# Travelling from England



## MKDave (Oct 14, 2010)

Hi

I've been thinking about travelling for a long time now and as I'm 24 and doing the same thing all the time now so need to change.

I am definately travelling to Australia, hopefully for a year and hopefully by August 2011.

I have £9,000 saved right now and think I could save another £3,000 by next August. I potentially may also sell my car but would probably only do that if lacking funds whilst travelling. So I should have £12K plus possible £2.5K extra if needed.

Do you think this would be enough money to travel for a year in Aus? I'd hope to start off in Hostels then buy a cheap car and drive round Aus. Possibly make some travel buddies in hostels.

I'd need to pay for my flights and anything else before I leave so what are your thoughts?

I look forward to hearing from you all


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

With 12,000 pound or lets say it'll be $20,000, that ought to give you a comfortable ammount for a year Dave and buying either a cheap car and tent camping or a mini van with a mattress in the back for when you get caught in the wet along with some camping gear is a good way to go.
There's plenty of online sites you can look up for sales and get an idea of a price, something in the range of $2000 - $4000 ought to get you something reasonable.
Scroll back a few pages and you will find some threads with links to the online sales sites.
When you lob in Oz and start of in a hostel, you'll usually find plenty of vehicle for sale ads on notice boards and have a scout around all local hostels wherever you are, BUG - the Backpackers' Ultimate guide to budget travel in Australia a reasonable guide.
You'll also need to make yourself aware of difference state to state re registration/sale/RWC requirements, most states requiring the RWC [ our MOT ] on ownership transfer [ sale ] whereas NSW require an annual one which can make it impossible if you are in WA so may be best to either get a vehicle in Victoria or Queensland or one with a WA registration for thay can be transferred online.

Meanwhile, some of what I've said to steve is applicable - http://www.australiaforum.com/travel-questions/6020-planning-my-trip.html

You ought to chuck Asia on to your agenda too.


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## MKDave (Oct 14, 2010)

Thanks Wanderer.

Where would you suggest in Asia? Would it be best to add this to the end of my trip?

I'm so excited it's unbeleivable but I want to make sure I go out there as clued up as possible.

Other than asking on here, could you suggest some webiste or places I could get some in depth information on travelling alone and to aus?

Thanks again


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

There's other sites about, places like the ThornTree of Lonely Planet but full of a few turkeys there too. BootsnAll.com is another site that has developed mainly for the US, a few of them probably a bit pissed with LP peeps.

But you will find Oz a pretty easy country to travel in and I assume you are getting a WHV and so with a passport, visa and ticket you are on your way.
There's no real pitfalls and if you do some seasonal regional work of three months that means you can apply for the second WHV and so you'll have plenty of time to cruise about.
I suggested to steve re the weather and that's the main thing you want to take into account and for any location you have in mind, just do a google and you'll find a heap of info online, no need to buy travel books and you'll actually find magazines and pocket size free books in hostels plus plenty of brochures.
YHA Australia Hostels - YHA Australia is a handy site re info too but if you're planning on having a vehicle you'll not really need to use them.
The one thing with a vehicle is that you ought to find a buddy, male or female as otherwise it could be lonely driving by yourself and if you go to a hostel initially or even at times when a buddy may have headed elsewhere, and put a notice up that you are travelling wherever, you'll probably quick enough get someone looking for a ride and work it out that they pay half of the fuel or a tad more and you're sweet.
If you have Auto Club membership in the UK, you can rock into our Auto clubs here to get free maps and also ask about reciprocal road service or just join a state auto club here for about $100.
The YHA and hostels will always have free maps too and then there are always Visitor Information Centres in even the smallest of towns and they are always good for local info and same with local hostels.
There's also a book called Camps Australia that has maps state by state in it with listings of all different camping locations, ones for a fee and also free places and they are plentiful and easy enough to find as you travel about and safe enough to virtually pull off for the night just about anywhere for a snooze.

But sure you'll get excited and planning something is half the fun.
As for Asia, really up to you and if you haven't travelled a lot, cutting your teef here first is probably the go though Asia is also easy enough to travel about just so many more people, a bit like UK or Europe compared to here.
And you'd also be heading there at height of the wet season in August.
Tales of Asia - Home is probably a reasonable reference.
And a whole another planning exercise but say if you decided on one or even two years here in Oz and you'd not want to leave at August because of the wet season, you may want to organise a trip to NZ for a while and then take in Asia on the way back.
You may even be better off leaving a couple of months later so as you'd not go to NZ while it was still a bit too cold/wet unless you want to do some skiing or whatever there and anyway, just time it so you would head to Asia around December which ought to see their wet season over.
You have plenty of options and could fly Sydney to Macau with Viva Macau Airline | Welcome , a ferry to HK and then use trains/buses down to Vietnam and across through Cambodia to Thailand and down to Malaysia and Singapore.
Or leaving from here in August, there are even cheap flights to Japan and then there are ferries between Japan to China.
Or you could even use up some time over in Bali and then fly to Singapore and work your way north, perhaps work on getting up to China when the weather is beginning to warm and take the train from China across to Moscow and beyond or I think there's even one going now to Turkey and you could link up with the Orient Express or do some ferrying across through the Greek Islands and onto Italy and thence Sardinia and France/Spain and home that way.

But as for Australia, always happy to field questions here as they come.


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