theworldismyOYSTER

Hi All!

I've been asked a couple of questions about the lucky country lately, and thought it might be helpful to put all my answers here in the one place...

Accommodation
The question is couch surfing vs. hostels. Couch surfing is usually the cheapest way to go, in aussie it can cost anything from free (if you're lucky!) to around $150 per week. The average Melbourne hostel will cost about $25 to $30 a night. Both are good options if you're in a main city, I guess it just comes down to personal preference and if you feel safe couch surfing.

My advice is if you want to stay near the beach, get a tent and stay at a caravan park. Camping sites can cost as little as $10 a night, or free in a National Park. You can buy tents really cheap over here, and save on the weight for your flight.

Transport
If you're going between the main cities, flying is probably best. Jetstar and Tiger offer the cheapest rates, but make sure you book in advance. A flight from Sydney to Melbourne is about $50 (sale fares can be much lower) and take about an hour and a half.

The public transport over here is a little behind the times once you get out of the main cities, so if that's your preferred method, make sure you plan ahead. You can get trains or buses in between the main cities, but they take a really long time (think 8 hours or more). You can get a ferry over to Tasmania, but flying is cheaper and quicker. If travelling in Melbourne by train, you can get a weekly ticket for $30 which is unlimited trips within a specific area.

Hiring a car is a good option if you're in a group, or even a campervan (it's like a crap version of a Winnebago)

Communication
There’s not many Cell/Mobile phone companies to choose from, but the best bet is 3 pre paid caps. You can bring your own phone, and if it supports Skype, you get unlimited use for free. The main companies are 3, Vodafone, Virgin, Optus and Telstra (I would avoid this last one at all costs).Phone cards are expensive, but your hostel may have deals on them.

Internet may be a little slower than you're used to, but wifi hotspots are widely available.

Food
Restaurants can be really expensive, and you definitely pay for what you get. If it's close to a beach then it's pretty much guaranteed to be super pricey! Cafes are moderately priced. If you really want to eat out, Take Away is your best bet, and we have a HUGE variety, being such a multi cultural country. Fish and Chip shops are great too, less than $5 for a decent meal.
The same as everywhere, buying groceries and cooking is the cheapest.

Attractions
You might be surprised just how much you can do for nothing over here. A lot of our main tourist attractions are free, or reasonably priced. Things like climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge are expensive, but such an experience! It doesn't cost you anything to go and look at it though!!! If you want to cuddle a Koala, skip the zoos, and look for smaller wildlife parks. They have all the natives, and are much cheaper. You usually get a cuddle there, unlike most zoos

Jobs
If you're planning an extended stay, and thinking about work, the easiest jobs to get are bar or waitressing work. Great way to meet people too! Average rates of pay are from $15 to $20 an hour, depending on experience and how much tax you pay (if any). If you want something more professional, try registering with a recruitment agency for Temp work. Most full time jobs are only offered to Permanent Residents, but if you have a trade qualification you shouldn't have any problems.

I know I've rambled on a bit, but hopefully you have a good idea of what to expect. If anyone wants anything more specific, let me know. I'll leave you with a parting piece of advice for budget conscious backpackers: check out gumtree (free classifieds), great place to find jobs and couch surfing!

simply_angelic

Sweet advice TWISMO!! Thanks!

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~Laura
GO CANADA!!!!

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Countries I've Visited: Austria, Botswana, Canada, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy. Malawi, Mexico, Portugal, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, USA, UK, Vatican City, Zambia

TERI

Alright, I need to chime in here because I disagree with some of it. How much of Australia have you visited? I myself have not seen enough of the country yet. I think our views are similar but still a bit different.....

Accommodation
I agree couch surfing would be cheapest. I've never had to pay for someones couch and you can usually stay for a few nights. Hostels I agree range from $20- $30. My first apartment here was really cheap. I paid $100 per week and it included unlimited internet. it was a shared house, but I did have my own room. Gumtree is a great site when looking for a place to stay and for looking for a car or combie(van) to buy. There are usually always caravan/camping parks on/near the beaches. So that too is a good cheap way to sleep with a great location. but i wouldn't want to carry a tenr everywhere with me. I just dont have the room in my pack

Transport
It is really good in the big cities. ofcourse it's slower (if at all) in smaller towns, but usually still ok. There are cheap flights with Quantas, Jetstar, and Tiger, but sometimes not that much depending on the time of year.
There are tons of Backpacker travel companies that will organize your transport form place to place. A pretty good one is the OZ experiance (and it's tons of fun!). There's also the usual Greyhound services. But I definatly recommend buying a really cheap combie hippievan and do the driving yourself. You can take other backpackers with you (charge them of course), and then just sell it when you're done. When looking for a vehicle to buy you can check on Gumtree, or at hostels, and totally check at the unis especially near the end of school.

Communication
well Skype is good cause it's free. I have dealt with Vodafone and they SUCK!!!! they advertise great deals but you cant get a signal with them. they're total douches! I bought a Crazy Johns mobile (who is affiliated with vodafone, but it works unlike them) when I landed for $29 and I only pay $19 per month on a crazy cap. if you reload every month even if u still have credit they carry over your unused minutes. I now have over $700 worth of minutes/sms. it's WAYYYYY cheaper then back in Canada.
I even call home to canadia (lol) direct from my cell and have never run out of credit. As for internet, they like to bill you based on usage. I have a telstra prepaid mobile stick. It has amazing signal! there are however tons of free wifi spots. most macdonalds, starbucks, etc. i don't find it much slower then back home. also backpacker companies like peterpans will offer you 30mins free. just keep getting their free little flyers when you walk by haha.

Food
you already know that eating out is more expensive then cooking yourself. It will appear pretty expensive in the restaurants and grocery stores compared to north america, but based on the cost of living here and making $20 an hour it doesn't seem like to much after awhile. Just keep an eye on how much you are spending if you're not working here. I spend between $50 and $70 per week on food depending how much I eat out. you can definatly lower that if ya want to live on noodles! my biggeest shock in price was when it came to things like pops/sodas. back home I could pay 50 cents for a can of Coke and here it's $2-$3.00 a can. crazy!! If you're on your way here soon, please keep in mind that due to the flooding in Queensland, produce has gone up in price a good chunk.

Attractions
I agree with TWISMO, you can find things to do at any price. always try to get student prices. i'm not a student and I usually still get that price. Hiking is free and you can see kangaroos, walabys, dingos and Koalas etc. in the wild.

Jobs
on a working holiday visa it's easy to get a job in a cafe, bar or restaurant. it's not just bartending and waitressing. there's also barissta, floor runners, hostesses, kitchen work (cooks and dishies). Also farm work (fruit picking) is readily available. Being an Au Par is also an option. If you have a student visa just remember that you can only work 20hours per week, and that makes it pretty tight when it comes to covering all your bills and fun. If you do have a skilled trade, the government is going to fast track skilled migrants because of the flooding. So now is a great chance to migrate here. A good website to use for job hunting is Seek.com.au. you can apply for jobs online, and even if they don't call back, go to these places cause u know they're hiring. I got call backs within 5mins of applying online, but I also got hired at a place that didn't call me and I walked by to give them my CV/resume aswell.

hope this gives a few more options and ideas. it can be different for everyone. it's upto you which adventures and experiances you want to have. Aussie Aussie Aussie!!!! oi oi oi!!!

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theworldismyOYSTER

welcome!

theworldismyOYSTER

Hi Teri

Thanks for the input! As I said, this was just an idea for people who haven't been here before. I'm a born and bred Aussie, and have seen a lot of my country, and most states differ greatly, however everything I said is the average.

Most of the jobs you said are classified as waitressing over here, or they come under the umbrella of hospitality. Waiters get paid more than 'floor runners' or cafe workers as a rule. I would only recommend Au Pairing or coming over to work for a Trade if it was for the long term, although you can get labouring jobs (helping out tradies) as a good short term option.

In Melbourne, couchsurfing is not free in most cases. If you can get it free, awesome!

I wouldn't be too concerned anout the impact of the flooding in Queensland, our produce is grown all over the place, so a few things will be slightly higher in price, but it won't be bad. There will probablly be a few dodgy greengrocers upping their prices unnecessarily to gain what they can though..

boglinbob

I'm happy you posted this information on Australia for beginners. I'm going to be a Junior in college and might travel to Australia as part of my study abroad program. This post gave me some much needed information to help me make my decision to study in Australia.

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First backpacking trip summer 2011.

cemroon

It's a useful thread for everyone who would like to go Australia like me. thanks for sharing your knowledge.