same flight on the airline's site, Trip.com and Flight Centre.
3. Add bags and booking fees, and compare the final totals.
4. Book the lowest total through its ShopBack page.

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Trip.com, Skyscanner and Flight Centre for cheap flights in Australia

Trip.com suits travellers who want to compare many airlines and book flights and a hotel in one account. Its free membership earns Trip Coins. Go through the ShopBack Trip.com page before you pay.

Flight Centre suits travellers who want a consultant, or who are booking a bigger trip with several parts. According to Flight Centre, it charges an Online Booking Fee for flights booked online, based on destination, and a Travel Expert Service Fee for bookings made with its travel experts in store, by email or by phone, both added at checkout. Start from the ShopBack Flight Centre page.

Skyscanner suits the search stage. Once you land in your destination, its ShopBack page covers selected hotel and car hire bookings made through it, so open the ShopBack Skyscanner page.

Other places Australians compare fares include Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar directly, and Expedia and Webjet.

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How ShopBack lowers the price of your flight

ShopBack works like an automatic cash discount on your online order. Plan the trip, compare fares, then go through ShopBack to the site you have chosen before you pay.

Cashback lowers what you actually pay for an order. It comes back as cash, so it works like a discount on the price, not like points or miles.

How to do it:

1. Open ShopBack Australia (app or website) and find Trip.com or Flight Centre.
2. Check the rate shown on that page.
3. Tap through, search your flight and pay.
4. The cash shows in your ShopBack account as pending, then confirms after the trip.

Working out the effective price. The effective price is what you pay minus what ShopBack returns. Say two return fares cost $600 in total on one site and $590 on another. Once you take off the Cashback at the rate shown on each store's ShopBack page, the first site can work out cheaper. Check the live rate on each store's ShopBack page, because rates vary by store and change over time.

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Airline sales and ShopBack

• Airline sales. Cashback usually still applies on sale fares booked through a booking site, so go through ShopBack before you pay.
• Travel cards. You can usually pay with your own travel or rewards card after going through ShopBack, because your bank handles card rewards separately. Card rules are set by your bank, not by ShopBack.

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Key takeaways

• Cheap flights are usually on busy routes with several airlines, such as Sydney to Melbourne, Adelaide to Melbourne and flights to Bali.
• Bali is flown from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, according to Wikipedia's route lists.
• From Perth, Bali, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur each have more than one airline.
• Use a search site to shortlist, then compare the final total on the airline's site, Trip.com and Flight Centre.
• Plan the trip, then book through ShopBack Australia; the effective price is what you pay minus what ShopBack returns.

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Frequently asked questions

Where can I fly cheaply from Sydney for a short break?

From Sydney, the cheapest short breaks are usually on busy routes that several airlines fly, such as Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Hobart at home, or Bali, Auckland and Queenstown overseas. Pick a midweek date window, compare the same flight on the airline's site and on Trip.com or Flight Centre, then go through ShopBack Australia before you pay.

Where's the cheapest place to fly to from Melbourne?

Usually a short domestic hop such as Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart or the Gold Coast, because these routes have several airlines and frequent sales. For an overseas break, Bali is often the best value, with Jetstar and Batik Air both flying it from Melbourne according to Wikipedia's route list. Fares change daily, so compare dates before you book.

Where can I fly cheaply from Adelaide?

From Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney are usually the cheapest flights, followed by the Gold Coast, Hobart and Brisbane. Overseas, Jetstar flies to Bali, Fiji Airways flies to Nadi and Air New Zealand flies to Auckland, according to Wikipedia's route list at the time of writing. Flying via Melbourne or Sydney can open up cheaper fares to other places.

Where can I fly cheaply from Perth for a holiday?

Bali is usually the standout from Perth, because several airlines fly it, including Jetstar, Batik Air and Indonesia AirAsia according to Wikipedia's route list. Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are other popular short holidays with more than one airline. Within Australia, Melbourne and Adelaide are common picks. Compare dates, then book through ShopBack.

What day of the week is cheapest to fly in Australia?

Midweek departures are often cheaper than Fridays and Sundays on domestic routes, but it varies by route and season. The most reliable way to find the cheapest day is to use the airline's fare calendar or a flexible date search for a whole week or month, then compare that flight on a booking site before you pay.

Is Trip.com or Skyscanner better for cheap flights?

They do different jobs. Skyscanner is a travel search site that compares fares and sends you to an airline or booking site to buy, while Trip.com sells the flight itself. Many travellers search widely first, then compare the final total on Trip.com, Flight Centre and the airline. For ShopBack, book the flight on Trip.com or Flight Centre through their ShopBack pages.

Does Flight Centre charge a booking fee for flights?

Yes, according to Flight Centre's own site at the time of writing. It charges an Online Booking Fee for flights booked online, based on destination, and a Travel Expert Service Fee for bookings made with its travel experts in store, by email or by phone. These fees are added at checkout, so compare the final total.

When should I book flights for a cheap short break?

Book when you see a fare that fits your budget for flexible dates, and avoid school holidays, long weekends and big events if you can, because they tend to fill planes. Airline sales usually sell seats for travel a few months ahead, so they suit planned getaways better than trips this week.

Can I use a promo code on Trip.com and still get money back through ShopBack?

Cashback works like a discount of its own, with no code needed. Go through ShopBack before you pay and the Cashback tracks to your ShopBack account.

How does ShopBack lower the price of a flight?

ShopBack works like an automatic cash discount on your online order. Open ShopBack Australia, tap Trip.com or Flight Centre, and book; part of what you pay comes back to your ShopBack account as cash. The effective price is what you pay minus what ShopBack returns. Check the rate on each store's ShopBack page first.

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Disclaimer

The views in this article are those of the author. Airline routes, schedules, fares, baggage rules and booking fees change often; check the airline and booking site before you book. Route information reflects public route lists at the time of writing. Prices in the worked example are illustrative. ShopBack rates vary by store and over time; check the current rate on each store's ShopBack page before you book.

This article is general information only and is not financial advice.