Rocky Travel Blog - An Australia Online Travel Guide

All articles in March 2010

23.03.2010 | by Rocky Travel

How to save money on your travel in Australia!

Tips and tricks for saving money
on your trip to Australia !

Australia is a huge and remote travel destination, which requires lots of time and money if you want to make the most of your trip and enjoy it fully. If you want to explore OZ you need to organize your trip thoroughly. Accurate research and good planning beforehand are key factors to make of your travel in Australia a memorable experience as well as an experience worth your money !

Australia is far away from the rest of the world, we cannot change it !! So, even good travel deals will cost you something !

I have prepared a checklist for you with some tips, to give you an idea where to focus if you want to save money on your travel to Australia:

Travel off season if you can avoid the peak season, which varies in Australia, since it´s a huge country, december-february will be the busiest time in the South East region, whereas in July-August is crowded in the Tropical North Queensland, the Top End and the Red Centre. If you can travel off season the cost can reduce considerably.
Finding cheap flights to Australia is also a crucial point if you want to save money! The flight ticket represents almost 1/3 of the whole travel expenses, so if you want to get a good deal you have to start your research in internet months ahead. Do not hope in a last minute flight to Australia ! I would recommend at least 6 months before schedule, especially if you plan to travel in peak season. In internet you can find good resources for flight comparison and flight booking. If you want to learn more about how to find cheap flights click on the link and continue reading.
Prefer hostels for your accommodation in Australia ! Australian hostels are really good value, with great facilities and services to suit all tastes and expecations. I was really struck about the quality and the overall organization! And if you want to sleep without spending a single dollar, you can choose between two other options which are either exchanging your home with someone else who will living in you home during the same time, or you can get af ree couch in an australian private home. This kind of accommodation is called Couch Surfing and is a great way of getting to know the locals and thus making friends with the Aussies. Check out this site for more accommodation options in Australia
How to get around Australia - if you are in a group the best and cheapest way is to hire a car or if you prefer a campervan and stopping whenever and wherever you want, this allows you to visit Australia at your own pace. If you are travelling alone then you can use car sharing or travel by bus. When crossing the country or plan long distances then it is sensible flying. In internet you can find a variety of offers, look for special saver rates, all domestic airlines companies offer these kind of rates, you can really get huge discounts on the normal tarif, but will not be flexible as far as destinations and dates is concerned.
Get yourself a travel saver card - this allows you to get discount up to 50% on so a huge variety of booking and purchhases, from hotel and flight booking to travel insurance and theme parks, to restaurants and theme parks. Really a true opportunity to save lots of money in a simple way and always get the best travel deals! If you want to learn more about a good Travel Saver Card for your travel to Australia click on the link.

There are more areas where you can save money , subscribe for free to the Rocky Travel Newsletter and get more tips every month !

23.03.2010, by Rocky Travel, comments: (0)

17.03.2010 | by Rocky Travel

Australia dreaming....

What´s your reason to visit Australia ?

After having scored the second place in the world among the top 10
countries for "better living", according to a

recent survey Australia continues to maintain the first place among the most desidered travel destinations of Americans and its third place in worldwide surveys.

Certainly for the youngest generation Australia represents a top expat destination. If you think that every year 40.000 British choose to leave Great Britain and head to the southern hemisphere, you soon get the picture.

Wwhat is the reason for many people to crave for migrating to Australia ?

Well the 5° continent does offer lots of viable solutions both in terms of places to see and things to do, as well as professional opportunities, but perhaps what most attracts people is the immense feeling of freedom which you can perceive everywhere, so that everyone can find what he is looking for: fun, adventure, sport, nature wonders, culture, tradition and the tranquillity and the peace you need, especially for starting over in your life.

Here below I made a short list with the most common reasons for choosing Australia as a destination:

Leisure time - for spending your vacation. The wish to explore such a remote land, enjoy places and savor the mystery and the charm of its natural beauty, the ancient tradition and its multicultural distinctive character.
Visit family and friends - Who do not have a relative or a friend in Australia ? A visit to Australia can be a great way to bring the family together or visit a friend you have not seen for a long time.
Adventure and sports activities - Australia offers so much to sports fans: from surfing, diving, snorkeling, sailing, to hiking, trekking, horse riding, golf, and much more. A true paradise for water sports enthusiasts!
A gap year - Australia is a wonderful destination along with New Zeland to take a break while you are studying or whenever you need some time off during your professional career. If you are below 30 years, thanks to the a special government program called "working holiday", you can work and travel for 1 year around Australia.
backpacking experience - travelling with your backpack from one destination to the other is becoming more and more popular as a form of cheap travel. If you want venture into this kind of experience and if you have decided to travel alone, Australia is a fantastic destination, especially if you doing this for your first time you will easily find connection to many other fellow travellers to share your experience with.

So, now it´s your turn, what is your reason to travel to Australia ?

If you wish to tell me your experience you have been doing in Down Under and what you have learned from and want to share it with Rocky, post a comment here below, or send it your story and I will publish it.

Or if you may want to continue reading here about Why visit Australia

Look forward to hearing from you !

Michela

17.03.2010, by Rocky Travel, comments: (0)

15.03.2010 | by Rocky Travel

My trip to Australia - from travel planning to exploring places...

Step by step ....making your itinerary around Australia

I have been asked recently to write about my trips to Australia, so starting from
today, I will write each week a

couple of blog post to cover all aspects of my trip around Australia, from the very first pre-planning phase, organizing and packing to visiting and experiencing places around Australia.

For my first trip to Australia I started planning 6 months ahead. It was my first trip to Oceania and also my very first long trip travelling alone and backpacking. I had been waiting for years to take a 3 months pause off work, and my move from Germany back to Italy was the perfect occasion, so, I was really, really excited about it!!

I first gathered some impressions from people I knew they had been there and could give me some tips. Upon this information I was eager to surf in internet and find what I was looking for, but to my greatest disappointment I could find what I was looking for: either I landed to travel agencies sites, with adverts banners and little or almost unexisting content about Australia, or on the other hand, Australia platform sites stuffed with so much junk content and adverts that put me off immediately.

So I decided to try anther way and bought myself a couple of good travel guides and started reading them, yes indeed I almost did not use internet, ....so now you know why I created this portal about Australia :)

My time frame was fidex: end of March to beginning of June, so I started figuring out where and what I could do in those months starting from Sydney and going around Australia in a loop.

Why I choose Sydney: March is their autumn and if you want to visit Sydney and the south east part of Australia, with pleasent weather March is the right time...April and Mai is getting colder and it is better to head to the northern tropical part or you can visit the Red Centre. April-Mai is also best time for the outback.

So a couple of tips for your pre-planning:

identify the season and your time frame first - when you can or want to travel to Australia and for how long, this is essential before you start making any other planning and arrangements
make a list of what you want to see and do in Australia, based on your time frame It´s a huge country and you will not be able to see it all at once, unless you plan to spend 5-6months.

So for making up your mind and gain some insight about how to choose your destination and make your our own itinerary come back again to this blog, I will post in the next days a second report about my trips to Australia.

In the meantime you may want to check out this step-by-step guide on how to mak your travel Itineary around Australia

See you soon...!

Michela

15.03.2010, by Rocky Travel, comments: (0)

12.03.2010 | by Rocky Travel

What's new on Rocky Travel ? - A new itinerary: Australia's South East Coast

The South East Coast from Sydney to Melbourne !

I am now continuing the itinerary from Sydney down the south east coast to reach Melbourne.

Visualizza South East Coast Australia

Again for this month I have decided to introduce one area I visited in my first trip around Australia, which impressed me very much.

This is a good itinerary if you if prefer focussing on one specific area, and enjoy a more peaceful time at less crowded places.

The south east coast is ideal if you are looking more for relaxation and want to spend time in the nature, enjoy the peacefulness of beautiful coastal sceneray along with gorgeous walking in national parks. There are plenty of sport and water activities you can do along the cost.

Click on the link to learn more about The South East Coast

If you don´t know how to choose your itinerary around Australia, are looking for some ideas about the major attractions, you may also want to check out my top 10 destinations in Australia.

If you have any suggestions or want to add something to the above article, post your comment here below.

Thanks
Michela

12.03.2010, by Rocky Travel, comments: (0)

08.03.2010 | by Rocky Travel

Free Accommodation in Australia

Are you looking for free Accommodation in Australia ?

Does it sound too good to be true ? Not at all, it is realistic and possible! Sleeping for free has increased popularity and is possible all over the world thank to some good alternative kind of accommodation based on reciprocal exchange of accommodation resources or on hospitaliy exchange.

I give you here below a quick information about the 2 most ways of accommodation you can get for free in Australia:

Stay in a private home and get a free couch! This is a sort of "people helping people make the most out of their vacation" by offering a free couch to those who want to save money on accommodation and morevoer look forward to getting to know the locals by living in their homes. This is an amazing resource I personally have not tested yet, but have heard so much positive feedback about it. Through this organization Couch Surfing you can get a "couch for free" - you just need to be a member of the organization and start connecting with the other fellows travellers! Have a try!
Another good option which is becoming more and more popular is to swap your home simultaneously with someone else, who wish to visit your hometown. This is absolutely the best way to save money, because you receive it completely for free, it means your accommodation costs you nothing and moreover you have the great benefit of "feeling like at home". Home exchange however is not for everyone, you must absolutely feel comfortable with someone stranger staying in your house.

It´s good for those who do love experiencing new places and do no want to pay for accommodation and at the same time look for a great opportunity to get to to know the locals, you definitely will find easy connection with the neighbors and friends of the exchanging family. Some other people do not fancy at all having strangers in their homes, besides that you will also have to consider the location of your home will also play an important role when looking for an exchange. If you live in a major city or place of interest it will be easy to find what you are looking for, if you live outside or far away from the requested place it will be harder to find a good match to fulfill expectations. Anyhow it´s not a reason not to try.

There are lots of sites in internet offering a pool of inquiries with the possibility of getting to know a bit more about the people with whom you want to swap your home. Usually you have to subscribe if you want to be a member and be able to partecipate in all activities, have access to the forums and all inquiries and offers, but the yearly fee is usually afforbable, and if you intend to use it quite a few time during the year is really worth joining these sites.

Michela

08.03.2010, by Rocky Travel, comments: (0)