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tfunk
Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
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 Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 4:13 pm Post subject: Australia in September? |
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I've just spotted a sale on kangsantravel for Australia. Doing a quick search on this forum and Australia doesn't sound overly appealing. What's the deal? Should I go to Philippines etc. instead?
The offer is:
SYDNEY, MELBOURNE, BRISBANE, ADELAID, PERTH
365, 000 excl. tax etc.
How is the cost of traveling in Australia compared with Korea etc.? Basically, I like beaches, nature and sunny weather. I can tolerate culture, history etc., it's not a deal breaker for me though. |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 5:46 pm Post subject: |
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I like Brisbane, not sure why. When you land go north up to the sunshine coast avoid surfers paradise like the plague. Amazing beaches, nice parks, less people. Bear in mind that September is the tail end of winter in Australia (still it's 26C degrees at the moment)
Cost wise compared with the Philippines of course it will be more expensive, it is like comparing the states with mexico |
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tfunk
Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
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| Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks blackjack. Actually, the tax was something like 400,000 - not as cheap as I had expected. |
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D.D.
Joined: 29 May 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 1:48 am Post subject: |
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| Australia is very expensive. I would only vacation there if I was very rich or I was on a working holiday visa. |
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chris_J2
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: From Brisbane, Au.
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| Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:54 pm Post subject: Australia |
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| Quote: |
| Australia is very expensive. I would only vacation there if I was very rich or I was on a working holiday visa. |
There are budget options available in Australia, D.D.
Hostels or hotel rooms attached to hostels, eg. It's possible to travel on $100 Au a day all inclusive. (about $85 US).
There are also budget airlines to get around. Tiger Air, Virgin Blue, Jetstar. The classic route is Sydney > Alice Springs / Uluru > Cairns. This gives a taste of city, outback, & reef.
And there are many other beach resorts along the south Qld coast, other than Surfers Paradise, too, which resembles Miami Beach, imho.
Eg, Broadbeach, Currumbin, Burleigh Heads, Coolangatta. Further afield, Byron Bay & Broken Head in NSW, although the former is getting a little too crowded & upmarket, for my tastes. And there's Tangalooma on Moreton Island, & Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island, as well as Fraser Island.
http://www.tangalooma.com/info/home/
September is a great time to go. No tropical cyclones (hurricanes) box jellyfish, or severe flooding & monsoons. The Gold Coast, Brisbane & Sunshine Coast, have a similar climate to Florida. So September would be like March in the southern US. |
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D.D.
Joined: 29 May 2008
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| Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 1:26 am Post subject: Re: Australia |
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| chris_J2 wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Australia is very expensive. I would only vacation there if I was very rich or I was on a working holiday visa. |
There are budget options available in Australia, D.D.
Hostels or hotel rooms attached to hostels, eg. It's possible to travel on $100 Au a day all inclusive. (about $85 US).
There are also budget airlines to get around. Tiger Air, Virgin Blue, Jetstar. The classic route is Sydney > Alice Springs / Uluru > Cairns. This gives a taste of city, outback, & reef.
And there are many other beach resorts along the south Qld coast, other than Surfers Paradise, too, which resembles Miami Beach, imho.
Eg, Broadbeach, Currumbin, Burleigh Heads, Coolangatta. Further afield, Byron Bay & Broken Head in NSW, although the former is getting a little too crowded & upmarket, for my tastes. And there's Tangalooma on Moreton Island, & Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island, as well as Fraser Island.
http://www.tangalooma.com/info/home/
September is a great time to go. No tropical cyclones (hurricanes) box jellyfish, or severe flooding & monsoons. The Gold Coast, Brisbane & Sunshine Coast, have a similar climate to Florida. So September would be like March in the southern US. |
Well it's more than 100 bucks a day if you want your own room. The next option is sleeping in a tent or sharing a room with 8 other drunk backpackers. Your living like a poor person on 100 a day Chris. |
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chris_J2
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: From Brisbane, Au.
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| Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 7:05 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Well it's more than 100 bucks a day if you want your own room. The next option is sleeping in a tent or sharing a room with 8 other drunk backpackers. Your (sic) living like a poor person on 100 a day Chris. |
What would I know. I only LIVE in Brisbane, in between jobs in Korea. (I'm Australian, btw).
eg, "$25 bed (dorm - camping can be more, even if solo), $20 food, $25 travel, $20 activities, $10 other (grog). Renting a car solo though, you would look at about $30 per day (a little 2WD) minimum." Btw, most dorms are 4 pax, not 8. eg:
"BUG Review
Banana Bender is a nice hostel with a good TV lounge, Internet access, bar, barbecue and a deck with nice views. Accommodation is mostly in four-bed dorms. It's located on the corner of Jessie Street and Petrie Terrace, close to the Transit Centre and the bars and caf�s on nearby Caxton Street.
Price
Dorm bed $26-28 ($25-27 HI/YHA, VIP)
Double/twin room $66 ($64 HI/YHA, VIP)
Prices are in Australian dollars and are inclusive of all taxes."
Source: http://www.bug.co.uk/reviews/hostels/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/index.htm
I managed to survive on a similar amount of money in the US & Canada for 9 weeks last year, when the won was around 1,800 & the AUD 65c. Plus I had to tip all the time, which really sux. There is virtually no tipping in Australia. |
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D.D.
Joined: 29 May 2008
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| Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 10:36 am Post subject: |
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| Ya Chris as I said you would be staying in a backpackers for those rates. I lived in Aus for 12 years and lived in almost the whole country and I think that makes me a bit of an expert over an Aussie from one city. I know the prices because I lived the prices. I know where to find cheap eats and where to stay for cheap. As I said it costs over 100 bucks a day just for your room if you want to have your own room. You are talking about backpackers which is so crappy compared to the places you can stay in other countries. I stayed in my own nice room in Seoul the other night for 40 bucks. You can quite easily pay 30-40 bucks to share a friggin backpackers room in Aus. Anyhow I like Aus and wish it was cheaper because it has become too expensive to live and work there as well. |
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chris_J2
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: From Brisbane, Au.
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| Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 4:02 pm Post subject: Oz |
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Well, I've lived in Australia for 50 years, D.D., and travelled the whole east coast, so I think that makes me a superior authority. And just how recently were you there? I was there in April THIS year, not 10-15 years ago.
| Quote: |
| As I said it costs over 100 bucks a day just for your room if you want to have your own room. |
The link I provided clearly shows a cost of $66 Au, (about $50 US) for a private room in a hostel, NOT $100 Au.
I had to fork out $75 Canadian a couple of times for a private room, as the dorms were fully booked. Australia is not Korea. It's a 1st world country, akin to Canada or the USA, so it's unrealistic to expect Korean prices. Having said that, it's possible to stay in 4 star accomodation in the Whitsundays for $90 a day at the moment, due to the current global recession. Airfare prices of Tiger Air are ridiculously cheap, right now, too. ($258 Au return Melbourne to Alice Springs, in late September) And $175 Singapore to Perth:
http://www.tigerairways.com/sg/en/index.php |
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D.D.
Joined: 29 May 2008
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| Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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Let me win the pissing contest - 50 years is impressive but I lived there from 1994 up until 2 years ago. I have travelled almost the whole thing my friend-10 times across the Nullaboor by car. I have lived in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Mackay Byron bay, Gold Coast. I started out as backpacker staying in dorm rooms, and I have stayed in tents for months on end. I have picked fruit for a living there and done many other jobs. I have been poor and also very rich in Aus. I spent 12 years travelling Aus and just have Darwin and Tassie left to do.
I just disagree with you on one point. Aus is good if you want to stay in backpackers, but it is expensive if you want to stay in normal hotels with your own room. Some of the packpackers charge 100 for a single room. Food is expensive and so is most other things.
A traveller will get nice beaches and more bang for their buck in other places. Aus is not bad for a working holiday. Also may aussies have lost what made the country cool and have become a bunch of work jerks who don't treat others well. |
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chris_J2
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: From Brisbane, Au.
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| Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:32 pm Post subject: |
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10 times eh, D.D., and you still can't spell it. Try "Nullarbor". The word 'Nullarbor' is derived from the Latin 'nullus', "no", and arbor, "tree", (no trees).
Things have changed a lot in the past 2 years. The Australian dollar is now worth more than the Korean won ($1Au = 1063 won).
http://www.x-rates.com/d/KRW/AUD/graph120.html
Prices of flights & accomodation have come down this year, due to the global recession. And for the third time, MANY Hostels have private rooms for $66 Au NOT $100 Au. I've lived in Australia from 1956 to 2009, with the exception of 2 years in Korea. I think I have a better idea of Australia, as an Australian citizen, than a foreigner from NZ, or the UK. The NZ dollar has nearly always been worth about 20% less than the AUD, so of course, it's going to seem more expensive in Australia, to a Kiwi. But most of the English teachers in Korea are North American, & both the $CA & USD are currently worth 7% & 15% more respectively, than the AUD. Meaning they both get more bang for their buck in Australia (& NZ too, for that matter).
And I've been to both Darwin and Tassie, as well as the top of Cape York, by 4x4. I've also spent considerable time in Melbourne, Sydney, Mackay, Byron Bay, Gold Coast, as well as Cairns and a dozen or more other places along the east coast (Fraser Island, Brampton Island, Townsville, Cooktown, Maitland, Newcastle etc). There is no Great Barrier Reef, or Uluru in 'other places'. They are unique, as is the wildlife.
| Quote: |
| Food is expensive and so is most other things. |
I do hope you're not an English Teacher. It's "...so are most other things." Maybe in 2007, but certainly not at the moment, with discounted airfares & hotel accomodation, as well as cheaper food. |
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D.D.
Joined: 29 May 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 5:08 am Post subject: |
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| Wow the spelling nazi comes out and as usual for an Aussie you have to try and win and get in the last word. As I said can you tell me any place outside of a scummy backpackers to get a room. Aus is good place to visit but a toursit will easily spend 1000 a week there and the only reason I write to this thread is to save the person who thinks they can go there on the cheap and have a good time. Its a good place if you are cashed up but it has become very American. |
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chris_J2
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: From Brisbane, Au.
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highdials5
Joined: 13 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:15 am Post subject: |
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Great banter!
Australia is definitely very expensive, even more so these days with the strong Aussie dollar. |
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D.D.
Joined: 29 May 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 4:58 pm Post subject: Re: Australia |
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Brisbane Central BACKPACKERS . Haha you left out the most important word and that place is a dump. |
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