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Travel to Australia & South East Asia!
13 years ago, January 2nd 2011 No: 1 Msg: #125747  
Hello everyone!

Me and my boyfriend are planning a trip for next year for around three months, and, as with all things, we'd like to get the most we can for as little money as possible! We would really like to visit Australia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam... and anywhere else in this vicinity that you think is worthwhile! Is this worth doing in 3 months, or is this too little time to really appreciate what's there? We are both completely new to this kind of independent, extended travel, and have many basic questions you might expect the simplest of fools to know!
With regards to flights and accommodation, is it best to pre-book at home, or wait until we're out there? I'm especially concerned about hotels and the liklihood of being able to find places to stay while we're out there.
Please let me know any information you may think we need to know, and advice about ANYTHING would be really appreciated!

Thanks guys 😊 Reply to this

13 years ago, January 3rd 2011 No: 2 Msg: #125765  
Hello

Welcome to Travelblog!

A good place to start if you are new to independent travel is the The travelblog beginners guide to independent travel

It's possible to see those countries in three months, so long as you are aware that you will only see parts of each one. Laos is between Thailand and Vietnam so you could add that to your list.

As for flights and accommodation, it's best to arrange it as you go. There are budget airlines in Asia that are quite cheap and you don't need to book WAY in advance - check out Air Asiam, Tiger Airways and Jetstar. However, they do have special offers for advance bookings sometimes. There are hundreds and hundreds of places to stay along the backpacker trails in SE Asia. You don't need to book from home. You can book ahead online as you go if you are worried about finding places. Although there's no need to worry.

Many places are not on the internet, so you can't book them ahead. This is particularly true for the budget places. The more expensive ones have websites. Also, if you book to much from home, you are fixed to a route. You will find that where you go and how long you stay in places changes as you travel. You decide to stay longer somewhere, or miss somewhere out, or you hear about somewhere good from another traveller and decide to check it out. You have a hangover or are sick or just tired and want to spend a day doing nothing. All of these things will change the plans you make from home, but if you have booked everything ahead it's fixed.

Check out the Asia blogs on here and see where another people stay and how they do it. You can see where they go and how long they spend in places and decide what you can fit into your three month trip.

Hope this helps

Reply to this

13 years ago, January 3rd 2011 No: 3 Msg: #125796  
Thank you so much for your help, that's really useful advice. I imagine we will hear about things we want to do as we go along, and I hadn't even considered the propect of hangovers! :D
Thanks a lot, I'll most probably post again as and when I need more info! 😊 Reply to this

13 years ago, January 5th 2011 No: 4 Msg: #125993  
Rachelleabroa,

Thinking about your trip is a lot of fun. Pick the right 3 months so you don't run into too much rain and flooding.

As pointed out above you will not see everything in 3 months.

If I were planning this trip and only had three months I would spend one month in New Zealand and two months in Australia or
I would spend three months in Asia. I would consider going to Vietnam, Lao, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. I would start with Singapore because it is easy to move around and will give you time to get used to a new culture.

You won't need to pre-plan. There will be plenty of places to stay. I would book your first 3 nights of the trip to get yourself situated and go from there.

Asia will be much cheaper than New Zealand and Australia but both are great trips. Reply to this

13 years ago, January 6th 2011 No: 5 Msg: #126009  
Thank you very much for the information! Pricing is really important, we don't even know where to start regarding estimating how much money we will need while we're out there! I completely understand that in that time frame we aren't going to be able to see everything but I think we'd really enjoy a taste of these places 😊
Do you think it advisable that we perhaps consider a few of the places on the list you made (perhaps Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia) and then head over to Australia, to make up for the expense?

Thanks so much for your advice! Reply to this

13 years ago, January 6th 2011 No: 6 Msg: #126012  
B Posts: 42
Hi!!

I am from Australia, and Australia really has alot to offer! Like the others said, you will miss some things, but really sometimes its impossible to see everything unless you have an endless supply of money and time..(it would be easier back packing).

For a bit of an idea, my partner and i are going on an ultimate Australian holiday at the end of this year. We won't be doing S.A as we live here... Our holiday is for 6 weeks

4 days in melbourne (can easily spend more time, but we've been there before so no need to spend too much time there.)
5 days in Sydney (Again, can easily spend more time, but we've been there before too.)
7 days in Tasmania
7 days in Perth
5 days in Darwin
14 days in Queensland (gold coast)
3 days in Queensland (Cairns)

You can easily do Australia in 1 month, depending on your interests , were you wanna go , and what your budget is..etc.. Were spending alot of time in queensland, but ive known people to do it all in 5 days!.. so you could do QLD in 5 days and spend the following 9 days spread out over SA and Alice springs. (we arn't doing alice springs). And again, ive known people who have done Alice Springs in 3 days.

Its costing us $30,000 ($15,000 each) ---(doesnt include spending money) but we are doing it fairly luxury.. were staying in hotels $300-400 a night.. (so 5 *) you can stay in rooms $200 a night(4 * so thats saving about $10,000 there!!), or even back pack if thats what your after in hostels/camping which can be around 40 a night.

thats our basic plan;

hotels: 10,000
Food: 5,000
flights/transport: 5,000
events/attractions: 10,000

you can save $$$ on hotels, making cheaper foods, and we are doing ALOT of events/attractions.. pretty much all there is to offer.

Really, it depends what you wanna see, do, what your budget is etc.

Most people who come to Australia visit. I'd recommened these 3, as they are the main tourist attractions..

Sydney
Melbourne
Queensland

Even Tasmania has so much to offer!!

Hope this helps, and good luck with your holiday!! 😊 Reply to this

13 years ago, January 6th 2011 No: 7 Msg: #126015  
I love Tasmania. A must do!! Reply to this

13 years ago, January 31st 2011 No: 8 Msg: #127791  
Hey there guys! Just in d middle of thailand now and after doing a bit of australia, new zealand, malaysia before hand aswell so i.ll try nd help you on budget.

First and foremost australia is a very expensive place to travel at d moment. Its economy is flying at d moment, which is great for working holidays there, but bad for just travelling as everything costs lots. In example after working in melbourne for 7months i did a trip up d east coast for a month, and including activities(like surf camp, theme parks, zoo's, jet boating) food(mostly cooking for ourselves), a bit of drinking(every 3rd or 4th night), bus, and accommodation(dorms in hostel) it ended up costing me 2500 oz dollars. Now if you eat out add on another 500 dollars over the course of a month. If you stay in hotels add on a lot more anywhere from 40 to 200 dollars extra per night. A bed in a nice 4bed dorm will cost you about 20 dollars out of big cities, and 20 to 30 dollars in bigger cities depending on the popularity of d hostel. Ie good popular hostels are more expensive but worth it in my opinion.

Now onto thailand. My budget in general is 1500 australian dollars for everything for each month in south east asia. Thats 50 dollars a day and depending on where you stay and what you do it is plenty. Bangkok is relatively more expensive than d rest of thailand, our great hostel there (called 'Lub D' siam square) cost up 500baht a night or 17 oz dollars. Now this is expensive compared to what you can get out there, but i.ve been travellin 2years and i know its worth spending money on great hostels. You meet great ppl, have clean beds, free wifi, luggage storage etc. So that leaves me wit 33dollars for d rest of d day in bangkok. Food is cheap, if you want tasty pad thai it'll cost you 1 dollar and fill you up. Big brekkie will cost you 2 to 3dollars. Tasty Dinner again for 2 to 3 dollar. So food sorted for 7 dollars. That leaves 26dollars for anything else you want to do.. Plenty! So one day we went to d grand palace, for 350 baht or 12 dollars. 3-4 Travels by tuk tuk about a dollar a go when sharing short distances. So plenty of money for postcards clothes, and trinkets:-)

now i'm in chaing mai and my hostel cost me 80baht in a 4bed dorm. Yes thats 3 dollars a night. Food is still cheap. That leaves me an average of 40dollars for activities a day which is perfect for doing things every 2nd day. 3 hours of learning thai boxing 400baht or 13dollar. Amazing day getting face to face wit big and baby tigers 850 baht or 30 dollars. Rent a scooter 200 baht or 6 dollars. Beginners down hill mountain biking 1400 baht or 47 dollars. So as you can see when even on 1500 dollars a month i am able to have a great time in thailand, whilst in oz you wouldn't have a hope if you wanted to do activities.

If you wanna know anymore about pricing in australia or thailand you can message me:-)

cheers, nige Reply to this

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