# Backpacking Australia as a couple



## Bicker89 (Jul 17, 2011)

Me and my girlfriend have just completed University and are planning on travelling Australia for a year with a working visa. We plan to head out there February 2012.

As we are planning on travelling in February, would it make sense to start down south (Melboune) and then head up the east coast so we catch the best of the weather?

Would it be best to book a return flight or just book a one-way ticket? We are thinking one-way might be best as we won't know exactly when we want to leave and where from etc.

We have done a bit of research into hostels and we would prefer a private room. It seems most hostels offer these and it is only slightly more expensive. Has anyone else travelled as a couple and could recommend any particular hostels etc?

We hope to have saved around £8000 between us by february, is this a substantial amount to keep us afloat for the first few months? we then plan on working whilst we travel.

Any advice would be very helpful as we are both newbies to the world of travelling!

Thanks in advance!


----------



## sarahjobaroo (Jun 16, 2011)

Hey Bicker, 

Ok so I traveled Australia as part of a couple last year so I know exactly where you are coming from. In terms of the private rooms, we alternated between getting private rooms, dorms and camping so a bit of a mixed bag. Melbourne Base Backpackers is a good place to start off in St Kilda as you will meet lots of backpackers so great way to get the ball rolling. Your schedule for arriving to Melb in Feb and then working your way up sounds good, you will catch the heat then and hopefully chase the sun as you are going which will be worth it. 8000 pounds sounds pretty realistic for travelling for a couple of months without working, we went with 15000 Euro and we started work straight away before we traveled but its always best to budget beforehand thats one thing I would advise, sometimes unexpected things come up - eg your campervan needs a new gearbox etc so you need to have a bit spare to cover it! In terms of a one-way or a return ticket, I'm not sure. We had a return as we knew we were going to be spending the year in Australia and then heading back to Ire for Christmas so it was a bit diff. Hope I've helped somewhat however!


----------

