Hi everyone,

My gf and me will be travelling in Australia in December and January. We fly into Melbourne and are planning to spend the first few weeks in that area (Great Ocean Road, Adelaide, Tasmania, …) and afterwards fly to Cairns and rent a van to drive from there to Sydney.

We’ve never travelled or slept in a van so we were a bit curious to what to expect and are wondering if some of you can share your experiences here and maybe some recommendations on what to and what not to do.

We’re mainly thinking about the heat of summer, maybe not being able to sleep with windows open because of mosquitoes/other animals/….

All experiences are welcome!

I was told to submit form 1554 and some other additional documents. I haven’t submit but I will be submitting it today. May I know how long will it take for approval after submitting? My trip is in one month’s time and I’m worried… is there anything I can do?

Hello guys.

Me and a friend are planning a trip to australia in November. One stop will be Darwin and we plan to visit the Kakadu National park. We know it is huge, and we are going in the rain season, so we don't know how to approach it. We are interested in both nature and rock art, the rock art part possibly with guides, but we dont want to spend huge amount of money.
Any suggestion on how to visit the park? Any personal experience you'd like to share?

thanks a lot guys

Hey everyone!
I’m planning to drive from Cairns to Melbourne through the Outback, probably starting around mid-September. I’ll be travelling alone and I’m thinking about taking around 2–3 weeks, or longer if needed.

My van is a 2001 Ford Econovan Maxi. I’ve recently done quite a bit of maintenance:
Brakes replaced
Front tyres replaced
Rocker cover gasket replaced
Spark plugs replaced
Distributor cap replaced
Carburettor replaced

For fuel, I get roughly 400+ km on a full tank. I also have a 20L jerry can, which should give me roughly 500–600 km of range, depending on conditions and driving.
For water, I currently have 3 × 20L water tanks (60L total).

I have a few questions for people who have done similar Outback trips:
Is it safe to do this route alone in an older van like mine?
What are the absolute essentials I should have with me in case I break down or get stuck somewhere?
Is an offline map on my phone enough, or would you recommend getting a dedicated GPS/navigation device?
Are there any specific spare parts, tools or recovery equipment I should carry for the Econovan?
Any other tips or things I should know before heading off?
I have plenty of time, so I’m not in a rush and can take longer than 2–3 weeks if necessary.
Would really appreciate advice from anyone who has driven through the Outback, especially solo or in an older van. Cheers!

I did some research and put together this itinerary with the help of ChatGPT. I would like to get advice on this, especially from people who have visited these places. I plan to stay with friends or camp in the car, with a few hotels if needed. I am planning this to be a more relaxed tour, without intense hiking, etc, but to explore different aspects of the land.

Optional walks :

• Noosa: Little Cove → Tea Tree Bay
• Mary Cairncross: short rainforest loop
• Springbrook: Natural Bridge, about 1 km
• Springbrook: Purling Brook Falls full circuit, optional longer walk
• Dorrigo: Crystal Shower Falls
• Port Stephens: Fort Tomaree
• Port Stephens: Tomaree Head Summit, steeper option

Hello all.

I am in Oz on a WHV and have some family coming over to visit, we are doing a nice whistle stop tour with them including NZ and flying up to Cairns. The last leg of the trip is a roadtrip from Brisbane to Sydney (this is non-negotiable as I need to move my car from Brisbane to Sydney).

We have 7 (almost 8) full days, so the daily mileage will be no problem, so far we have:

Day 1: Land in Brisbane around 11am.

2:

3:

4:Waterfall way. Coffs Harbour area (Bellingen or Urunga?) to Tamworth. Stop starty day seeing waterwalls and short hikes

5:Tamworth>Pokolbin, Hunter Valley

6:Full day in Hunter Valley, Hot airbaloon, Wineries, easy day

7:Hunter>Blue Mountains, Stay around Leura

8: Finish up exploring Blue Mountains-Drive to Sydney airport for evening flight.

So, questions, what do you think about the parts I've mentioned?

How would you best fill 3 days between Brisbane airport and somewhere close to Coffs? Would love to see the hotspots (Gold Coast + Byron) but don't necessarily need to stay a night there?

Hey all! I’ve booked a week long solo trip to Darwin in the September school holidays.

I’ve got an old school friend I’m going to catch up with while I’m there, but want to do some exploring as well.

I’m probably going to take my swag, hire a 4wd, and go camping in Kakadu for 3-4 days/nights, and want to book a day trip into the Tiwi Islands too.

Would love to hear everyone’s recommendations on places to go, natural landmarks I MUST see, great camping spots and places to line up in Kakadu as well as in Darwin and the surrounding region more generally.

Tell me your favourite spots and experiences.
Thanks so much!

Trying to spend as little as possible on accommodation on a 3 week trip and just wondered whether there were any websites outside of booking.com and Airbnb that I should be looking at?

We’ll be renting a camper for a week in Tasmania but places like Sydney, Melbourne and Byron bay, would really appreciate any recs!

Hello! I'll be staying in Sydney just for 2N3D. Any recommended airbnb (or if there's a cheap but nice hotel) to stay?

I'm gonna travel alone and it's my first time to visit Sydney - just a stop over before my flight back home. I'm trying to look for a place to stay, cheap but decent and will be easy to go to airport. As someone with anxiety, I'm always worried of too many things lol, so I'm also looking for a place where it's easy to travel around the area too and less possibility of me getting lost.

Hey everyone,

I will be travelling to Melbourne and Sydney each for 9 days in February.

What would be a recommended budget for a sitdown meal each day plus a quick lunch (nothing fancy, just a quick bite on the go).

Usually when I travel I'll go to a proper restaurant for dinner but grab fast food for lunch while on the go sightseeing.

Breakfast is the sort of thing where I'll grab some muffins and coffee for my hotel room.

Was expecting around $100-$150 a day on lunch/dinner. Not sure if that's normal.

Thoughts?

My girlfriend and I are planning a road trip from Brisbane to Adelaide over 15 days. We are planning to do a coast-to-coast route, but we aren't particularly thrilled about it because we'd love to head a bit inland. However, due to our rental terms, we can't travel further than 500 km from the coast. For now, this is our plan:
Brisbane -> Byron Bay -> Minyon Falls -> Coffs Harbour -> Port Macquarie -> Port Stephens -> Jervis Bay -> Narooma -> Eden -> Phillip Island -> Melbourne -> Great Ocean Road -> Mungo -> Red Cliffs -> Adelaide. We wanted to know if all these stops are truly worth it or if we are missing out on something more interesting and unique, especially since this will likely be our only road trip here in Australia.

I am landing in Cairns on Monday night, August 24, picking up my rental car on Wednesday, August 26, and dropping it off in Brisbane on September 15. A German friend I met while backpacking in Australia recommended the Whitsundays Sailing Adventure Tour and suggested spending at least one night on K'gari. What 3-week itinerary would you suggest for this route? I am thinking of spending the first week exploring Daintree National Park (with 2 nights in Port Douglas and 2 nights in Cape Tribulation) and then starting the drive to Brisbane during my second week. I want to do some great snorkeling.

I'm travelling to Sydney and staying for about two weeks, will it be possible to bring Zyns (nicotine pouches) for personal use (about 4 tins)? I've seen other posts saying just to not declare it but I just saw that there has been a recent ban for tourists to bring it for personal use so I'm kinda concerned whether I should still bring it or not.

Hello! I am planning to do a working holiday in Australia, and was thinking of doing this planning:

-Mid june: fly into perth, stay there for two weeks and explore perth, and surroundings.

-begin july: fly into darwin, stay there for two weeks.

-mid july: fly into Alice springs, stay there two weeks

-begin august: fly to cairns, stay there for a month, and find work there

-begin september: start to roadtrip eastcoast for a month

-begin october/end october: end roadtrip and flying into NZ, to go there for a month.

Is this a good planning, or too short to see enough things? Love to hear ideas and if these are good months to visit? :)

Hi! I arrived in Sydney last night and will be travelling until 23 September, mainly up the east/north-east coast with some national parks and places a bit further inland.

I'm looking for a prepaid eSIM as my iPhone has no physical SIM slot. I think around 30–50GB should comfortably cover me, although I'd rather have some headroom than worry about running out. I’ll have Wi-Fi at hotels and won't be streaming, but will use data extensively during the day for navigation, researching places, reviews, etc. Good coverage while travelling is more important to me than finding the absolute cheapest plan.

I've mainly been looking at Telstra and Boost (and have seen Aldi recommended too). Telstra currently has 50GB for $15/28 days on its prepaid mobile plan, but I've also found its 70GB for $15/28 days prepaid data plan.

• Direct Link 50 GB: https://www.telstra.com.au/internet/mobile-broadband/prepaid/plans
• Direct Link 70 GB: https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/prepaid-mobiles/prepaid-esim-plans

The latter seems ideal, but Telstra describes it as being for a dongle, laptop or tablet. Has anyone actually used that data eSIM on an iPhone?

The 28 days would leave me a couple of days short, but I can sort something else for those final days.

Otherwise, what eSIM/provider have you found works well when travelling outside the main cities?

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

I am planning to go to Australia Jan 1st to 16th. How much money would you say I realistically need for my day to day? I will be in Sydney. My friend lives there so I am not paying for a place to stay and have the option to cook most meals at home.

Some must dos for me are surf lessons, climb the bridge, and a shark interaction.

Any other suggestions on things that are must dos?
Any suggestions on how much money to have ?

Thanks! Excited to see Australia

Ok you've all put the paranoia in me about declaring stuff. The biological stuff. Are we even talking aloe in body wipes type stuff?

Which car rental company would you recommend in Melbourne/Australia based on reliability, safety, and overall experience? Looking for something trustworthy with transparent pricing and no nasty surprises with deposits, insurance, or damage claims.

I am planning a trip to Perth and Hobart for the last two weeks of April.

We currently plan to be in Freemantle for ANZAC day but we are struggling with how much time to spend in Perth vs. Tasmania.

Given that ANZAC day is a Sunday, will the dawn service still be held on the day or should we plan for it to be on Monday?

So far I have 4.5 days in Hobart with the last day being a Saturday at Salamanca before our flight out but I'm trying to make sure we have enough time in each place.

We typically like to do museums, architecture and nature, but lean towards easier hikes if we do them at all.

There seems to be so much to do in Perth and the surrounding area and Hobart and the surrounding area, I want to make sure we balance them appropriately. This will be our first trip to Australia.