BEFORE YOU GO TO AUSTRALIA
Before you go Backpacking in Australia there are a few important things you need to do. The first thing you need to sort out is your visa for Australia. It's important to apply for this before you book your flights, travel insurance or anything else, just in case it gets declined for some reason.
Below is a list of things you'll need to do before you head off on your big journey. And if you'd prefer to let us sort everything out for you so you can just relax and look forward to your trip then check out our Oz Intro Working Holiday package.
GET YOUR
VISA FOR AUSTRALIA
You need to get a visa for Australia before you go. There are a few different types of visas but the two most common ones if you're going backpacking are a Working Holiday Visa (WHV), which is what you'll need if you want to work in Oz, and an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), which allows you to holiday in Oz for up to 3 months. More info and details on how you apply is on our Visa for Australia page.
BOOK YOUR FLIGHT
Once your visa has been approved you'll need to book your flight. We recommend booking a flight that stops off somewhere in Asia, that way you have the option to spend some time there on the way back from Australia. And make sure you can change the dates, as your plans might change. Most airlines and travel agencies will allow you to change your dates for free or for a small fee.
Get more info on booking your flight to Australia.
GET SOME
TRAVEL INSURANCE
Although Australia is a very safe place, we strongly recommend that you get yourself some travel insurance.
You can get cover for accidents and medical emergencies, missed flights and trip cancellations, stolen or lost luggage and activities such as SCUBA diving, white-water rafting and bungy jumping.
Get a quote on travel insurance for Australia.
SAVE SOME MONEY
How much money you'll need depends on several things, such as how long you're going for, whether you're going to be working in Australia, how much travelling around Oz you want to do, what standard of accommodation you want to stay in and how much you like to go out and eat, drink and party.
You can read more info about how much money you'll need for your trip here.
BOOK YOUR FIRST FEW
NIGHTS ACCOMMODATION
It's a good idea to book your first couple of nights accommodation before you arrive in Australia. That way you won't have to do it when you land after your long flight.
Most flights into Oz will land in either Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth. And there are plenty of great hostels in all of those cities.
Book your accommodation in Australia.
BOOK AN ARRIVAL PACKAGE OR TOUR
Booking an arrival package is a great idea if you're travelling solo and want to meet people to go travelling with.
You'll spend your first week in Australia as part of a group, having lots of awesome experiences. Plus you'll get help to find work in Australia and all of the important stuff you need to do before you go will be taken care of.
Check out our Oz Intro arrival packages.
GET PACKING!
The final thing you'll need to do before you go is to pack. A lot of people that go travelling take way too much stuff and end up having to lug a gigantic heavy suitcase around with them, which isn't fun. We recommend that you get a good quality backpack and pack light! Somewhere between 15-20kgs is ideal. Any more than 20kgs and you're probably going to regret it.
Here's our packing checklist for backpacking in Australia.
