So much to see, so little time in Oz!

[partygirlontheloose]

Hi guys,

Me and three girls are looking to go backpacking in oz straight after we granduate next august. We are looking to spend 3/4months in australia and then doing a two week tour of new zeland, and a possible stop over in thailand. Just wondering what are the must sees of australia without too much travelling from coast to coast - we are four fun loving girls looking for a laid back lifestyle and lots of sun and beaches! Any advice welcome  

[PR]

G'day ladeeees!

Wow, what a fantastic thing to do after you graduate!

Welcome to the Backpacker Tours forums.

Good onya for starting to plan early.  You're right, Australia is a huge country, but, with a decent bit of planning ahead, you can fit a lot in during the time frame of three to four months.  Firstly, though, we'll need a few more details to help you to make the most of it:

• Where are you coming from and what is your departure city?
  
  
• Have you booked your airfares yet?  If so, what is your destination/arrival city?  If not, have you considered a 'round the world' (RTW) ticket, which would allow you to keep going in one direction (around the world), rather than backtracking on yourselves?  This can often be cheaper than booking individual flights for several country/city destinations.  (See Air Transport Travel Tips and a great tool to plan a round the world trip can be found at STA trip planner or Airtreks).  Using the latter, you could do, for instance, London - Kuala Lumpur - Bangkok - Darwin - Ayers Rock - Sydney - Auckland - Kuala Lumpur - London for USD$2687 to USD$3681, OR London - Kuala Lumpur - Bangkok - Darwin - Ayers Rock - Sydney - Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney - Brisbane - Cairns - Brisbane - Sydney - Auckland - Queenstown - Auckland - Kuala Lumpur - London for USD$3,811 to USD$5,221, OR London - Beijing - Bangkok - Darwin - Sydney - Cairns - Ayers Rock - Alice Springs - Adelaide - Melbourne - Cairns - Brisbane - Sydney - Christchurch - Queenstown - Auckland - Brisbane - Bandar Seri Begawan - London for USD$4,851 to USD$6,645.  And that's only a handful of options; there are many, many more!
  
  
• What sort of budget will you have? (Not necessarily exact figures, but just an idea of whether you'll be able to afford to fly from place to place, take trains and/or coach tours, or intend backpacking around.)
  
  
• Is there anything on your 'must see/do' list, e.g., Surfers Paradise, Uluru (Ayers Rock), Sydney Opera House?
  

For some general travel tips and things to consider, see eGuide Travel - travel tips, and for local deals, see eGuide Travel - travel deals.

For more information about Australia, perhaps to get an idea of what appeals to you all, have a look at Australia eGuide.

For New Zealand, see Auckland eGuide.

For Thailand, see Bangkok eGuide and eGuide Travel - How to get cheap holidays in Thailand.

For airline information, see Airline eGuide.

We can be a lot more specific and helpful if you would answer our few questions above.

Look forward to hearing from you again!

Cheers,
PR