Hi, my boyfriend and I are starting to plan our adventure of a lifetime!! We are new to independent traveling, so any tips, suggestions or even an intinerary from you would be greatly appreciated it.
All we know is that we want to go for 6 months, (departing from Canada in August) and want to hit South Asia and Australia. We are both super easy going, and are up for trying anything and everything!!
We aren't sure if we should jounrey from Australia and head north or start in Asia and head south. We are trying to keep the weather in mind. Any suggestions?
Thanks 😊
Reply to this Hi guys,
Maybe consider and plan around that in dec, Jan and Feb can be very hard to be in south Asia and nother Australia that time of year because of the humity.
Also since it is your first time backpacking maybe Aus first.. jumping right into Asia can be a little bit of a shock (depening on what you do and where you go) and Aus will be easier to start with.
Reply to this Hi Mike and Lindsey
I would agree with IB that the culture shock in Aus wont be as intense as going the SE Asia way first. I think everyone should head north when in Australia - a whole different way of life and awesome scenery in the far north of Aus. You could fly out of Darwin to Bali for quite cheaply.
I like your attitude about up for anything - you sound like you would fit in well in the far north of Aus...cant wait to read your blog when you are mustering cattle on a million acre property in the Kimberleys :-)
Reply to this I'll echo the above advice on hitting Aus first but more because it's so much more expensive than Asia.
Go to Australia, do what you want to do, be it party up the east, glorious solitude with just yourself and the locals up the west or roughing it up the top end in the amazing national parks, then hit up Asia blowing whatever money you've got left if you're flush, or making it stretch if you're not so... If you find yourself broke in Australia, you won't have much fun at all, at least in Asia even stretching out your funds will still ensure a good time!
Mike.
Reply to this Thanks Christopher & Diana, and Cindy
Thanks to both of your guys help it looks like we will be starting in Aus and heading north.
Reply to this Thanks for your veerry valid point Michael and Faye!!
I’m also a little concerned about the weather.
The time we have booked off is September to February. We hope to spend a fair amount of time in Aus before we head to Asia. Is traveling in Asia from the end of October to whenever really an okay time? The more and more I look into it, the more I realize that there is a huge possibility its going to be POURRRINNNGG!!!
Reply to this the end of October onwards is an amazing time to be in Thailand and the surrounds as it's not monsoon season... but not great for other parts of SE Asia (eg Indonesia and Malaysia)... do you know where in SE Asia you want to go?
Reply to this We are starting to get into the specifics of our trip. We are planning to kick off our trip with 6 weeks in NZ! Any recommendations on where to go or what to see?
Reply to this To ease my mom's worries I have begun to inquire about the required vaccines. Overwhelmed with the abundance of "suggested" shots and pills I have now turned to you for your suggestions on what we should or should not get vaccinated with, for example the Japanese encephalitis vaccine.
Reply to this We got the Japanese Encephalitis jab as it was recommended to us as well as Rabies, Yellow Fever, Hep A, Hep B and the usual tetanus, typhoid, polio ones you normally have for life in the UK.
Not sure where you're from but bear in mind that we had to pay for some of ours here in the UK (Jap B, Hep B, Yellow Fever and Rabies I think), and you'd be surprised at the cost. You won't get much change out of £400-500 for two people. 😞
Reply to this hello,
If you reach Sydney, don't forget to visit the beautiful Hunter Valley!
All about beautiful Attractions in the Hunter Region
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Reply to this Heya, just wanted to add some info about dates....dec through to march is cyclone season in northern Australia so maybe do the Northern Queensland/NT/Northern WA travel in Sept through to December. The lower half of Aust from about Brisbane across to Perth and down will be cyclone free but getting hotter from December onwards with temps in the 30's heading towards 40's in Feb. Mind you in perth this year we had temperatures in the 40's from November through till April. We go to SE Asia maybe every 3 months or so and the hottest and most humid is definitly around January through to March. I think the temperatures are nearly always 30ish but the humidity goes up ALOT in the early part of the year. We have gotten massive downpours in January, April and August so dont really notice it but it can clear the air alot and cool things down a tad when its too humid so i wouldnt worry too much about rain.
Good luck and have fun!
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