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I’ve been incredibly fortunate the last five years in my travel adventures. I have fulfilled my dream on road tripping America for three months; been on my first solo trip exploring China and Japan; experienced my first extended group tour; and taken multiple mini trips across Europe. And now I am planning my next great adventure!
I haven’t been on a long trip three years now, and the desire to travel has not diminished. Working and living a “normal” life always feels like killing time until I get to travel again. For the past year I have been saving as much as I can, and finally in November I will be off on my net adventure to somewhere I have been dreaming of my whole life.
Australia!
There has always been something about the land down under that calls out to me. I don’t know if it was twenty years of watching Neighbours, my childhood obsession with Kylie and Jason, the insane entertainment that is Round the Twist… but I have always wanted to visit Australia.
So this year it is finally happening.
I am currently in the booking phase of my trip having spend the past couple of months researching and planning.
I’ve been asked a lot recently how I go about planning these big trips, and thought I’d share a bit about my process.
This trip is going to be a little different to my previous long term adventures as I am going to go against my anxious instincts and wing it for a full two weeks. Usually I have a full itinerary planned and booked before I leave, but this time I want to have the freedom to go with the flow.
This is not a natural state for me and I do worry that my anxiety will go into overload, but I still want to try. I’m excited at the prospect of being able to go somewhere on a whim, because often that is when the best experiences happen.
I’m not ready for a completely unplanned adventure yet (although this may happen in 2020 all being well!) so have built the following plan of action.
End November: Fly to Melbourne via Singapore. Staying three nights in Singapore.
I’m going to fly with Singapore Airlines as they were amazing when I flew from Tokyo to L.A. There is more leg room, better complimentary service, and no stops between London and Singapore, or Singapore to Melbourne. The cost is about £100 more than the budget options, but worth it for comfort and ease. Despite my love of travel, I generally hate the transportation part of the trip so want to make it as pleasant as possible.
I’ve also opted for flight times that will fit with my jet lag expectations. I tend not to sleep when flying and therefore want to arrive in my destination at a time when I can soon go to bed. This works for me from experience, and so both of these flights will land in the evening.
The other aspect of flying I like to have planned is how to get from the airport to my accomodation. Thankfully both Singapore and Melbourne have easy transport links that run 24/7.
December: Deciding how long to be in Australia was a challenge. There is so much I want to see and do. The more I research the more I find! But we have settled on a month in Oz. And because that month is December we have agreed on organising Christmas and New Year ahead of time.
The current plan is to spend a week in Melbourne upon arriving, which I will pre-book. This week will include an overnight excursion to Philip Island to see the Penguin Parade, and visit a Koala sanctuary. I also intend to visit the Neighbours set, with or without my travel buddy, because this is sadly a lifetime ambition that must be realised!
From Melbourne we fly to Cairns. I will book us accomodation for four nights, and potentially a set of excursions to the reef and Daintree Rainforest. After that we are winging it down the East Coast for two weeks!
We have booked our Greyhound bus passes already, and I have earmarked a few places I want to see thanks to my Lonely Planet Guide. But we will be free to travel at whatever pace suits us at the time.
After this we visit Byron Bay for Christmas, and Sydney for New Year. These will need to be pre-booked due to the time of year.
TOP TIP: Use Hostelworld to research accomodation options, then book direct with the hostel for the best price. It is also often cheaper to pay in the local currency if you have a decent credit card with good exchange rates. Use MoneySupermarket to find the best credit cards for use overseas.
January: From Sydney we fly to New Zealand for the next adventure.
As booking and planning progresses I’ll keep you updated, and share more top tips for the best bargains.
I can’t wait to get going!!