Travelling

[CB_NO3]

Hi guys, am looking to go travelling next year at some point. Looked at an excellent deal with STA travel which roughly works out 6 destinations with flights for £1200 give or take a few hundred. Anyway it would go like this, start Dubai, Thailand, Oz, New Zealand, Fiji then USA. I would want to go away for about 6 months in total. Would probably only be in Dubai for about 10 days and most of the time would be spent in Thailand and Oz travelling about.

I was looking for advice and recommendations from people who have done similar trips. Any advice on money, visas, part time jobs, places to see would be much appreciated. Thinking I would need at least 6k spending money, maybe a bit more. Obviously Asia would be a lot cheaper than Oz.

Anyway if people have had past experiences I would appreciate the advise. Any good recommended websites would be helpful too.

Thanks in advance.
CB

[Haymaker]

Friends of mine did odd-jobs in Oz - fruit picking mostly I think? Apparently very easy to get and you can work for as long as you like and leave whenever.

You wont be able to get an odd-job in America without a proper visa so make sure you have plenty saved up for that part of the trip.

A good friend of mine is in Thailand at the moment, it is absolutely mental from what I can make out of his rambling facebook status updates! :greengrin

STA should cover all the things you can do, especially working in Oz and all the visas required so have a chat with them when you book, cover every angle.

[Jonnyboy]

Hi guys, am looking to go travelling next year at some point. Looked at an excellent deal with STA travel which roughly works out 6 destinations with flights for £1200 give or take a few hundred. Anyway it would go like this, start Dubai, Thailand, Oz, New Zealand, Fiji then USA. I would want to go away for about 6 months in total. Would probably only be in Dubai for about 10 days and most of the time would be spent in Thailand and Oz travelling about.

I was looking for advice and recommendations from people who have done similar trips. Any advice on money, visas, part time jobs, places to see would be much appreciated. Thinking I would need at least 6k spending money, maybe a bit more. Obviously Asia would be a lot cheaper than Oz.

Anyway if people have had past experiences I would appreciate the advise. Any good recommended websites would be helpful too.

Thanks in advance.
CB

Drop the poster Jamesie a wee PM. He's been there and done it and I'm sure will gladly offer info and advice :agree:

[Steve-O]

Australia is VERY expensive compared to UK, New Zealand is cheaper than Australia, but still relatively expensive. You're as well to get working holiday visas for both as if you are earning then said money might make things seem less expensive.

Have you considered staying longer in Australia? If you got a job you'd likely be on decent money and wouldn't have to stick just to your initial budget.

[Steve-O]

A popular route through Asia also is to travel from Bangkok, down through Malaysia, and end up in Singapore. I highly recommend it, and it's pretty cheap to do. 5 years ago about 1000 quid did us for about 25 days through Asia - total. Could be done cheaper too as we were out every night etc.

[Jack]

A friend of mine started off with a plan like yours about 7 years ago and has been on the road ever since. Goodness knows how many countries she's done now.

[Holmesdale Hibs]

If you have time for a detour, you're money will go a long way in India. It's an amazing country and so diverse you can do almost anything you want - amazing beaches, mountains, landmarks and a very unique culture. You need a visa which is a bit of a hassle to get (or at least it was when I went in 2005). You have to take you're passport to the Indian embassy in Edinburgh or London queue a while and collect it the next day.

Thailand is very cool and also cheap. Amazing beeches and food.

Trip sounds amassing, sure you'll have a good time wherever you go.

[Ajo]

I was in Thailand, Singapore and Australia for 2 months this summer and it was the best time of my life! Started in Thailand and stayed there for roughly 2/3 weeks. Thailand is amazing, didn't like Bangkok but the islands like Koh Phangan (for the full moon party), Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Phi Phi are stunning. If you want to do activities such as elephant trekking then go up north to Chang Mai. Also it is extremely cheap there! Singapore was also a really cool place visit then we moved onto Oz where we booked the greyhound bus pass which allowed us to travel from Sydney to Cairns. I recommend booking all your hostels, trips etc when you're out in Oz all in one - we got a great deal by booking everything in one! Oz is very expensive, it gets a bit cheaper as you move up the east coast. Jobs wise in Oz, alot of the hostels offer free accommodation for doing a bit of work in the hostel. Enjoy, you'll have a blast! :thumbsup:

[CB_NO3]

Cheers for the replies guys. I would love to go to India one day but probably not on this trip as the flights are already planned. For the guys that stayed in Thailand, whats it like to get from Bangkok to the islands? Also did you stay in hostels or hotels while out there? How much would you pay for a night in a hostel in say Phi Phi or Chang Mai? Also how much would you be paying for food and drink?

When arriving in Oz I would not rule working for a few weeks if I was struggling. Anything from bar work to fruit picking would suit me. Am not looking to make a career out there as I would defo return home at some point. Well, so i think. If am having so much fun then who knows :wink:

Anyone who has more tips or stories of past experiences, feel free to fire in.

Cheers
CB

[Ajo]

Cheers for the replies guys. I would love to go to India one day but probably not on this trip as the flights are already planned. For the guys that stayed in Thailand, whats it like to get from Bangkok to the islands? Also did you stay in hostels or hotels while out there? How much would you pay for a night in a hostel in say Phi Phi or Chang Mai? Also how much would you be paying for food and drink?

When arriving in Oz I would not rule working for a few weeks if I was struggling. Anything from bar work to fruit picking would suit me. Am not looking to make a career out there as I would defo return home at some point. Well, so i think. If am having so much fun then who knows :wink:

Anyone who has more tips or stories of past experiences, feel free to fire in.

Cheers
CB


Before we went out to Thailand, we booked our flights to get from Bangkok to Koh Samui and from there you can then jump on the ferry which can take you to the islands. Then after that we flew from Koh Samui over to Krabi. I know some people who got the boat from Bangkok to the islands as it was really cheap however we didn't fancy that so paid around £50 for our flight which was only 1 hour I think. Again as Thailand is so cheap, we stayed in hotels - one hotel which was stayed in at Koh Phanghan (called Cocohuts) was like a 5 star hotel with private beach etc and only cost around £30 a night!! Hostels are even cheaper but I've heard they aren't the most pleasant in Thailand but it all depends what you're looking for. Food and drink wise, you could get lunch/dinner for around £2.50 max a meal! It's literally so cheap, a bottle of water equates to something like 7p or something.

[hibeedonald]

Hi guys, am looking to go travelling next year at some point. Looked at an excellent deal with STA travel which roughly works out 6 destinations with flights for £1200 give or take a few hundred. Anyway it would go like this, start Dubai, Thailand, Oz, New Zealand, Fiji then USA. I would want to go away for about 6 months in total. Would probably only be in Dubai for about 10 days and most of the time would be spent in Thailand and Oz travelling about.

I was looking for advice and recommendations from people who have done similar trips. Any advice on money, visas, part time jobs, places to see would be much appreciated. Thinking I would need at least 6k spending money, maybe a bit more. Obviously Asia would be a lot cheaper than Oz.

Anyway if people have had past experiences I would appreciate the advise. Any good recommended websites would be helpful too.

Thanks in advance.
CB
Hi there, I went travelling for 3 months last summer in between school and uni and did something pretty similar. That's a good price mine was 1600 for 29000 miles I think. I did LA for 4 days, Hawaii for 1 week, Fiji for 2 weeks, Australia for 2 months and then finished off with 2 weeks in Thailand. So altogether just over 3 months, I spent 4500. I went by myself and found it very easy to meet people etc, most people are doing it by themselves, particularly in Australia.

If your planning on going to Hawaii and Fiji I would avoid Hawii, it's very family oriented and much more expensive/nowhere near as good Fiji. LA 4 days was enough, Holywood is very overated although Santa Monica and Venice Beach were nice. Another problem for me in America was being 18 and not being able to booze.

Fiji was incredible, when you pick your islands on the island hoping thing choose wisely, I would recommend Mantaray, Blue Lagoon and Octopus. I also waited until I got to Fiji airport before booking anything and I saved a lot of money. 2 weeks was enough though and I think 10 days would be the optimum time there.

Australia is much more expensive than here however there is loads of work going about, I only had the tourist visa and I still found a few days casual work when i needed to earning about 25 bucks an hour. If you go to Australia for a longer time the money is so good you could actually break even on the whole trip. The hostel life is brilliant, I did the east coast and it was easily the best 2 months of my life.

Thailand was a great 2 weeks aswell, although I would say it was harder to meet people as lots of groups travel there, I ended up going with people I met from oz. The full moon party on Koh Phan Yan (not sure how to spell it) was insane, wasn't too keen on Bangkok though, but it was very very cheap. The worst thing is that every single Thai person will do there best to rip you off every penny. A lot of people i met said there time in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam was better as it was more untouched (and cheaper still).

[hibeedonald]

Cheers for the replies guys. I would love to go to India one day but probably not on this trip as the flights are already planned. For the guys that stayed in Thailand, whats it like to get from Bangkok to the islands? Also did you stay in hostels or hotels while out there? How much would you pay for a night in a hostel in say Phi Phi or Chang Mai? Also how much would you be paying for food and drink?

When arriving in Oz I would not rule working for a few weeks if I was struggling. Anything from bar work to fruit picking would suit me. Am not looking to make a career out there as I would defo return home at some point. Well, so i think. If am having so much fun then who knows :wink:

Anyone who has more tips or stories of past experiences, feel free to fire in.

Cheers
CB

Get the Bus from Bangkok to the full moon party or wherever else you want to go, you will meet loads of people on the bus theres like a full fleet of them that go down. Full of young people all doing the same and there air conditioned, cheap, and it includes ferrys etc. With the people I met we stayed in a two twin rooms for 6 quid a night ( each) i think on Phi Phi. The Hostel at Patong Beach (****et) was brilliant actually cleaner than a lot of Australian ones, If your planning on going there I'll find it again and link you up. If you are going to the full moon book your accom before you go, I stayed in "yan's dormitory" which was a great laugh, the guys a legend cooked everyone food for free etc

[CB_NO3]

Sounds brilliant hibeedonald. What work did you do in oz if you dont mind me asking? Yeah get the name of that hostel in ****et mate. Would happily stay in somewhere that has good reviews. Whats the security like over there? I think I would get annoyed with the locals trying to rip me off, but i will be wise to it. Av been to music festivals in Spain were there has been muggings and folk trying to rip you off but its easy to work out because I know the currency well.

[Slicer]

It's the best thing I ever did mate. Are you going alone? My story is that I came away for a year to work and travel in Australia and that was October 2010. Still here now! I also spent a month in Thailand for a holiday. I did 2 nights in Dubai on my way to Australia. Got to see everything I wanted to see; the Burj tower (biggest in the world), Palm Islands, Sail hotel, The massive Shopping Mall and a bit on the beach. If it's just a stopover a few days is long enough. Lots more to see on your trip.

I have been to Thailand and it has it all! We flew into Bangkok, I'd recommend 1 or 2 nights there if you're keen but much more to see elsewhere. Catch a 'ping-pong' show if you have time. I stayed at D&D Hotel which is on the main strip named Ko San Road. It gets manic at night and you can stay in another area but I don't know about them. At the entrance to the hotel there are travel shops where you can book your bus and ferry to go to your next destination. The beauty of it is that it's so easy to get around, there were tour desks or travel stalls most places we went. If you like a place just stay a few more days then catch a bus/ferry to the next place for the same price.

The Full Moon Party is wild, it's on the beach with bars selling buckets of cocktails all along it. There's also a 'magic' area at the bar on the end of the beach. There is one every month so try and fit that in. I had a nightmare with accommodation but my friends stayed in Coral Bungalows which has a pool party on certain nights. That is in Koh Phangan. We traveled there on an overnight coach form Bangkok which included the ferry. Koh Samui and Koh Tao are islands close by. I never spent long in Koh Samui but Koh Tao is meant to be pretty chilled. Good for diving and snorkeling. A lot of people I know did their Dive Master course there for little money.

Phi Phi Island was my favorite, nice beach, no cars, chilled during the day and it comes alive at night. Found lots of nice restaurants too. You can chill out with day trips to Monkey Island and Maya Bay where they filmed 'The Beach'. As we arrived people were trying to sell us accommodation so if you want to go with the flow it's easy enough to get somewhere to stay.

If I had the time and money I would have went north to Chang Mai where you do elephant trekking and get up close with tigers.

I've heard good things about Cambodia and Vietnam for a more chilled out experience. Seen some unreal pictures of temples and the killing fields. You can shoot machine guns and AK-47's while you're there.

How long do you plan to spend in Australia? It is expensive if you're spending GBP. Not so much if you're earning $20+ an hour. You can't legally work on a tourist visa although there are obviously ways to get by. You could get cash work and some hostels give you free accommodation if you clean or make breakfast. Hostels are the best way to meet people and most of them have bars with promos every night for cheap drink or meals. A 1 year working visa gives you full working entitlements and most travelers find work in call centers, labouring, or in bars and restaurants. Most people tour the East Coast on the Greyhound bus. Some good spots on the way.

I've just rushed this reply on my break at work, if you want to know anything else let me know.