A friend and I are flying to Melbourne on the 15th Feb, arrive on 16th, we have booked 5 nights in St Kilda hostel to get us started. Friends of ours are coming out in April, so we may consider waiting in Melbourne for them for 2 months, its not 100% yet.
I wanted to find out what is the best way to travel?
Do we buy a car to get around Melbourne? Using it to see everything, travel to different hostels etc, then when it is time to leave Melbourne do we drive to our destination? using the car we bought to drive all around Oz. Or do we buy a car use it for the city we are in for say a month or 2? Then sell when we’re moving city and get a plane to the next city? Or do we hire? This would mean we can hire for the time we are in the city and sell when we’re moving?
I am just not sure what is the best way to get around? Also we are considering buying maybe a cheap campervan, is there a place where you can park up your campers and sleep in?
Also, when traveling round Oz, when looking for places to stay are hostels the best option? Depending on how long we are staying in a certain city? If we stay in each main city one or 2 months, hostels would be quite expensive? Can anyone advise anything else?
I know I have asked a lot here, but it is so close to my departure, I wanted to tie up all loose ends.
Thanks in Advance.
Ami
Reply to this If you're basing yourself in Melbourne you definitely won't need a car. I live here and went to uni in the city for 4 years. Our tram network is very good and trains are easy to catch. If you want to travel further away from Melbourne trains and buses are an easy option but always make a journey longer. I really can't speak for driving around Oz as I've never done it and don't know where you plan to go. Perhaps you could check out ticket prices and compare them with average fuel prices (about AUD$1.10 a liter at the moment but for years they were around AUD$1.50). I try to avoid driving in Melbourne city as much as possible as parking costs a fortune and can be hard to find.
I can't imagine you'll find much to do in Melbourne for 2 months unless you're working here or will take weekend trips away. I've written a blog all about our city sights etc. if you're interested.
Reply to this We are definatly staying in Melbourne for atleast a month, but we will want to move around, i am a little worried that, trams etc would be a little costly to get around, specially when we're living on a budget.
We will want to visit the 12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road and Philip Island etc, i am not sure how long it will take to do all these, but i have used things like Google Maps to find out the distance from my hostel in St Kilda to get to Great Ocean Road etc, so i am not sure if i should visit these during my first 5 days in Melbourne or should i stay close to my hostel for 5 days then when my time is up, move to a hostel around philip Island.
We are planning to work for a little while, i imagine we will do fruit picking for maybe 1-2 months until my friends arrive, perhaps fruit picking, at least with this job we will be provided accomodation, but then we would need a car to get to where we would be fruit picking.
I will check out your blog now.
Thanks
Reply to this You can get monthly tram tickets which work out cheaper and lets you travel to any Zone on a Sunday. Zone one tickets (which are for the city itself and the immediate outskirts) are the cheapest because they're only one zone (there are 2 altogether). There's also a free city circle tram. We have the same transport ticket for use on trams, buses and metropolitan trains which makes life a bit easier.
If I were you I would explore the city and surrounds for the first 5 days. The great ocean road is a long drive with some fabulous stops. There are tours which do such things or you could hire a camper van.
Buying a car for that short amount of time wouldn't be worth it when you consider registration and insurance.
Reply to this Hi Ami,
I think Stacey is right... Public transport is a great way to get around the city and suburbs of Melbourne.
I grew up in melbourne, and you definately don't need a car.
As for the great ocean road and all the other parts of victoria that you want to visit, I did all that 2 weeks ago with my girlfriend in a campervan.
I've travelled all over OZ in a campervan, and its definately the best way to experience the real Australia.
Campers are better than buses because you can get off the beaten track.
You can see what you want, when you want. When you fly you miss out on too much of what makes Australia so unique.
If I were in your shoes, I'd use public transport around melbourne and when your ready to see the great ocean road, phillip Isl and all that, I'd hire a campervan for 2 weeks.
I've used pretty much every campervan rental company in australia, so if you want any tips, let me know.
Take care.
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