Best tips before Backpacking Australia
Australia is a far away country and most people see a challenge and the adventure of their life-time when they are thinking about it.
I was in Australia from the end of 2008 until the end of 2009 and it was indeed the biggest adventure of my life but to be on the safe side there are many things you should consider before you go Down Under.
First of all you have to apply for a work and travel visa online. Here is the link to the official webside of the Australian government on which you can apply easily for the visa. It is explained step by step and you can simply follow them and afterwards you just have to pay for it and normally you will receive a confirmation immediately.
http://www.immi.gov.au/e_visa/
Also it is important to organize a travel insurance. Via Google you are able to find lots of different travel insurances. Make sure that you compare some of them because some are way more expansive than others and it also depends on the country in which you are. Here I can just talk for the German insurances and I had chosen the HanseMerkur insurance, which is quite cheap and covers most of the potential costs. Some insurances try to get extra money by offering you services which you will probably not need. Choose your insurance wisely and always think about what you really need. You will probably not need a insurance for everything.
When it comes to booking a flight there are several good solutions for this. I can recommend a website www.swoodoo.com, which is basically an online search engine for flight and the page compares prices for the flights and automatically looks the cheapest one up for you.
The last most important point is the luggage. Many people worry way too much about their luggage. You should always keep some things in mind. First of all most items like cloths and smaller object like sun creme are in average cheaper in Australia than in your home country, so most of the time it is cheaper to buy them at your destination and it also safes you some trouble to carry all your stuff from home to Australia. Furthermore the best guide you can have is the Lonely Planet Australia. I bought it and it gives you telephone numbers from Hostels, Maps, Information and ideas for your trip.
From my point of view these are the most important aspects you should consider before you go to Australia. I hope that I could help you with your preparations and I also hope that you will have a really nice trip. I know I had one of the best times in my life in Down Under and do not worry too much about everything.
You will be fine ;) You can also read my new Hub giving tips for your first steps in Australia.
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Comments
Thanks for publishing these tips. I'm sure it will draw more prople to travel in Australia because of you.
- Author
I am glad to hear that ;) Australia is my favorite country and I can just encourage everybody to go there. It is the experience of a life-time and from my point of view Backpacking is the best way to get to know the people and the country.
You have listed some really good ideas and information. I think one invaluable point you made is that 'smaller objects' are cheaper in Australia so no need to carry them with you.