If you’re considering a working holiday in Australia or even an extended backpacking trip, you’re bound to have heaps of things on your mind. Contributing author Lauren Fritsky is based in beautiful Sydney and nails out 15 tips to help make your first experience backpacking in Australia stress-free.
Word: Wreck.
Definition: Me when I landed in Australia on Jan. 25., 2010.
Cathay Pacific Airways deposited me in Kingsford Smith International Airport with no apartment lined up, the bare minimum in savings and two suitcases stuffed with my life. It was hot, I’d lost the address to my hotel and I couldn’t get the SIM card in my prepaid phone to work.
I’m happy to report my state of affairs has improved since then. Still, knowing a few things would’ve helped me acclimate to Aussie life a bit easier.
Here’s how you can basically do a better job than I did traveling, living or backpacking in Australia.
1. Bring extra money
Sydney, Australia
Immigration recommends work and holidaymakers bring AUD$5,000. This isn’t enough. Sydney and Melbourne are some of the most expensive cities in the world. Plus, costs for items like produce have shot up since the floods earlier this year.
2. Sort out your banking
Consider using a fee-free credit card for some purchases. If you can’t be trusted with plastic, transfer as much money as possible to an Australian bank account to avoid fees of $50 or more for each transfer and debit and ATM withdrawal surcharges from both countries.
3. Use hostel memberships
Hostelling International memberships cost $25 a year and shave a few dollars off your hostel stay each night.
4. Wear sunscreen
Bondi Beach
There’s a reason an Australian wrote the “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” song in the 90s. I got sunburned so bad when I got here, I had a mark on my thigh for almost a month. Did I mention I’m olive-skinned and usually tan?
5. Visit the GP
The out-of-pocket cost for a GP visit is around $60 in Sydney — about $150 less than going to a specialist first. Check out this post for more on travelers’ health insurance in Australia.
6. Call home on the computer
You can call the States and Canada from Australia for free on Google phone through 2011. FREE!
7. Find cheap Internet
I bought a $99 USB modem only to pay $60-plus a month for spotty Internet. I now pay half that for unlimited wireless at my apartment. If you’re hopping about, skip the hostel Internet and head to libraries or McDonald’s to get it for free.
8. Skip the cabs
You can get one-way bus fare for the starting rate of a cab in Sydney. It’s then $2 per kilometer plus a 20-percent surcharge if traveling after 10 p.m. Save your money.
9. Drive
Traveling by Campervan in Australia
Or have someone drive for you. You can explore the many dirt paths, colorful landscapes and coastal areas a lot better if you’re in a two-passenger car instead of a 25-person tour bus.
10. Talk to locals
Chat with old folks, the people born and raised in Oz, the immigrants who came there for a better life. Their stories and observations will open your eyes.
12. Rock the suburbs
“Suburb” doesn’t mean the same thing in Australia as it does elsewhere. Many Oz suburbs are diverse and alive with a vibrant arts scene and café culture. In fact, you might prefer staying in a suburb over a CBD — rent is heaps cheaper.
13. Embrace “island time”
Central Coast Outside Sydney
Emails go unanswered for weeks, buses rock up 30 minutes late with no explanation and service in restaurants is often non-existent. Just repeat “no worries” to yourself.
14. Know how to change your visa
I thought I could get another year out of my work and holiday visa by picking fruit. It turns out Americans aren’t eligible, though Canadians and many European citizens are. While one immigration lawyer said I couldn’t get on my American partner’s work visa, it turns out I could (and did). Make sure you research and talk to the right people if you want to stay longer.
14. Find the less-hyped spots
Myall Lakes National Park
Myall Lakes, the Central Coast, Royal National Park and Ku-ring-gai Chase are all beautiful places as worth seeing as Great Ocean Road and the Great Barrier Reef.
15. Say things right
Know to say a “flat white with two sugars” when ordering coffee. Call peppers “capsicum,” cheddar cheese “Tasty” and shrimp “prawns.” It’s the Aussie way.
Have you traveled to Australia? Do any of these tips ring true to you? Add your tips for backpacking in Australia to the comments section below.
13 October 2011 at 10:51 pm
$50 bank transfer fees? OMG. Good thing my Charles Schwab card doesn’t charge ATM fees across the world.
13 October 2011 at 11:21 pm
I know, it’s crazy!
14 October 2011 at 12:03 pm
Thanks for the great advice on how to enjoy Australia and save a few bucks while doing so!
14 October 2011 at 4:24 pm
Totally agree on the “bring more money” tip. I was only in OZ for about a week, but I couldn’t believe how expensive everything was! Luckily, I was staying with family most of the time, and ended up not having to pay for very much. But I would have been in deep trouble if I’d been there on my own!
Also, spot-on with the “embrace island time” tip. This one works well for New Zealand, too. But you should beware that the “no worries” attitude WILL rub off if you’re there long enough, and going home to the fast-paced U.S. can be a real shock! I’m blaming my lack of motivation in grad school on those laid-back Kiwis….
14 October 2011 at 5:00 pm
We were talking about this last night among a group of American expats. We’re concerned we’ll be ruined if we go back home and into corporate jobs. Aussies and Kiwis definitely work hard, but they seem to take themselves just a tad less seriously, which is refreshing.
17 October 2011 at 11:56 pm
You skipped #13 … superstitious are we?
19 October 2011 at 3:49 pm
@James Whoops! Updated!
31 October 2011 at 3:24 am
You got there a day before me…weird! Good list of tips. I found Aussie to be a really easy place to travel, so though I was nervous upon arrival. It went away within a day. Taxis are ridiculously expensive!! And I got a lot of frowns for saying ‘shrimp’ instead of ‘prawn’! fair enough. Definitely a great tip to get out of the cities. Met so many backpackers who never left Sydney or Melbourne and while those places are great, they don’t show the real Australia! So many other great places to visit that will give visitors an authentic Australian experience!
1 November 2011 at 5:26 am
I went for a year in 1993 (soooooooooo long ago!) I picked fruit, stayed in hostels and bought an old Holden that lasted me the year – would share the driving and petrol costs with fellow hostellers.
Reading this – I wish I’d been there in the 2000′s, the internet era. I loved Myall Lakes National Park and also Nimbin, that very strange town near Byron Bay that resembles something out of a Stephen King novel!
Totally agree with the ‘adopt the laid back attitude’ to life and yes, learn to not take yourself so seriously – it’s very refreshing.
Great article Lauren, brought back so many memories :0)
15 November 2011 at 12:56 am
Good article. Just let you know that there is no #11 and two #14
24 November 2011 at 6:37 am
This sounds crazy..!! Thanks for passing along such wonderful tips for the first visit in Australia.These will help for sure..!!
8 December 2011 at 10:55 am
I would def agree with point one – I went to Sydney and Melbourne in April and it was practically the most expensive holiday I have ever been on. Since the £ is really weak agains the AUS dollar everything was a fortune so $5000 will last you very little time!
10 January 2012 at 10:48 am
We may be making a stop in Perth to visit my cousin and her fiance. Is it more expensive than other parts of Australia, being so isolated? Trying to figure out if it’s going to be worth the expense of getting down there. Thanks! This info is helpful.
10 January 2012 at 5:01 pm
Hi Carmel — It looks like Perth has also gotten more expensive in the last year, but not as much as Sydney in Melbourne. One article I looked at noted that transportation and food costs had risen, so that might affect you as a traveler. But it still looks to be a bit cheaper than those other two cities. Enjoy your trip!
11 January 2012 at 8:22 pm
The first tip is the key one. I’ve lived in London, Paris, Madrid, Rome and NYC. Sydney is ridiculously expensive…but the food is good. Bring all your money. You’ll need it.
18 February 2012 at 4:24 pm
Thanks for the great tips. I will be going over in July. You mentioned you got another year added on by changing your visa. How was that possible for Americans? I would love to stay another year by picking fruit for a few months. Please expand on that. Thanks.