# First timer



## Foxy1991 (Mar 24, 2014)

Good afternoon all,

My name is Grant and I currently reside in the United Kingdom with my fiancee.

After a very cold, wet and miserable day we both decided that we cannot tolerate it any longer and have decided to travel the world and our first point of call is going to be Australia.

Whilst we are both overjoyed at our decision and our upcoming adventure we are both very overwhelmed with all the planning that is involved and how uneducated we are regarding the trip in its entirety, and so it has prompted me to join the forum and pick the brains of those clued up on the matter. 

The first question I have is regarding visas, I have found an official looking website that looks like it could be government related where we can apply for them but without actually starting the application process it is difficult to find out the information I need. The visa related questions I have are as follows;

- How much is it to apply for one
- What sort of checks are carried out, and how are they carried out
- At what point do we need to prove how we will financially support ourselves and how to we prove that?

The next part of our planning is regarding flights, does anyone know of the best airline to travel with? We will be departing from any London airport and ideally arriving into Sydney.

Once we are there our plan is to stay in a local hostel and create a general plan of action. Any information on hostels local to the airport in Sydeny, or the surrounding area would be great. 

At the moment I am working in a restaurant as a cocktail barman, and my fiancee is involved in admin work as well as holding down another position as a barmaid. We are both going to aim for positions in Australia similar to what we have now although we are both open to learning and trying new things. I read somewhere that to participate in bar work in Australia we would both need to complete some form of course?

Finally if anyone has any information of places on interest that are popular, or on the other hand, any places that it would be best to avoid for first time travelers we are all ears, or all eyes in this case!

Any information regarding anything above would be a massive help and I look forward to hearing back from you all,

Kind regards,

Grant Fox


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## Gayle85 (Jan 21, 2014)

Hey Grant, 

There's a lot to think about and sort out but it's much simpler than you think, I promise! Regarding visas, I think I paid about 400 pounds ish for mine and I did it through a company who basically did the application with me, so I knew everything was done right and I had confirmation back within less than 24 hours! In terms of proving you have money etc, officially, you need to have $5000 when you enter the country ... I presume this would be each but you may need to clarify that. As far as proving this goes, bank statements would be sufficient I think, but that's only even if they check - it's a random check upon entry of the country. (Again, may be worth clarifying that hasn't changed)

Flights wise, it really is just a case of looking ... skyscanner is a good comparison site! Have a look at that and play around with the dates etc and that will tell you what the best option is for you in terms of travel time/price/arrival/departure etc. 

Hostels are so accessible in Sydney ... I would say get the train from the airport if you are travelling on your own but as there will be two of you, it may be cheaper to get a taxi. It's about a 20 min ride to the city from the airport. 

If you want to work in an establishment that serves or sells alcohol, you need an RSA certificate. For NSW, you can no longer do this online, it has to be a classroom based course (the same for Victoria and all other states can be done online). This is required for each state so if you are planning on working in bars across states, you may be better off with an option that covers as many states as possible. 

I actually work for a company called Ultimate Adventure Travel ... we have a division called Ultimate Oz, if you get I touch with them, they can help you with your visa, your flights, booking a hostel and even finding you more long term accommodation. If you wanted to get involved with our Ultimate Oz week, we'd take you to Base camp, show you the bars in Sydney, take you out on a boat trip around the Harbour, we can organise Surf Camp for you ... as much or as little as you want to do. If you're happy with all that, we'll talk to you about what you want to do when you leave Sydney and travel. The guys are great and so helpful ... send them an email and any information I haven't given, they can help you with! (We do RSAs too)

Good luck with your travels, I came out here just over a year ago doing the same as you and it's the best thing I've ever done by far! :0)

Gayle


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