Want to travel for 3 months, need advice please!?

Hello Brie and welcome to Travelblog!

£3,000 is not going to get you far if you spend all of your time in Australia. I assume that this amount will include airfares. If it does, then you will lose at least £700 in an airfare. This leaves you with about $3,200-$3,300 Australian dollars.

To give you an idea of costs in Australia, living in dorms will cost you about $30 per night (minimum), which equals $210 per week, and then add food in Australia - figure on around $100 per week if you eat out, half if you cook every meal (and I do mean every meal). Thus your budget will exhaust in 11 weeks and that is without any expenses such as shopping, travelling around the country, or sightseeing. If you do this, you could easily add $100 per week.

The reason for this price is that Australia is equal to if not more expensive than Europe, partly due to the very strong Australian dollar versus the pound at present.

Might be a good idea to start in Australia as that is very easy for a traveller to move around. Once your confidence grows a bit, then head into Asia and spend some time at quieter places there. My suggestion is to spend six weeks in Australia and then the rest of the time in Asia where you pound will stretch much further. The best part of Australia are not the cities but the outback - places such as Uluru, Kakadu and of course the coastal areas such as Great Barrier Reef.

Have a look at this blog: The Final Chapter which perfectly encapsulates how confidence improves with travelling, particularly the following:

"Next on this journey home I will land myself once again in the notorious city of Bangkok, Thailand. I experience this every time I land in Bangkok now, but I imagine that this time more than ever I will reminisce about when I landed in this crazy city for the first time at the beginning of my trip nine amazing months ago. At that time I was extremely overwhelmed and anxious about the unknown as I prepared as best I could to embark on this incredible journey completely on my own.It’s quite empowering actually to think about how far I’ve come and all that I’ve been able to accomplish on my own. I imagine that there are a lot of things that prior to this trip would have scared or intimidated me that now would barely even faze me. Now that I think about it actually, this is quite a priceless quality or state of mind to have obtained. My faith in myself has increased exponentially and my fear of the world has diminished significantly. I’ve discovered that it turns out that I am capable of so much more than I could ever have imagined and for having had the opportunity to discover this I will forever be grateful."

It is possible for anyone to achieve this, even shy people. In fact, I think they achieve it easier than others as they rely on themselves more instead of seeking assistance externally. You too can go on this journey of "faith in myself", but you need to be prepared that it will be a little tough and frustrating at times.

I'll leave Asian ideas for others to post or I can waffle for a very long time. If you have any questions please ask.

PS: I deleted the duplicate post in the other thread. It is easier to follow answers in one thread.

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Hello,

Thanks for the replies. I'd be happy doing 4-5 weeks going to places in Australia and then on to parts of Asia. India would be great to experience, does anyone know of safe places to visit alone.

Also if I did only 4-5 weeks in Australia how longer do you think any remaining budget would last in Asia eg. India, Thailand etc

Sorry I have no idea so any help is great and will give me the push to go for it.

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Welcome to travelblog!

As Shane says Australia is super expensive at the moment - I'm assuming you're under 30 and British - one thing you could look at is a working holiday visa to Australia - or New Zealand.

Lots of people though end up working lots, drinking lots, not really saving and eventually go home broke... to get a flavor of working holiday life check out deleted_183365 - the recent blogs sum up how much he worked and spent and saved.

Budgeting for Asia will depend on how much you want to do and where you go, but you can get guest house rooms in Thailand - from 300 Thai Baht - 6 GBP - per night. Dorm beds in Kuala Lumpur are about 6 GBP too.

As a rough guide 3000 GBP in South East Asia should last 3 - 4 months - you'll have to do a full budget though. South East Asia is very easy to travel, completely recommend it as a first time trip to anyone.

Hope that gives you a few ideas...


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Heya, i just wanted to add some info as a female who has often travelled alone. I life in Australia but have lived in Nottingham for 6 months (and the US for 2 years) but i think you'll find Australia pretty easy to get around in. Just do the same as you'd do in the UK - dont go down any dark alleyways, dont trust any strange men etc etc. If you stay in youth hostels you will find heaps of people in similar situations and meet heaps of people.

I have travelled quite a bit around asia (indonesia, malaysia, thailand, china, singapore, hong kong) and have never felt nervous or worried at any point. People speak English really really well and there are tourists everywhere so it is often not difficult to find your way around, see what you want and feel quite welcome. Again, just dont do anything you wouldnt do in the UK - dont get really drunk, dont go down dark alleyways or in dark parks and dont go off with strange men! 😊 Perhaps start in big tourist towns so you can see how things work and then move into the country/village areas?

Probably the most uncomfortable or worried i've felt are actually in country france and touristy greek islands! If youre from the UK youve probably been to these places but that is honestly where i've felt the most out of my depth, not trusting people and what is being said around me in another language. So from my experience, i think australia and asia would be a great starting point for travelling 😊 Reply to this

Hi again. I just saw you listed as a new blogger and commented that you should ask your questions on the Forum, and here you are! Anyway, my advice to you has been confirmed by all the answers above. Reply to this

2 posts moved to this new topic: Travel and Bancruptcy? - is it possible? Reply to this

Hello Brie 😊

I find that probably the most peaceful place in the world for a women travelling alone is Thailand. In fact, it is the only country in the world, where I never experienced sexual harassment. Also, I never felt in any physical danger as a woman alone there. Pity, I cant say the same for my belongings though. Theft and scams are a major risk in Thailand, but like me and many other women, you are likely most concerned about personal safety, and anyway you can avoid scams and thieft by being careful with your stuff.

Since you have 3 months and to renew your tourist visas(which run out after a number of days, and you have to leave the country to get another) you could go to other south east Asian countries.

I think, south east Asia should fit well into the budget you have. A return ticket to the UK will cost you around 500 pounds, and 10 to 20 pounds per day should be enough for you to travel in south east Asia with.

If you decide to go to south east Asia, be sure to get a copy of south east Asia on a Shoestring, by Lonely Planet. It is worth having a copy of it, for the information it gives about independent travel. The prices in it will be a bit out of date, so add on around 10 %!t(MISSING)o all prices quoted in the book.

If you do decide to go to Australia, reduce the amount of time you plan to be there, to fit in with the money you will have. Try to have up to 100 pounds per day to spend, or at least 50.

I should do it for myself either way to find more friends and make amazing memories.

I think both of these are guaranteed, if you go backpacking. Lots and lots of others are doing it, and looking for company too, and memories will be made daily as you travel in exotic places.

Mel
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