I won’t write something incredibly informative. I’ve already gotten into the habit of writing similar tips that might be useful, even if only for one person planning a trip to Australia. This is my vision, and I do not claim to be the “ultimate truth”.
So:
Travelling around Australia will represent constant movement from place to place for a tourist because exciting places in this country are located at a relatively large distance, and it will not be possible to be based in one city. Therefore, there will be a constant change of hotels (in my case, I changed ten hotels in different parts of the country during my trip). I advise you not to give your credit card to freeze the deposit but to leave “real” money at the reception.
Sometimes, hotels freeze up to $1,000 from a card, which takes forever to return, indeed a month. When you leave these 1000 dollars in banknotes, they will be given to you immediately upon check-out from the hotel. The hotel employee will make a displeased face at you in this situation, well, so be it, but then all the money on the card will be safe and sound, and you won’t have to wait for the return of this deposit because anything can happen on the road!
“First of all, first of all, aeroplanes…” In this country, you will have to fly on aeroplanes, because once you get here, you should see all the exciting things. I advise flying anything but Jetstar, as the only worse airline is Kogalym Airlines (and that’s not a fact).
This airline constantly delays its flights, and if you plan to make further time-bound forays along the route on the day of arrival, stock up on either time or patience. It is better to choose Virgin Australia; Jetstar planes have seats so close to each other that even with my height of 162 cm, my knees ungodly rested on the seat in front, to say nothing of taller people with long legs. Well, the terminals where (or from) the planes of this company will arrive (or depart) are the most inconvenient and unsuitable for spending time.
Australian fauna
Before my trip, I read that animals are found everywhere here, at every step, especially kangaroos. Not true! You can travel around half the country and only see a parrot on a branch, so my advice is to fly to Sydney or Melbourne (which is where most international flights land) and plan a visit to zoos and aquariums, they are incredibly excellent in Sydney and are just wall to wall, With a friend.
You can see beautiful fish, corals, penguins, kangaroos, and koalas there. This may be the only time you see these animals up close.
Uluru. Many guidebooks to Australia feature a photo of the enormous red mountain Uluru on the cover, which theoretically means that it is the main attraction of this country. At first, I wanted to get there, too, until I saw how tedious and lengthy it was, which damaged other exciting places. In Australia, I also heard stories about how tourists tried to get there by car, but in the end, when they got there, for example, during the rainy season, they were forced to return from half the road without reaching their destination.
If someone wants to see this place, they should fly there by plane, although the beauty of it won’t be worth it!
For those who love to smoke!
Even though before departure, I went to the website of the Australian Embassy and carefully studied the customs rules and saw that you could import 50 cigarettes duty-free, upon arrival, it turned out that only 25 were allowed. Why 25? But because they have 25 pieces packaged in a pack. I won’t dwell on the fact that you can smoke only in specially designated places; it’s already clear. I’ll note that the cost of cigarettes is relatively high: a pack costs $25, and visually, you won’t see them anywhere; you need to ask sellers in the supermarket or 7 Eleven storese; they are always there.
Connection. Cities are acceptable; however, if you are carried to the far north of Australia in the Kakadu National Park and the surrounding areas, then there is a high probability that mobile phones will not be able to pick up signals. Even the navigators in cars will turn off.
Moreover, as I wrote in one of the posts about this region, where the locals live, they have their customs. For example, they may refuse to sell gasoline at a gas station, and you can only purchase alcohol using coupons. You can only visit the settlements of the locals with prior agreement with the elders, and I do not advise you to leave your car on the road going alone in these places! You may encounter natives on the road under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and only God knows what will be in their minds at that moment.
When planning a trip, besides Uluru
The areas of Darwin in the north of the country with Kakadu Park, waterfalls and termite mounds turned out to be uninteresting. It’s cool, but cutting into such a distance could be more enjoyable. Besides, the temperatures there, even in the Australian winter, are very high; it will be about 40 during the day, and I can’t even imagine the summer. Although, of course, if you are interested in rock paintings (like me, for example), it’s the north! I highly recommend visiting Kangaroo Island (accessible from Adelaide), Featherdale Park (near Sydney) and Koala Park near Perth, where for just 30 bucks, you can hold a koala bear for a hug. With his soft paws, you bury your nose in your shoulder, which will be the most unforgettable experience in your life.
I won’t mention Melbourne and Sydney because all Australian roads lead there, just like Rome, but if you have time, visit the island of Tasmania. It’s only an hour’s flight from Melbourne and has a lot of natural beauty and a special, unique atmosphere.
People always ask me about money
How much does a trip like this cost? The answer is expensive!!! And it’s not only costly to get there, but absolutely everything is expensive there: accommodation, food, entrance fees to all the attractions, and I won’t even mention taxis—it’s killing yourself against the wall.
Moreover, more money is needed to guarantee decent service, and this is a substantial Australian problem. This country has not instilled any respect for people who come to spend money to benefit the economy. According to my observations, no one is engaged in making money there. Half the country lives on benefits; all the natives receive it as compensation for oppression in the past, the youth stupidly don’t work, and the rest, in whose veins the fact that the country was populated either by former convicts or overseers was affected at the genetic level, believe that you Take care of yourself as best you can and why bother them about it. By the way, the average salary here is $4,000, but if you are a builder, plumber or electrician, the salary can be up to 1,000 bucks in 1 day! The tourism business is poorly developed, so tourists are sometimes perceived as a headache one wants to get rid of as quickly as possible.
Food
This is not the place for foodies (with the scarce exception of expensive restaurants in Sydney or Melbourne) because you will have only three food options to choose from:
- Hamburgers
- Fish and Chips (i.e. fish in batter with French fries)
- Sandwiches
On the 20th day of our trip, I could no longer consider either the first or the second option; the third was no longer discussed. To get into a typical Japanese or Korean restaurant in Sydney, you need to stand in line, and during rush hour, when people leave their offices (at 18-19 hours), the line reaches about 20 people.
If you are lucky and come across a Greek tavern, you will be rewarded with genuine happiness. There are a lot of Greeks here because Australia was the first country to emigrate to Greece (I don’t even know why, but it’s a fact).
For “Americano coffee” lovers, it’s called “Long black”; otherwise, they won’t understand what you want.
The water is of good quality everywhere; all restaurants pour it into your glass straight from the tap, and it tastes no worse than Evian.
My last piece of advice
My last piece of advice will be a little strange. If someone wants to do a tour combining Australia and New Zealand, I don’t recommend it. It wastes time and effort, although it will be worth the money. Choose New Zealand, which has stunning, unique nature not preserved anywhere else in the world. It will take 3threeweeks to explore, but you will leave incredible memories in your memory.
For people who like to travel in comfort from a knowledgeable tour guide, I recommend visiting Kakadu Park along with an excursion as they will tell you in more detail about the Australian fauna, the local inhabitants, and what is unique about Australia. At my end I would recommend top 5 best tour operator in Australia bellow
5 TOP Australian Tour operator
- Autopia Tours – https://autopiatours.com.au/ (since 1998)
- Wildlife Tours – https://wildlifetours.com.au/ (since 2000)
- Wayoutback – https://www.wayoutback.com.au/ (since 1999)
- Great Barrier Reef – https://greatbarrierreeftour.au/ – (since 2020)
- Walking Country – https://walkingcountry.com.au/ – (since 1999)